Texture, London

Lately I've eaten at a few nice London restaurants, including a mix of one and two star Michelin places. That doesn't make me an expert, it mostly just makes me lucky. However I'd say that Texture, located on a quiet-for-the-area street behind Marble Arch must be at the upper reaches of its current one-star and no less than Raymond Blanc agrees with me, declaring recently that Texture will be "London's next two star restaurant."

Be that as it may lunch at Texture is another Michelin bargain in the city with two courses for £19.90 and three courses for £24.90. Wine by the glass starts at £6 but Texture describes itself as both a restaurant and Champagne bar and it is the Champagne list that really excites beginning with the excellent Jacques Picard at £9.75 a glass and then going deep. I went for a luxury (i.e. made with champagne) mojito for £9.50.

To get you in the mood Texture serves mixed crisps of bread, pork and fish skin, with barley dip. This is a terrific and charming freebie that I've not seen elsewhere. The bread and butter is very neat too, the butter mixed with Icelandic yogurt, skyr, until creamy, and sprinkled with seaweed.

Texture says its "cuisine style is modern European with Scandinavian influences and focuses on combining and emphasising different consistencies." That was certainly true of the selection I had and if eating the food of different cuisines is a sort of travel, Texture is a great away-day.

The meal begins with an amuse - in this case pea and mint tea - which is fresh and natural tasting and very pretty to look at. The 'tea' is a mouse.

I continued the veggie theme with a starter of Wye Valley asparagus with crispy parmesan, hazelnut and olive. At this point I was grateful not to have polished off the bread, as it could be used to mop up every drop of this remarkable dish. Remarkable? Asparagus? Heck yes, and not just because of the flavours and, yes, textures generously and artistically spread across the plate. The asparagus is chilled, shockingly so, and with the parmesan jolts the taste buds into renewed action.

Icelandic salted cod followed, buttery, and another plate mopping was required. Decorum? No, Texture took it all away from me. Luckily no one seemed to mind. While the Champagne bar aspect of Texture hints worryingly of a certain kind of 'Knightsbridgey' London, the staff seemed down to earth and charming to a fault.

Dessert was a new dish, on the menu for just five days I was told: chocolate soil and ice cream. Ok, you might call it cake crumbs but the presentation carries on the soil metaphor with a salad of petals and leaves. I've not been served such a good lucking dessert in a long time. It was also very good to eat indeed, finger replacing bread this time to get the last bits of chocolate.

With service the meal came to less that £40, a bargain if ever there was one.

34 Portman Street, W1H7BY