At the table Tom Brown is showing off— and it suits him

Attention is a light that sometimes burns.

- DAVID ELLIS RESTAURANT CRITIC

Understanding this is something the chef Tom Brown and the Capital hotel might recognise in each other.

From the Capital's kitchens men have emerged with their names made - Brian Turner, Gary Rhodes, Éric Chavot-but since Nathan Outlaw left seven years ago, all anyone asks of the restaurant is if it's still there.

Brown's reputation has similarly crested and fallen: once he was on telly all the time, but a stormy marriage years ago and consequent online inferno saw Twitter snipes up in arms any time he dared peek out and fry an egg. He stayed off the box, kept quiet, and last year, his restaurant Cornerstone closed. It's not all bad: he's currently odds-on favourite to beat Thomas Straker in an online chef-off.

His move to the Capital has other, tidier reasons. Brown was Outlaw's protégé, four years in Cornwall, just shy of two here. His return gets him in with the flush Knightsbridge set. They will appreciate the room, especially its exclusivity it admits just 28. Still, a strange crowd in SW3. A couple behind me declined Champagne in favour of warm water in pots. The wellness industry has a lot to answer for.