Matt Abé, who previously served at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay — the Chelsea establishment that has held three Michelin stars since 2001 and remains London's longest-running holder of that distinction — has struck out on his own with the launch of Bonheur in Mayfair. While his cooking has already attracted considerable acclaim — including two Michelin stars awarded just eight months after the restaurant opened last year — a recent review found the experience wanting when it came to portion sizes.

The reviewer arrived having eaten lightly throughout the day, a common practice before sitting down to a two-Michelin-star tasting menu priced at £195 for five courses. Until this visit, that strategy had never proven problematic; on previous occasions, the reviewer had even left feeling overfull.

At Bonheur, however, the reviewer was caught off guard. The five-course tasting menu features dishes so modest in size that the reviewer initially suspected they had been conceived with Ozempic users in mind — though Bonheur's publicist dismissed that notion.

Swift Accolades for a Former Ramsay Chef

The Michelin Guide's decision to award Abé two stars within eight months of opening is a vanishingly rare achievement, giving the Australian chef a remarkable launch. Abé, who also worked alongside Clare Smyth — the first British woman to earn three Michelin stars — took on the considerable challenge of opening a restaurant in the space formerly occupied by Le Gavroche — the three-Michelin-starred institution founded by the Roux brothers that served as a fixture of London high society for 56 years before closing in 2024. Michel Roux Jr. cited rising costs and staffing pressures as factors in the closure, making Abé's decision to take on the site a notable bet on the continued appetite for classical French fine dining in Mayfair at a time when several long-established names have reconsidered their presence there.

Abé has redesigned the Mayfair basement space with beige and gold decor described as opulent but unremarkable. A notable feature is a sliding door that offers glimpses of the chefs at work in the kitchen.

The Tasting Menu, Course by Course

Abé's classic French culinary approach favours simple food, elegantly plated. The tasting menu begins with quiche lorraine — an enticing, gooey blend of pastry and gruyère, the cheese firm enough to anchor chunks of smoked ham, the pastry sturdy enough to hold together yet delicate enough to dissolve on the tongue. Ironically, this opening course proved to be the largest of the evening.

A mouthful of melon sorbet followed. "This is what people imagine when they joke about tasting menus," the reviewer's dining companion remarked.

A straightforward piece of Cornish turbot arrived next, plated with fresh dulse seaweed — uncomplicated, but agreeable in flavour.

The main course was a saddle cut of Herdwick hogget, a sheep between one and two years of age, sitting somewhere between lamb and mutton with a rich, gamey profile. Roughly the size of a large canapé, the flavourful meat was accompanied by slivers of courgette, olive tapenade, and marjoram. A separate coin-sized piece of hogget also appeared on the plate — delicious, but again, too small.

Upon realising the next course would be dessert, the reviewer requested a last-minute addition of the steak from the seven-course menu. It was 10pm, however, and the kitchen had already closed. The maître d', who had previously made a point of visiting the table, did not acknowledge that the diners were still hungry, leaving that task to waitstaff, who offered extra desserts. Staff provided double helpings of milk bread, and a pecan tart was promised but never arrived.

Dessert consisted of an île flottante — whipped meringue described as "basically air" topped with blackberries and other summer fruits.

Value Questions

The seven-course menu costs just £30 more than the five-course option at £195, yet includes both steak and lobster courses. Together, those two dishes alone appeared to amount to as much food as the reviewer received over the entire five-course meal — and that is before accounting for the five additional courses. At the two-Michelin-star level in London, where competing tasting menus commonly range from roughly £150 to upwards of £300, diners have come to expect a baseline of satiety alongside technical excellence, making the gap between the two Bonheur menus — and the pricing of the shorter one — a point worth watching as the restaurant settles into its early reputation. The reviewer noted that Abé has adjustments to make if the menus are to feel reflective of their price points.

After leaving the restaurant's air-conditioned interior for the sweltering night, the reviewer and guest sought heartier portions at The Stafford's American Bar, where they ordered fries alongside their nightcaps.

More information is available at bonheurbymattabe.com.