This week we travel to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, in both London and Melbourne.
I ventured here for the first time in 2014, when I was trying to get to The Fat Duck in the UK but couldn't get a reservation. I went with my friend Chris, and we had the most amazing time. It is located in the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park.
The second time was just last year in Melbourne, when Tara and Tim got married (extravagant wedding meal for 4!). This one is located at the Melbourne Fat Duck site, in the Crown Towers.
This restaurant is a la carte, rather than degustation, and you can select entree, main & dessert from the menu, and then add some liquid nitrogen ice cream to finish. Wines you then select from a menu - when I went there in 2014, I asked them to match my wines to each of the courses I had selected, and that worked really well!
I really love the concept of this restaurant. They take the historical origin of the recipe, and turn the concept into a new modern dish. When you read the menu in the restaurant, you can see the year of origin and the back story to the dish, which is just magical.
Their website description:
Dinner takes its creative inspiration from our historic and nostalgic culinary past...Following years of research, the culinary exploration of chefs Heston Blumenthal and Ashley Palmer-Watts has resulted in a modern menu of dishes that have been inspired by historic recipes and history books. Some elements date as far back as the 13th Century. Working with food historians in Australia and the UK, as well as endless hours of library research, the two chefs have created a unique and original dining experience.
I don't know how often they change their menu, but you can find the current menu here.
Below are the photos I took at each experience - London first, then Melbourne.
I will label the dishes if I can remember which one it is :)
London
Frumenty: grilled octopus, spelt, leek & chervil emulsion & sea broth
Chicken & Cauliflower
Black Angus Rib Eye with mushroom ketchup & triple cooked chips
Goats cheese cheese cake with poached pear
Melbourne
Note: I didn't take a photo of every course here... by this stage, we were just enjoying the elopement and not as focused on food photography as I would normally be!
Meat fruit
Rice & Flesh: saffron, kangaroo tail, red wine
Tipsy cake
Liquid nitrogen ice cream
So what did we think?
Both locations are just fabulous. The service is sensational, the drinks delicious, and the food, although didn't tell a continuous story the same way a degustation would, still managed to take you on a journey, in a way only Heston's food can. So spectacular. My experience in both restaurants was relaxed and exciting, which such an importance placed on guest experience. Loved it.
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Fine Dining Restaurant Mini Review:
Was it worth the money ($30 - 90 per person per course - London cost 450 pounds for 2 people): yes, definitely
Did I love every dish: yes!
Favourite dish: If you go to Dinner, at least one of you needs to have the meat fruit for entree. Just do it. Trust me.
Matching wines: ask your waiter to match wines to your course - it worked well! You would be fine getting a bottle for the table though. Equally amazing.
Would I go again: absolutely yes
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Join me next week when we take a trip to Cucina Locale.
Hx
Hx
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