Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at the Mandarin Oriental (London)

 

 It was the first time that I had dined at a Heston Blumenthal restaurant so I was very excited about the evening. I knew that there would be less theatrics than the Fat Duck, but I was certainly interested about the concept of Dinner, and the ingredients that were used in the courses. Apparently Blumenthal spent years exploring Britain's gastronomic past, and consulting with food-historians, in particular focusing on fifteenth and sixteenth century cookery. As a historian, I was intrigued by this, and certainly enjoyed the historical background of the dishes being explained to us.

Starter

Frumenty (c.1390) (Grilled octopus, smoked sea broth, pickled dulse & lovage)

I really liked how unique this starter was in terms of taste and textures. It was cooked beautifully- octopus is easy to over cook, but this was still soft and not at all rubbery. I felt that the broth and dulse worked perfectly, adding depth and texture. For me, this was the best course of the meal.

Main:

Fillet of Aberdeen Angus (c.1830) (Mushroom ketchup & fries)

The flavours were nice, but I felt that this dish was average. No wow factor in terms of taste or presentation. For £42 for this dish, I expected more.

Pre-dessert

 A chocolate ganache with a nice biscotto. The friend I was dining with does not eat chocolate so I had 2- very rich indeed.

Dessert

Chocolate and orange dessert. It was beautifully presented and very tasty.

After this course we had the ice-cream that was made at our table using liquid nitrogen. I guess a meal at Heston's has to have a bit of theatre. Nice to watch, but the ice-cream melted very quickly and therefore it was very difficult to eat in a refined manner. Moreover, I felt that £8 for an ice-cream was a little bit steep- we only realised the price once we got the bill.

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is good. The starter had lovely, unusual flavours. I wasn't impressed by the main and dessert. The portion sizes were good.

The presentation was good for some courses.

Service & Ambience

I was not impressed by the service. We had several different waiters who dealt with different aspects of the meal. This meant that we were disrupted several times. I felt rushed as we were asked a few times whether we had made our mind up about the courses we wanted. You certainly realise quickly that this restaurant has many covers a night, and therefore I felt like we did not have time to really relax and enjoy the food and ambience.


Value for Money

For 3 courses and a glass of wine the bill came to £100. I'm glad I went, but I would not go again.