Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The entrance to the restaurant space of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Location of the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
Restaurant information
Established	2011; 6 years ago (2011)
Head chef	Ashley Palmer-Watts
Chef	Heston Blumenthal
Food type	Historical British
Dress code	Comfortable
Rating	(Michelin Guide 2014)
Street address	Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Knightsbridge
City	London, SW1
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°30′08″N 0°09′36″W / 51.50222°N 0.16000°W / 51.50222; -0.16000
Other information	Nearest station: Knightsbridge
Website	Official website

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal is a restaurant in London, England. Opened in January 2011, it gained a Michelin star within a year, and in April 2014 was listed fifth on The World's 50 Best Restaurants in Restaurant magazine. It received a second Michelin Star in the 2014 Guide. The restaurant is headed by former Fat Duck head chef Ashley Palmer-Watts. Menu options are based on historical British dishes, which were researched by food historians and through the British Library. The restaurant's opening drew interest within the industry, and reviews have been positive. Particular dishes have received praise, including the meat fruit, a chicken liver mousse created to look like a mandarin orange.

The opening of Dinner was announced in August 2010, to open in early 2011 to replace the Michelin starred restaurant Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. The opening was originally planned for 1 December, but delays occurred, which would have resulted in the restaurant being ready to open during Christmas week. The decision was made to push back the opening until after the Christmas period was over. Reservations began to be accepted on 1 December 2010 for the restaurant's opening on 31 January 2011. There were 42 phone lines set up on the opening day of reservations, which received over 600 telephone bookings. Prior to opening, the first three months were solidly booked. A Valentine's day booking was sold on auction site eBay, which went for £250.

While overseen by Heston Blumenthal, the head chef in the kitchen is Ashley Palmer-Watts. Palmer-Watts has previously worked with Blumenthal since 1999, and for five years was head chef at Blumenthal's other restaurant, the three Michelin starred The Fat Duck. The two chefs researched historical menu choices with help from the British Library and food historians. Blumenthal's first experience of historical cuisine was in 2000 when he discovered a recipe for roast chicken which required the bird to be plucked alive, and then cooked with a small volume of mercury. This was further enhanced as he filmed Heston's Feasts for Channel 4, in which he created a variety of feasts from different historical eras including Tudor, Medieval and Victorian. Despite being called Dinner, the restaurant is also open for lunch as the meaning of the name is intended to be the main meal of the day, regardless of the time at which it is eaten.