dinner by heston blumenthal

back when i first started writing about food, i do remember that many a quizzical eyebrow were raised. 
there was perceived to be something rather paradoxical about the notion of a vegetarian epicure. spot on for noticing my use of the past tense. critics might have only marginally softened their patronising or unforgiving stance against my lot, but more importantly, there is now much more than meats the eye at even the restaurants renowned for championing an abundance of flesh.

case in point: dinner by heston blumenthal, the two michelin-starred restaurant synonymous with iconic dishes such as meatfruitand rice and flesh. yet as our party of six recently experienced, it caters more than adequately for veggies too – especially if you let them know of your disposition in advance (as we did)…

what an experience. started with the famous meatfruitalong with the lobster/cucumber soup which lived up to every expectation. next came the celery, chicken in lettuce and turbot. the chicken was succulent and the turbot literally tasted like heaven. we ended the meal with the tipsy cake and liquid nitrogen ice cream. couldn't have asked for a better end. this place isn't just a restaurant it's an experience. on a side note, amazing service the waiters were friendly, polite and so helpful!

nestled within the mandarin oriental is dinner by heston. the dining room is marvelous, greeted by a display of the wine selection and views of hyde park.

i had the 3 course menu, consisting of meatfruitas starter, powdered duck breat for main and brown bread ice cream for dessert. when the meatfruitcame, i was delighted as it was so perfectly shaped like a mandarin. the exterior is a mandarin jelly and in the interior is chicken liver parfait. i loved every bit of it as it was light and not too overpowering in taste and elevated by the tinge of mandarin. when it arrived, there was small bits of perspiration on the surface, almost like the mandarin had been plucked out of a tree. incredibly lifelike! my only comment was the accompanying bread was a bit tough.

for mains, the powdered duck breast came with a layer of perfectly seared skin and was cooked to perfection with a pink tinge. loved the pairing with beetroot sauce as there was a slight sweetness to this. i was unable to really taste the umbles and thought this could be done away with.

dessert was brown bread ice-cream. i imagine this is hestons twist on bread and butter pudding. this was a salted caramel ice cream with a biscuit base and pear. salted caramel can never go wrong and pears brilliantly with the warm pear chunks. i think i would have liked this to be more crumbly in texture but no other complaints. i also stole a slice of my friends other desserts, taffety tart and tipsy cake. the taffety tart had a great crunch to it and classic flavours. the tipsy cake appeared to be soaked in rum down the bottom and was warm and comforting.

just before we left, we were given a wafer with chocolate mousse and it was a perfect end to the courses. definitely one of my highlights dining in london and proof of why heston is a brilliant chef.

16th march 2015 · by chris · in eating , england , london i had lunch at dinner.  i can already feel the virtual eye rolling that my readers are engaging in right now. let me explain why i made such an eye catching statement.  dinner generally is the biggest meal of the day.  in antiquity it used to be eaten at lunch.  how fitting that we were to be doing our testing at the traditional time.  dinner comes with an interesting twist.  the dishes are old.  not old like the food your old codger used to eat but old like robin hood and his band of merry men in tights.  all dishes on the menu are marked with their appropriate era of invention as part of their description. see this for an example.  date of origin helpfully located next to source of inspiration. first up, to whet the appetite a bit. some white and brown bread.  nothing too special.  not like the lovely bread i had had at other places, like the ledbury .  i am looking at you with your bacon bread.  not bad.  but just a bit ordinary. roasted scallops with cucumber ketchup.  the scallops were cooked just right and the cucumber ketchup (pureed cucumber) added an interesting dimension.  the sea with a light dusting of the land. next up, the meat fruit.  the item i have heard so much about.  on the left is just normal bread.  on the right, something that looks like sort of afruitcomplete with leaf right?  why is it called a meat fruit? cut it open to see.  thisfruithas hidden inside it chicken liver parfait.  a very unusual combination.  the sweet skin contrasting with the savory liver.  when eaten with the crispy bread to add a crunchy contrast to the soft texture of the meat fruit, this was an eye opening dish! having devoured the starters, we expected great things

i’ve lived in london all my life and eaten in a vast amount of restaurants, but in the last couple of years one has been picking at my intrigue for a while and i finally took the time to visit – dinner by heston blumenthal at the mandarin oriental hotel. dinner by heston currently holds a whopping two prestigious michelin stars and has been voted no.5 in the worlds 50 best restaurants list.

the restaurant is headed up by the talented ashley palmer-watts, who is the former head chef of heston’s other restaurant, the fat duck. interestingly enough if you search for ashley’s name on google the first result coming up is people enquiring to his salary – weirdly. the idea and ethos behind the menu here is about recreating british culinary history. recipes (according to the website) date back as far as the 1300’s but have been given a thoroughly modern makeover. it’s a very interesting concept which i can see the idea behind, but when we dined here dishes felt too familiar already – either that or everyone else is copying them?

