Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester
our comments
‘Ducasse at the Dorchester’, it has such a snappy alliterative ring to it you wonder if the man chose this location just for that reason. Then again where else would the chef who has more Michelin stars than Ramsey set up shop? The Bide a’ Wee Guesthouse Bayswater?
Pass through the discreet portals of the restaurant proper and you enter the hushed, dimmed light world, of the wealthy diner. Tables and comfy chairs are well spaced to give privacy, but if you’re seriously pushing the bateau out then there is the Table Lumiere where up to six diners can eat hidden behind ‘a luminescent, oval curtain made of cotton voile and over 4,500 cracked fibre optic strands.’ Nice. All the tables have their charms but the raised platform area seems the coolest. Where we sat was fine though and we could comfortably see the whole room and observe the platoons of servers all gliding about on well-oiled castors. The Tasting Menu was a breath-catching £115 and so we went for it. Sensing money the sommelier suggested a bottle of wine to go with it; oh cripes, as Boris might say, £350! We feigned indifference to the price, ‘what us? Can’t afford it? No, no, we merely fancy something else.’ A suggested alternative bottle of Pomerol 2004 Chateau Montviel hit the scales at somewhat less cash, but hit the spot for all the dishes that followed.
Bread served with a choice of either luscious butter or what looked like squirty cream, but of course wasn’t, came a bit chewy for me although the Ginger Gourmand opposite liked his choice of roll which apparently was made with pig fat. The cream got a thumbs down from us both though, too rich and yet too light and insubstantial. First course ‘what no amuses? For shame!’ turned up in a sort of Faberge egg but was in fact a bit of a curate’s one. Not very memorable, and my notes show a blank. Ah but next came abalone and sea urchin in a gelee and a seashell. This brought back childhood memories of holidays prising the spiny urchins from seaside rocks and then eating them with the spoons we’d brought with us. This dish was redolent of the sea and a fine mix of textures, quite superb in fact.
Seared scallops were perfectly cooked, as one might hope at this level, and the dusting of cracked black pepper was well judged to bring out all their flavour. The little pile of caviar on top added class, but didn’t really bring much else to the party on my tongue – hey, everyone’s invited! This was a dish that was supremely competent but which didn’t excite like the previous one had. Filet of John Dory with asparagus and ‘citrus sabayon’ was an excellent piece of fish precisely cooked, but the citrus sabayon was too much for it. It was as if the dish had been swamped in Sunny D and it made the whole thing taste rather childish. The asparagus with it was crispy white, far better than the green, and if the citrus level had been turned down the dish would have gained a lot.
Roasted rack and saddle (and kidney) of Pyrenees lamb with truffled vegetables was well-sourced meat, although it had clocked up some unfashionable air miles to be with us. Again perfectly cooked but lacking any real excitement. Cheese, or CHEESE as the menu had it, was partnered piece for piece with some tracklements and other sticky things and each was fine. Chocolate Gianduja was a mannered example of the classic mix of hazelnut, cocoa and sugar but inevitably was a bit too rich and I had to regretfully push it away unfinished. Conclusion on the Ducasse experience? Over priced and under imaginative, but in its way extremely high quality for those that can afford it.
Nick Harman - May 2008
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
We ate at Alain Ducasse last Friday and were bowled over by the restaurant. I can only assume that the problems reported by other reviewers were teething problems which have now been ironed out.
Firstly, the service was seemless, although if I had to split hairs, our wine list didn't arrive until after our food order had been taken. It would have been nice to have had sight of it earlier.
The food was stunning. Complex, yet light and a true credit to the modern French cooking which is commonplace in France, yet ignored over here in favour of the usual pastiche dishes hammed up for English diners.
The amusé bouche were imaginative and as enjoyable as any other part of the meal.
We also thought the sweet trolley was a nice touch - and we can away with a little bag of caramels and chocolate nuts as our waiter would just not accept our protests that we were too full to eat them!
The meal was not cheap - our bill for 2 with a decent bottle of wine was £400, but food of this quality shouldn't. And this is not the sort of place you'd want to eat in every week, but for a special occasion or treat, we were suitably impressed and will return.
It might also be worth noting this place didn't seem to get going until later. When we arrived for our 8pm table, the room was very quiet. However, when we left, every table was full and there was a real buzz to the atmosphere.
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Catherine
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, June 16, 2008
We vidited recently and had a very mixed experience. I have no complaint with the atmosphere or service but I was a bit dissappointed with the food.
Whatever happened to seasonality and locally sourced produce. I had broad beans, peas and raspberries in April. When the ingredients were fresh, they were fantastic and very enjoyable.
I agree with previous comments regarding wine and think that Mr Ducasse needs to rethink this and some of his presentation if he is to satisfy the cosmopolitan taste buds of London.
I think there is so much more potential here and if it is not realised then the 'secrecy curtain' will come down as well as his name above the door.
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Andrew
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, June 09, 2008
We ate at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester last night and found it a bit of a mediocre affair. We all had the tasting menu which on paper was impressive in its wide range of tastes, flavours and ingredients but when the courses arrived sadly only about half of them lived up to expectation. A tartare of longostine was excellent however seabass with champagne sauce was completely lacking in flavour. A warm salad of greens failed to leave any impression whereas the saddle of lamb was succulent, sweet and full of flavour. And at £115 of the lot, I would expect more. The service was warm and friendly though at times, a little too French. The fact that Ramsay is so impressed by him surprises me as he has now clearly overtaken his master....
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Overall rating 
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Thursday, June 05, 2008
I ate at Alain Ducasse whilst staying at The Dorchester on Friday evening and my guest and I thought it was superb.
The service was excellent, the food sublime and the atmosphere was perfect.
My only complaint is that the wine the somelier chose for us was not great and he seemed to be recommending it to everyone regardless of what they were eating.
