Harden's survey result
Summary
“Exemplary Italian ingredients cooked to perfection” and “served impeccably by delightful people” has earned a glowing reputation for the English-born former River Café chef, whose dining room off the foyer of the 1970s-built Intercontinental Hotel tower near Hyde Park Corner provides some of London’s best Italian cuisine. The “soulless setting” always attracts adverse comment, although it is “much improved” since its renovation a few years back.
Summary
“Exemplary Italian ingredients cooked to perfection” and “served impeccably by delightful people” has earned a glowing reputation for the English-born former River Café chef, whose dining room off the foyer of the 1970s-built Intercontinental Hotel tower near Hyde Park Corner provides some of London’s best Italian cuisine. The “soulless setting” always attracts adverse comment, although it is “much improved” since its renovation a few years back.
Summary
The home of some of “the best Italian food going” is how fans recommend this ex-River Café head chef’s luxurious dining room, just off a hotel foyer by Hyde Park Corner, which also benefits from an “enormous and interesting wine list” (although the latter “can bring tears to your wallet”). The space lacks natural light, but the revamp a couple of years ago has made it more “charming”.
Summary
“Fabulous Italian cuisine in hearty portions” and “friendly” service delight fans of this ex-River Café chef’s “calm and quiet” HQ, off the foyer of a luxury hotel by Hyde Park Corner. As ever, there are gripes that “it feels very much like a brightly-lit ‘hotel’ restaurant”, but the consensus is that “the refurbishment to the room a couple of years ago is a definite improvement”.
For 30 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Theo Randall at the InterContinental London Park Lane?
Restaurant details
Theo Randall at the InterContinental London Park Lane Restaurant Diner Reviews
"We’ve been wanting to come here for a long time so it now gives me great pleasure to say that I can finally tick it of my list. My only regret really is that we left it so long because the food was amazing and this was matched by fabulous Italian cocktails and wine along with excellent friendly service. We arrived at the intercontinental hotel on saturday where we were given a nice welcome before heading inside. The restaurant is literally just on your right. We entered to receive a delightful welcome from manager Anne Marie before she escorted us to our table. It’s a fabulous dining room with a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere which was matched throughout the evening by each member of staff. Once we were seated our evening got of to a great start as from the kitchen came Theo Randall himself. He came over to our ltable for a quick chat and hoped we had a fantastic evening before heading back to prepare for a busy service. We were then introduced to our waitress Giovanna who I have to say couldn’t have looked after us any better. She started by leaving us the menu and asking if we’d like to start with a cocktail. My wife went for a martini and I just had to have a negroni as I’d seen Theo rave about it on the television. But to be fair it was a good one. Giovanna then came over to guide us through the menu and also give us some great recommendations. First up was the antipasti where we opted for the Carne Salata - thinly sliced Angus Beef with zucchini , pine nuts , parmesan and the Anguilla Affumicata - smoked eel , red and golden beetroots , italian leaves , fresh horseradish. They were both absolutely amazing and a fantastic way to begin. We’d now finished our cocktails so it was time to meet the sommelier to discuss wine pairings for our next two courses. Here he recommended a couple of absolutely stunning italian wines that matched the food to perfection. The first was for myself a fabulous Barbera D’Asti 2017 Superiore a full bodied beauty that was so good I had to have a second glass. For my wife he chose a delightful lighter and fruitier Langhe Nebbiolo 2019. Now it time for our pasta course. My wife chose the Cappelletti do Vitello - pasta stuffed with veal and pancetta with porcini mushrooms & parmesan that not only looked delicious tasted it to. I decided to opt for the Pappardelle con ragu di manzo - pasta with slow cooked beef in chianti & san marzano tomatoes that was absolutely italy on a plate. Next it was on to the main event and if what we’d already had wasn’t amazing enough what was to follow was absolutely stunning. We chose the Orata - sea bream fillet with potatoes , tomatoes , capers , olives and white wine with the look on my wife’s face was all I needed to see to realise how good it was. I chose the Grilled Beef Sirloin ‘Tagliata’ with cannellini beans , salsa verde , datterini tomatoes and wild rocket. I was literally in food heaven. We accompanied these dishes with a salad and the best zucchini fritte ever. Now it was time to finish with dessert. My wife opted for the Cheese course (apologies for no pic) a selection of italian cheeses with mostarda and homemade crackers. For myself I chose the Ricotta Cheesecake with pears , sultanas marinated in marsala & vanilla. This was the best cheesecake I’d ever tasted. Along with this and on Giovanna’s recommendation I also had the Soft Chocolate Cake with crema di mascarpone an absolutely chocolate lovers dream dessert. We finished with an espresso to round of an absolutely amazing evening. You can clearly see why so many people say it’s the best Italian restaurant because the food is simply stunning. I literally cannot wait to come back and would highly recommend anyone to pay a visit themselves. Thank You Theo and all your team for a fantastic evening and look forward to seeing you all again soon. Ciao for now. "
"We opted for the monthly regional menu, with wine pairing. It was one of the best cooked and balanced menus we’ve had, ever. "
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinner | £35.00 |  |
|
 |
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| Brunch | £59.00 | |
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| Cost | Availability | Courses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menu1 | 50.00 | Dinner only | 4 |
| Menu2 | 65.00 | Dinner only | 4 |
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Veggies | Pudding |
|---|---|---|---|
| £15.50 | £26.00 | £6.00 | £9.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £39.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £6.00 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 12.50% |
Harden's says...
Theo Randall W1
What are hotel restaurants for? It's a question that many hotels struggle with, especially in cities with vibrant restaurant scenes.
A haven of gastronomy is one obvious answer, so recruiting a 'name' chef is step one. For many years, Theo Randall headed up the kitchen at the River Café, so putting his name up in lights suggests that's the plan here. If so, this place, in the early days at least, is an abject failure. Only one dish out of eight sampled stood out, and that dish- an excellent carpaccio - unfortunately came at the beginning. Two plates of pasta were ho-hum. A generous main course portion of John Dory was on the verge of being overcooked, and a fish stew similarly failed to raise the spirits. Lemon tart - perhaps the ultimate 'critical test' dish - was too creamy truly to satisfy.
And prices are vertiginous. Our dinner for two, including two glasses of champagne and a bottle of pretty standard wine, would weigh in around the £200 mark. You can eat almost anywhere in London for this money, and usually much better.
But, you cry, surely the place must have other uses? Well, we couldn't see any. Dinner with your Mayfair mistress? Forget it: this cold and unflatteringly-lit dining room is as unromantic a location as central London affords.
Business, then? The tables are well-spaced, so at first sight this seems a runner. But the acoustics are poor and conversation - with the room at most a third full - was surprisingly difficult. And service, at least in these early days, is well below the level you might hope for.
It left us stumped. Hotel groups have so many resources at their disposal. Is that why so many of them continue to get their dining rooms so disastrously wrong?
InterContinental London, Park Lane, 1 Hamilton Place, London, W1J 7QY
Opening hours
| Monday | 6:30 am‑10:30 |
| Tuesday | 6:30 am‑10:30 , 5:30 pm‑10 pm |
| Wednesday | 6:30 am‑10:30 , 5:30 pm‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 6:30 am‑10:30 , 5:30 pm‑10 pm |
| Friday | 6:30 am‑10:30 , 5:30 pm‑10 pm |
| Saturday | 6:30 am‑11 am, 5:30 pm‑10 pm |
| Sunday | 6:30 am‑11 am |
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