When Tom Booton was brought in to oversee The Grill at The Dorchester back in 2019 – becoming, at 26, the youngest head chef in the five-star London hotel restaurant’s history – his brief was to strip away some of the formality and introduce a fresh approach to what was a rather traditional fine dining restaurant. And so out went the immaculate white table clothes, and the stiff-upper-lip service; and in came a pudding bar, complete with soft serve machine.
Describing his vision as “fine dining without the fine”, Booton has created a place that can confidently stand side-by-side with any of London’s top Michelin-starred restaurants.
The menu offers his own personal interpretation of a modern-day British grill. Dishes are rich and extravagant to match the restaurant's rather grandiose five star hotel location and features the likes of Cornish turbot, roasted scallops, and ribeye of beef. Desserts, meanwhile, regularly include soft serve ice cream in flavours that you're unlikely to find at your typical Mr Whippy (such as fig leaf).
Booton began his career in cooking at the age of 15, and previously worked as a head chef at the Michelin-starred Alyn Williams at The Westbury in Mayfair. With The Grill at The Dorchester, he’s proved himself beyond doubt to be a top chef in the making.
