Lolling in London: Lunch at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

I will start the post by mentioning that the service is stellar. The gentleman who attended to us not only provided an excellent introduction to the menu and great recommendations, but was attentive and proactive as well. I was most impressed when he came up to me, suddenly and out of nowhere, and placed a piece of card with the code to log onto the hotel's wireless service in front of me. Without my asking! Admittedly I was fiddling with my mobile, which probably informed him of my connectivity-lacked predicament. Nevertheless, it is testament to his attentiveness. This made quite an impression on me.

The décor tries to be contemporary, but not to good effect. Not that it’s ugly, I got through the meal without gaining a sore eye, but the furnishings do not go well together. I feel that it is jarring. They were probably aiming for the ‘eclectic’ look and they have achieved the highest level of ‘eclectic-ness’ when nothing gels. The place is not very big either; the tables were placed quite close to one another, and since it is almost always a full house, the atmosphere can get quite hectic. I feel they should improve upon the décor by bringing in an element of Zen so that customers can eat in Zen-like peace.

Eclectic?

Décor aside, the food is good. We went with one set lunch and ala carte for the other (there were two of us).

SET LUNCH

Starter: Pressed Octopus Salad

Main: Roasted pigeon on a bed of cabbage

Dessert: Millionaire Tart

Pressed octopus salad.

You would think that for a set lunch the food would be mediocre and hastily put together. But such is not the case. The octopus salad is made with thinly-sliced octopus stacked together and then cut to form round slices. Those slices are served with a fennel and pea shoot salad drizzled with pickled lemon dressing. It is an interesting mix of flavours that whets the appetite.

Roasted pigeon on a bed of cabbage.

The roasted pigeon is nicely done; the meat is juicy and tender and the sauce is like smoky barbeque sauce with a hint of sweetness. I tasted Worcestershire sauce in it as well. The only gripe I have is that the cabbage is a little too soft for my liking, but otherwise it goes well with the pigeon. But the best dish for the set lunch is the delectable Millionaire Tart. The chocolate tart is not overly sweet and the accompanying vanilla ice cream is rich and creamy. It is a dream to eat. I only wished the tart was larger.

Millionaire Tart.

ALA CARTE

Starter: Meat Fruit

Main: Roast Iberico Pork Chop with a side of mash potatoes

Dessert: Tipsy Cake

Meat Fruit.

Bread that they serve before the meal.

We started with the Meat Fruit, which is heavenly, a must-try for anyone planning to dine there. It is also one of their signature dishes.  It is made of chicken liver and foie gras parfait, encased in a mandarin-flavoured skin. Its appearance resembles a mandarin orange complete with a stick of green leaf, hence the “fruit” part of its name. It is served with a piece of grilled bread, which they religiously refill every time you are close to finishing the one on hand (because attentive). The chicken liver and foie gras parfait is delightfully creamy and the flavours are off the charts! It is nothing I have ever tasted before (then again, my prudish tongue hasn’t tasted much). There is none of that ‘bloody’ taste from livers that I usually cannot stand (one reason why I don’t eat pig’s liver). The mandarin ‘skin’ also lends a touch of citrus to cut away the sometimes overly cloying richness that might build up after a while. However, I found that the bread is a little too charred, that it turns dry and hard, which is difficult to eat. I used the bread that they served us before the meal to complement the meat fruit. But you must (definitely must, unless you’re really not too fond of livers) try the meat fruit when you’re there.

Roast Iberico pork chop.

The attentive gentleman recommended that we try the Iberico Pork Chop, which he says is his personal favourite (might be a gimmick but at least he didn’t recommend the most expensive item on the menu). Again, the cook on it is good, the meat is moist. However, it is difficult to slice through, which baffled us because it is not gamey and chewing was easy enough. It is served with smoked hispi cabbage (no idea what hispi is), confit onion (which is deliciously yummy), apple and mead (which I am guessing is the yellow gelatinous sauce smeared across the plate that tasted vaguely of wine), and Robert sauce. Again, no idea what Robert sauce is but I supposed it is the brown sauce drizzled all over the dish. But everything comes together into a delightfully hearty dish.

Mashed potatoes.

The mash potato was amazing! It is perfectly mashed. There are no chunks of potatoes at all, just smooth creamy mash. Seasoning was minimal so you can really taste the potatoes. There are also hints of milk and cream. It is simply to die for. I could have it as a meal on its own.  

Tipsy Cake.

Lastly, we had the famed Tipsy Cake. Personally I didn’t enjoy it. Firstly, the cake is not a cake. It is brioche soaked in alcohol (I’m not sure what alcohols were used). It is served with spit roasted pineapple, which I didn’t enjoy as well. The reason why I didn’t like the Tipsy Cake was because I found it too heavy and not ‘sweet’ enough for a dessert. It acts more like a snack of sorts, not a dessert to end a meal.

Complimentary er... 'snack'?

At the end of the meal, they gave us a complimentary herb biscotti with earl grey chocolate fudge dip. I half wished they gave more of the fudge! I love it (then again, I like earl grey, so bias).

There are hits and misses, but overall, it was an absolutely enjoyable lunch and we had a fantastic experience (thumbs up for great service!). You should visit Dinner if you’re in London but remember to book in advance.

For more info on prices, menus and reservations, visit their official website: http://www.dinnerbyheston.com/