We’ve been itching to get back into The Lanesborough since it closed for refurbishment back in 2013, particularly so we could try out the brand new restaurant, Céleste. As always, we were the first in there to road test it before giving you the low-down. But did it rock our boat or is it going to be more of a case of the Mary Celeste? Read our full review here to find out.
Emerging from a refurbishment that began in late 2013, The Lanesborough’s transformed restaurant has a new executive chef in Florian Favario, a protégé of Eric Frechon of the three-Michelin-starred Epicure at Le Bristol hotel in Paris. His internationally flavoured menu may read like a sort of culinary lingua franca for global luxury (lobster Caesar salad; tandoori-spiced wild Scottish salmon), but Favario excels at coaxing the essential flavour from his ingredients: slices of tomato that taste of the absolute essence of tomato, orbiting an intense tomato sorbet; the sweetest Charentais melon set off by a transparent, mint-infused elderflower jelly; or an elegantly deconstructed Eton mess of pure strawberry lusciousness. Seafood is dextrously handled, whether tiger prawn in a lightly curried chilled cucumber and coconut soup, or lobster conchiglioni in which the pasta is bathed in a deeply flavoured bisque. Meat-eaters aren’t neglected (Norfolk black-leg chicken, say), and a witty take on beef Wellington – a bacon-cheeseburger encased en croûte in pastry – isn’t just there to be Instagrammed: it’s a savoury delight. The glass-domed room has been tricked out in Georgian fancy dress of bas-relief friezes and chandeliers: a rather sugary confection for a building that began life not as a Regency mansion but St George’s Hospital. This is formal dining to be sure (with a wine list to match), but handled with a light touch by charming staff. It’s also the perfect setting for afternoon tea, with one of London’s best loose-leaf selections.
Why not also check out our list of London’s other excellent hotel restaurant and bars here
This article was published 22 July 2015