While bands wanting to build on a successful debut inevitably face their Difficult Second Album, successful restaurants face a similar challenge when they expand. Both artists and restaurateurs will want to show off more of their repertoire, perhaps build on an established niche, but not risk alienating their essential fan base. Some restaurants go more upscale (e.g. Cornus being an elevated version of its sibling Medlar) though the usual, perhaps safer, route is to open a casual satellite of the original (as Restaurant Twenty-Two in Cambridge did with Margaret’s, or Clare Smyth’s Corenucopia, though whether these are truly ‘casual’ is open to debate). For Trivet, which opened just before the first lockdown of 2020 and earned itself two Michelin stars despite Covidian interruptions, the gamble seems to have paid off; as a follow-up, Labombe by Trivet could be a test of whether the Bermondsey original was just luck, but with the alchemy of its owners, chef Jonny Lake and sommelier Isa Bal, this is proof of their talent. I’d expect nothing less.
On a first exploratory visit though, I was a little concerned. Despite the careful branding which clearly indicates the Trivet DNA in its name, its sleek look and its open kitchen being visible from the outside, it was very quiet in that autumn lull in late 2025. I’m not sure whether location could be to blame, the COMO Metropolitan London being amongst a hive of Hyde Park activity and where the Met Bar used to be. Perhaps it is simply due to cautious marketing and biding their time while bedding in: indeed, being awarded a Michelin star in early 2026 seems to have done wonders for the reservations book as it was full on the second visit. As I’ll explain, they deserve to be busy.
This is a fabulous sequel to Trivet
Arriving by the restaurant’s own entrance rather than through the hotel, on each visit there was an immediately warm welcome. I’ve yet to see the service slip at all here: always on-point, attentive without being irritating, and no obvious upselling (despite, perhaps, a subtle attempt to coerce you into some £6 bread at the start because, the server said, “I don’t want you to go hungry” – but the sourdough here is lovely). You’re not rushed over aperitifs either, which is how it should be; ice-cold martinis are prepared to order (they have a house Vesper too, which they normally shake in a nod to Ian Fleming I suppose, but they agreed to stir it instead).
Like the Trivet mothership, a lot of thought has gone into both the food and wine with neither taking precedence over the other. In this more détendu setting, the wine selection by sommelier Philipp Reinstaller is in two lists in the same book – the A list and the B list – like a record (the ‘B’ list being dedicated to Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo and so on). The mark-ups struck me as pretty fair for Mayfair and knowing Trivet’s penchant for the recherché and unusual, the globe-trotting list even has an Iranian wine on it (via Sweden) – perhaps not something to advertise to Trump, but then I doubt classy places like this would be his cup of tea (or bucket of Coca-Cola) anyway.
Iberico pork chop and sirloin
Sea bass crudo
Pickled cherry clafoutis
Onto the cuisine, it’s perhaps too simplistic to say they serve high-end bistro food, but under head chef Evan Moore (like Jonny Lake, a fellow former colleague of Heston Blumenthal) the menu is full of crowd-pleasers, all cooked extremely well but presented without fuss. Even your teeth can take the day off in some instances: the bottarga toasts (£8) – like high-end prawn toasts – just disintegrated in the mouth but imparted huge flavour, while the lamb sweetbread and purple garlic skewers (£7) were beautifully unctuous.
The sea bass crudo (£18) I could eat by the bucketload. Generously cut rather than wafer-thin slivers, and bathed in an orange ponzu and anchovy garum, split with olive oil, this was an absolute joy to eat. Clearly, sourcing is taken seriously here, as also evidenced by the Spanish Wagyu Cecina (£18) – while there was no cooking skill to see here, being something that is purchased and plated, it was still sensational with pickled padron peppers to spice things up a bit. You could legitimately just work through some of the wines and have these as snacks – there’s an almost playful informality about it all, which I think is what Lake and Bal have set out to do here.
Testing the meaty mains, the Iberico pork chop (£30) was sensitively cooked – slightly pink with a good rendering of fat – while the sirloin (£44) was easily up there with Ibai or Quality Chop House in Farringdon. All pretty much faultless with well-executed fries and sauces too.
The only slight disappointment so far has been in the dessert department, a butter tart (£6) being a bit rich and unwieldy, and the interpretation of the pickled cherry clafoutis (£14) being too squidgy for my liking, despite its artistic presentation. Overall though, there’s no sophomore slump at Labombe by Trivet. This is a fabulous sequel to Trivet which I’d wholeheartedly recommend.
19 Old Park Lane
London
W1K 1LB
April 2026
