Lunch at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal Review

I’ve been watching (and read) everything Heston has made since Kitchen Chemistry on the Discovery Channel and have just counted down until the day I could eat at one of his restaurants. The closest I’ve come until now was the scrambled egg ice cream with candied bacon and toast with tomato jam from the Fat Duck Cookbook that Mrs. made for me one birthday. So when I heard that he would open a restaurant in central London it made the whole logistical bit way easier for someone not living in UK.

While some may feel a little bit underwhelmed by the concept of Dinner, certainly in combination with its two Michelin stars, and expect Heston to go all-in and create the wildest dishes imaginable (or even beyond imaginable), I really feel and believe that this is his chance to show another side of himself. The concept has more in common with the New Nordic kitchen where ingredients are treated with respect and dishes are based on traditional use of local produce (even though this leaves quite a lot to be explored, just look at Noma). All of the dishes have some kind of historic inspiration and connection that the staff can tell more about.

Arriving to Dinner

We were a little bit early for our 12:15 reservation and was told that they were just starting up for the day so we could sit in the Mandarin Bar while everything got ready. Somewhere around here it must’ve been a misunderstanding since we declined ordering drinks in the bar while we waited and the maître d’ was waiting for us to finish drinks we hadn’t ordered before seating us. 25 minutes after we arrived (10 minutes after we had our reservation) we asked what was going on and was promptly seated when they realized that we were all waiting for each other.

Dining room at Dinner by Heston

The dining room.

The main room is big with large windows looking out into Hyde Park that also fills the room with natural light. The overall styling is very sophisticated with dark wood and leather contrasting light walls and roof with a few whimsical elements thrown in, there are lamp shades in the form of cake forms on the walls, for example. There’s ample room between the tables and nice acoustics in the room. Having one of the first lunch slots meant that the room was quite empty when we arrived with an overall low amount of noise but still without getting the feeling that everything you say carry out into the entire room. As the day progressed the volume got louder but never to the point where you have to raise your voice to reach across the table. There were all kinds of guests eating at Dinner, from single businessmen to families and other foodies. The waiters were very relaxed and open but still attentative and professional.

As can be expected the wine list is a small book and the they have a good selection of wines available by the glass. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you see it) these wines seems to be chosen based on how good they match the food and not how good overall value they provide, most are quite expensive (£22 for a glass of Pinot Noir for the pigeon, for example) but turned out to be outstanding matches and really good wines.

Meat Fruit

Perhaps the signature dish of Dinner is the Meat Fruit, served only with the description «don’t eat the leaves, they are for decoration only, the rest is up to you to explore». For those curious it’s a foie gras parfait inside a mandarin-based gel shell served with an oiled and grilled slice of sourdough bread. It’s quite similar in concept to the foie gras in mango wrapper served at Dahlgren while also nodding to the classic way of eating liver mousse with toast. Those who’s seen “Heston’s Fantastical Feasts” has seen a version of it in the 60’s episode (“Duck a l’Orange”) but this one traces its roots much further back in history, to the 1500’s.

I expected the mandarin to be much more prevalent and cut off much sharper, but like the rest of the dishes it’s all about subtlety, harmony and sublime balance. The parfait is rich, velvety smooth and very indulgent. At a glance it might seem like a very simple dish, but when eating it the three basic components can be mixed and matched or enjoyed by themselves transforming it in a number of ways while highlighting different aspects. I’ve seen other reviews where the toast was borderline charred (and actually burnt) but not so this time, like the rest of the dishes it was prepared to the uttermost perfection.

Halfway eaten Meat Fruit at Dinner by Heston

Chicken liver and foie gras parfait inside the shell of the Meat Fruit.

For mains we had the Spiced Pigeon and Cod in Cider. The pigeon was one of the more elaborately looking dishes (most other are deceptively simple in their plating) and once again I was struck with how every component is cooked to perfection and how well they work with each other. Nothing on the plate was overpowering and everything just work so well with the other bits. The meat was very tender, borderline soft, and juicy due to sous vide preparation. The skin not rubbery but not crunching crisp either, by design they leave it a little soft to better work with the rest of the dish. It was served with a little reduction in a separate container that was so packed of flavor that I actually enjoyed the dish more without it, maybe two drops on the plate would’ve been perfect but the vessel made it too easy to drench the plate and overpower all of the other delicate flavors.

The cod was wonderfully fishy with a nice little crust but still cooked to uttermost perfection. Served a little below what most people would call hot to keep it from disintegrating it was another lesson in how to properly prepare the protein.

One of Heston’s defining dishes is the triple cooked chips so we naturally had to order those as well even though they weren’t really a match for any of our mains. We got ‘em with the home made mushroom ketchup (served a little late, but didn’t matter since we enjoyed them more on their own) and they were almost everything we’d hoped for. While nice big and chunky with the most mesmerizing crunch possible the inside was not really as fluffy as I’d expected. Maybe potatoes with just the right amount of moisture aren’t in season in April, what do I know. Anyway, they are still by far the best chips I’ve ever had, just not perfect.

For dessert we had another of their signature dishes, the Tipsy Cake, and a Brown Bread Ice Cream. The Tipsy Cake is a brioche baked with some kind of brandy and cream sauce served with a piece of spitroasted pineapple. It was smooth and seductive while reminding of my mums sponge cake with vanilla- and buttercream in the middle, only taken to the nth degree in execution. From the outside though it looks just like any other sponge cake in a little skillet.

The brown bread ice cream is a vastly more complex dish, where each little component mixes sweet with salt and savory to provide an veritable explosion with each bite.

Everything I could have hoped for

Dinner was everything I could have hoped for but didn’t quite wow me in the way Sage in Las Vegas or Vincents in Riga did. I think a big reason for this has to do with expectations and surprise, I had read reviews, looked at photos and pretty much made up my mind of what to eat at Dinner long before we even got there. Another reason is that Dinner doesn’t make extravagant dishes; it’s a much more subtle experience with a lot of substance behind the dishes and perfect execution. Sort of like a Patek Philippe if we compare it to something outside the culinary world. I can’t wait to go back and explore the menu further.

Mains: £28-42; Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, England; Mon-Sun 12-14:30 and 18:30-22:30; Reservations are neccessary; http://www.dinnerbyheston.com/