Heritage restaurant, Soho review

Steaming pots of fondue, slivers of raclette and hearty plates of rösti are usually the reserve of Alpine-themed winter pop-ups in London. That is, before the arrival of Heritage: London’s first Swiss restaurant, on Soho’s Rupert Street.

Heritage is all about contemporary luxury. Exposed bricks, tan leather and copper accents conjure a cosiness that’s offset by bright Keith Haring prints on the wall. Waiters are handsome, coiffed and attentive. Instead of pungent cheese, the restaurant is scented by boutique perfumer Byredo.

The food and drink reinforce this sense of indulgence - as do the prices. The menu is rich with lobster, wagyu beef and black truffle. The extensive 200-strong wine list, arranged in grape variety rather than region, spans a selection of wines by the glass right up to a bottle of 1982 Petrus that costs close to five figures.

When we went to review on a Thursday evening in August, Heritage was fairly quiet (summer is a surprising time to open a restaurant specialising in molten cheese...). But the diners around us were well-heeled and seemingly well-versed with the wine list.

All the fried potato, melted cheese and red meat might sound ultra rich, but head chef Aarick Persuad combines a delicate touch with theatrical presentation to make comfort food into fine dining. The bread basket is accompanied by whipped, truffle-infused butter and an amuse bouche of creamy cod roe is topped with crunchy puffed pork.

Steak tartare is a spectacle of spices and garnishes that a waiter mixes performatively at the table. The result is about as instagramable as you could ever make slivers of raw meat. Rösti was a highlight. The deep golden potato is delicious enough on its own, but we recommend going all out with the Maple Glazed Swaledale Pork Belly, which is oozing with cheese, covered in salty-sweet bacon lardons and sprinkled with black truffle shavings.

The fondue is a surprisingly dainty affair, served in a small copper pot warmed by a tea light. It’s not quite enough heat to keep the cheese bubbling, so it gets a bit cloying in texture after a while. The baby vegetables are artful enough to banish notions of 70s dinner parties, but the refined set up doesn’t quite capture the bonhomie we remember from languorous ski resort sharing feasts.

For those who want more red meat, the Charbonnade table top grill continues the interactive dining, allowing you to sizzle slivers of chateaubriand for as little or long as desired. It's a tempting prospect, though not on the humid height of summer.

It will be interesting to see how the Alpine flavours feel as tempartures start to plummet. Heritage certainly makes a case for Swiss food, but the elegant aesthetic and steep prices make it very much special occasion territory.