Hyde Park Corner, French Restaurant Guide

“Interesting vintages, well introduced by the sommelier” helped win renewed praise this year for this slick, luxurious Belgravian (built around a central wine cage), which was also sometimes nominated for its “romantic” potential. However – as it approaches its 14th year – although its modern French cuisine was often favourably rated this year, there’s little of the excitement in feedback that once distinguished it as one of the flagships of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant portfolio.

“With the pâtisserie, the Japanese and Parisian influences are combined in such a wonderful way… and the coffee is sooo good”, according to fans of this mezzanine and foyer café, within a beautiful Belgravia landmark. But, perhaps predictably considering the frou-frou nature of this luxe locale, it can also seem plain “overpriced”.

“A perfect menu that will forever stay in the mind” is how some reporters remember this luxurious Mayfair outpost of France’s most celebrated restaurateur, whose kitchen is run by chef-patron Jean-Philippe Blondet. Often indifferently rated in our survey over the years, it was more regularly acclaimed this year as offering “the very best of French cuisine” to match its Michelin three-star renown, although even those acknowledging the “impeccable food and service” sometimes note that “the room itself is a bit soulless and rather boring”. And there remains an undercurrent in sentiment of the view that the performance is “uninspiring and poor value”. Top Menu Tip – save yourself for the signature dish, which is rum baba, with Chantilly cream and rum.

“What a view you get over London” from the 28th floor of Hilton Hotel on Park Lane (when it opened in 1963, the capital’s first skyscraper hotel). Run since 2006 by the Galvin Bros, there is the odd grumble that the fare is “pedestrian and overpriced”, but most diners feel you get “wonderful service and food to match the vista”, with head chef Marc Hardiman providing a variety of à la carte and tasting options. Top Tip – good-value set lunch.

As Le Comptoir Robuchon (RIP), this Mayfair outpost of the famous French chef’s global empire (which opened after his death) has never been a huge talking point for the fooderati. This was despite it providing a “top gastronomic experience” combining a very elegant interior with traditional Gallic fare that’s “worth the price”. Now, from September 2023, it’s being re-jigged to sit under the group’s international, flagship ‘Atelier’ brand – so creating a successor to the erstwhile Covent Garden site of that name that closed in 2018. Chef Andrea Cofini will be at the stoves, and doubtless aiming to put it on a par with its siblings in Hong Kong, Miami, Taipei, Vegas and Geneva, each of which holds at least one Michelin star (and most two or three).

2022 Review: Following closure of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and the death of the man himself, this Picadilly café is now one of two London ventures opened in late 2019 by the group he founded. It’s all very chic and continental, but you don’t come here for culinary adventure – but to buy or snack on everyday staples (lots of tempting patisserie and viennoiserie, lasagna, club sandwich, Caesar salad…).

Parisian uber-chef Yannick Alléno – who holds a total of 15 Michelin stars at 17 restaurants across the globe – made his London debut this summer at this July 2023 launch. Since the days of Bruno Loubet in the early ’90s, the quietly glamorous Four Seasons has – for all its other virtues – lacked a high profile flagship eatery. Let’s hope that this newcomer inspires more local excitement than its more established near neighbour on Park Lane, run by the holder of the world’s most Michelin Stars (in that case 21): Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester. With main dishes around £50, the à la carte pricing here is a little vertigo-inspiring, but the offering of a set two-course lunch option under £50 and a tasting menu under £100 suggest a desire to tempt the locals to try it out.