Brasserie of Light, London W1: ‘It knocked the cynic right out of me’ – restaurant review

A twinkling 1940s Hollywood movie set that doubles as a glitzy brasserie

Almost everything about Brasserie of Light, a new restaurant at Selfridges in London, sounded atrocious. My mistrust of fancy restaurants hastily tagged on to shops is not unfounded. Who wants to pay top whack for a niçoise salad, then grapple their way home tipsily via the casual sports jacket section?

It’s a clash of fine leisure pursuits – shopping and scoffing – that sullies them both. I’m a traditionalist: food in department stores should either be “a nice scone” or “an all-day breakfast, five items for £4”. Not, as it is in this glitzy brasserie, wagyu steaks and hand-dived scallops. Also, my last Selfridges dining experience was in a dire, seaside-themed pop-up on the top floor, where the staff had been press-ganged into wearing Breton tops and deck shoes, as if their suitcases had been misplaced on a cruise and they were clad entirely in items from the gift shop.