Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester

Cocky Londoners believe the French have nothing to teach them about food but then Alain Ducasse (above left) turns up and makes them think again. This French mega-chef has a global empire of restaurants ranging from plutocrat heaven or ultra-chic to cosy and traditional. He's in a class of his own combining glamour with a passion for authentic flavours and ingredients. Virtually every chef in British kitchens and on British telly has been inspired by the gospel according to Ducasse. So here he is at the Dorchester in super deluxe mode with heavenly cooking, a show-stopping wine list and rather frightening prices. Overnight this quirky modern dining room has become the destination for foodies and expense account eating. It's not stiff and formal, (a common complaint about hotel restaurants) thanks to the playful design of the room and a friendly, informed front of house team led by Christian Laval and head sommelier, Hugues Lepin. The room is a sea of opulent leather and wood in well-mannered tones of cream, tan and taupe with large windows on one side looking out over Park Lane. In a private alcove to one side, the walls are studded with thousands of silk buttons in different shades of green to mimic Hyde Park opposite, and there are dramatic features like an oval leather screen that marks the entrance, a walk-in wine cave, and the Table Lumière, the ultimate private dining room that seems to float in its own glittering capsule created by fibre optic strands. The restaurant has been kitted out with fine china, crystal, cutlery and linen and the Table Lumière has its own range to enhance that delicious feeling of exclusivity. Instead of a predictable posy of flowers, each table carries a unique and utterly charming ceramic of fruit or vegetables. A huge curved pewter wall masks the entrance to the kitchen where the Ducasse team produces the most divine, light, fragrant, accomplished French cooking that knocks the socks off anything else in town. Yes it's expensive but worth it though thank goodness they've abandoned the ruinous £70 supplement for a few shavings of white truffles. There's a three-course a la carte menu for £75, seven course tasting menu at £115, and a very good value three-course lunch menu for £35. The wine list is mind-blowing with more than 70 Champagnes including the very rare 1999 Bollinger Grand Année Rosé, a snip at £235. The Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane, London W1, 020 7629 8866; www.alainducasse-dorchester.com

 

Le Café Anglais

One of London's most influential chefs, Rowley Leigh (above centre) has taken over an old Macdonald's site in grubby Queensway and turned it into one of the hottest new restaurants in town. Leigh made his name 20 years ago with Kensington Place and instead of sinking into a graceful, much applauded retirement, he has teamed up with trend-setting entrepreneur Charlie McVeigh and a bunch of astute backers who can spot a winner. (The launch was oversubscribed by 50% and they had to send back cheques for more than half a million pounds.) What's great about le Café Anglais? A whole cocktail of things starting with the first floor site that's light and airy with huge original windows and its own entrance to avoid the riff-raff in the Whiteleys shopping 'n' cinema complex. The centre of the room is occupied by a vast open kitchen and rotisserie while all around are comfortable chairs and tables covered with crisp white linen, pale green buttoned leather banquettes and booths, art deco lights and sweetly winning service. There's a huge brasserie menu starting with a list of aperitifs including fine sherries and wines, martinis, retro sharpeners like the Americano, Gin Fizz and White Lady, and of course Champagne. Before your first course, why not order a selection of small hors d'oeuvres priced at £3 each including rabbit rillettes with pungent pickled endives, salsify fritters, leeks vinaigrette and moreish Parmesan custard into which you dip a savoury anchovy toast. First courses include beef consommé with oysters, frankfurters and choucroute, shell fish, terrines, omelettes and a pike boudin with beurre blanc that hasn't been on an English menu for many a year. Roasts, game birds (this being winter) and plain grills dominate the main courses and there are daily specials of stews and pies. This is the revival of true bourgeois French and English cooking, dishes we all want to eat but have forgotten how to make. Hurrah for Rowley Leigh and his vision of proper food for real people. One night when I was there, Sir Terence Conran, no slouch when it comes to innovation, looked round wistfully and said "I wish I'd done this". 8 Porchester Gardens, London W2, 020 77221 1415; www.lecafeanglais.co.uk

 

