Chef Izu Ani's new French restaurant in Knightsbridge

New restaurant La Maison Ani has just opened at The Carlton Tower Jumeirah in Knightsbridge. Taking over the space that formerly housed the Italian restaurant Al Mare, the establishment offers French cuisine with a slight Middle Eastern influence. The restaurant is named after chef Izu Ani, a London native who made a name for himself with a series of restaurants in Dubai.

The à la carte menu offers a choice of three types of caviar, as well as a variety of salads, French onion soup with Gruyere cheese and toasted baguette, beef carpaccio with Parmesan cheese and truffle dressing, seafood risotto with pistachios, fried sea bass fillet in tomato sauce with rice and sumac, and a whole chicken in Perigueux sauce with seasonal truffle.

Desserts include French classics with a twist: vanilla crème brûlée, mango, banana and lime panna cotta, and saffron milk cake with mascarpone ice cream.

The design of the restaurant evokes the atmosphere of Parisian bistros. A small terrace overlooking the gardens will be a great place to relax in the summer.