The Grill at The Dorchester | Restaurant Review

Anyone that knows me knows, that I am a bit of a foodie. I love food. Making it. Eating it. Learning about it. It has to be good food of course, though – I can be a bit of a food snob. We had such a treat this week, to review The Grill at The Dorchester on Park Lane, I was looking forward to it so much.

I met the husband up there the other evening. We were both excited for the experience. There was some TV awards going on that evening just up the road at Grosvenor House, so we saw Nick Knowles, Ant and Dec, Jeremy Kyle and Tom Goodman-Hill while we were walking to it. So fancy! I’m such a northerner in the south – get star struck at the most minor celebrities haha.

The first impressions were amazing! I thought it would be a little side door for the restaurant but no, you walk up trough the main entrance door, past all of the fancy cars and doormen. This makes you feel all special right before you’ve even got there! The staff were all very welcoming and friendly; they couldn’t do enough for us. The restaurant itself was fantastic. Such amazing details and loved the main feature light. It was all quite golden and sparkly – stunning. The lighting was quite low so apologise for the quality of some of the pictures.

Of course the food was the main event so after sitting down and getting drinks, we had a look through the menu. This was an a la carte set menu so there wasn’t massive choice. I could have picked any of them, though, as everything sounded good to me. We were given an amouse bouche, included in the price, while we ordered. It was a nice touch and so delicious.

For starter I chose the beetroot and goat’s curd salad and Mr U chose the octopus salad.

  

We were both very happy with our starters. I love goat’s cheese and beetroot together, and it was just the right amount for a starter. The husband wasn’t sure if he’d like his salad before he ordered but he loved it. There was a chickpea puree with it that brought it all together.

For our main dish, I chose the hake and the husband chose the short rib.

I’ve got to admit, I did get a bit of food envy when they brought the husband’s dish over. They cut the meat of the bone in front of you – very impressive. I did enjoy my dish; the vegetables were lovely and the fish was cooked to perfection. Mixed with mussels it was perfect. I tried a bit of the short rib and it was absolutely divine. It was so tender and flavoursome with that amazing sauce.

For dessert, I chose the lemon tart and the husband chose the hazelnut / chocolate composition.

Neither of them came out how I was expecting but they were both sublime. For mine, there was a crisp meringue shell but then in the centre was the lemon. Even with lemon pieces. It worked wonderfully well with the lemon sorbet too. Mr U loved his dessert (I had to have a cheeky taste of his – for review purposes of course). It was so tasty and also set in meringue. The chocolate and hazelnut working beautifully together.

The service was second to none. The staff were attentive and even came over to refill our water glass for us. The decor and the restaurant setting is luxurious and I felt rather fancy dining there. There was just enough to eat. How they space out the courses, plus give you bread and a little pallet cleanser after the dessert, left us feeling quite full. The worry can be with fine dining restaurants is that you don’t get very much. We didn’t feel that way at all. It was £39 per person for the three courses and champagne each (though I don’t drink). For a special dining experience, I think you do get value for money; the quality of the food is amazing. Plus, I think you pay a little for the fantastic and attentive service too.

The food was amazing though and would certainly visit again. It’s not an everyday kind of restaurant but for special occasions, or just a treat, it would be the perfect place to go.

Have you ever been to the Dorchester? I’d love to hear what you think.

Linking up to Tried & Tested and Tasty Tuesday.

*we dined as guests of Bookatable in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.