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Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

gavinhanly
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gavinhanly

gavinhanly

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Couldn't find an existing topic for this - so thought I'd add one. The restaurant is still due to open in December - and we had a chance to chat to both Heston and head chef Ashley Palmer Watts last week, both of who were very nice indeed and happy to answer questions about it.

We put together a quick interview with Ashley here: http://www.hot-dinners.com/Features/Articles/preparing-dinner-by-heston-blumenthal-an-exclusive-interview-with-ashley-palmer-watts-mandarin-oriental

Surely the biggest restaurant opening in London this year? And I am keen to know what the "old favourites" are that are coming to the menu.

Hot Dinners - London's Top restaurants, reviewed by the critics and you
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YSL

YSL

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Book lunch March 12th for 4 :)

Ooooh! Just tried again and got that date too :)

Ah, see you there then :)

Indeed! It's my friend's Bday the following day so it may be a nice treat for her :)

(If it's any good, I'll keep the April reservation for my Bday too!)

Brummie Tummy

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SBG

SBG

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Had the pleasure of dining at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal over this past weekend.

As you will all know the restaurant does not open until early in February but they are d

undertaking a 2 week "soft" opening by invitation and my wife and I got the golden envelope.

The interior is stunning as you would expect from the Mandarin Oriental. The menu consists entirely of English food dating back over the last 7 centuries, refreshingly there is not a word of French anywhere - even the word "jus" has been replaced with the word "juice" - this is truly a clebration of English Cuisine. The recipes have all been gleaned by HB from ancient cookery books and some from the royal kitchen records at Hampton Court Palace. Each item on the menu is accompanied by the earliest recorded date that it was known to have been served/created.

The table decor is wood (no white linen table cloths) and a few of the dishes are served on wooden platters. The cultlery was specially designed for the restaurant. The service was impeccable as you would expect.

This is definitely not a Fat Duck 2. I have eaten at The Fat Duck and it was more akin to Culinary Theatre with fine food thrown in rather than just a night out at a fine restaurant. Dinner is a much larger restaurant(105 covers) and so the food is a little more conventional - but only a little. HB definitely does not disappoint. The menu as it stands for the first weeks of opening consists of 8-10 each of starters, mains and desert. Some of the food was absolutely stunning some of it was relatively simple. The Meat Fruit starter is in the shape of a Mandarin Orange and is chicken liver parfait mixed with foie gras - it was the finest example of this pate I have ever eaten. We tried numerous mains but the Beef Royal (slow cooked over 72 hours) was also extraordinary. I also tried the aged Wing Rib which was a superb cut of beef cooked to perfection. The signature desert will definitely be The Tipsy Cake. the spit roasted pineapples turn, gently caramelising, on an upright spit for all the diners to see. The combination of this pineapple and the Tipsy Cake itself was sublime.

Also had the pleasure of meeting HB and can confirm that he was as passionate about his craft as he appears on the TV. For those of you that have a reservation you are in for a real treat.

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MacD

MacD

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Sounds amazing, and it's great to have somewhere focusing on old British food. What about prices?

Also - if "refreshingly there is not a word of French anywhere" - did they translate foie gras as fatty liver ...? ;o)

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ChrisTaylor

ChrisTaylor

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Sounds amazing, and it's great to have somewhere focusing on old British food. What about prices?

Also - if "refreshingly there is not a word of French anywhere" - did they translate foie gras as fatty liver ...? ;o)

Perfect chicken paste with fatty liver? :smile:

Edited by ChrisTaylor (log)

Chris Taylor

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david goodfellow

david goodfellow

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I have a booking on the 10th of feb!

We managed to get a table for two weeks time, although considering that I was on the case for months I'm slightly disappointed not to have gone sooner.

Anyone know if the soft opening was at a discount?

"So many places, so little time"

http://londoncalling...blogspot.co.uk/

@d_goodfellow1

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david goodfellow

david goodfellow

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Would be interested in having a look at a menu as soon as one becomes available.Please post here...pics would be a bonus also.Thanks.

Next week can not arrive soon enough, I am counting the days.

A full report and hopefully great pics on my new Canon S95 point and shoot will quickly follow. :biggrin:

"So many places, so little time"

http://londoncalling...blogspot.co.uk/

@d_goodfellow1

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