dinner by heston blumenthal

you know when you really like something / someone, you can justify their imperfections and have incredibly high tolerance? i find myself doing that so often recently. so i might as well apply the same logic here. there were a couple of things that fell slightly below my expectations at dinner byhestonblumenthal, but then again given how high i’d held my hopes, some misses were inevitable; most of the dishes lived up to it. this was a stunning meal, just enough elements of surprise to make it extraordinary, but not an overdrive into a gimmick-led idea.

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 byhestonblumenthal, the two michelin-starred restaurant synonymous with iconic dishes such as meat fruit and 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)…

when you go in to a two-star michelin restaurant, with the kind of ratings dinner byhestonhas, you really want to come giving it a 5/5. 

but for a vegetarian, i was really underwhelmed by the options we had. only one main course was available, the rest were starters that could be adapted to vegetarian and then converted to main. 

that said, most of the dishes were really good for what they were (ie. starters). the dessert was exceptional, especially the tipsy cake. and so was the service. 

would definitely recommend to non-veg friends not to veg ones though.

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 meat fruit as starter, powdered duck breat for main and brown bread ice cream for dessert. when the meat fruit came, 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 whyhestonis a brilliant chef.

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 byhestonblumenthal at the mandarin oriental hotel. dinner byhestoncurrently 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 byhestonblumenthal 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 – meat fruit and 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 byhestonblumenthal 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 byhestonblumenthal 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.

there are 2 key things i want to say about this place: 1) i think this place is jinxed and has bad aura; 2) this is not the 7th best restaurant in the world and the best in uk as it is currently ranked (note the michelin guide only gives it 1 star, which is more like it).   i first went tohestonblumenthal’s dinner last year after it had just been opened with my ex (then current) boyfriend. this time i went there with my current boyfriend, and out of 40 tables where they could put me, they put me at the same exact one i was sitting at a year ago. last year when i was there i had a massive fight with my ex, which led him to walk out on me and leave me on my own to pay the bill. note this time i only paid half the bill and did not have any arguments in the restaurant but we managed to have a small fight after the dinner in the taxi! so overall the trend is

it’s been a month and i still can’t stop thinking of our lunch here .
it’s a must must try!!
having seenhestonon 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 meat fruit - 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.

dinner byhestonblumenthal- mandarin oriental hyde park me mai abhi haal hi me gya tha dinner karne. sahi me yaha aakar bahut majaa aaya. bada tasty khaana tha yaha ka

a few months ago, during my european travels in december and january, i was fortunate enough to visit dinner byhestonblumenthal 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, fruit like 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 byhestonblumenthal. 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.

it is amazing to watch a busy kitchen in a saturday dinner. better when we where athestonblumenthal restaurant, dinner, in the center of london, a one star michelin star awarded. although the gourmet courses do not have all the crazy side of heston, it is possible to have a taste of it and watch at the end the preparation at the table of an ice cream with liquid nitrogen. must have the pineapple pudding at the end, a one hour preparation dessert.

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

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

if ever there was a contrast between the old culinary world and the new, this was it.  lunch was at a brash up and coming restaurant in a cool part of town; dinner was at a 5 star hotel in the heart of london.  more so, it was at a restaurant credited with reinventing historical british dishes and giving them thehestonblumenthal treatment.

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 orange fruit jelly. 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.

it was our son's 16th birthday and he exclaimed "lets go for molecular gastronomy" which certainly got me quizzed. how did he know so much....! the fat duck wasn't open and we decided another creation from the famous chefhestonblumenthal. set within the mandarin oriental, the ambience did not disappoint nor did the service. we all picked our individual favorites of starters and mains. the experience begins with the menu (a2 size) neatly folded and held together with paper strap scribed with an interesting fact from the centuries past. the cuisine itself, inspired from the bygone era of circa 14 century to the 18th century was modern in all respects. although not exactly a molecular gastronomy they were executed to perfection. the meat fruit and rice & flesh starters stood out, whilst the brown bread ice cream and tipsy cake were exceptional. for the finale like most 16year old's he insisted on the hand churned ice cream with liquid nitrogen...!

i can’t believe it has taken me this long to visit dinner. part of the problem is that obtaining a reservation (on short notice) is tricky, in no part due to the restaurant being listed on the world’s 50 best restaurants list. the other reason is that it is easier for me to get to bray (also known ashestonland) where i have the choice of dining at the crown, the hind’s head or the fat duck. if i wanted the wholehestonexperience, the fat duck was the only option while if i wanted something casual i could just as easily go to the hind’s head. dinner sits somewhere in between casual and fine dining. after all it was opened with the concept of what it would be like ifhestonwould open a bistro. you have formal, fine-dining service but at the same time you are still able to order a ‘simple’ plate of steak and chips. however, after many years of ‘not bothering’, we decided to pop in one sunday afternoon for a lazy lunch.