i came to this restaurant with completely no idea of what to expect. i’d ignored reviews and shied away from photos as i didn’t want anyone elses experience to get in the way of mine, but from the moment we arrived everything seemed a little relaxed and a bit clumsy. with two michelin stars and commanding high prices such as here – they need to create an experience. the bar for example, where you enter lacked atmosphere and felt as cold as an airport waiting lounge with garish hotel lobby tables and a bleak 90’s styled bar. when time to dine arrived we also had to prompt someone we were still here. the dining room did have some nice features such as the centre kitchen area with chefs cooking away and some sublime views over hyde park, the rest of the room however was nothing spectacular. we chose to eat from the set-menu, something i’m told was a mistake (not by staff of course). a starter of hay smoked salmon c.1730 with smoked beetroot, pickled lemon salad, parsley and sorrel was a perfectly lovely dish to start, although perhaps a little small in portion size (i should reveal i’m actually quite small). hay smoked salmon seems to be the in trend across london right now – maybe dinner by heston blumenthal kicked it off, who knows? either way it felt too familiar and i was expecting to come here and eat more of history.

a ragu of pigs ear on toast with anchovy, onions and parsley was finally something which got me excited – it sounded unusual. not unusual in its flavours, but more its textures, the mixture of them and cooking techniques. pigs ears were i’m sure cooked slowly as they had a very soft, glutinous jelly like texture which melted in the mouth upon entry (that sounds wrong). the flavours were very rich, deep and concentrated and seasoning could not be faulted, the balance was simply perfect. however – the bread was a little soggy. intentional or not – i didn’t enjoy it this way. the temperature of the food was tepid at best, something no food should be. hot or cold – no excuses.

now you may think i’m going in to too much detail or you love this restaurant more than i do – so hate me already but this was my experience from my personal meal and no one else’s. we moved on to the mains and dishes such as this roast quail c.1590 was yet another tasty dish which failed to get us excited. again the temperature was lukewarm (i hate that word) at best and the portion size was abysmally small – they could have at least told me i’d be needing a side.

the most accomplished and definitely the best dish we ate here at dinner was this c.1954 roast pollock with a buttery parsnip puree. again it was by no means breaking any boundaries or providing a different dish experience which i’d struggle to find elsewhere but i will say this – the cooking of the pristine white fleshed fish, the seasoning and the puree were faultless. i think my main concern was simply expecting too much. with two michelin stars behind its name – i thought there’d have been more originality to the dishes here. were these rather ordinary dishes because i ate from the set-menu? personally it shouldn’t be the reason and one restaurant can not rely simply on its two signature dishes – meatfruitand tipsy cake – both of which i did not try.

a silky smooth chocolate pre-dessert later our second best dish of our meal ended up being this millionaire shortbread c.1730 – finished off with crystalized chocolate and vanilla ice cream. stunning ice cream too. the dish had just about everything going for it from its picture perfect presentation, right through to its rich and glossy well-tempered chocolate, all the way thorough to its crumbly biscuit base. this is how you do dessert and make every bite a joy to the palate. the tamarind prune tart was also a faultless beauty in terms of its cooking but for me the prune element too discreet – i really wanted to taste it.

it was almost time to finish up here, but not without sampling the theatrics of liquid nitrogen instant made ice cream right before your eyes. again a little eye watering with its pricing you can’t forget the time and effort which goes into creating this small experience, which actually still sticks in your mind days after. dinner by heston blumenthal was certainly an experience i’m glad i had, but for now i’ve not been left with any longing to return anytime soon. if dinner by heston blumenthal want to serve a set-menu that’s fine – but if you’ve got two michelin stars and ranked the 5th best restaurant in the world then perhaps a sub standard menu like this one, shouldn’t be served.

it’s been a month and i still can’t stop thinking of our lunch here .
it’s a must must try!!
having seen heston on masterchef au , it was our dream to go and get a bite at his restaurant while we were in london.
the restaurant is located right opposite hyde park and you get the view of the gorgeous green park while ur dining. we were for lunch and decided to order some of the favorites .
the meatfruit- now i have never have chicken liver parfait before but after trying this i’m such a huge fan. delicious , smooth , full of flavour and i just couldn’t stop eating it.
tomato salamagundy - if your a cheese : burrata lover you will totally fall in love with this fish. it’s fresh , it’s full of summer and it was flawless.
lamb and mint cucumber - beautiful melt in your mouth lamb and the fresh mint - a match made in heaven.
coconut panacotta with coffee parfait- just order it, don’t even think twice. the presentation just gorgeous and the silky smooth pannacotta inside just takes you to another planet for a few moments .
also ordered the vanilla cake with goats milk ice cream which was wonderful.
the ice cream trolley at the end was an extremely sweet gesture by the team.
it’s great value for money and it an experience you’ll never forget.
so glad we could get a booking and try this place out.

great ambiance, delicious food and lovely service!

