Behind The Scenes Of 2 Chic London Hotels

Mr and Mrs Smith Hotel Collection|May 13, 2011 4:07 pm EST

The boutique hotel experts and gallivanting gastronomes at Mr & Mrs Smith certainly know their nibbles. Here is Smith's cinematic selection of two of the UK capital's star culinary performers...

Cutting-Edge Clerkenwell
This patch of east London has become the heart of a restaurant renaissance, with a host of ticklist-topping eateries springing up: St John, the Modern Pantry, Smiths of Smithfield, and now Bistrot Bruno Loubet. The bright, bold hotel it sits in, The Zetter, is all about canny style combinations, and this cutting-edge cleverness extends to the cuisine. Since early 2010, Raymond-Blanc-trained super chef Bruno Loubet has had his name above the Zetter's bistro, and has stamped the modern, mostly French menu with his signature dishes: guinea fowl boudin blanc and upside-down emmental soufflé. Take it from us: the daube is to die for and the rice-pudding pannacotta with marmalade is a playful and delicious culture-clash on a plate.

Bruno took the time to give us a peek into his kitchen and showed us how to whip up his unexpectedly delicious seafood sausage...

Marble Arch

In another part of town, tucked between Bond Street and Hyde Park, The Arch London may be best known as a tech-heavy hideaway for style-savvy business folk, but it's rapidly gaining a rep for its incredible and inventive éclairs too, chouxed up by the hotel's innovative pastry chef. The restaurant itself, HUNter 486 (named after the 1950s dialing code for the Marylebone area), is delicious, but a pastry-enhanced afternoon tea is the real highlight. The éclairs straddle both savory and sweet camps, with an eccentric catalog of flavor options, including Amalfi lemon with biscotti and foie gras and Sauternes.

We asked chef Shane Pearson to show us how to construct the perfect éclair, from the choux pastry foundation to the Veuve Cliquot champagne-infused wild strawberry filling. Get piping!

Join Mr & Mrs Smith as we peek behind the scenes of our favorite bolt holes in the UK capital with these just-filmed videos.