In my world February is (surprisingly) a busy month for birthdays. Sahir (my husband), my father-in-law, my brother and girlfriend all have birthdays in February. I remember when I met Sahir he had a list of things he wanted to do once he married and has his own family; having a Sunday roast at The Dorchester was one of them. Sure he could have gone with his friends, but there are certain things he liked the idea doing with a family - he’s always pointing out ‘nice’ looking families when we are out and about. Sahir is one of those men who was born to be a dad and couldn’t wait to have children so it was fitting as his first birthday as a father, and his father’s first birthday as a grandfather, we celebrated with a traditional family lunch.

Last year I shared my experience of having my baby shower at The Dorchester’s Penthouse and Pavilion Suite. And now we’re back there but this time on a smaller scale; I think The Dorchester does small scale very well (hence the unexpected disappointment of the large scale event) because the service was wonderful and though the food wasn’t amazing, it was done very well and is definitely worth trying. Additionally, the chicken and the beef is halal and finding halal restaurants in London can sometimes be challenging, let alone for a traditional English meal.

I liked what the decor was trying to do but thought it could have been executed a little better; it has a warm colour palette and modern design which makes it very atmospheric, but it isn’t as cosy as it could be and I think a large part of that is down to the lighting (spotlights are quite possibly the worst kind of lighting) and the materials used. It’s one out of the few restaurants The Dorchester has and it is the smallest, with the entrance tucked to the side of The Promenade where the afternoon tea takes place. The back wall of the Chef’s table actually reminded me of Amazonico.

I loved how as soon as we arrived there was a note on the table wishing both Sahir and his father a happy birthday. Later Sahir told me every table had a personalised note reading from ‘Welcome back’ to ‘Welcome for the first time’.  As a Marketer I myself don’t find ‘personalised’ digital content at all 'personal’ (a widget is inserted in the content to automatically insert every person’s first name the company has on their database). But getting a personalised handwritten note is completely different; someone physically checked the call notes of my conversation with the person who made our reservation, and then physically wrote the message which was placed on our table, then the hostess would need to know which family to seat on which table. That is a whole new level of personalisation, the kind I like and the kind all personalised experiences should be.

I also always find it delightful when there are unexpected additions to your experience, however small. Such as, being given a hand towel at your table upon arrival followed by brioche baked in a stylish shape and presented on stone pebbles, all before you’ve even looked at the menu. I may not have been as delighted if a basket of bread was plonked on the table (which it often is) and granted, if you really want to be critical wiping your hands at the table may not be the most hygienic thing to do, but I appreciated the nuances of elevating the experience, even if it was just fancier bread on a fancy plate. I like attention to detail. It’s all part of feeling you are being looked aftered and you’re dining somewhere special. The brioche was also lovely so it was not form over substance.  

What I was also really pleasantly surprised by was the attentiveness of the staff. Whilst waiting for our food, my mother-in-law and I decided to waft into the in-house florist they have opposite the restaurant, but one of the waitresses politely interjected to inform us our food was arriving and if we wouldn’t mind going back to our table so it wouldn't get cold. This might sound rude or patronizing on paper, but the experience was far from it because of course we could have refused and it wouldn’t have mattered. But I found it really surprising that another waitress who wasn't even serving us, knew of the timing of our food and wanted to ensure we were at least aware. Again it sounds like a small silly thing, but it’s yet another small thing that contributed to feeling well look aftered.

The irony was the starters and the mains were not hot, they all arrived just about warm. This happens so often at different restaurants that I’m starting to think maybe this is an intentional choice to prevent someone taking the opportunity to sue for ‘burning’ their mouth with piping hot food. No I’m not making this up. A barista once told me that is why they can’t serve boiling hot water. Go figure.

Sahir and I had the red pepper soup (me holding off the mackerel which was supposed to come with it - I don’t like it, it’s far too fishy for me) which was very flavoursome (borderline sickening after a little while). Everyone else had the prawn scotch egg (a rather exotic twist on the classic).

When it came to the mains, the meat was very well made, both the chicken and the beef (I don’t eat beef but I was told it was good medium-rare). Sunday roast by definition has minimal flavouring so I can’t comment much on any taste buds tingling, but all the ingredients were fresh, well sourced and well made which is pretty much the basic fundamentals of good food.

I was excited to see a non-alcoholic espresso martini in the mocktail section (also pleasantly surprised there was a mocktail section) because I love coffee. But this martini didn’t have much coffee flavour; it literally tasted like those 10p cola flavoured ice lollies you used to get in plastic tubes (do you remember them?)

And then for dessert I opted for what was called a ‘white snickers’ which literally tasted like a homemade, softer version of snickers (it was actually delicious and dangerously moorish).

I definitely think The Grill is worth visiting. I can't say it was ever really high on our list of places to eat (if you're eating at The Dorchester for the first time I would say try China Tang or Alain Ducasse instead) but it is perfect for family and friends to get together over classic English dining.

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