Park Chinois

 Exquisite Chinese banquet

Peking duck with caviar

When you have a big group gathering, Chinese food is a great choice as you are able to follow the classic banquet style, where you can have lots of large plates of food to share. And when it comes to Chinese cuisine, Park Chinois in Mayfair is without a doubt at the very top food-wise. It houses some of the most experienced Chinese cuisine chefs in the UK. I am a big fan of the venue, as I have been visiting a few times every year. I opted for a chef's special banquet-style set menu for my recent visit (19th).

Oxeye

Cutting edge fine dining, Masterchef style 

Wholegrain brioche, confit yolk, caviar

Located in Nine Elm, Oxeyes is former Masterchef Pro winner Sven Hanson Britt's first solo restaurant in London. The tiny restaurant has somewhat an exclusive view about it, located within the Embassy Gardens housing development. Oxeye is a dinner-only venue with 20 covers. Guests are encouraged to enjoy a drink in the waiting area before a waiter would guide you to your table. The concept is largely focused on British ingredients, but the cooking itself has inspiration from around the world, from Japan to Denmark.

Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal

Legend return

Caviar & oyster

When Greenhouse shut down, I was so gutted as Alex Dilling managed to turn Greenhouse into one of the finest restaurants in London. I had eaten at Greenhouse when both talented chefs Antonin Bonnet and Arnaud Bignon were heading up the kitchen, but I enjoy Alex Dilling's period the best. I just found his cooking extremely refined with a high degree of sophistication. It was my top London restaurant along with The Ledbury and Kitchen Table. Now that Alex Dilling is back in London with his own restaurant at Cafe Royal, I was super excited to see what he has to offer. There are 2 tasting menus, using top-level ingredients from around the world. 

Sushi On Jones

Value for money omakase in London

O taro, wagyu and caviar

When you seek proper Japanese sushi done in the traditional authentic way, omakase is the way to go. The concept is similar to a western tasting menu, with the chef deciding what to offer you based on the best ingredients he or she could get hold of. Sushi on Jones from the USA picked on that concept with an 'American fast food' approach, with fast pace sushi done in omakase style, done within an hour. It has set up an overseas site in London, not far from Kingcross tube station inside a food court. Unlike its USA counterpart, the London site sticks to a more traditional approach, with well sourced seafood from all around the world.

Noble Palace

Secret dim sum club

Blue swimmer crab dumpling

High-quality dim sum is hard to come by in London, especially recently with the first generation of Chinese dim sum chefs slowly retiring. My to go to value for money dim sum has to be Gold Mine in London. For high-end, Park Chinois comes to mind, but it is extremely expensive and is a dress-up occasion venue. For something sitting in between, I can't think of a place until Noble Palace launched in the summer. The 'secret' restaurant/club doesn't even have a website, so is kind of a hidden oasis for people in the known. For lunch hours, it offers about 25 kinds of dim sums as al la carte, traditional style but using top-grade ingredients.