Hélène Darroze at The Connaught London - Buy Reservations

This was everything you could ever want from a Michelin Star dining experience. A fabulous location , the food was stunning , the wine pairings were amazing and the service was absolutely impeccable. So when you put all this together it quite simply made for an experience that will live long in the memory. It all started on arrival at The Connaught Hotel where the staff gave us a warm welcome. We then headed to the restaurant where manager Mirko and the team were waiting for us. After a brief chat he escorted us to our table in the right hand corner giving us the best view of the whole dining room. Here we met Lorenzo who along with some new members of staff would give us a style of service that is second to none. Sommelier Lucas started preceding’s by pouring us a complimentary glass of champagne to welcome us back to Helene Darroze. We were then given the menu which is a tasting menu including optional supplemented dishes. We looked at the menu while enjoying first a consommé followed by some delightful snacks including Sea Bass & Pumpkin , Purple Beetroot with chicken liver parfait and Vacherin mont D’or , celeriac , black winter truffle. Now it was time to meet Melina our sommelier for the day who’s bubbly personality and knowledge simply added to a fantastic afternoon. After a little discussion I decided to choose the All Around the World wine pairings. My wife decided to go with wines by the glass. The first wine of the pairings would be a fabulous Slovakian Riesling. This I would enjoy with the first course of Langoustine with retour d’hanoi , radish and ginger a light , fragrant and refreshing dish. The second course was Onion with lomo iberico , fumaison , sourdough and lemon thyme. This dish was perfectly balanced between the lightness of the consommé and the richness of the sourdough and iberico. This course was paired superbly with Shafer 2018 Chardonnay from the Napa Valley. This was followed be a nice surprise in the addition of a beautiful Foie Gras dish paired with a Maley sparkling cidre. Next to arrive was the very popular Scallop with tandoori spices , carrot , citrus and coriander. This was paired with a Paolo E Lorenzo 2020 L’Erta from Tuscany. This was to be followed by an amazing Turbot with calcot , caviar and dill. The pairing for this course came courtesy of France . A Meursault 2018 Domaine des Comtes Lafon. Now it was time for the main course. This was the Pigeon with parsnip , medjool date and ras el hanout. This was paired with a beautifully light Barolo 2016 Cerequio. We then decided to have an additional Cheese Course a mixture of the finest British and French cheese with fruit bread , breadsticks , honey chutney and salad. My wife enjoyed a glass of port while I presented with a Mondeuse Trdition 2007. Now we moved on to the Dessert section which started with a Bread Ice Cream before we enjoyed the Rhubarb paired with a Kracher 2020 Auslese sweet wine from Austria. We then finished with chocolate heaven. It was Chocolate with madagascar pear and green cardamom. The pairing for this dessert was a fabulous Matusalem Sherry from Spain. Now we would be in for a nice surprise as we were invited by manager Mirko to go down to the kitchen and see executive chef Marco and the team. Here we got the chance to personally thank the team for the stunning tasting menu. We would then head back to the dining room to finish with coffee and petit fours. The coffee would be scientifically made by Lorenzo and the petit fours would include a Pistachio Paris Brest , a chocolate tube and a mini doughnut. This brought to an end to what I can only say was a truly outstanding dining experience and with the new strong members of staff joining the team you can be rest assured this level of consistency will continue for years to come. So if your looking for somewhere for a special occasion I can’t recommend Helene Darroze highly enough. Looking to returning myself later in the year. Thank You Mirko , Marco , Lorenzo , Melina and all the team for an absolutely amazing lunch and look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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This is probably the fifth time that we have visited this restaurant over the last couple of years. Once again the service was excellent, the dishes were pieces of art (and tasty!) and the wine chose was sublime. Yes, it may be expensive as some have commented here, but hey, you get value through the whole experience. We work and save hard and then come up to London to have this experience and so far we have not left disappointed. We are looking forward to our next visit in April time.

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We decided to treat ourself for a midweek lunch. It was absolutely lovely, the service was as you would expect. Our only annoyance was on the website it shows a weekday lunch menu which we were planning on getting. When we where shown the menu it only had the tasting menu of which we ended up having 5. We did not question as we assumed if the weekday lunch was available they would have shown this menu as well. So we were a little bit annoyed on this front but still the food and service was lovely

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The dishes here are museum quality. Each one is a work of art. Service is excellent as is the setting. The taste is absent in some of the dishes. Some are a bit bland, and some are excellent. The wagyu beef was outstanding, like butter, but the 125 pound upcharge was outrageous. The baba rum also had an 18 pound upcharge for the 30-year-old brandy that was drizzled with. All in all our meal for two was over 500 pounds without any liquor.

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Staying at The Connaught over Christmas, we booked for the Christmas Day lunch at Helene Darroze. Having dined here many times, I had high hopes. The team did not disappoint. From arrival to departure, service was excellent. As with the hotel, the restaurant staff show a genuine warmth in every interaction. The restaurant oozed Christmas, with a personalised Christmas card from the staff, premium Christmas crackers on the table and even a visit to a couple of the younger diners from Santa. The personalised monogram napkins were also a lovely touch. The tasting menu was excellent - lots of seasonal flavours. On contacting the restaurant prior, they happily accommodated dietary and allergy requirements. The Sommelier did an excellent job at a matching wine pairing, suitably tweaking the pairing of the main menu. And the selection of Armagnac to finish is amongst the best I’ve seen.

