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. 

Foie and Iberico ham

Veal sweetbread

with artichokes and mackerel

The food offering reminds me a lot of the Greenhouse days, with familiar ingredient combinations. The Kaluga caviar course was a plate of seafood heaven, the oyster had a creamy but fresh taste, which worked so well with the richness of the caviar. My no1 dish of the evening was the veal sweetbread, it was roasted to perfection, and it had a suckling pig-like texture with a more buttery taste. The anchovies acted like a seasoning to deliver a powerful savoury note to the gamy taste of the sweetbread. I had nothing but love for the Bresse pigeon, the meat was extremely tender, almost cut like butter with a hint of smokiness, and the truffle element delivered a soft tone of delightful earthiness, I couldn't fault it.

Brill, squid ink and chorizo

Pigeon and truffle

Quince

Alex Dilling has returned in style, with a refined modern French offering that I can see easily landing a Michelin star in the upcoming 2023 guide. I would say the level of detail is a touch below the Greenhouse days but that is to be expected for a brand new launch. Give it some time, I can see it will become one of the finest restaurants in London, easily. The restaurant has only about 30 covers, so be sure to book in advance as I am sure walk-in is extremely unlikely.

Food 4/5


What I paid: 
£250 per head, with wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
£155 (tasting menu)


68 Regent St., London W1B 4DY

https://alexdilling.com/