Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester

Alain Ducasse’s London outpost inside the Dorchester on Park Lane has held three Michelin stars since 2010, and the room was substantially reimagined in January 2020 into a brighter, more contemporary space than the original, moving away from heavy formality towards something a little more modern in feel, if certainly not in price, which has stayed resolutely at the very top of the market. Natural light floods the redesigned room during lunch service, a deliberate departure from the darker, more clubbable dining rooms typical of this level of French cooking in London. Views out over Hyde Park from the window tables are an underrated part of the experience that some diners overlook entirely.

The cooking centres on French technique applied to the best British and French ingredients available: native lobster, foie gras served with borage flowers, a dedicated vegetarian tasting menu built around dishes like fermented green asparagus with morel mushrooms, and throughout, Ducasse’s signature rum baba, a dessert prepared and finished tableside that regulars specifically return for on repeat visits.

Both a five and seven course tasting menu are offered alongside a three-course set menu at lunch for anyone wanting a shorter, lighter visit, with the full tasting experience priced around £300 per head before wine, and wine pairings adding anywhere from roughly £145 up to £500 depending on the level chosen from the cellar. The room seats a modest number of covers relative to the size of the kitchen brigade behind it, which helps explain the level of polish on every plate that reaches the table.

Service is drilled to the standard the three stars demand, precise and unobtrusive throughout a long meal, in a room that photographs well without tipping into showiness, which suits the hotel’s overall register of understated Mayfair wealth rather better than a more theatrical dining room might.

The honest caveat: this is a restaurant built entirely around a long, formal, expensive tasting menu format, and diners who prefer more flexibility or a shorter, less ceremonial meal are genuinely better served by one of the Dorchester’s other, more relaxed dining rooms instead.