Please note, Mora is now closed. Time Out eating & drinking editors, March 2017.
Here’s the good news: this plush new restaurant in Marylebone appears to be the sort of place where you’d want to blow your salary. Dark wood, distressed walls and modern metallic interiors? Lush. A bit of Stevie Wonder on the playlist? Spot on. And that regal VIP booth with a curtain to separate you from the riff-raff? It’s like they read my mind. But not all that glitters at Mora is gold, which is a real shame.
Considering the eye-watering prices, the Mediterranean fusion nosh certainly looks the part, but the extraordinary presentation wasn’t always matched by taste. The calamari fritti were, plainly, boring. And scallops with fennel, orange and taggiasche olives were, simply put, bland. Thankfully, the mains stepped up. A pan- roasted chicken fillet with spinach purée was crisp and well-balanced. Equally excellent was a creamy, al dente linguine with lobster and leeks. Staff were attentive but our food still took an age to arrive.
If anything, come to Mora for the cocktails and the desserts. Drinks are a beaut and they do a fantastic crème brûlée. At least that way you’ll get more bang for your big, big bucks.