So I finally got my birthday gift, lunch at Heston Blumenthal's London restaurant Dinner. It was a different experience, starting with four doormen on the steps into the Mandarin Oriental... On entering this hotel I was surprised to find it really quite dark and a bit underwhelming. What was particularly disconcerting was the fact that there was no indication where you should go and I felt out of place until we turned to the girl at the top of the stairs for help. The staff at the welcome desk were lovely and they directed us to the bar, to keep costs down we stuck to water (cocktails started at £18). However I was feeling edgy as more than 30mins after our booking we were still in the bar with no idea whether someone would come and get us or whether we were supposed to go in...
We had a lovely table and I had a fab view of the park behind, the restaurant was lovely and light and I loved the jelly mould lights. The sommelier was friendly, but she didn't really offer us any assistance with the extensive and pricey wine list but we each had a lovely a lovely glass of white; sauvignon blanc (me) and dry reisling (P). Knowing before we arrived that I was having dessert we decided to skip starters and go straight in with the main. I had the black foot pork chop with red wine and robert sauce, I ordered a delicious mixed leaf and tomato salad on the side. The meat was served slightly pink, was incredibly tender, moist and full of flavour, the verdict delicious. P opted quite bravely for sea bass in cockle sauce with new potatoes and was unfortunately disappointed. The sauce was slimy and overly vinegary, the fish was flavourless and worst of all the potatoes were undercooked!!!
But on to dessert, we were disappointed that no one offered us a drink to accompany dessert, however the tipsy cake pre-ordered on arrival did not disappoint... Unfortunately P once again was unlucky with the Taffety Tart which was just a bit lacklustre. So back to my dessert, the pineapple cut through the sugar on the cake bit, a glazed brioche in a subtly alcoholic sauce, you have to order this if you are visiting dinner. We closed the meal with a fresh mint tea and the complementary post dessert of an overly sweet white chocolate ganache with a caraway biscuit, luckily P did like this and polished off both of them.
In summary, I'm really glad we went but I don't think we'll be going back, not unless the price drops significantly. On the other hand, his pub Hind's Head in Bray was fantastic and seemed more comfortable for the beginner Heston dinner, although you will need a designated driver to get there and home
We had a lovely table and I had a fab view of the park behind, the restaurant was lovely and light and I loved the jelly mould lights. The sommelier was friendly, but she didn't really offer us any assistance with the extensive and pricey wine list but we each had a lovely a lovely glass of white; sauvignon blanc (me) and dry reisling (P). Knowing before we arrived that I was having dessert we decided to skip starters and go straight in with the main. I had the black foot pork chop with red wine and robert sauce, I ordered a delicious mixed leaf and tomato salad on the side. The meat was served slightly pink, was incredibly tender, moist and full of flavour, the verdict delicious. P opted quite bravely for sea bass in cockle sauce with new potatoes and was unfortunately disappointed. The sauce was slimy and overly vinegary, the fish was flavourless and worst of all the potatoes were undercooked!!!
But on to dessert, we were disappointed that no one offered us a drink to accompany dessert, however the tipsy cake pre-ordered on arrival did not disappoint... Unfortunately P once again was unlucky with the Taffety Tart which was just a bit lacklustre. So back to my dessert, the pineapple cut through the sugar on the cake bit, a glazed brioche in a subtly alcoholic sauce, you have to order this if you are visiting dinner. We closed the meal with a fresh mint tea and the complementary post dessert of an overly sweet white chocolate ganache with a caraway biscuit, luckily P did like this and polished off both of them.
In summary, I'm really glad we went but I don't think we'll be going back, not unless the price drops significantly. On the other hand, his pub Hind's Head in Bray was fantastic and seemed more comfortable for the beginner Heston dinner, although you will need a designated driver to get there and home
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