The Arch London, 50 Great Cumberland Place, Marble Arch, London W1H 7FD

0)207 724 0486/reservations@thearchlondon.com

I had never heard of The Arch hotel but then I’m a rather feckless character rather than the sleek business types or Hollywood stars who make up its clientele. Situated a stone’s throw from Marble Arch in a Georgian mansion it is both comfortable  and elegantly modern in its design and has all the mod cons you might  hope  for. The in-house restaurant is called HUNter 486 which I guess is rather sexily named after the original Marylebone phone number. The  manager told us that they were going for a Gatsby/1950s mood in the  restaurant which shows an interesting historical conflation of decades that is not realised in the design. It is however quite chic and curtained-off bays offer ample possibilities for discreet liaisons.

In a city like London with such a thriving food scene it is hard for a new hotel restaurant to achieve any kind of visibility without bringing in a celebrity chef to create media interest.

So would HUNter 486 stand out from the crowd? Certainly the menu is of the ‘don’t scare the horses’ variety- a succession of European classics alongside a stone-baked oven pizza selection. There is also a two course (£19) and three course (£21) Express Lunch menu that is French based and reasonably priced.

We considered the menu options over a glass of  dry prosecco. I started with a decently portioned plate of  Smoked salmon (£10.50) that was classically presented with brown bread and butter and lemon in a muslin. The salmon was good quality with a gentle level of smoking and was perfectly matched to my glass of Chablis.