The menu is short on clams but otherwise big on maximalist American nostalgia: oysters Rockefeller (a classic that hails from legendary Antoine’s in New Orleans), scallops Casino (a turn-of-the-century New England invention drowned in garlicky butter and pangrattato) and a truly joyful prawn cocktail (thought to be created by a Californian gold rush miner), its plump crustaceans bowing gracefully towards a duo of seafood and chilli sauces. Order the Pacific-blue daiquiri and poke bowl and transport yourself to a mid-century Honolulu honeymoon.
Chef Sam Galloway, who’s migrated from his post at Bistrot, and his team cook New York strip or porterhouse over a Josper grill to medium rare by default, with a choice of classic sauces and condiments: Diane, béarnaise, horseradish and more. A purringly smooth corn and Gruyère gratin, which gets a Tex-Mex twist of chilli and lime, gives Neil Perry’s titan of the creamed corn genre at Margaret a run for its money. The eponymous clams – vongole from South Australia – make their best appearance on top of a plate of spaghetti, as exactingly al dente as any pasta you’ll find at Pellegrino. And there’s even a squishy cheeseburger, adapted from its original incarnation at Bistrot. Desserts read “dialled-up diner”: all cheesecakes and sundaes buried in gloriously excessive clouds of Chantilly cream.