Other than that it was a very enjoyable evening and we would both definitely return.
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JG
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
We both were impressed by Ducasse’s restaurant in Paris and Monte Carlo. That’s why we had a high expectation for his London child.
Unfortunately, food was just average, especially the seared scallop turned out to be a completely cooked chewy scallop and served with an overwhelming acidic Japanese citrus sauce. What a total waste of the scallop’s fresh sweetness!
A small box of treats was provided to us by the reception when exiting the restaurant... but not enough to compensate for the expensive ( £200 / head) and disappointing meal!
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FineDiningExplorer - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Shameful and certainly not worthy of any stars or a visit. Either the Emperor has no clothes or we are not talking about the same Alain Ducasse.
The atmosphere and set up are, arguably, perfect for a quiet/romantic meal. Staff are friendly and service is OK, but one does not get the feel that they really know what they are doing.
However, the main issue here is the food. We had the grazing menu and the food was dull and unimaginative. (I can not remember any of the dishes.) Finally, whilst I appreciate that it is a French restaurant, the selection of non-French wines is limited.
£500 for two people for a wholly uninspiring meal?? There are many more better places than this one in London.
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Overall rating 
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Maybe we were lucky!
We ate at ADATD in mid-December on a busy Saturday night but had none of the problems anyone else has evidently had from the posted reviews; in fact we found the whole experience to be good.
The service was attentive and generous. we both ate the 4 course option which meant a separate full fish and meat course. the halibut and the steak I had were both absolutely delicious, and the rum baba dessert was great fun.
So, we had no problems with the table positioning, we didn't have the cheese course (which sounds ropey from other reviews), we weren't stung for (or offered, thank goodness) the champagne on arrival (have a drink at the Dorchester bar before you arrive instead, they transfer the tab); the wine list was good and prices absolutely standard for this kind of place; the food was correctly cooked, bread and butter appeared at the right moment, the extra courses thrown in all were all welcome, including petit fours on a huge piece of chocolate which you are at liberty to take home.
We've eaten at AD in paris, and several times at his one-star country inn in moustiers. This is not the paris restaurant, which was extraordinary but also much much more expensive than ADATD (really, there was not a bottle of wine at less than £100 in the paris restaurant). the food is pretty similar to the moustiers restaurant in quality, probably better, but more expensive obviously given the London venue.
We've also had much worse meals in London at the usual michelin starred options (Lindsay House springs to mind). Admittedly, we've also eaten better in London but not for much cheaper than this, and the setting at ADATD is rather grander than most of those.
I worry that expectations have been wrongly set by the existence if AD's two three-starrers in france. Also, the critics love the other restaurants at the Dorchester so this was always going to be given a tough time. That said, other reviewers have made it clear that they did have real problems so there may be a reliability issue!
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ateit - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
I have a theory about this place. I think it's being financed by all the Parisian chefs in an attempt to sully the great name that the london restaurant trade has built up for itself over the past decade or so.
There can be no other reason for its existence, it's a joke and Alain Ducasse should be ashamed of himself. How long before it closes? However I guess it may survive as it will probabally appeal to the people who populate the long foyer of the Dorchester to whom volume of food rather than quality seems to be important.. If you've been here you will know what I'm talking about :-)
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Alfie
Overall rating 
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The meal we had here has to go down as one of the most ridiculous and overpriced restaurant experiences we have ever had.
Firstly we were show to the table directly behind the famous crystal shrouded table and had absolutely no view of the rest of the dining room - my husband was looking at a blank wall and I had the view of this bizarre 'vip' table. Very VB - they even serve the meal on special Versace plates for anyone who is brash enough to book it.
The crudites came with a horrid fatty salty cream and a very incipid anchoide-type dip. The wine list was downright insulting.....we couldn't find more than a few bottles under £70 - none under £60 and, recognising many of the bottles, were horrified at how much they had all been marked up.
Our starters were completely unremarkable - the shock came when our main courses arrived - my husband's beef was very, very well done (he asked for medium rare) and my venison was underdone - it came rare and I had asked for medium. Naturally my husband sent back his beef and we fully expected my main course to be cleared too - so that we could eat at the same time. This did not happen and the waiter sniffily cleared my plate away when I had finished and then brought my husbands beef out which was completely blue - just a suggestion of colour on the outside but cold in the middle. We didn't send it back - we would have had to wait another half an hour - he left most of it which was not commented on by the waiter (too afraid to ask I suspect).
That a Head Chef, ANY Head Chef (let alone Alain Ducasse - who was about on the evening we dined) could send out TWO steaks that were clearly not as the customer ordered and feel good about it is astounding. And then that the waiting staff could even leave the kitchen knowing that the order was so obviously wrong (the first steak was so overcooked that it was curling up at the edges!!)....staggering.
We ordered cheese and nearly laughed out loud when we were presented with a goofy long plate with four mini pieces of cheese with four accompanying bits of chutney/jam - our waiter did not know what any of these were - it didn't matter - they were all horrible!
Our bill for two - with a mediocre bottle of wine, a couple of coffees and two bottles of mineral water came to nearly £500.
We have spent this amount before and been very contented with our meal but this time both walked away nauseous at how utterly fleeced we felt. We have eaten at Alain Ducasse's restaurant at the Plaza Athenee and spent more but were delighted with our meal. The pitiful dinner that we had in London does not compare.
The guy who mentioned 'the emperor's new clothes' had it just right.....it's all a very elaborate joke.
Do not waste your good money here. It would be criminal to support this dreadful place.
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janie
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, January 20, 2008
It's not only AA Gill but every other reviewer, they can't all be wrong and my experience certainly bears it out. Over priced, unimaginative tosh.
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Alfie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Friday, January 18, 2008
