Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal

Star in the making

 

Roasted chicken stuffed with foie and mushrooms

Launched back in September 2022, Alex Dilling was already outstanding when I visited when it just opened. Of course, it is easier when he already operated at such a high level back in the Greenhouse days with 2 Michelin stars under his belt. His first solo project inside Cafe Royal hotel is for sure a big deal for any serious foodies. What really makes Alex cooking stands out is his highly technical skills and imagination, when combined with the finest ingredients, you will get something really special.

The Ledbury

State-of-the-art fine dining

 

Veal sweetbread, black garlic and white truffle

I kept finding myself back at The Ledbury but for good reason. There are so many new fine dining openings in 2022 but for sure there are some pretty average places that charge silly price tags. Sometimes, classic revisit trump over new fancy openings and when we talk about classic, The Ledbury is for sure the 1 for most foodies' minds if you ask any 1 their no 1 fine dining restaurants in London. This is the case for me too. Since reopening in early 2022, it serves only a tasting menu, but they are very adaptable to adjust if guests give them notice in advance.

The Grill at The Dorchester

 Next-level British fine dining

Piegon, truffle, cep walnut

For modern fine British cuisine but without too many gimmicks or 'progressive concepts', I always find The Grill at Dorchester to be an excellent choice, lead by head chef Tom Booton, who was the head chef at the Michelin-starred Alyn Williams, The Grill is all about British cuisine with a modern touch, but remain true to its heritage. You will find things such as beef tartare and bread & butter pudding on the menu. The below captured my recent 2 visits in winter (7th and 8th), I was more or less able to sample the whole a la carte menu with a few hungry friends together.

Park Chinois

Top-level Chinese fine dining

Duck de chine

If you ask me to suggest a top-level Chinese restaurant in London when money is not an issue, Park Chinois will always be my answer. There is a reason why this is the most visited Chinese restaurant in London for me, the cooking, while it does has a touch of creativity, stays true to Cantonese cooking heritage and style, turning out perhaps the finest Chinese cuisine you can find in the whole of Europe. For my 20th visit, I went for some house classics from its a la carte menu, as these are classics for a reason...

Noble Palace

Chinese luncheon in style

Soup dumpling stuffed with seafood

The hidden gem Noble Palace slowly is becoming one of my top Chinese dining venues in London. It shied away from promoting itself much and remain a low-key restaurant, but the food offering is anything but low-key. The cooking style is Cantonese cuisine in essence, but with a refined vibe using top-quality British ingredients, such as Cornish crab and Scottish scallops. it would cost north of £100 easily for dinner, but lunch is much more manageable with its dim sum menu. Below captured my recent 2 lunch occasions, from my 6th and 7th visit. I sampled a range of dim sum from its a la carte menu, as well as some special lunch items I ordered ahead.