My first impression is positive, based on a warm reception and the dining room’s intricate Moorish decor and cosily busy atmosphere. Our server leads us to a table at the back where my only complaint is the number of mirrored walls. Other than that, my partner and I are pleased to be at a roomy corner table decked in all-white linens, while soft rock music sets the tone for what is to be a really enjoyable evening. Here’s the catch with a non-touristy place, though: The menu is half in French, half in Arabic.

Now of course, the venerable institution that is Le Greenwich has undergone a much-publicised makeover, and not everyone is enamoured with the new set-up, least of all chess obsessives;who had been playing in the Greenwich for decades and who, since the revamp, have found themselves relegated to a back room.

All efforts to review The Messenger without alluding to the band that made Johnny Marr one of the most revered guitarists of all time have proved futile. And in a way he only has himself to blame: while Morrissey has a dozen post-break-up albums to his name, and is therefore justified in feeling aghast at only ever hearing about the Smiths, this actually is Marr’s first solo album proper (2003’s Boomslang was credited to Johnny Marr + The Healers).