Restaurant review, Green Man and French Horn, London.

I didn't do too much research before setting off for lunch at Green Man and French Horn. All I knew – all I needed to know – before piling in to this Covent Garden newcomer at the earliest opportunity was that a) it's the latest opening from those clever young chaps behind Terroirs, and b) they are very good at creating fine places to eat.

I assumed their latest, a converted pub on St Martin's Lane, would follow in the tradition of Terroirs, their rebooted wine bar and the local heroes it spawned, Brawn and Soif, all built around a winning formula of natural wines and meaty, French-inspired food.

But there's something different about the Green Man. There, on the arty, hand-drawn menu, nestling among the rillettes and roasts, is seafood. And several varieties of fish. And vegetables. What the foie? Could it be that those butch boys have gone all girly…?

In fact, their latest venture is inspired by a specific terroir – the Loire. Ah yes, the Loire. (Rummages through bluffer's guide under the table.) What do we know about the Loire? They make wine around those parts. It's a river – possibly the biggest river in France? It kind of goes up the middle and round to the side [citation needed].

While most of us could probably muster up a few rudimentary facts about the cuisine of Provence, Bordeaux or Lyon, the Loire doesn't have a distinct culinary rep. It covers an enormous swathe of France, from the mountains of the Cevennes to the Bay of Biscay. But, as we have established, it's a river, which accounts for the menu's fishy leanings.

Head chef Ed Wilson has taken regional produce as a jumping-off point, rather than faithfully reproducing traditional recipes. There was an ascetic simplicity to a whole grilled mackerel, immaculately fresh – the skin glistening, the rich, dark flesh falling sweetly from the bone – which came naked to the table with nothing but an acidulous tangle of pickled cucumber. A heap of tiny brown shrimp tumbled from a mimosa fluff of grated egg white and yolk, with some silky, sour-sweet leeks vinaigrette. This is modern British cooking, rather than old-fashioned French.

From that day's menu we could also have feasted on clams with coco beans, sardines à la plancha, or lemon sole with seaweed butter. Earthier options included rabbit braised with salsify in Normandy cider, roast partridge with ceps and pickled walnuts, and an inspired partnership of girolles with sautéed artichoke heart and a single, shimmering egg yolk. How any of these dishes fit in with the Loire theme, I have no idea – but as we've established, the Loire covers a large area, so they could put pretty much anything on the menu apart from haggis, and we'd have gone along with it.

Read more at http://www.independent.co.uk