3 Michelin starred lunch at restaurant Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

 ©Pierre Monetta

When I booked this lunch I didn't realise it was for a 3 michelin starred restaurant! I had an inkling there might be one given the location and name attached to the restaurant. I always look on Bookatable for deals which appeal and liked the lunch offer here - 3 courses plus two glasses of wine and tea/coffee and a bottle of water for £65. I know £65 sounds pretty steep for lunch, but considering there is wine included in that I thought it moved more into 'reasonable'....you could easily spend this on a champagne afternoon tea. I have to say we were very impressed with the quality and quantity of food. If you think 3 michelin stars means you get tiny morsels, then you would be wrong in this case!

The Alain Ducasse restaurant is located at the Dorchester Hotel on London's Park Lane, a 10 minute walk from Buckingham Palace. We had spent the morning touring the Palace for its summer opening of the State Rooms and annual exhibition. This was a free re-entry from our trip last year (followed by lunch at Fera, Claridge's) because our original tickets were stamped as we left. Although we were returning, the details provided in the audio tour were quite different so I would definitely recommend doing this. As you enter the Dorchester you are greeted by the softly lit Promenade, which is where luxurious afternoon teas are served. The smell of flowers is divine. At the far end of the Promenade is the Champagne bar and restaurant.

There are several menus that you can select from at the Alain Ducasse restaurant; the a la carte menu (approx £100 for 3 courses), the tasting menu (approx £140 for ten courses), the summer tasting menu (even more) and the lunch menu which we selected. In our lunch menu selection the sommelier paired our wines to our main courses which meant we had a glass of white to match our starters and a red to match our mains. The decor of the room is based on pebbles; everything echoes a muted tone with hints of shine. The seats are very comfortable and you get a small table in between seats for your handbags too.

Before you get to the three courses you are served an array of morsels whilst you peruse the menu and sip a glass of champagne (champagne is extra, but very high quality). In the distance you can see a half polished off plate of cheese flavoured pastries, and a cream whipped with cheese to accompany the selection of bread. On my plate is a classic baguette and a bacon fougasse. The bread was refilled as many times as we wished by the friendly and attentive waiters. I could have been happy with just this for lunch!

Enter the amuse bouche, a tasty couple of spoonfuls of john dory with pickled vegetables. Its arrival was pure theatre, presented in pebble dishes which echo the decor of the restaurant.



To start, I had 'Cornish egg, smoked sweetcorn and chicken oyster'. The egg was the star of the show, perfectly cooked and oozing over the plate once cut into. Accompanying was a red onion caramelisation and puree which added a deep note to the smokiness of the dish. The smoked sweetcorn could have been missed if you didn't know it was there; a very delicate flavour.

We both selected the same main course; 'Suffolk pork, roasted shallot, gooseberry'. How big is the pork portion?! We were expecting some delicate slices of tenderloin and were surprised to see the enormous fillet in front of us. It was moist throughout and balanced so well with the sharp gooseberry accompaniment and jus. This dish really was about the pork! Mum couldn't finish hers.

This is the pre-dessert...not the actual dessert but a selection of sweet treats before hand! Along with an additional glass of dessert wine we sampled a variety of macarons (the white chocolate ones were my favourite), handmade chocolates, cocoa crisps and individually wrapped toffees and nougats.

Would you believe we did manage our desserts? I had to show Mum's 'Chocolate and coffee composition'. The chocolate base, cream domes and coffee ice cream echoed the flavours of an Italian tiramisu.

Pierre Monetta

I had the 'contemporary Vacherin'; a pair of raspberry and mascarpone sorbets with rose meringues and fruits. Although a very simple dessert, it really perked me up after all that food and was a perfect ending to the meal. We were offered a selection of cheese too, but even we couldn't manage those as well!

Finally we finished with coffees. We still had some of our pre dessert sweets left over and had a few of these along with our refills. We stayed for nearly four hours in this restaurant in total. Throughout the waiting staff were helpful, friendly and incredibly attentive. Our waters were refilled without us even noticing, let alone asking. You feel as though you are receiving a lot of care and they were very patient, explaining every course to us when we asked.

Would I recommend this? Yes. I know it is one of the more expensive dining option, but really is excellent and very filling. Compared to other non-michelin starred yet high end restaurants I've been to, I don't think the price tag is very high for the option that we chose. Given the choice between here and Fera at Claridge's, I think this one edges it (although I adore the decor at Fera). I would love to come back for dinner, or as a super special treat, try the private dining 'lumiere' experience inside the chandelier curtain - how cool does that look!

Pierre Monetta