Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London

Heston Blumenthal is the chef at the Fat Duck in Bray, which has 3 Michelin stars, but now he has launched himself on the London dining scene, opening his new restaurant Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental  Hotel in Knightsbridge.

This is the perfect location for a new trendy restaurant with a difference:  all the dishes on offer are based on old English recipes, most of them dating from the 16th and 17th centuries!  At first glance some of them seem a little surprising- ragoo of pigs ears, based on a recipe from c. 1750 for example – but it was in fact absolutely delicious and I will have no hesitation in trying any of his offerings on my next visit! The origin of each dish is listed on the menu,  with the name of the cookery book from which it was taken, so if you feel like it you can try your hand at home…

The  large dining room is bright, comfortable and elegantly decorated with wonderful views over Hyde Park.  The kitchen has a floor to ceiling  glass window, so you can see the numerous chefs busy at work – there must have been at least ten of them in the kitchen – and I found it very interesting watching the various culinary procedures which were underway.   There is also a pulley, copied from an medieval kitchen design, which operates a roasting spit over an open fire – that day whole pineapples were being roasted.

Our three course set lunch consisted of Lemon Salad (c.1730) or Ragoo of PIgs Ears (c.1750), followed by Roast Ray Wing (c. 1954) or Slow Cooked Pork Collar (c.1820) and then Prune and Tamarind Tart (c.1720) or Roast White Peach (c.1885).  The price was £36.

The a la carte menu offers main courses such as Powdered Duck Breast (c.1670), Spiced Pigeon (c. 1780) or Cod in Cider (c.1940) . The dishes vary in price from  £15 to £16. for the starters, £29 to £38 for the main courses and £9 to £12 for the desserts.

This is obviously an expensive restaurant but it is quite different and I think it will quickly be rewarded by Michelin stars.

Harrods and Harvey Nichols department stores are right opposite, plus all the other tempting Knightsbridge stores.