Changing reflections

Customers who haven't visited London's 217-bedroom Berners hotel recently are in for a big surprise. Following a £200,000 refurbishment, which took place in August this year, the dark, heavy, early-1980s decor has gone, along with the traditional English fare it used to serve.

The 100-seat restaurant, renamed Reflections (it has a number of floor-to-ceiling mirrors), is now under the direction of executive chef Gilles Chirat.

Chirat, a French chef who spent 13 years working in some of the best kitchens in Provence before coming to London in 1995 to work at Chez Max, has brought a new broom to the restaurant. Indeed, that is why the position appealed to him - Chirat had been happy temping since leaving Chez Max in 1996 but thought the opportunity to go in and shape the future direction of Reflections was too good to miss.

"This offered me the chance to do my own cooking and do something good, applying real attention to detail; whereas in so many London restaurants it's all about fast and furious food," he says.

Chirat was also attracted to Reflections because it has its own entrance on to the street, so the opportunity is there to attract a wider audience than just the guests of the four-star property. Currently the restaurant is achieving a mix of about 50/50 hotel guests to passers-by.

The menu is unashamedly based on classical French cooking "presented in a modern way". In the evening there is a choice of nine starters, 10 main courses and five desserts, with a reduced selection of dishes from the same menu on offer at lunchtimes. Average spend at both lunch and dinner is £35 to £40 with wine.

Chirat is finding his customers still quite traditional in their choice of starters. The best-selling dishes include smoked salmon, blinis and horseradish cream (£7.50) and chargrilled Mediterranean vegetables with focaccia and coppa (£5.75).

In contrast, his personal favourites are escargots in filo pastry basket and garlic butter (£7.50), terrine of foie gras, spiced apple compote and toasted brioche (£11) and fish soup with rouille (£4.95).

It is a similar story with the main courses with the restaurant's customers conservatively sticking to those based on beef, baby chicken and lamb and Chirat preferring to cook the more adventurous fish dishes.

Fish choices include poached halibut with herb hollandaise and cucumber spaghetti (£12.50), pan-fried salmon with caper berries and brown butter (£11.25) and lobster ravioli with a rich bisque sauce (£14.50). "I particularly like the salmon because it's with a light sauce - a warm vinaigrette with caper berries to take away the richness," says Chirat. "The ravioli, in contrast, offers something for those who want something really rich and creamy."

For dessert there is no doubt about the favourite dish: chocolate duo with cherries confit, served with a raspberry coulis (£4). "People just love chocolate in England, no matter how it's made," says Chirat.

Over the coming months his aim is to grow Reflections' number of customers from the current average of 25 at lunchtime and 50 at dinner. And he would like to encourage them to become more adventurous in their tastes.

"You can't go from traditional to modern overnight, so the current menu is a transitional one - not going too far. But in future I'd like to change the menu every two months and really use the products of the season," says Chirat.

Reflections at the Berners Hotel, 10 Berners Street, London W1A 3BE. Tel: 0171-666 1819.