Marco

A whole generation of food lovers has missed out on the legend that was Marco Pierre White (above right): the talent, the tantrums, the Michelin stars and his gradual disappearance from the scene, content to be a businessman. He became more famous for glitterati friendships with Madonna and the huntin' shootin' toffs, and for his long running feud with former employee Gordon Ramsay. He opened a small chain of admittedly rather good pizza restaurants with Frankie Dettori but this was a far cry from Marco in his glory days. He opened another Italian restaurant, Luciano, and quickly won the hearts of the business crowd in St James's, and then the lure of the magic rectangle, television, brought him back into the public eye with the recent season of Hell's Kitchen. His ironic humour and professionalism were a hit with the pot-noodle-eating classes and suddenly he's back on the restaurant scene, not behind the stoves of course, but with a swanky French restaurant called Marco in the jaws of Stamford Bridge, home to London's flashiest football team. I want to like the place, honest, because he's been a great chef and he's got a good team of his own with Matthew Brown as head chef, one of my favourite restaurant managers, Livio Italiani, and a very handsome room by Tara Bernard. But the cooking? What's this all about? While on match days there are simpler dishes like a Sunday roast or Shepherd's Pie, the menu is chiefly fancy French food circa 1998, all fussy presentation and ingredients tortured into unnatural shapes accompanied by overworked rich sauces and mousselines suitable for the toothless. There are signature dishes like oysters in champagne jelly, pigeon stuffed with foie gras and wrapped in cabbage leaves, and poached skate with winkles but it seems sadly off the mark. It's so out of tune with diners now, even at the very top of the market. Marco should book himself a table at Ducasse to see how it's done today. Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London SW6, 020 7915 2929; www.marcorestaurant.co.uk

 

Hereford Road

Unlike the other three chefs we've covered this month, you've probably never heard of Tom Pemberton. And yet his new place, Hereford Road, captures everything that's good and lively about the London restaurant scene. There's an unpretentious menu of simple food based on great British ingredients and the chef's skill and imagination. Couple that with a large light room with the main dining area under a huge circular skylight, snug double seating facing the open kitchen in the narrow entrance, affable service, free jugs of water on arrival, and decent prices, and you have a winner. Tom Pemberton is a quiet, self-effacing chap, a graduate of the Fergus Henderson style of gusty cooking and he was the head chef of St John Bread & Wine for seven years. But he's very much his own man here. Start with Morecambe Bay shrimps, grilled sprats, brawn and Piccalilli, or a lovely fresh dish of beetroot, sorrel and soft-boiled egg. For mains you can have superior steak and chips with garlic mayonnaise, pot roast rabbit with turnips, game birds, fish dishes, or a whole oxtail served for two in a long oval dish with carrots and buttery mash. There's always a veggie option if you're appalled at the ravening carnivores all around. For afters, try honeycomb ice cream, chocolate cake, fruit crumble and a selection of British cheeses. It's open for lunch and dinner every day and looks like being a Notting Hill fixture for many years to come. 3 Hereford Road, London W2, 020 7727 1144; www.herefordroad.org

 

New restaurants are split into two camps with big-name chefs and classic French cuisine challenged by feisty newcomers and a modern take on casual, rustic cooking. A fight to the death or is there room for everyone?

Must try...

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It's a double whammy for foodies who are art lovers. To celebrate the current exhibition of Renaissance art from Siena, the National Café at the National Gallery in London has an Italian-inspired menu and fine wines from Tuscany and Sienna at a fraction of their cost. Bottles retailing at £10 including Chianti Classico Felsina Barardenga (normally £50) and Banfi Brunello de Montalcino normally priced at £100. Menu highlights include porcini mushrooms in a light broth, quail stuffed with pork, veal, almonds and pine nuts, and typical desserts like rice pudding with whipped cream, raisins and mixed berries. Sienese sweets like spicy panforte are served with coffee. Runs to 13 January 2008. East Wing, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2, 020 7747 5942; www.thenationalgallery
.org.uk/exhibitions/
renaissancesiena/
events.htm

Last month we featured The Only Running Footman, the Mayfair pub that's become something of a gourmet destination in Berkeley Square. The Footman has now launched The Only Eating & Drinking Club, with events taking place each month in private rooms on the upper floors at 5 Charles Street, London W1. Events have different themes but will always showcase seasonal foods and matching wines, drawing on experts to inform and entertain the members. For tickets and information call the group's head office, 020 7354 8143 or visit www.themeredithgroup.co.uk