Pavyllon, London: ‘Serious drama, both on the plate and off’ – restaurant review

‘The banquettes are so low that there’s nowhere for your legs, and yet I still feel warmly cosseted’: the dining-room at the Pavyllon. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer

Pavyllon, The Four Seasons Hotel, Hamilton Place, London W1. Starters £19-£69, mains £28-£179, desserts £18, wines from £38, lunch menu £55.50, tasting menu £148

Good things don’t always come easy. Those good things include a table at Pavyllon, the sprauncy new restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in London from French superstar and award-crusted chef Yannick Alléno. I book by typing my debit card digits into Open Table only to get a message telling me I will receive a security email that I must reply to within 12 hours, or they reserve the right to give away my seats. It doesn’t arrive. This is then followed by a to-and-fro of roughly 10 phone calls with the restaurant, an email asking me to re-input my card number and another telling me my booking is cancelled. It’s seemingly endless.