The ground floor dining room and bar
What do we need to know about Amélie?
This is the new French restaurant in the Pantechnicon building in Belgravia. It's just had a full makeover with new restaurants and bars appearing and the shop disappearing. The Pantechnicon first opened in 2020 when it touted a Japanese restaurant, Sachi, in the basement, a Nordic rooftop spot and two floors of retail. Now Sachi has moved up the building to the rooftop, there's a Latin American bar downstairs called Luum, and on the ground and first floor, where the shop used to be, is now Amélie.
Where actually is it?
Unless you're a lucky one percenter, you probably won't have much reason to go past this impressive colannaded building, but it's barely a five-minute walk from Harvey Nichols. Head down Sloane Street and turn left by Hermès and you'll find it on Motcomb Street. The nearest tube is Knightsbridge.
Where's a good place to get a drink first?
If you're coming here for dinner, then popping down to Luum is the best answer (it's also a good post-dinner spot with a late licence till 2.30am on Thursday to Saturday). If, however, you're coming for lunch then the nearby Star Tavern's a decent enough pub to meet up in.
Luum bar in the basement.
Where should we sit?
For our Saturday lunch visit, all the action was happening on the ground floor - we were upstairs which would be a better bet if you prefer a little more space between tables. If you're a larger group there are two must-have raised round tables at either end of the ground floor dining room.
The upstairs dining room
So what kind of food is it?
Think luxe Provencal, such as the toasties come with caviar or the fish with Champagne sauce. The restaurant is run by the Sunset Hospitality Group who we first encountered when we stayed at their hotel in Marbella a few months back. The food was very good there, so we came into Amelie pretty confident of the same here. It helps that they've poached chef Steve Raveneau from The Arts Club to lead the kitchen.
As far as the set-up goes, it's a pleasingly classic menu of starters, mains and dishes to share. Here's what we had to give you a flavour of what to expect.
Tuna Tartar, Avocado, Piquillo Dressing (£18)
Truffle burrata (£19)
Crab and tomato relish toasts topped with caviar (£26) - the star dish, do not leave without ordering this.
Seared scallops with citrus butter and melba toasts (£24)
Seared Dover sole with Champagne sauce and caviar (£65) - hands-down one of the best fish dishes we'd had this year. A beautiful fish, cooked to perfection, impeccably filleted and reassembled before being dressed with a classic butter sauce.
Room for dessert?
Just about. Their take on a Black Forest cake did look good on their Insta feed, but we only had room for their amazing cheesecake.
An ultra-light whipped cheesecake (£10) that at least one person on your table should order.
What about the wine list?
They say their all-French list pays as much attention to renowned wineries as it does family-run vineyards. We were having a very light lunch as far as drinks go so we can only attest to the Sancerre (£16 a glass) being a great accompaniment for all that fish.
Overall thoughts:
Pantechnicon on the whole has had a bit of a rocky ride; launching in the middle of a pandemic definitely wasn't ideal. But we think that switching out the retail side to bring in this lovely new French restaurant was a good plan. Amélie has one of those menus that isn't trying to do anything particularly inventive or clever, but it's an easy-pleaser and we wanted pretty much everything on there. Dishes are served up with finesse and both of the dining rooms are beautiful spaces. It just needs a few more people to discover it.
More about Amélie
Where is it? Ground Floor & First Floor, Pantechnicon, 19 Motcomb St, London SW1X 8LB
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @amelie.restaurants
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Amélie. Prices correct at time of publication.
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