Photo courtesy of Isabel Mayfair
There are 300 polished brass lamps at restaurateur Juan Santa Cruz’s latest venture, Isabel Mayfair on London’s Albemarle Street, infusing a warm glow into the Art Deco space. An intriguing design element up high above the bar, it’s Instagram catnip, but here’s the part we love: those lamps are designed to flatter skin tones.

It’s details like these that speak to Santa Cruz’s Midas touch when it comes to opening hot new spots. The Chile native already has one London It destination under his belt, Casa Cruz in Notting Hill, not to mention two eateries in Buenos Aires — the original Casa Cruz and Isabel, the latter of which is named after his grandmother. They all trade in high glamour currency. The other incredibly thought-out design details at Isabel Mayfair, where Tory held her dinner and after-party celebrating her new Regent Street boutique, include custom jewel-tone carpets, padded silk brocade walls in the downstairs bar and hand-painted bespoke De Gournay wallpaper in the restrooms.

The food, meanwhile, finds its inspiration in Santa Cruz’s travels, a cross of Mediterranean and Argentinian influences: veal ragu gnocchi, arepa pizzette, peppered tuna steak, caramelized pluma Ibérico and aji chicken. And don’t even get us started on the cocktails, which are expertly crafted. But would you expect anything less from someone who eschews tablecloths for pale tanganika wood tables because the light reflected on diners is more becoming?

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