The Lanesborough Grill

Even in the flesh, The Lanesborough Grill's magnificent dining room looks like a photo that’s been auto corrected. With its ginormous globe skylight, twinkling crown of a chandelier, and pastel blue and white colour scheme that feels like somewhere Cinderella and Prince Charming might have met, it’s hard to believe a room so beautiful can exist in the real world.

The fairytale continues beyond the dazzling threshold. An accommodating waiter pulls out our chair and pours a glass of Champagne with the steadiest of hands, a ritual we imagine he’s rehearsed a thousand times. Service is a lesson in proper etiquette – polished, knowledgeable and exceedingly warm - and plays a huge part in making us feel like we’ve waltzed into someone’s impeccably decorated home for the evening.

However, it’s Shay Cooper’s cooking that is the true hero in this romantic tale. His la carte menu hinges around fine British ingredients and classic ideas elevated with dizzyingly delicious twists. It begins with a boule of bubby focaccia, glistening with olive oil and served, perhaps unnecessarily, with good, salted butter. Next, a delicate mound of flaky crabmeat is bolstered by a frothy chicken broth, salty seaweed and a tangle of crisp greenery. Perfectly cooked halibut with a thick, golden crust where it’s been sizzled in hot fat comes with charred squid, saffron potatoes and another masterful broth. To finish, a warm chocolate tart combines the best bits of a crunchy-topped brownie and a puffy souffle. It’s molten on the inside and hides some sort of moreishly crunchy praline within. There is coffee ice cream on the side. It’s a masterpiece.

You’d have to be hard as nails not to be wooed by The Lanesborough Grill, and every time we return, we’re blown away by its disarming beauty and impeccable food. For a special treat, there’s no better place in London.

The Lanesborough Grill is the flagship restaurant at The Lanesborough hotel - a London institution on Hyde Park Corner that remains firmly atop London's luxury hotel pyramid. The Lanesborough has often boasted a Michelin-starred flagship over the last 10 years - starting with Heinz Beck's Apsleys and more recently with Celeste - and with executive chef Shay Cooper now at the helm, The Lanesborough Grill promises much. 

Cooper's modern British cooking is a perfect fit for the restaurant - he is an innovative chef who values classic flavours and cooking techniques, and The Lanesborough is a storied hotel in its own right. The Lanesborough Grill, meanwhile, is still a beautiful space - certainly one of the most elegant dining rooms in London. The domed glass roof and chandeliers give the restaurant a palatial feel, and the restaurant is leaning into its Bridgerton-esque aesthetic with the decoration as well as plenty of trolley service and tableside theatre.

The menu is a reflection of Cooper's style - elevated, sophisticated British classics. Dishes include Coronation crab salad with a curry leaf sabayon, Hereford beef tartare with potato crisps, cured egg yolk truffle and sherry dressing, Beef Wellington with royale chestnut mushroom, oxtail and bone marrow potatoes, and poached native lobster cooked with spring radishes, broad beans, peas and lemon verbena butter. Save a bit of room for dessert too, especially with picture-perfect sweets like Yorkshire rhubarb trifle with earl grey custard on the menu.

As one would expect, The Lanesborough Grill also boasts a significant wine cellar, with hundreds upon hundreds of old and new world fine wines alongside some rarities.