Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester

Birthday treat at the new star on the block, with two newly acquired Michelin Star.

Food

After we sat down, we were given a plate of small choux puffs, flavoured by pepper and cardamom. They were like little bursts of flavour, and were excellent while hot. After we ordered, the amuse was delivered in a lovely egg shaped bowl, complete with lid, and consisted of Winter vegetable, foie gras and asparagus mousse. The vegetables were thinly sliced and crunchy, but not much taste, but paired very well with the velvety smooth sauce.

I didn’t try a lot of the bread selection as I was saving my stomach, but the Sourdough bread and the Scottish bap were excellent. The accompaniment also included crème fraiche but I actually prefer the salted butter.

• Soft-boiled organic EGG, crayfish and cep mushrooms, Nantua sauce - the egg was huge…but it’s supposed to be organic so it must’ve been a big chook who gave birth to it. I think what I love most about this dish was the delicious sauce. You know you are in for a treat when you can smell how good the sauce is. This one was a seafood based reduction, that was a rich addition to the mild ingredients. And of course, the egg was cooked perfectly.
• Roasted CHICKEN & LOBSTER, sweetbread, creamy juice - wow – if I hadn’t known from the menu that I was eating chicken, I could swear that it was actually pork. That chicken had so much flavour, and not to mention the really crisp, thick skin, I was really surprised it was chicken. You can’t go wrong with lobster, and sweetbread for that matter. The sauce was outstanding, yet again.
• Fillet of TURBOT "Matelote", potato gnocchi - I was informed that Matelote is a red wine and bacon sauce. Not what I expected actually, but the sauce was thick and not that salty, but has an almost caramelized flavour. The turbot was cooked perfectly, while little gnocchi (not that interesting) had pieces of delectable bacon sitting on top.
• Fillet of BEEF and seared FOIE GRAS Rossini, “sacristain” potatoes, “Périgueux sauce” - as expected, good quality beef. The foie gras was top quality and melt in the mouth, the sauce superb. The potatoes were list crisps, except delivered as twists. I didn’t really eat those and instead paid attention to the meat.
• Passionfruit, pistachio and orange macaroon – perhaps they were delivered before dessert because of the long wait for the soufflé, who knows. Anyway, these weren’t soft and light, but heavy and intense. Still, the flavours were so good I didn’t care
• dark chocolate, milk chocolate with wafer – yum. They actually asked if I wanted more but I had to decline
• Slightly bitter pink GRAPEFRUIT SOUFFLÉ with grapefruit sorbet - I love soufflé, but I have to say on this occasion it didn’t do it for me. The grapefruit was just a bit TOO sharp, so the soufflé tasted very bitter, and the sorbet was so sharp it hurts to eat it. It was all a bit overwhelming.
• THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA- pineapple layers with foam - good idea, but I thought the pineapple was a bit too sweet, so I didn’t enjoy this as much as I would otherwise.
• Assortment of lollies – nougat, chocolate cream biscuit - well, I didn’t expect more after all those, but these came anyway, after we’ve had desserts.
• Lemon sorbet and mango - I preferred this to all the desserts. The mango was clean and paired well with the sweet and sour sorbet.
• Chablis Four 06 (£15) – a dry white to accompany my meal, poured from a huge magnum and quite fine, thank you very much

All in all, the most French experience I’ve had, in terms of the order of how everything is served. I love it, and with the rate of the Euro these days, perhaps I don’t need to go to France to experience this type of food.

Rating - 9

Atmosphere

I actually expected more opulence really, afterall, this is the flagship restaurant at The Dorchester…Having said that, I actually really like the décor….I am thinking olive walls would suit my new place…They have a nature theme going on, with a silver leaf light fixture and also a green foliage feature wall. Glass vegetables sit on the tables – I’ve seen them somewhere before, but can’t remember the restaurant. We were given a seat in the corner, overlooking Hyde Park – although I was too short and it was too dark to see across the road, so the view I got was a lot of passing double deckers. They even have a fire going, shielded behind a pane of glass, definitely for dramatic effect rather than for warmth.

The place was not that full though, only about half the tables were filled, so I guess those Michelin Stars aren’t pulling in the punters, or maybe it’s the credit crunch biting. Well, the place was filled more with businessmen rather than the show-offs at Le Gavouche, so wearing my suit didn’t really make me stand out. P.S. they have very nice hand cream in the bathrooms.

Rating - 2

Service

Wonderful. Our every need was attended to and they didn’t seem like they were too posh. They left us alone most of the time, but always checked on us to make sure we were ok. The parting gift at the end of the night was a great touch too.

Rating - 5

C-factor

3 courses for £75, with supplement of £10 for the chicken ad lobster and also the beef. We got 20% off from toptable, but it’s still a big hit. At least it was an experience. I only hope it was cheaper so I can come back again.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 16.5

Info

The Dorchester
Park Lane
London
W1K 1QA
Phone +44 (0) 20 7629 8866
Website