Few will require an introduction to Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing, head chef at The Berkeley. He’s one of the country’s most revered professionals, who has long stamped out a reputation for near-perfection.
And at The Berkeley (known in a former incarnation as Petrus) Wareing and his team have created a restaurant which critics and inspectors fall over themselves to find superlatives for and accolades to give it.
It looks as you’d expect a high-end dining room in one of the city’s landmark hotels to – decked out in burgundy and white, all crisp linen and manor-house comfort, with attentive and quietly formal service. It’s an undisputable haven for fine dining and the standards that the patrons are expected to follow are as high as those set by the kitchen; smart dress is the order of the day. This is a real destination restaurant rather than a place to come for an informal evening out; people come here for the food, to impress and be impressed.
Wareing’s background is in French cookery, and his style has been noted for its ‘technical brilliance’. This is, after all, a chef who decided to co-write the book about knife skills alongside those featuring his recipes. However, the menus At The Berkeley use this as the bedrock for dishes which take in a number of global influences in the search for fine dining perfection. The menus – of which there are several to choose from, depending on your requirements and budget – consist of lists of ingredients allusive to the season and matched in intriguing ways. Examples include beef fillet, truffle, baby leeks, radish and parmesan, or foie gras, blackberry, cobnuts, hyssop, milk and walnut bread; the dishes arrive presented stunningly and packed with surprise.
Wareing’s recipes for home cookery have been credited with their relative simplicity – allowing food lovers to gain some of the inspiration that drives Wareing; but here, he really shows what he’s capable of.
Chef
Marcus Wareing
Marcus Wareing has hit gastronomic heights with Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, winning two Michelin stars, five AA rosettes and 8/10 in the Good Food Guide.
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Signature dishes