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We have been a couple of times before and every time is amazing. The staff are really friendly, it’s a relaxed atmosphere and the food is amazing.

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My wife and I ate here for the first time though we have eaten in a number of 3 Michelin star restaurants previously. Quality of the food and service was excellent, as was the quantity. We had the 7 course tasting menu which probably had the same again with canapés and extra chefs dishes. Wine was expensive at £140 for a bottle of Chablis but was really good. Visit to the kitchen is a really nice touch as it makes you appreciate the work and the number of staff it takes to produce the dishes you eat. Great restaurant and worthy of its 3 Michelin stars. Definitely recommend!!

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This is a long review ! Id like to start by saying this is not the sort of establishment we can usually afford to go to on any regular basis - we love watching Masterchef but havent experienced many other Michelin starred dininig experiences (3 before this one!) - so we were very anxious we would feel out of place here. We managed to book a table for lunch at Helene Darozze for our wedding anniversary - and then proceeded to have lots of conversations with the kind guest realtions team. These folks were very patient with us, and specifically said they could try to cater for our dietary requirements (pescitarian, no alcohol) - I must admit I was a bit anxious about this but I really neednt have been as everything they said was absolutely true about giving us a great experience. Anyway, so back to the day - we arrived on time, went into one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever seen - such atmosphere. And as we walked in, we saw the signs for the restaurant and were greeted by some amazingly kind staff who took our coats and showed us to our reserved table. Then came the barrage of waiters - I dont mean this in a bad way - there were lots of staff on hand to cater to your every need - present but not in an intrusive way. Everyone was very attentive, kind, and didnt make us feel strange for being there. We did not feel anxious at all for being in the restaurant and the team put us at ease very very well. We were offered an aperatif (i had no idea what an appertif actually was, but it was very nice alcohol-free drink which we enjoyed). Then came the food! oh wow, every single element was absolute perfection - from the plates, to the plating itself, to the textures and tastes - wow! The pictures do not do it justice. 1. To start there was a consomme which was so well flavoured and came in these little cups - perfectly balanced with a depth of flavour. 2. Then came the second of what was not on the menu itself - a trio of appetisers. I dont know the exact names of these, but they did explain them all. One was a salmon mousse, one was corn-based, and one was spelt. each of them was so absolutely delicious I just cant explain - with very distinct but soft flavours. 3. Then came the first choice - we could have chosen caviar, but Ive never had it before and we decided to go with the dish named ' coco bean' - this was a smoked eel dish. Ive never had smoked eel before but it was absolutely astonishingly silky smooth and soft and so well flavoured. We thought it couldnt get better then this - then it kept on coming! 4. Next came 'jersusalem artichoke' - a ravioli dish that was so beautiful i couldnt really tell you how wonderful and distinct the flavours were. They also used somethign called 'buddhas hand' on it - its this very odd looking thing that looks like captain barbosa's snake-beard in pirates of caribbean - but it had the most amazing citrus taste and smell to it - loved this so much we got some for our kitchen! 5. Then we were given a risotto that wasnt on the menu - I think it was a pumpkin risotto - the rice had that little bit of bite to it, and i could have had three more bowls of it, had i not been already so full up! 6. Then came the lobster - in tandoori spices . now I was worried this would be so very overpowering, but it was delicately flavoured with the tandoori spices and was so beautifully cooked - went down the hatch too quickly. Only had lobster once before and it didnt taste half as good as this! 7. They also brought out some sourdough bread and two quite fancy butters to go with it - one french and spicy, and one from oxfordshire (i think!) - we were kinda expecting this at the beginning of the meal, but it was so well placed in the order it worked so well. And the way the butter is presented was quite nice too! 8. Next came the turbot with squid ink and squid-ink tuille - absolutely mind bogglingly tasty - again the portion looked small but by this point i was already ready to burst - but had such an amazing experience so far..i was ready to call it a success !! but then... 9. Leek wellington. now, I have heard of beef wellingtons that mr gordon ramsay makes, and I have seen these veggie versions, but never had anything so beautiful. I didnt want to cut into it, but it was so tasty and uniform in its construction - truly a thing of beauty. And it ate really really well. 10. Then we came to dessert 1- called vanilla - it had banana icecream and mango ice cream in the bits and banana sheets - so amazingly delicate and tasty. 11. Desert 2: chocolate: with black garlic and berries - again with a sheet that was edible and so tasty. We were pretty much finished at this point, then they brought out some chocolates, some donuts, and a small 'happy anniversary' cake which we really enjoyed. That was the end of the meal. At no point did we feel pressured to leave, or that we were somewhere we didnt belong. All of the waiters had good chats with us, and were kind and seemed genuinely interested in us as patrons rather then just there to plonk some food on the table! We had a visit also from one of the managers that I had been talking to via email who came to wish us a happy anniversary, and they wrote out a little message that I had prepared earlier. All in all - an absolutely amazing experience - one that will live with us both for a very long time. The only problem now is that I think I might have peaked a bit too early with such an amazing experience - although Im sure we will be back the next time we have a special occasion! Huge huge shout out to the team - Robin was especially kind and graceful in serving us, but they were all so amazing. We were given a little goody bag to go home with, with some chocolates inside - love it!

