HIDE London

Hide is the culmination of Hedonism wines, a vast investment from the Russian owner and Exec chef Ollie Dabbou all coming together. The exec chef had previously owned Dabbous which, was for a time one of the most difficult to reserve venues in London. Hide has three levels serving breakfast and snacks in the bar at the ‘Below’ basement, casual breakfasts, lunch and dinners at ‘Ground’ and the ‘Above’ area on the first floor. The set lunch menu was £42 (which is what we had) and £95 for the tasting menu. Ultimately this was a skilled and aesthetic meal, in wonderful surroundings and with a superb wine list. Author’s note: this has now risen to £48 for the set and £115 for the tasting barely a year later. Oh dear, how the influence of a star can specifically do what its original award promotes not doing – more on this in my ‘below’ at the expansion button.

A quick note on this restaurant in general: it is lovely and serious investment has been pumped into it to make it as such. The fact that the owner also owns Hedonism wines (the shop for which is a stone throw away in Davies St, Mayfair) allows the restaurant to sell its wine by a huge discount and in some cases at just above shop price level owing to an arrangement that they have been able to craft. The net result is you are given an iPad at the table and can get some seriously good wine at far lower costs than you would at other restaurants and if you ever wanted to go for a big hitter, then here is the venue to do just that.

A quick note on this restaurant in general: it is lovely and serious investment has been pumped into it to make it as such. The fact that the owner also owns Hedonism wines (the shop for which is a stone throw away in Davies St, Mayfair) allows the restaurant to sell its wine by a huge discount and in some cases at just above shop price level owing to an arrangement that they have been able to craft. The net result is you are given an iPad at the table and can get some seriously good wine at far lower costs than you would at other restaurants and if you ever wanted to go for a big hitter, then here is the venue to do just that.

The meal itself started with crudites which were a fresh way to start served with a cucumber dressing and honey & chamomile dressing which were all fine. Geese charcuterie came on the end of feathers for striking presentation but of all of the nibbles and for all their design, I thought the focaccia bread was the gem with its particularly light and crispy crust which was a pleasure.

Tartare of beetroot was served underneath large flakes of beetroot forming the rough shape of one whole, and this was served with blueberry vinegar, rose petals, crushed pistachios and horseradish cream. This was very good – not only technically impressive but also the blend of the vinegar and horseradish kick being calmed by the good beetroot. Asparagus from Wye Valley came with asparagus juice, toasted hazelnuts and the daily made ricotta from Hide’s kitchen. Fantastic effort, but simply was a bit bland overall for me.

Pasta parcels of king crab came with warm, garlic buttermilk and chervil and were pleasant as were (nothing to leap with joy about) as was the veal rillette served with mushroom shavings and pickled garlic buds. Strawberries came in many different forms from wild, to white, to strassberries (a cross between raspberries and strawberries) and traditional red, served with a concentrated strawberry jus. This was an artistically lovely presentation but sadly it will never reach the heights of the white and pink strawberries I have had in Tokyo for example. A dish that was more pleasing on the eye. Petit fours included a liquorice stem with star anise marshmallow and chocolate leaves with caramelised hazelnut which was a good finish.

All in the bill came to £367 for two but that was with a Puligny Montrachet and other offerings so it is possible to walk away with a lesser bill. Overall, this is a quality meal and worthy of its new accolade and its style suiting the surroundings a great deal. It is a more expensive set menu for London, but the overheads here would explain why. For those that are related to Tony Stark, you can also drive into a back street entrance and the lift will bring your car to the level of Hide Above and you can exit straight out of the lift, into the private dining area. A good place for celebrations and entertaining people that you would like to have something to talk about.

Author’s note: following this review, Hide gained its Michelin star, and 8 months later (Jun 19) the prices of the set menu have increased to £48 from £42 and the tasting menu increased to £115 from £95. One of the factors of awarding a Michelin star is value for money and Gordon Ramsay himself at the Michelin awards for GB & Ire for the 2019 guide openly stated for restaurants to not focus on raising prices on being awarded Michelin stars, something I happen to agree with when done blatantly. In terms of this advice, it would seem that Hide does not wish to heed.

https://major-foodie.com/hide-piccadilly/
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