Last Updated on February 25, 2026
Great meals are often about timing – our visit to Tom Brown at The Capital couldn’t have been better.
4.5 out of 5.0 starsThe day this year’s Michelin stars were announced happened to be the very day we had booked to visit one of the newly starred restaurants: Tom Brown at The Capital. We honestly didn’t have any inside information, though I had already enjoyed Tom Brown’s cooking there when he was working under Nathan Outlaw. Like Nathan, Brown is originally from Cornwall. After serving as head chef at The Capital, he opened his own acclaimed restaurant, Cornerstone, before returning to Knightsbridge in April 2025 to launch Tom Brown at The Capital. With precise technique, ingredient-led menus, and a cuisine rooted in British produce but driven by a modern approach to flavour and presentation, Brown has built a reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting contemporary chefs.
First, though, we started the evening in the charming bar at The Capital, where I enjoyed a non-alcoholic Blood Orange Martini, made with Tanqueray Sevilla 0%, orange marmalade, and lemon juice. I’m always impressed when, as in this case, there are non-alcoholic options that taste close enough to the ‘real deal’ for me to be happy. My companion loved her long, refreshing classic Paloma made with Ocho Blanco Tequila, agave, lime and grapefruit.
Moving through to Tom Brown at The Capital, diners in the intimate 28-cover restaurant can choose a six-course tasting menu priced at £120 or the à la carte menu. With a focus on seafood, this menu reflects Tom Brown’s heritage and training. We opted for the tasting menu – it’s usually a good way to experience the dishes the chef would recommend, and we were not disappointed.
To drink at Tom Brown at The Capital, we shared a bottle of Belardent Picpoul de Pinet, a crisp, light and easy-to-drink white wine which paired very well with our predominantly pescatarian tasting menu.
The meal started with a lobster toast with lardo and chilli oil. Imagine the poshest ever sesame prawn toast, elevated by sweet, meaty lobster, boosted by a fishy ketchup and infused with crab. Drool over the wickedly delicious fried bread that somehow doesn’t seem at all greasy. If you are anything like us, you’ll want more than the pinky-sized amuse-bouche, but you’ll just need to plan to come back.
Next, a raw Orkney scallop with roast chicken dressing and celeriac, another amuse-bouche. Served in a tiny crystal dish, morsels of diced hand-dived scallops from Orkney were dressed in a subtle roast chicken vinaigrette flavoured with a hint of lemon thyme. The dish was topped with a crisp square of chicken skin, dotted with the celeriac puree, balanced on top.
Breads arrived – not mentioned on the menu, but definitely notable. There were two types of homemade bread. The squid ink bread was unlike anything we’d had before. It looked a bit like German marble cake with the black of the squid ink swirled through the dough, a good, strong, fishy bread. The other bread was a contrasting and delicate shokupan, a Japanese milk bread not unlike challah or brioche. served with a choice of cultured butter, mussel beurre and an oil with white balsamic, we both coveted the pretty wooden butter knives.
The first dish on the tasting menu, chalkstream trout with smoked cream and cucumber, was a stunning plate. The trout had been cured overnight with apple and cider, sugar and salt, then rolled in nori. Sour cream was infused with smoked hay, and the plate was finished with a generous spoon of cucumber relish and a dollop of smooth trout mousse. The cured trout had a meaty texture and a deep flavour, nicely complemented by the single bitter leaf resting across it.
Sea bream tartare, quail egg, radish, and soy was the prettiest dish. Raw sea bream was tucked under delicate radish circles and a spoonful of yuzu ponzu (aged outside Tokyo in 150-year-old cedarwood barrels). The sauce was spicy with a pleasing kick. Alongside, tall tapioca puffs laced with seaweed added textural interest, although a couple of unpopped tapioca balls were a little hard on the tooth!
The final savoury course, cod, beetroot, roe, and butter sauce, was a main-course-sized portion. Cod was wrapped in a mandoline-thin ribbon of beetroot, which had been blanched. The dish was gently steamed to perfection and served with golden and red beet purees with herring roe. A smoked cod’s roe emulsion and beetroot velouté. Superb-quality fresh fish shone through in this earthy yet light dish.
For dessert, another generous portion of 70% Xoco chocolate tart, mint ice cream, and Fernet-Branca. A classic, very dark chocolate tart with great mirror sheen on the chocolate was the base for a very attractive plate, with the tart beautifully decorated with shards of white chocolate and pulled sugar with chocolate. We met the pastry chef for Tom Brown at The Capital, who explained that everything was made in-house. The vibrant green mint ice cream was a new and refreshing addition to the dish, although neither of us could detect the Fernet-Branca.
Finally, Petit Fours of fudge with seaweed: a little like salted caramel but with the taste of the sea rather than salt and delicious Sea Buckthorn jellies rounded off the meal.
We thoroughly enjoyed Tom Brown at The Capital. Fish-centric fine dining works particularly well for anyone looking for refined and elegant food and a tasting menu that is easy to digest and won’t leave you bloated. Tom’s attention to detail with these beautifully crafted dishes makes the new Michelin star well deserved. This restaurant should be better known and we’d suggest trying it soon, before it gets discovered!
The Capital Hotel, Apartments and Townhouse
22-24 Basil St,
London SW3 1AT
Phone: 020 7591 1200
The Capital Hotel is a charming boutique hotel right by Harrods and a member of the Pride of Britain Hotel Group
Looking for more fish restaurants? Check our roundup of London’s Best Fish Restaurants
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