Harden's says
Chef Alex Dilling opened his first restaurant in London’s historic Café Royal on 1st September 2022. Alex ran the kitchen at Mayfair’s late, lamented Greenhouse (RIP) until it closed during the Covid epidemic in 2020, and had previously worked for Hélène Darroze at the Connaught and Alain Ducasse.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Exceptional food with flavours to match” still features in some reports on ex-Greenhouse chef Alex Dilling’s fêted two-year-old, overlooking Regent Street from the grand confines of the Café Royal, which soon after its launch was blessed with two Michelin Stars. However, feedback in our survey slumped badly this year. No-one says the food is bad, but half of reporters consider it “overpriced” and there’s a theme in feedback of a rather “dull” feel to the enterprise: “lots of clever techniques but the flavour and feel fell short…”; “I’ve given 4 for food to acknowledge the skill, but this was a demonstration of skill without any soul…”; “all very ‘comme il faut’ but slightly underwhelming and a touch impersonal with well-drilled, but slightly impersonal, service”.
Summary
Ex-Greenhouse chef, Alex Dilling, “has hit the ground running” at this West End yearling, overlooking Regent Street: one of the highest quality arrivals of the last twelve months (for which he was awarded two Michelin stars in no seconds flat). Feedback is full of superlatives for his “exceptional cuisine” which is in a “classic” style rooted in tradition (“it was some of the most technically accomplished food I have ever been served…”). Overall it’s an “elegant” experience, but the “dining room could do with a little refresh (staff indicated plans are in the pipeline for this)”.
Summary
Since it closed its iconic Café Royal Grill Room, this super-swanky five star by Piccadilly Circus has lacked a flagship restaurant. … till now, that is, when – in early September 2022 – they open this new 34-cover dining room, overseen by the eponymous former chef of Mayfair’s now-defunct Greenhouse. The website promises a ‘modern take on traditional French gastronomic cuisine’ in a room ‘overlooking the curvature of Regent Street’.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Alex Dilling Café Royal?
Café Royal, 68 Regent Street, London, W1B 4DY
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £40.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £7.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
Café Royal, 68 Regent Street, London, W1B 4DY
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Thursday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Friday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑1:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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