It's all change at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester where there's a new Executive Chef at the helm. Jean-Philippe Blondet was previously head chef under Jocelyn Herland who has moved to Le Meurice, before taking up his current position. And as it has been four years since we last tried out lunch here at Michelin's most highly starred establishment in the city (along with Restaurant Gordon Ramsay) we figured it was time for another visit.
Lunch last Friday, saw the restaurant packed. And whether you're a first-timer, or one of the many loyal clients who return weekly, there's plenty to choose from. Not only does the restaurant do one of London's great set lunch deals (£60 for three courses, two glasses of wine, coffee and half a bottle of water.) there's also a seasonal Menu de Printemps (£180), a seven course tasting menu (£135) AND the standard a la carte too from which you can pick three courses for £95 or four for £115.
We ended up roaming around all of the menus, to get a feel for what the kitchen was doing and enjoyed both the beautiful food, but also the relaxed service - it's several degrees less formal here than, say, in one of Ducasse's Parisian restaurants. Sommelier Christopher Bothwell made some pretty inspired pairings for us and Blondet's insistence on sourcing spectacular produce from both France and the UK (the Scottish langoustines we had were both HUGE and utterly, utterly divine) means that you're going to have a rather special meal here, whatever menu you go for. Just don't forget to order the rum baba (pictured above) for dessert.
Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester is at The Dorchester, Park Lane, London W1K 1QA. Call 020 7629 8866 to book.
Hot Dinners were invited to Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. Prices were correct at the time of writing.
