Heston Blumenthal's London Restaurant Takes Fine Dining Back In History

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Feb 1st 2011 at 9:01PM

Chef Heston Blumenthal has dazzled diners at his restaurant the Fat Duck since 1995 and unlike many acclaimed chefs he has been slow to expand. His other two venues, the Hinds Head and the Crown, are also in the village of Bray, west of London. But Dinner by Heston Bluementhal, the new restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park changes all that. Bloomberg reports that Blumenthal cut the ribbon on the restaurant this week. Let the feeding frenzy begin. The restaurant seats 130 and took 6,000 bookings in the first day. Diners will have to make a reservation months in advance.

The restaurant is a British brasserie serving historically inspired dishes. The menu has a unique feature, it lists not just the food but the date of the dish. The oldest is Rice & Flesh, a starter with saffron, calf tail and red wine that can be traced back to other items. Other starters include roast marrowbone with parsley, anchovy and mace and picked vegetables that dates back to 1720 and roast scallops with cucumber ketchup and borage that dates back to 1820. Main courses take you back in time with powdered duck, smoked fennel and potato puree from 1670 and spiced pigeon with ale and artichokes from 1780 among others. Dessert is a time travel as well with items such as the Taffety Tart from 1660 which comes with rose, fennel, lemon and blackcurrant sorbet and baked lemon suet pudding with lemon, caramel and jersey cream from 1630.

The restaurant will also feature a three-course set lunch for 28 pounds ($44.60). For now dinner remains a la carte. A chef's table which can seat up to six people directly overlooks the open kitchen. There is also a private dining room is available for up to 10 people which has a wood beamed ceiling, rust colored leather-clad walls, cobalt blue dining chairs and an antique oriental rug.

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