The Lockhart London W.1.

All the fans of Southern United States cooking are absolutely thrilled about the Lockhart,   a new restaurant that has recently opened in Marylebone.

It belongs to an American couple, who are obviously missing their grits and cornbread, and have brought over a Southern chef from Mississippi, Brad McDonald, who excels in those down home country dishes that are the attraction of all places south of Richmond, Virginia, particularly in Louisiana and Mississipi. No pretensions of grandeur, no faldarole – just attentive cooking of good ingredients and generous portions!

We started inevitably with the cornbread – a huge individual cake of it- very light and golden brown. We had to be careful not to fill ourselves up though, as there was lots of more good stuff to come.

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I couldn’t resist the catfish gumbo – full of succulent pieces of very tasty fish swimming in a perfumed broth with lots of veggies. My friend opted for the chicken oysters, lightly fried and crunchy.

Our main courses were pulled pork and white beans – one of my absolute favourites – and stuffed quail with madeira sauce, a more sophisticated dish, but Southerners are excellent at producing delicious stuffings and this one did not disappoint us. We had a serving of coleslaw on the side , and with all that in front of us we really thought we were back in the Deep South.

There is of course lots of fried chicken and grits, and apparently the brunch menu is really good too with pancakes, maple syrup, crispy bacon, sausage patties and eggs Benedict.

A variety of American wines and beers are available.

Not a cheap restaurant though. There is no fixed menu and the price in the evening works out about £30 a head, excluding wine. We skipped the wine and had two huge Margaritas as only the Americans know how to make them.

A lovely evening and we will be visiting again.