Mountain Beak Street

Upmarket BBQ but why the hype?

Lobster caldereta

2024 has been a great year for Mountain, a grill restaurant by chef Tom Perry who found success in Kitty Fisher, before launching his own restaurant Brat. Mountain has gained a Michelin star in the 2024 guide, as well as coming into no2 in the UK's best restaurant list from the much-respected trade press Restaurant Magazine. I have been to Mountain once when it was opened back in the summer of 2023, while the food was solid, I never really understood why it is packed with so much hype. However, there is one dish I enjoyed which is a lobster stew and that is the reason I went back.

Walnut salad

Grilled sweetbread

Grilled seabream

The meal kicked off with some starters and fish before moving into the main event lobster stew. A whole Dover sole was grilled before being topped with some pil pil sauce, the fish was really moist and creamy, to a level I think the sauce wasn't really needed when Mountain is using such top-quality fish. A whole 900g lobster caldereta is what makes this place special. The soup was cooked with lobsters and other shellfish for more than 8 hours before having a fresh lobster poached in the soup, it was so rich and loaded with tones of herbs and spices aroma that married so well with the seafood flavours. It worked like a treat with some lovely wood-fired rice which was cooked on a pan.

Grilled Dover sole

Beef shortribs

Wood fired rice

Mountain without a doubt does decent grill cooking, but I failed to understand why this place is praised like a hero as I just found there are better restaurants in London, even its sister restaurant Brat has an edge over Mountain. What bothers me is the media hype means it now can command a high price despite the food standard really doesn't warrant such a price mark, which is a shame.

Food 3.5/5


What I paid: 
£70 per head

Average cost without drinks and services:
£60

16-18 Beak St, London W1F 9R

https://mountainbeakstreet.com/