La Petite Maison, 54 Brooks Mews London, W1

I have the original La Petite Maison in Nice to thank for the best meal I have ever eaten in the South of France. Everyone told me to eat there, but they didn't tell me that it would be full of rich, fat, bald people eating truffles, and that I would be placed at a table so cramped that one leg has never fully recovered.

I fled around the corner and discovered the wonderful La Merenda, where I ate fiercely seasonal poutine (tiny local fish) on toast followed by tripes Niçoise with a local rosé. For £50.

So I never discovered what drew the rich and famous such as Elton John, and Nicolas Sarkozy to La Petite Maison, but Arjun Waney obviously did. The co-owner of Zuma and Roka is such a fan he decided to reproduce the original in downtown Mayfair, with the agreement, if not financial involvement, of the owners, and with Zuma senior chef, Raphael Duntoye, in the kitchen. It's a light, white wedge of a corner site, the windows discreetly frosted and the awnings down. The interior is suffused with natural light, the clothed tables precisely set with fine cutlery and, as in Nice, fresh Provençal vegetables. Salads and cold dishes are prepped at a small bar in front of the glassed-in kitchen, like a French-style sushi bar.

The menu is a breath of fresh Niçoise air for London, though sadly with Cote d'Azur prices. It's a typically South of France mix of the rustic and the sophisticated, the French and the Italian, with tapenade, artichokes, lentils, fish, seafood, pasta and grilled meats all present and correct. Ordering should be easy, but it isn't, because the instruction here is to share.

A black leg chicken with foie gras at £35, I can share, but how do you divide an indivi-dually plated grilled veal chop, or turbot with artichokes? And what happens when you order a pissaladière tart (£4.50) that is so disarmingly gorgeous - the onions sweet, the olive and anchovy garnishes chic, the base crisp, the smell divine - that you'd kill anyone who took more than a slice?

A finely sliced, bright-tasting octopus "terrine" dressed with confit lemon, garlic and olive oil (£12) is clever, if over-priced, and the famous petits farcis Niçoise (£7) of stuffed aubergine, courgette and tomato have a deliciously light farce. The veggies are too big, however. They should be small enough to be stuffed whole, not cut into sections - a reminder of how far Mayfair is from the Cours Saleya market in Vieux Nice.

The wine list is perfectly pitched for its (private) jet-set clientele, with not much for ordinary folk to get excited about under £35. Offering a page of Provençal rosés is a nice touch. At £38, a Domaine Richeux Cuvée Tradition is a dense, somewhat lacklustre red. My neighbour drinks better, but then, he just bought a country pile in Sussex for £6m. It's all about location, apparently.

This sharing thing is starting to annoy me. We are given cold plates on which to place our warm roast baby chicken (coquelet) with lemon confit (£16) and roast turbot with artichokes (£23). Bad luck if you don't want fish and chicken on the same plate. The chook is tender, under a dense marinade of preserved lemon that imbues it with sunshine. The turbot is a thick cut, in an meaty jus, rich with Mediterranean vegetables and chorizo. A small dish of potato gratin (£3.50) is overly soft and creamy. To finish, a melon ball and strawberry soup (£7) topped with melon cream topping (and served with hot share plates) is suitably summery in an old-fashioned way.

The kitchen is already working well; the Niçoise cooking is simple and likeable; and I'll be back for more pissaladière, but without the sharing thing, thanks. It's just a pity the association with Nice doesn't extend to getting fresh Provencal produce, as I think Duntoye could do wonders with it. Perhaps Mr Waney would consider bringing the Cours Saleya market to London as well? n

14/20

SCORES 1-9 STAY HOME AND COOK 10-11 NEEDS HELP 12 OK 13 PLEASANT ENOUGH 14 GOOD 15 VERY GOOD 16 CAPABLE OF GREATNESS 17 SPECIAL, CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK 18 HIGHLY HONOURABLE 19 UNIQUE AND MEMORABLE 20 AS GOOD AS IT GETS

La Petite Maison, 54 Brooks Mews London W1. Tel: 0207 495 4774. Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday. Around £120 for two, including wine and service

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