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Claude’s

Dining at Claude’s can be such a fan-dance of surprise and incongruity that it’s almost a shame to give the game away in discussing it. The humble façade to the small, elegant terrace hints as little at the complexity of what goes on here as the menu. The dish descriptions and their brevity are a ruse of sorts. Little do you expect “crisp quail galette” to translate to a tranche of perfect breast and a quail dumpling enriched with black fungus and pig’s ear under a fine wafer of rice crisp. Soufflé à la Suissesse, conversely, is exactly as advertised, as lush and light a double-cooked cheese soufflé as you’ll find. The thrill of these post-colonial, offal-sprinkled adventures have been sometimes muddied by over-thinking, but greater focus and clarity, as well as a new levity (especially on the floor and in wine service), have given Claude’s new savour. Serious diners: this one’s made for you.