Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in London, appears to have fallen foul of the same norovirus that previously closed his Fat Duck restaurant in Bray. So, what better time to write up my norovirus-free experience of the place?
The food at Dinner is apparently inspired by “historic British gastronomy”, meaning that each dish on the menu comes complete with a year of origin next to it, with dishes dating all the way back to 1390.
Our initial impression of Dinner wasn't great – the girls at the reservations desk appeared to be judging my Primark cardigan as if I had turned up for lunch wearing an unwashed dishcloth. However once we entered the restaurant itself, we were met by much friendlier staff who appreciated that people paying nearly £200 for lunch might not like being glared at too much.
We loved the table we were sat at – from my seat I had a great view of Hyde Park on a winter’s day, while my Heston-loving companion Julie had a view of the kitchen (and the not-terribly-unattractive chefs inside).
The cheapest wine on the menu was £25, so a bit different from my usual £5 M&S number, but we ordered it anyway in a fit of extravagance (we don’t get out much) along with some tap water. And then on to the task of ordering food.
For our starter, we both opted for the most Heston-ish thing on the entire menu, the Meat Fruit. Normally, anything called Meat Fruit would cause to me descend into innuendo-mode, but as I found myself in a classy joint I decided to aim for some higher ground. The Meat Fruit is, essentially, pate shaped like an orange – as you do – with a slice of grilled bread on the side.
I had never actually eaten pate before, but as all the other starters seemed to include snails, tails and frogs legs, I was sort of at a loss as to what else to eat. I therefore gingerly spread it on my bread, in fear I had opted for a £17.50 disaster. I was pleased then, to find the Meat Fruit was a beautifully smooth and creamy creation, with the mandarin jelly adding a nice touch of sweetness. Owing to my scaredy-cat spreading of pate on bread, I found I still had over half of my starter left by the time I finished my slice of grilled bread. However, I didn’t even have to ask for another slice – as soon as the waiter saw I had finished, he let me know a second slice was on its way.
While we were eating our starter, the couple next to us was treated to a display of Heston’s famous liquid nitrogen ice cream in the making. A waiter wheeled round his giant ice cream trolley and explained the dish with full theatricality...until the ice cream appeared to curdle, that is. The trolley was then wheeled away and the ingredients refreshed before the couple could finally get to sample their tiny, tiny cone of liquid nitrogen happiness.
On to the main course, where Julie couldn’t quite decide between the roast halibut and cod in cider. Our ever helpful waiter was called upon for a recommendation, and on his advice Julie opted for the cod. We were particularly pleased by this, as he had actually suggested the cheaper of the two dishes – so no pushing of the more expensive meal on the diners. The cod, Julie thought, was creamy, buttery and not dry in the least.
Being the fussier eater of the pair, once again I had some slight difficulty picking my main. I’m not a big fish eater, I didn’t care for the idea of eating pigeon or umbles (entrails, don't you know?) and I didn’t want to spend £42 on steak and chips. I opted then for the slow cooked pork belly with spelt, Robert sauce and black truffle. I would never normally order pork off a menu as it can be a very heavy main, but this was an incredibly light dish and I cleared my plate completely.
We split one order of Heston’s famous triple cooked chips between us. When the dish arrived, I couldn’t help but think how small it looked and how we probably should have ordered one serving each. In the event, there were more than enough chips to go round. The chips themselves were perfectly cooked – crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. Not being a big mushroom fan I avoided the mushroom ketchup that came with them, but Julie thought it was a fantastic addition. It was, apparently, quite sweet for something made from mushrooms and contained tiny chunks of mushroom within.
On to the most important part of any meal – dessert. Julie ordered the caramelised apple tart with Tahitian vanilla ice cream. The tart was shaped to look like an actual apple sitting in cup of puff pastry, and contained a custard centre, while the creamy Tahitian vanilla ice cream helped the cut through the sweetness of the apple.
I, however, ordered yet another signature Heston creation – the tipsy cake. Tipsy cake is a rum soaked brioche and, due to the preparation time, has to be ordered at the beginning of your meal. It arrived in a small, cast iron pot and from the first mouthful I was floating on a happy, rum soaked brioche cloud. The tipsy cake is pure comfort food, right down to the gorgeous custard it’s filled with. It comes with a slice of spit roast pineapple, which might seem like an unusual addition but gives a nice sharp taste that clears your palette in between each rich mouthful.
Not feeling feeing even remotely rushed by the staff, we hung around for tea and coffee after our three courses had finished. My coffee came with frothed milk to pour into it, while the loose-leaf tea came in a lovely clear glass tea pot with built-in strainer. And just in case we weren’t already full enough, we were then presented with Earl Grey tea-infused chocolate ganache and caramelised biscuits. Fortunately, it was just a small serving of ganache so you didn’t feel too greedy for eating it all.
In total, we were at Dinner for almost three and a half hours and at no point were made to feel like we needed to vacate our seats so other diners take our places. By the time we asked for our bill, the sun was setting on Hyde Park and the jelly mould-style lights in the restaurant began to really stand out against the dark wood interior. I would imagine Dinner is much more impressive looking at night time than during the day, when it all looks very neutral and traditional.
Our bill came to around £190, so a pretty pricey lunch but worth it for a one-off treat, we felt. Our only real complaint was that, apart from the meat fruit, nothing on the menu particularly stood out for us compared to the kind of food Heston has on offer at the Fat Duck. It was all very typical gastro-pub fare, though admittedly, very well cooked and very tasty. And expensive. Don't forget expensive.
All of which is why we found the news it had been temporarily closed due to the norovirus outbreak so surprising. It’s hard to imagine any of our well mannered waiters or waitresses wouldn’t be familiar with hand washing techniques, for example. I wouldn’t let that put me off returning to Dinner again, but maybe a little bit more Heston Blumenthal flair could be added along with the clean hands...
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