Lutyens Restaurant

Lutyens Restaurant
85 Fleet Street
London EC4Y 1AE
020 7583 8385

Sir Terence Conran may have sold his interest in Conran Restaurants, but his latest venture with Peter Prescott in their new mini-empire of two features a couple of familiar faces.

Dublin-born chef David Burke - who brings an Irish influence to the largely French inspired table - and head sommelier Andrew Connor both worked at Le Pont de la Tour, so it seems Conran employees favour familiar terrain.

Yet talented New Zealander Connor insists Lutyens is unique, with "classic, even sort of slightly retro, quite nostalgic food" - just what the sommelier reckons risk-averse consumers want in these times of economic uncertainty.

Featuring a bar with a charcuterie counter, a French/Irish restaurant - where the Irishness comes largely in terms of the produce - a crustacean and sushi bar and even a members club, Lutyens might actually have something for everyone. Unless you fancy a bite at the weekend, with the restaurant closing at midnight on Friday until Monday 7.30am.

Wines range from an affordable £16 per bottle and hit a high at £625 with the 2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands Échézeaux. But Connor stresses they are not exclusively targeting the high rolling lawyers and bankers, despite the prime location, nestled between the Royal Courts of Justice and the City.

"I like to think the offering is very democratic," says Connor. "If you look at the pricing we start at around £5 for a starter and £4 for a glass of wine. You can come in and just have a salad and glass of wine for not a great deal of money."

Although it is the idea of Buttered lobster (£33) from their charcoal oven that starts the 34-year-old salivating, not to mention the Sally Barnes Wild Smoked Salmon at £15.00 from Cork, or classic Coquille Saint Jacques Parisienne £9.50 - both served as starters.

One small hitch for Connor is the largely French-inspired wine list. Connor joined Lutyens at the eleventh hour when a consultant had already largely written the list, and not entirely to his taste.

For example, Austrian wines - a personal favourite of Connor's - don't feature. However, with a tiny cellar he's able to change the list quickly, sometimes buying in as few as two or three bottles at a time.

And with Connor promising minimal margins on top-end wines - "I price it to sell it", he promises - customers will soon be looking as comfortable in the slick Conran furnishings as the sommelier.

• Sommeliers