London

The Ritz is one of those places that are part of the English collective culture. No matter who you are talking to a mention of the Ritz is instantly understood as standing for class and wealth and top class London.

I've lived in London for 8 years and going to the Ritz for lunch has always been high on my wish list. So on Febuary 2nd this year I made that a reality for my and my partners 6 years of being together anniversary. The only small issue is that we had a massive falling out that morning so turned up for our supposed treat both in a real mood!

The Ritz Restaurant

To get to the restaurant you enter from the side of the building on Arlington Street, not the main entrance on Picadily. Although I knew the Ritz would be fabulous I had no idea just how blown away I'd feel by the glamour and oppulence of the place. I've stayed in plenty of hotels but this one is something else.

After entering the building, door held open by the doorman, you are greeted by no less than 3 diferent staff, all with a word of encouragement. Its like they all really want you to enjoy your Ritz experience. What made us smile the most ( no mean feat the mood we were in!) was when one of the hotel staff said, "here for the afternoon teas?" and we said no, lunch, he then smiled and said " oh even better madam" so as I say they all make you feel very at home.
The main lobby is huge. High ceilings, arched mirrors which add to the feeling of size, beautiful carpets, all very well lit and bright.

To get to the restaurant you have to walk for at least 5 minutes through the building, thats how big it is. Lobby, and then along a wide corridor where there seemed to be constant activity, staff wheeling large piles of elegant looking luggage, past the afternoon tea area on the left where lots of people were eating from trays laden with fab looking cakes and sandwiches, the staff moving around them topping up teas and bringing more supplies when necessary.

Finally you get to the desk area for the restaurant. At this point you can see the dining room through two large double doors. Sadly although my partner was wearing a tie he hadnt realised a jacket was also necessary. But no problems here. The Ritz whisked him off to their cloakrooms where I was told there were rows of jackets to chose from. They selected one that exactly matched his trousers so no embarassment was caused.
While he was doing this, they had checked our booking and taken me to my table. Again walking into that dining room and sitting in the middle of that huge, glamourous looking room was rather daunting. The dining room must hold at least 300 people but the tables are all well spaced. Our table was facing the windows which overlook the terrace and beyond that the park.

It wasnt massively busy I must say, but then we did arrive at 1.30 so possibly a lot of people had come early and left already. The other people there all looked like they went all the time so I was trying to blend in and look used to all the glamour too.

After my partner was released from the cloakroom (10 mins tops) we looked over the menus that had been brought in his absence. I had also been offered a drink while waiting, but decided to wait to order anything.
As we had afternoon plans we decided against wine, but the list was long and had we been drinking there was a good selection to choose from. We did choose a large bottle of sparkling mineral water which was from the Dutchy Original selection.

The Food

The Ritz serves other Dutchy products too, and as a sign of their commitment to the organic foods movement they put in bold anything on their menu which is passed as organic by the soil association, there is a fair amount to chose from if you only eat organic foods.

At the moment the restaurant is offering what they were calling the winter menu, its still available though. At £35 a head for 3 courses this is very good value.
I chose roasted red mullet with cod and piperade gallet, & confit fennel to start, my partner chose ravioli of mushroom, pumpkin and pearl barley minestrone. One of the lovely things about the Ritz restaurant service is that they bring your plate to the table in one of those silver domed affairs and whisk the lids of simultaneously so you both feel that you are being served something fantastic. There is a real air of showmanship about the service.
My starter was delicous, the red mullet firm and meaty as it should be, and complimented perfectly by the taste of fennel.
I didnt try my partners dish as I really dont like mushrooms but he assured me it was very good too.

For mains I had the mutton torte which came out like a pastry bowl shaped affair rather like steak and kidney pudding. The pastry was just right, crisp and thin and browned, the mutton inside was so well cooked it just disolved in your mouth. Perfect. This dish came served with small root vegetables dotted along the edges of the same plate.
My partner ordered the chicken breast served on a bed of tagliatelli in a thin creamy sauce and garnished with herbs.

We ate our mains taking our time and just feeling rather overwhemed with the whole experience. Everything was just so perfect and well done.

Afterwards came tea and sweets, we decided against dessert as we were feeling fairly full by this point, but just to give you an idea of what was on offer;

Fruits - £13

Parfait of mango and lychee with spiced pineapple sorbet
and coulis of passion fruit

Dacquoise of raspberries with diplomat cream, honeycomb croquant and pistachio ice cream

Compote of spiced prune with honey and yoghurt cream, caramel crust

Pineapple flambe with cinnamon and cardamom scented caramel and crystallised ginger ice cream

Chocolates -£14

Complicity of chocolate

Chocolate rice crispy with chilled caramel soufflé
mocha ice and chocolate soup

Amedei chocolate fondant with praline ice cream

Bitter guanaja palette with a nougatine mille feuille
of butterscotch ice cream

We'd seen the waiters bringing out the plates of delicious looking little treats to go with coffee/tea so we chose that instead. Im a coffee lover but my other half isnt so we both had our own individual little silver pots with coffee/tea respectively. The sweets were lovely. There was turkish delight in dark chocolate, strawberry in chocolate, a couple of chocolate mousses in small mouth sized bites. Just heaven really. 4 a piece if I remember rightly.

We felt we'd been at the Ritz for ages by the time the bill came and we were ready to leave, but a quick glance at the watch informed us it had only been 2 hours. It must be the way that everything is just so effortlessly done and relaxing for the diner.

So our meal came in at £85 including water and service, which is cheaper than if you were eating off their standard menu I'd say. We both felt that for such a special occasion it was entirely worth it.

Im getting married in september and rang and booked to take my head bridesmaid for an afternoon tea in June (£40 per head) as a special thank you for helping me keep my sanity among all the wedding nonsense. So I cant wait to get back and try out the teas. Will report back!

The only negative

The only negative that I could possibly see is the bathrooms. They are situated down stairs from the restaurant so you have to come out of the restaurant, down the corridor and then down the stairs. The ladies was lovely, really huge and well supplied with anything you'd need. However I didnt see a way of accessing the toilets for anyone not able to walk. Im sure there must be a way, but I cant honestly tell you I say one. So if you are disabled in anyway I would say to ask about this when you book.

Location

The Ritz Hotel 150 Piccadilly London W1J 9BR

Nearest Tube (taken from Ritz website)

The nearest underground station is Green Park, which is on the Victoria and Jubilee lines, however the hotel is only a short walk away from Hyde Park corner and Piccadilly Circus tube stations.