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Went there to celebrate husband's birthday. The whole experience from booking, pre-arrival preparation, arrival and lunch was superior. Before arrival, they asked me any message to write so they can prepare a hand written special message card, and put it on the table for him to open. They showed us around in the kitchen to see how they prepare food ( nice experience!). And sent a little treat as a birthday special. Took a photo for us and left us the photo which would be a great memory. The food was amazing, delicate presentation as expected and great taste. Each individual course look small but if adding together ( we had seven), it was more than enough. Lobster and the wagyu beef ( paid extra for Wagyu beef) were our favorite. Only little thing to mention is that, notice a couple cutlery was not polished clean enough but again that was only minor. Overall it is a very pleasure experience would definitely recommend to try.

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Our Tasting menu along with the iconic wine pairing was definitely FIVE STARS!!!! We have been fortunate enough to have dined at numerous outstanding restaurants around the world and Helene Darroze at the Connaught is at the top of our list. In addition to the Fantastic food, the Service was Exceptional. We also enjoyed the Surprise tour of the kitchen which was spotless as well as impressive.

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From the moment we stepped into the restaurant, till the moment we left - it was magical. My partner and I chose to celebrate for our upcoming wedding in the restaurant and what a brilliant idea that was! The wonderful guest relations manager, Claudia, helped me to surprise my partner with a personalized hand-written card with golden letters, and the most magnificent red roses bouquet I have ever seen. The service was just fantastic, all the waiters were so welcoming and caring, and made sure we had an amazing time, not to mention a trip to the kitchen to see the magic behind the curtain, which was an incredible experience. Last but not least, the food was unique, stunningly presented, and of course - delicious! We couldn't ask for more. This was, without any exaggerations, one of the best dining experiences we have ever had. We both express our gratitude towards the staff, and especially Claudia.

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I recently visited restaurant Hélène Darroze and was impressed with the food, service, décor and whole dining experience. Top quality luxury ingredients are used from start to finish of the meal and everything is served with class and sophistication by great and attentive staff in a beautifully appointed dining room, in a wonderful hotel which is The Connaught. The rum babà here is perfect and certainly rivals the one at Le Louis XV in Monaco. I particularly enjoyed the jam/compote in the centre, which I thought was a nice addition. The wine list here is of particular note as one can more or less order anything which comes to mind. Pages and pages of iconic wines. Even the champagne trolley has some great bottles. A must visit for a lovely evening, especially if complemented by a world class cocktail from The Connaught Bar before or after dinner, or both! I will return…

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Helene Darozze lived up to its 3 Michelin star rating and more. We went there to celebrate an anniversary. The service was impeccable, the food sublime: the food combinations and presentation were without equal at the many Michelin star restaurants we have had the pleasure to dine in. The wine list is exceptional and provides a choice beyond expectation. in a word, faultless.

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We celebrated my husbands birthday with lunch at this fabulous restaurant. We had notified the restaurant before about a few dietary restrictions and they adapted a few dishes for us. Firstly the staff were first class, excellent service. The food was not only beautifully presented but tasted exceptional. Slight criticism the red pepper sauce with the fish was slightly overpowering for the delicate dish but no other complaints! We had matching wines and they all perfectly matched and the sommelier was excellent explaining each wine. We had a surprise visit to the kitchens which we enjoyed. Would thoroughly recommend this restaurant.

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Besides Michelin 3 star service, we also would like to add a couple surprises: we briefly asked about if they know any restaurants in Paris, our waiter Roberto later presented us a beautifully written card with a list of recommended restaurants to eat. It was totally beyond expectation. As we arrived that morning from the west coast US, while we started to be jet lagged, we were invited to visit the kitchen which totally woke us up! They indeed know how to serve people in addition to the incredible tasting dishes!

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Our first three star experience for our ten year anniversary did not disappoint. Heavenly food, impeccable service and a surprise private tour of the kitchen made this a truly memorable evening. Having eaten at numerous one and two starred establishments, I can honestly say that the difference in quality of a three star is notable. Some dishes were so good they brought a tear to my eyes! My personal favourite was a cuttlefish dish which was not even on the menu! Other highlights for me were the almond/mackerel dish and the turbot. My tiniest criticism was with the dessert; we paid extra for the signature baba, which was sublime with the Armagnac.. but we found it a little on the large side after 7/8 courses (and we have BIG appetites!) my husband couldn’t finish it. I also felt the wine pairing was a little sweet - I know dessert wines are usually sweet, but I felt something with a little more zest and maybe fizz would’ve been nicer to cut through the richness. I did mention this at the time. Unfortunately I don’t recall any of our servers names but we dined at 7pm on 21/7 the team were so attentive, incredibly professional yet totally unpretentious. I hope we will be lucky enough to return one day!

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