In contrast to the impressively gaudy marble entrance which you must endure to get there, the restaurant atmosphere is reassuringly relaxed. It's a good sign when all you can hear is the hum of contented chatter. Despite being slightly slow to start, our waiter is friendly, confident and knowledgeable. It's already clear from the absence of formality – or amuse bouche – that they're avoiding the ponce factor here, which is very much the modern trend. But looking for early signs of what Dinner's going to be like is really just us killing time as the anticipation builds.
Mackerel, also in vogue and in season, arrives with a lemon salad and 'gentleman's relish'. There is no detectable anchovy flavour but as it turns out, that's not such a bad thing as the creamy, lemony sauce is so vibrant that it doesn't need anything else. The mackerel is fresh as can be, as you'd expect. But is that really it? Across the table sits a Salamagundy of chicken oysters with salad, bone marrow and horseradish cream. It is, in a word, wonderful, and not overwhelming in flavour. The cream has the mildest touch of horseradish without any of the bite or pepperiness. The marrow slips down unnoticeably (really?) and is described as “one of the best salads I've ever had”. My companion takes his salads very seriously, and this is high praise indeed.
Although both our starters were excellent, we're a bit deflated. Where are the fireworks? Are we choosing too conservatively? That shouldn't be a problem with my next dish, “Powdered Duck”, which I have deliberately not asked about. Never have I been so disappointed to see two such divinely plump duck legs put in front of me. There's no powder to speak of, but there is a deep flavoured, savoury sauce and exquisitely creamy, almost liquid mash which is more than worthy of mopping it up. The duck itself isn't as tender as I would like, although the skin is sticky and moreish, and there's some smoked fennel which adds nothing. As it turns out, “powdered” is an olde English word for brined – i.e. the duck was stored in brine before being cooked. What a disappointing way of being witty. Turbot, with chard and cockle ketchup, is cooked to perfection; the fish crisp on one side and the flesh breaking apart pleasingly. The chard it sits atop isn't bad, but it's too bitter for the fish; more of an acquaintance than a friend. The cockle ketchup is sweet and sparks fly when it's combined with the fries (optional extra) and the fish. Those who don’t order chips are missing out on the best of this dish. But it's a slight affront to one's sensibilities to pay forty pounds for what is essentially a posh fish and chips.
Desserts are a let down. Malted barley ice cream sounds intriguing - there is indeed ice cream, yeast sauce and a salted butter caramel underneath, which is fantastic. However, the malt biscuit, which is far too big, barley oats and little croutons are unfortunate; they take the dessert out of the realm of the sweet and turn it into a savoury (you could say unsavoury - ha) experience. And I quote: 'It reminds me of being at my granddad’s house, opening a biscuit tin full of the oldest, most sugarless biscuits the world has ever known and that crushing disappointment of being offered a treat that’s neither sweet nor tasty'. Oh dear. My “chocolate bar” is intense on the cocoa, no bad thing. And it comes with a passion fruit jam and a slap-round-the-face ginger ice cream. You can't go wrong with components like that, and they don't. It's nice enough, just a little boring.
This is the theme of the evening. There's no doubt that Dinner boasts some seriously accomplished cooking, and we found a lot to like about it. I'm yet to read a review of it which doesn't fall over itself with praise for the place and I'm not sure that's merited just yet. There are places which do refined better than this. But I don't think any of that even matters – Heston, national treasure that he is, will be fully booked for the foreseeable future. Most that eat here will be very happy with their Dinner, but I think a few will leave hungry for more inspiration.
Co-written by Meshach Daniel Falconer-Roberts
