The Dorchester has been a byword for Mayfair opulence ever since it opened in 1931, and its newly revamped restaurant The Grill is a fitting tribute to this history of classic style. Under new culinary director Martyn Nail, formerly executive chef at Claridge's, The Grill delivers timeless, familiar dishes with class and elegance in a setting that is at once flamboyant and welcoming.
The décor has been tweaked; red leather-trimmed circular booths and a fantastical embellishment on the chandelier add a touch of modernity to this mood-lit space, just off the hotel’s bright white atrium. Opposite the entrance, the open kitchen is now backed by copper rather than wooden panels, which catch the low-lighting appealingly and add a focal point to the room. It’s all quite fun; the children on the table next to us have been given mock chef’s hats, and Ronnie Scott’s jazz club has a residency here – though on the night I visited the playlist was an eclectic mix of easy-listening jazz, blues, swing and some modern, poppier fare.
This is the Dorchester, though, and these easy-going, modern touches are still playing out in a grand setting. They might have funked up the chandelier, but they haven’t removed it. Most of the restaurant’s design has remained unchanged: shimmering brass panels adorn the walls.
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Crucially, the menu also reflects a more relaxed setup. This isn’t the place for the sort of fiddly morsels that characterise many fine dining restaurants; the new-look Grill is happy to leave that to Alain Ducasse, and instead offers a robust, indulgent spread of popular favourites – steaks, seafood platters, rack of lamb and the like – done exceptionally well.
Perhaps it’s the extravagant surroundings that led me, like the gluttonous fool I am, to dive rashly into ordering the Welsh rarebit crumpet (£15) to start and the beef wellington (£125 for a two-person portion) for my main, without sparing a thought for the amount of dough I was committing myself to. Thankfully, the crumpet is heavenly: light, fluffy and zingy with the tang of good cheese and plenty of Worcestershire sauce. I also sampled the beetroot and goat’s curd salad (£16), which would have been an astute choice if I’d been in a less indulgent mood: refreshing, tender and slightly-sweet beetroot with smooth, creamy goat’s curd, the natural nuttiness of which is amplified by pecans and radicchio.
The welly is solid; golden pastry encases a spinach crepe and a chicken mousse that sings with herbs, all wrapped around a perfectly cooked slab of tender beef. Accompanying is a thick, glossy red wine sauce which, fittingly, carries plenty of welly itself, and a creamy, well-rounded bearnaise. Both of these work well with the wellington in isolation, but if you’re the type to mix and match I found them even better combined. On the side, we ordered roasted Cornish new potatoes (£7) and grilled green beans in sun-dried tomato butter (£8). The beans were great - tender and bouncy with a bit of natural sweetness that the tomato helped bring through. The potatoes were a revelation. Without wanting to give away any trade secrets, these are effectively triple-cooked new potatoes that have been expertly crushed and crisped along the way; the outside is perfectly crunchy, the inside exquisitely soft.
For afters, I chose apple tarte tatin (£15). This is a very grown-up rendition of what I’ve always considered an indulgently sweet dessert; no thin, flaky slice of caramel here, but rather a deep chunk of tender, paper-thin apple ribbons, drizzled with calvados for a touch of boozy bitterness. The chocolate mousse (£12) is also top class: intense and warming with deep chocolate flavour and a smooth, airy texture.
The ethos behind The Grill is to create a place that people enjoy, and want to come back to. A simple enough goal on paper, but the execution behind it, from the friendly, attentive staff through to the fine details (like the elaborate tea strainer with which I grappled like a chimpanzee presented with a rudimentary puzzle), is carried off superbly.
Dan McEvoy was a guest of The Grill at the Dorchester.
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