For truly exquisite fine dining, there are few cities that can give London a run for its money. It hosts some of the most famous, decorated and respected restaurants in the world, not to mention some of the greatest chefs in the world, too. Here, we take a look at some of the best eateriesin the areas covered by LondonNights, the online hotel booking service, in the culinary capital of the world:
The Square
The Square in Mayfair is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and it is still co-owned by the same chef as it was on the day it opened its doors. Phillip Howard continues to uphold his high standards at The Square, having gained and retained two Michelin stars during his time there, with the enduring help of his dedicated head chef, Robert Weston. The French seasonal cuisine is amongst the finest of fine dining in Europe. Unsurprisingly, The Square also keeps anextraordinary cellar, which issupported by the sommeliers’ sterling knowledge and advice about the wines they have down there.With exceptional service and a delectable menu, which currently includes a salad of Cornish squid and beef with CepePersillade, it is hard to look past this restaurant for the sheer quality of its indulgent dining experience.
Hibiscus
This Soho-based eatery was this year voted into the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Its head chef, Claude Bosi, opened the restaurant in 2000 in Shropshire and took no more than a year to win his first Michelin star. Hibiscus now lives in London and boasts two stars as it continues to attract and delight some of the world’s best food critics. Aside from the very high standard French cuisine, the atmosphere in Hibiscus is undoubtedly one of its greatest attractions.Many people return for a second visit to bask in the ambience and relish its experimental and seasonal menu time and time again.
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester
Alain Ducasse, who mentored Claude Bosi of Hibiscus, is truly a chef of the world. Born and raised on a farm in France, he now has 27 restaurants around the globe and a respectable total of 15 Michelin stars to demonstrate his virtuosity. His restaurant in The Dorchester, one of the most famous hotels in the world, holds three of those stars. Ducasse’s mastery of food is plain for all to taste as much as his obsession with immaculate interior décor is plain for all to see. The service, the ambience and, most importantly, the quintessentially French cuisine is very close absolute perfection at this world famous Mayfair restaurant.
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay sits proudly as one of only two triple-Michelin starred restaurants in London – the other being Alain Ducasse’s spot, mentioned above.Not only that: it is, indeed, London’s longest-running triple-starred restaurant. The shouting chefnotoriously runs a tight ship and it shows in the quality of his kitchens. This particular one, based in Chelsea, offers some of the most mouth-watering courses in the capital, such as the roasted line-caught turbot with English asparagus, morels and wild rocket risotto.The varied and somewhat extravagant menu will most certainly not leave you disappointed.
Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley
The chef from Lancashire holds two Michelin stars at his restaurant in The Berkeley and is gunning for a third. For many years – fifteen, in fact – he cut his teeth under Gordon Ramsay, but since that spat, he has worked to establish his own name in the culinary world. At The Berkeley, his name is well and truly made and it continues to spread across the world. The menu at The Berkeley focuses on Wareing’ssophisticated brilliance with French and, furthermore, European cuisine with undoubted modernity.At the Chef’s Table, guests are greeted with champagne before they get to sit down and talk through the menu with Wareing himself.