Hyde Park Corner, French Restaurant Guide

“It always takes hours to decide on the wine!!” for fans of the grape at Gordon Ramsay’s mutedly luxurious Belgravia haunt, which is built around a wine cage and, of course, named for the famous Bordeaux appellation whose vintages contribute to its list. Though primarily nominated in our annual diners’ poll in the category for ‘Best Wine List’, its modern French cuisine under head chef Orson Vergnaud (at the helm since 2022) returned to stronger form this year and in a quiet way this is again one of the better restaurants in Gordon Ramsay’s stable.

A Japanese accent to the pastries adds exoticism (and expense?) to a trip to this swish perch, in the beating bougie heart of Belgravia. It originally opened in the foyer of the stunning-looking Pantechnicon building next door, which – in summer 2024 – rebranded as ‘19 Motcomb Street’ – leading (we understand from the press) to a relocation of the café to the ‘Halkin Arcade’.

Über-chef Alain Ducasse’s deluxe Mayfair outpost (one of 34 he owns around the world) opened in London in 2007 to instant acclaim from the folks in Clermont Ferrand, who immediately awarded it three Michelin stars for its luxurious modern French cuisine. It’s an award that has always puzzled London’s fooderati, who have never really rated the place. An appropriately comfortable room, its centrepiece is the (slightly weird) ‘Table Lumière’ – a private-ish table surrounded by a floor-ceiling curtain of 4,500 fibre optic cables. Much nominated as a business favourite, it is a “great space for talks, with such well-spaced tables and there’s an excellent set lunch menu” too. If you don’t opt for the set lunch route, though, a visit is no bargain, and over one third of those who mention it in our annual diners’ poll do so as their most overpriced meal of the year. What’s also entirely absent are raves from more foodie reporters over the cooking, which is not terribly rated but can seem “expensive and average for all the hype”.

On the ground floor of a luxurious Park Lane five star – complete with its own pavement entrance – this year-old newcomer is a showcase for Parisian chef Yannick Alléno (who holds 15 Michelin stars worldwide and whose empire globally includes two other ‘Pavyllons’). The interior is stylish – if in a slightly anodyne kind of way – and “the tables are a good size and reasonably spaced so it’s particularly good for business”. The “well-executed” menu has its fair share of luxury ingredients, but is not particularly ‘foodie’; and you can eat à la carte or choose the four-course (£85 per person) or six-course (£110 per person) ‘Immersive Mayfair’ menu. Top Tip – “there is an excellent set lunch deal (at the reasonable price of £55.50 per person)”.