On the Menu: Vanilla

“Some people say vanilla is boring,” says Matthieu Destandau, restaurant director of Vanilla, a recent arrival on the London restaurant scene. “But who doesn’t like vanilla? It’s a default flavor, but it can be quite exotic.”

Destandau collaborated on the newly launched restaurant, which is owner David Alberto’s first foodservice enterprise. Destandau, who has worked in catering since he was 16, oversaw the design, working with architects on the lighting, decor and even the white resi