The Grill at The Dorchester

Grill at the Rooftop

Beef ribeye, mushrooms, tarragon

My 5th time visiting The Grill at the Dorchester and is a bittersweet visit for sure. After months of lockdown, it was a relief to be able to dine out again, and given at the time of writing, indoor dining is still not possible, Dorchester came up with a brilliant idea of using its rooftop to create a pop-up dining space. The top floor of the hotel offers a stunning view of Hype Park, dining there while watching the sunset made an excellent occasion for a weekend treat. Unlike the standard Grill menu, head chef Tom came up with a more casual, sharing menu with plenty of dishes cooked on the BBQ.

Dim Sum and Duck

 Little Chinese gem in King Cross

Cantonese roasted duck

It has been tough with no proper Chinese food while UK is at full lockdown mode. Unfortunately, all my local Chinese takeaway shops' offering is pretty underwhelming, and travel to China Town seems like a big risk given is very crowded since outdoor dining is a thing. I came across Dim Sum and Duck while I was researching decent restaurants around King Cross for work reasons, and it appears to have very impressive reviews online. The menu is mostly classic Cantonese with a few 'western Chinese' dishes in the mix, the chef-owner used to work in Royal China so I was sure the quality would be decent at least. The dim sum and Cantonese roasted duck are the focal points as you can guess from the name of the restaurant.

Casa Fofo

International small plates flair

Age pollock, kale, lemon

To my surprise, the Michelin guide went ahead and launched the 2021 guide despite most restaurants weren't operating for a large part of 2020, and Casa Fofo was one of the big winners and secured a Michelin star, making it one of the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in London with a fixed price blind tasting menu at £48. You do not know what you be having till the dish arrived at your table, so great if you are not a fussy eater and willing to explore. The food is based on Modern European cuisine style but filled with plenty of International elements, especially from Asia. 

Quality Chop House

Chop life on the street

Middle white pork chop

At last, eating outdoor dining is a reality again. However, considering so many restaurants have no outdoor dining, the demand for a table is high with all of those venues that offer outdoor dining space. For Quality Chop House, the legendary meat focus restaurant is a popular venue at a normal time, and with only outdoor space now, along with only 8 tables available, I was extremely lucky to secure a table on a Saturday night. I have been there a few times and the chops are some of the best you can find in London, not to mention the infamous confit potato. For outdoor seating, the menu has been reduced with no tasting menu on offer, I opted for a selection of starters and mains to share with my party.