The Capital Hotel, Apartments & Townhouse
There is a particular breed of London hotel that operates on an entirely different frequency from the grand dames that dominate the city. The Capital, a unique offering of hotel rooms and suites and apartments across interconnected townhouses tucked away on Basil Street in Knightsbridge, is precisely that sort of place. BY SAMANTHA READY
Quietly perfecting the art of understated luxury since David Levin opened it in 1971, The Capital has often been described as a ‘grand hotel in miniature,’ while also claiming to have coined the term ‘boutique hotel’ long before anyone else was using it. Having stayed, I’m inclined to believe them.
Now part of the Warwick Hotel & Resorts portfolio, a family-run group founded in 1980 with the acquisition of New York’s historic Warwick Hotel, The Capital has retained everything that made it special under the Levin family’s stewardship while also striving to raise the hospitality bar. It’s a member of both Small Luxury Hotels of the World and Pride of Britain Hotels, and the sense of being somewhere special hits you from the moment you ascend the steps and cross the threshold.
Less overwhelming international hotel and more private, secluded residence it offers just 73 guest bedrooms across its apartments, townhouse and main hotel, all of which – newly refurbished this spring – are individually designed and decorated with original artwork and antique furniture. Guests looking for a longer stay can opt for one of the 11 Capital Apartments, offering self-catered kitchens as well as the benefit of accessing all of the hotel’s facilities.
Our deluxe king room was a nod to classic British design in keeping with townhouse style. Think muted colour palettes offset with pops of rich accents, beautiful cornicing and ceiling roses and marble bathrooms. Rather than being merely decorated, the spaces feel more lived in and welcoming, creating the atmosphere that makes it easy to understand why the hotel boasts a wealth of returning guests and is also popular with our cousins across the pond who love the grand London living paired with convenient positioning.
The location is notably first class: a stone’s throw from Knightsbridge tube station, boasting Harrods and Harvey Nichols as neighbours, and a short jaunt from Sloane Street, the V&A, the Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park.
And so is the dining. One of the main draws for many is The Capital’s acclaimed dining, currently Tom Brown at The Capital, which claimed its Michelin star this year and marked a homecoming for one of Britain’s most exciting contemporary chefs.
Brown, originally from Cornwall, covered in tattoos and a frequent visitor to Kent’s coast particularly for gigs at Dreamland, first made his name here as head chef of Nathan Outlaw’s restaurant at The Capital from 2016 – 2018, retaining their coveted Michelin star. He then opened his own acclaimed Cornerstone in Hackney Wick in 2018, earning a star within a year. After its closure in 2024, Brown returned to The Capital in April 2025, and in February 2026, his eponymous restaurant earned its star. As one might expect, his latest offering continues to have cooking rooted in British produce, particularly seafood, driven by precise technique and a modern approach to flavour that has had both critics and guests genuinely excited.
The dining room, which is adjacent to a lovely bar area that by day is perfect for afternoon tea and by night becomes a celestially bedecked speakeasy style bar, seats just 28. Intimate without feeling cramped, it boasts high ceilings, stunning windows, soft green tones and bold wallpaper that creates an atmosphere of refined calm.
Instead of opting for the taster menu, which is not only a perfect example of Brown’s signature cookery, but also one of the few proudly pescatarian Michelin taster menus in the country, we choose instead to opt for the á la carte menu (I know, I know, lesson learnt!), but never fear, it was also incredible.
We began with snacks, because with Brown even snacks are serious business. Mackerel pâté delivered a dish of glorious fish laced with cider for gentle acidity, cucumber for crunch and dill for herbaceous brightness. But the hash brown stole the show. Playful genius, it was crisp-edged potato meets earthy sweetness of artichoke offset with the umami depth of nori.
Starters arrived with theatre. The bream tartare with quail egg, radish and soy was pristine raw fish of obvious quality, with richness from the egg, peppery crunch from the radish and savoury depth from the soy. It was the accompanying teapot of shellfish and blood orange broth poured tableside, however, that elevated the dish into something more memorable still. The new spring dish of quail showcased Brown’s range. Game bird cooked to retain its delicate flavour, cuttlefish adding meaty, smoked texture and gentle brine, blood orange providing acidity and natural sweetness, all brought back down thanks to the characteristic bitterness of the radicchio.
Mains demonstrated why Brown has built his reputation on seafood. The John Dory with white asparagus, spinach and roast chicken sauce was extraordinary, the fish cooked to that precise point where it is just set, flaking in pure white shards with a buttery-crisp exterior. White asparagus brought gentle sweetness, spinach added earthy depth and the roast chicken sauce (because of course there’s roast chicken sauce with fish – this is Tom Brown) provided savoury richness that tied everything together with brilliant logic (and had me wanting to lick the plate).
The Hereford beef with oyster, celeriac and stout gravy was equally accomplished; quality beef cooked to perfect medium-rare, the oyster adding its particular marine sweetness, celeriac providing earthy sweetness and stout gravy bringing malty, rich depth.
Dessert took Mr R and I in our respective savoury/sweet preferred directions. Adam opted for the mille-feuille of Baron Bigod with apple caramel, that glorious Suffolk Brie layered between crisp pastry and apple caramel adding sweetness to offset the cheese’s gentle funk. It was savoury-sweet brilliance, the sort that makes you question whether cheese belongs at the end of a meal or whether it always should have been dessert. Arguably though, it was my sticky toffee Madeleines with rum caramel and clotted cream ice cream that offered the perfect closing statement. Classic shell-shaped French cakes reimagined with sticky toffee pudding soul, hints of booze and a gentle tang, I was delighted to find a couple left over on the breakfast buffet the next day and snared those, too. Playful, technically impressive and deeply satisfying, perhaps a fitting bio for Brown and a statement that encapsulates an entire stay and dining experience at The Capital.
As I walked back through the lobby afterwards, past original artworks and nods to the building’s past, I understood completely why The Capital endures. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t need to. With Tom Brown in the kitchen cooking some of the most exciting food in London and a hotel that understands that luxury is as much about atmosphere as amenities, this is Knightsbridge at its very best, a grand hotel in miniature that punches above its weight.
