LDNReview
Included In
Back in the early 2010s, when bacon was culture and street food lived in converted car parks, 16-18 Beak Street was home to a branch of Byron Burger. A ginormous meat-slinging behemoth that gave the people what they wanted. These days people want something different. They want charred bread, wine that smells like a cow’s arse, and a jealousy-inducing Soho geotag. They want Mountain. A great meal, a chilly experience, and a hot restaurant—all wrapped into one.
Mountain entered London’s dining scene like a charged-up nepo baby doing their first Vogue cover. It’s Brat’s big sibling and it knows it. Two floors, 100 covers, and a sumptuous £80 Friesian beef rib tells you that this Basque-style restaurant very much means business.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Mountain
Upstairs is teeming. Creative directors chow down grilled langoustines at the counter, fashion girlies clink glasses of Greek white, and wood-fired aromas whisper out of the open kitchen. Downstairs the lights are dimmed and vinyl spins behind the bar. There are booths with debaucherous potential and the sense that Dua Lipa might be here. Or at least someone who looks like Dua Lipa. You’re in the mix wherever you are and it’s a scene to be seen in.
If we were to dig into how Mountain isn’t the one with our proverbial restaurant therapist, then words like ‘impersonal’ and ‘inattentive’ would come out. For all of the buzz and open-fire cooking, it leaves us a little cool. Yes, much of the cooking is good, but it feels like it’s been built for the masses, because it has.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Cockles. Tripe. Wood-fired rice. Much of the menu reads like a 16th-century monarch’s shopping list. Especially in the meatier areas. There are lush sweetbreads and wonderfully grilled hunks of steak that are worth forking out for if you’re doing a big sitting down thing. Staff are great in a transitory, estranged step-sibling kind of way—so a seat at either bar, with an exacting martini, oysters, and a handful of smaller plates is where this restaurant is most natural. Swerve the enticing-sounding spider crab omelette and favour stuff straight off the grill.
Ultimately, if you like Brat’s food and wine then you’re unlikely to be disappointed, or surprised. This is a restaurant that has come out of the box as The Place To Be and there’s undeniably a lavish meal to be had at Mountain—even if it feels like something of a plateau.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Fresh Cheese & Raw Prawns
As with Brat, there’s some good bread-related stuff going on here. These bites of homemade stracciatella with juicy raw red prawns is just one of them. Sitting at the bar and getting going with these is a very good move.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Spider Crab Omelette
You have to crack a few eggs to make an omelette, but they could do with cracking a few more crabs into this one. It’s oddly anatomical. Slippery, wobbling, and waiting to be cut into. Although, once inside, it’s more egg than anything else. One for the gym enthusiasts, perhaps.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Beef Sweetbreads
Offal isn’t on the top of everyone’s order but these sweetbreads with grilled artichokes should be a revelation for anyone who’s prone to umming and ahhing over this sort of thing. As soft and smooth as Lionel Messi’s touch—order it.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Langoustines
At £8 per crustacean, these langoustines aren’t exactly a snip, but they are undeniably juicy.
Friesian Beef Rib
It’s often said that good things come with maturity and this majestically cooked beef rib is a prime example. Aged and grilled to perfection, there’s a woody char to the exterior of the meat while the inside is pink and tender. This, with a salad and/or a carb, is what you need.
photo credit: Mountain
Lobster Caldereta
Served in a terracotta bowl big enough to bathe in, this big family-style lobster stew is enjoyable for those who don’t mind getting a bit messy. Various chunks of lobster float on top of a sea of rich tomato stew. It’s good (and particularly enjoyable when you get a nice easy piece of tail) but its DIY approach doesn’t feel particularly in line with its slick surroundings.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Torrija With Grilled Strawberries
This is, for all intents and purposes, a grilled piece of french toast with strawberries and cream and it is, for all intents and purposes, a complete joy. Fight for spoons and then order another one.