tried their famous meatfruitand i can now say it rightly deserves the attention it gets. porridge was a great blend with red wine. i was there with a friend who loved their chopped pork. ambiance is classy but not overly fancied for the good. they deserve appreciation for nitro ice cream for the best innovation😄

a few months ago, during my european travels in december and january, i was fortunate enough to visit dinner by heston blumenthal in london. this two michelin star restaurant, situated in knightsbridge, is any foodie’s dream to visit. my benedict and i arrived at the mandarin oriental. it’s large double doors, exquisite entrance hall and enchanting spiral staircase definitely set the tone for one of the top fine dining experiences. we were directed to the restaurant and greeted by the front host who offered to hang up our heavy winter coats. we were then seated at a table across from the open plan kitchen before being offered some wine by the sommelier. having eyed out the restaurant’s instagram page, my benedict had already decided on the “meat fruit” starter. this was a spiced red wine, chicken liver parfait served with grilled bread. the smooth red appearance of the chicken liver parfait gives rise to its name, giving it a fresh, juicy,fruitlike look. it’s quite uncanny actually. the starter tasted great too. i opted for the “sherried scallop” starter. this was scallop tartare served with grilled shiitake in a sherry mushroom broth. it was delicious! the broth was rich in flavour and ever so tasty. really enjoyed this starter. for my main meal i had the fillet of hereford beef. this was served with a side of the most interesting and unusual mushroom ketchup and heston’s famous triple cooked chips. my meal was absolute perfection! the fillet was tender, perfectly cooked (obviously), juicy and delicious. the potato chips were amazing; well-seasoned, cooked throughout and had that perfect exterior crunchiness. i loved the mushroom ketchup too. it was so unique, yet tasted great! my benedict chose the powdered duck for his main. this was braised duck breast served with grilled red cabbage and pickled cherries. just another fantastic dish from dinner by heston blumenthal. for dessert i selected the gingerbread ice cream. this was mulled wine poached pear with salted caramel and smoked walnut mousse. it was a rather bitter dessert and while it was really good, it was perhaps not something quite suited to my sweet tooth.

what it's like to have dinner's famous meat fruit... we were there over christmas eve and the colour of the meatfruitis different! red wine jelly instead of the usual mandarin orange jelly!. frumenty (£21.50). the overly huge piece of ribeye. braised celery (£32). tipsy cake (£16). this is the perfect ending - very balanced amount of alcohol and sugar to keep you sane. have it with the roasted pineapple and the sourness will overrule the sugar.

the meatfruitand the tipsy cake are the highlights of dinner by heston. we were actually filled after the meatfruitas it was quite heavy and a massive portion for an entree. the mains were okay but nothing too special and a bit too rich in flavour. tipsy cake was quite heavy as well so came out in a food coma but satisfied!

i went to dinner last month with four colleagues and our expectations were high, we all work in a kitchen as well so we were quite excited about this experience.

the service was really good. fast and efficient with the waiters and sommelier always giving us the attention we needed and giving good recommendations about the wine . we all had a glass of bolllinger rose that was really good.

everyone on the table liked their food .
i had the meatfruitfor starter then the pork chop and the sambocade for dessert. the chicken liver parfait flavour and consistency mixed with the grilled bread on the meatfruitwas amazing . the pork chop was perfectly cooked and i don’t think you can much better quality on pork meat than that . the garnish was also really good. the sambocade was a good dessert without being to sweet .

we celebrated our first anniversary dinner at this place
i would always get fascinated by watching heston blumenthal on master chef and here we were
we ordered the standard hits
meatfruit
tipsy cake
steak and pork chop

meatfruitstole the show . the rest of the food was pretty okayish
may b next time we try other dishes that suit are palate

it was quite an experience to have dinner at my favourite chef's restaurant.
elegant but not overpowering ambience.
it is a 100 seater restaurant and they do about 170 for dinner and about same for lunch.
initially the start of service albeit slow but picked up as the evening went on.
the meatfruitwas the star of the show.
the steak perfectly done
the cucumber hearts very tangy and played tango in mouth with the acidity .
oh the lamb saddle had pink meat and was succulent and juicy .
the nitro ice cream gimmicky was the only thing that was modern and brought out the children in us adults
the slow service at the outset actually disturbed couple of members of our party .

next, we shared the meatfruit(c.1500). chicken liver parfait was enrobed in a jelly and shaped to look like a mandarin, and served grilled bread. this artful presentation was so elegant and paired expertly with the red wine we chose - a french bordeaux. this was probably the best version of chicken liver mousse that we've ever had. the only criticism is that the stem was not edible.

my growing fascination with medieval history lead me to explore medieval cuisine. food has always been a defining element of any culture and our culinary culture reflects our history and identity.  what fascinates me even more is learning what people ate at that time and that gives us a deeper understanding on how they lived.  heston blumenthal, one of the rock stars of the culinary world explores the medieval era for recipes and magically transforms them into something different and mind-boggling. like his most famous dish the "meat fruit", a surprise chicken liver parfait coated in orangefruitjelly. it is velvety light but rich and exquisitely good. definitely the highlight of our meal.  so here it is, the magnificent medieval dishes we had during our visit.  eat your history.