Not so in London, where the celebrity chef reigns supreme and many of the older establishments (under the celebrity chef patronage) have embraced fine dining and taken it to new heights. The trend now is for the bespoke dining experience where guests can tailor their dining experience under the watchful eye of the chef and hotel staff.
Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester presides over the Table Lumiere where guests can create their own menu and table settings choosing from the hotel’s selection of china, glassware and linens from such design houses as Hermes, Puiforcat and St. Louis.
Cocooned behind a luminescent curtain made of 4,500 shimmering fibre optics hanging dramatically from the ceiling diners are screened from the buzz of the main restaurant. This gives a sense of intimacy to the diners within, without any loss of atmosphere. The interior designed by Patrick John is extremely elegant, while the private dining area only seats 6 people.
The main restaurant is an elegant affair done in shades of beige and white with the private dining area serving as a focal point for the rest of the restaurant. Whether in use or not the private dining area is a dramatic centrepiece of almost space age connotations, with ever changing fibre optic curtain creating an ambience that is dreamlike and whimsical.
Definitely something to check out not just for the food but for décor and experience as well!
Wow! I have never seen this use of fiber optics before, it looks so glamorous!! I bet it looks 10x better in person too. Thanks for sharing this :)
ReplyDeleteNancy xo
How much does a meal like this run? 300 quid each for a party of 4 with well selected wines?
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous!!!
ReplyDeleteThe character, Miss Marple often stayed here while in London, she would not approve of the new decor or the food, but I do.
ReplyDeleteX David NYC
I enjoyed looking at these photos, and am very interested in the prestige and mystique of such luxury hotels. I can't wait for the new Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, and others to open in Toronto. Finally....
ReplyDeleteDucasse suspends more than fibre optics - a mode of private dining to which I do not think I could even wish to adjust; he suspends my usual rule against dining in restaurants in the first place. I honestly don't care what an industry he has made of himself - nay, a virtual conglomerate, if not a leveraged buyer of the whole Guide Michelin; his creativity within the sound and sublime tradition of la vraie cuisine allows him to invest the home kitchen with its irreducible substance. True acceptance of luxury means not requiring the validation of strangers waving credit cards. Still, if you need a room for an evening en passant . . . :)
ReplyDeleteMy Dear Laurent, realising your general rule about gentlemen and restaurants you propose a completely valid point here. As one whose stomach gravitates towards good food no matter where that might be, I find no other greater joy than dining alone in those little gems of restaurants that escape the radar of the critics and public alike. For example I used to frequent a little cellar of a restaurant with 5 tables that smelt musty, was called la Guillotene for the most divine 3 egg omelette with lumpfish roe, washed down with the roughest red you could imagine. As you so rightly comment "if you need a room for an evening en passant"
ReplyDelete