Dinner by Heston, London, UK

Mandarin Oriental has made some brilliant dining choices lately. After opening Bar Boulud and the highly anticipated Dinner by Heston in London, Mandarin Oriental has appointed Thierry Marx, the Bruce Willis of nouvelle cuisine to head its Paris branch (opening 28 June).

Due to open in February, the new restaurant of the famous Fat Duck head chef has quickly been fully booked until summer. Since I had been calling Mandarin Oriental since December 2010 in order to secure a table, we were lucky enough (and persistent) to get a booking for the second week after the opening. (And Yes, we are in June, which means that it took me a mere 4 months to write the review...and the menu may have changed since.)

To start, I had a delicious saffron risotto. The rice was cooked to perfection with and intense but not overwhelming saffron flavour. It came with small bites of calf tail that were melting in the mouth. A delicate and fragant dish.

Rice and flesh

The broth of lamb was very good as well with a slow cooked egg, celery, radish, turnip and sweetbreads. It was an interesting combination of textures in a tasty broth.

Broth of lamb

The beef royal came with a very soft puree, and bites of ox tongue. It was maybe one of the least original dishes on the menu but was well done.

Beef royal

The pigeon was a marvel. Once again, the meat was perfectly cooked and had a fabulous spicy ale jus.

Spiced pigeon

We shared a platter of British cheeses, which were good but I still prefer French cheeses (think melting Epoisses, creamy Brillat-Savarin or aged Beaufort with salt crystals...)

British cheese

The poached rhubarb dessert was brillant and had a perfectly balance of sweetness and tartness.

Poached rhubarb

I liked less the taffety tart, as I found that the blackcurrant was overpowering. And as a matter of fact, the taffety tart was too tart.

Taffety tart

To finish our meal we had a complimentay Earl grey ganache that was creamy, sweet, and with an intense tea flavour.

Earl grey ganache

We had a very pleasant time at Dinner, eating lovely food with view on the park. We were not as amazed as at the Fat Duck, but we have not been disappointed by the quality of the food at Dinner by Heston. The attention given to each of the dishes gave them the same perfection in terms of flavour and cooking we had experienced at the Fat Duck.

Cost:

Starter: £12.50-£16

Main: £20-£36

Dessert: £8-£10