The Ritz was named the UK’s best at the prestigious National Restaurant Awards on Monday night. The accolade is thoroughly deserved: executive chef John Williams oversees one of London’s great dining rooms, a lavish, glamorous place with a menu of French adjacent dishes cooked with precision and flair.
Service at The Ritz is befitting of Mayfair too – that is to say, upmarket. But it isn’t cloying. It is not easy to straddle the gulf between “too much” and “not enough” when looking after tables. So many modern restaurants in London bring excellent food but it is in the service they falter.
The restaurant offers a style honed since 1906, when the hotel opened and instantly attracted the stars. Talking of which: this year also saw the restaurant receive two from Michelin. Long overdue was the consensus among the industry. The Standard’s restaurant critic loves the place.
But – sorry to state the obvious here – the Ritz is not an inexpensive place to eat and drink, whether going a la carte or one of the set menus. You’re looking at around £200 per head and that’s without wine and service.
My favourite option, the Arts de la Table (lobster, then beef Wellington, then grapefruit, then crepe Suzette) is a little less but not by much and after wine and service £300 comes and goes like Sophia Loren.
There is a more affordable path: the set lunch. No doubt still out of reach for many given it costs £92, but more doable. This is a special occasion restaurant for almost all (ignore those who visit almost weekly) and while £92 is a princely sum it’s not half a ton as is usually the case.
The set lunch is not too restrictive, either, which makes it all the better. Starters include dishes such as a duck liver tartlet or potato vichyssoise with smoked bacon. Main courses might move between red mullet with saffron, Suffolk lamb with asparagus and mint, or chicken with lovage and a classic supreme sauce.
What’s more, the service stays the same whatever the scenario. Staff will treat you the same as they do whatever Duke is in situ, whichever celebrity or billionaire. I know this because I’ve seen it. It’s how hospitality should be.
So there we have it, lunch at the Ritz, the best restaurant in the UK, in a London time capsule, for little over £100. Okay, you’ll probably need wine: glasses start at £18 a go. In for a penny, in for a pound I guess. It’s worth it.
The Ritz Restaurant, 150 Piccadilly, W1. Meal for two including drinks and service about £500; theritzlondon.com
