The Ritz

150 Piccadilly, London

For feeling like royalty, a meal at this Piccadilly landmark should be on everyone’s bucket list

Sitting at the heart of a city of ever-changing tastes, The Ritz hotel stays resolutely true to its roots. Its César Ritz-designed dining room is resplendent in grand Louis XVI furnishings, chaps are still required to wear jackets and ties for dinner and tradition is celebrated with gusto in the kitchens of John Williams MBE, who sources the finest ingredients from across the British Isles.

Enter to a merry welcome from the doorman, then march along the great gallery’s length, passing people taking afternoon tea in the Palm Court, where you can almost hear echoes of its 109-year history. This is where King Alfonso of Spain and Queen Amelie of Portugal met; Russian Prima Ballerina Pavlova danced; and Churchill held war summits with de Gaulle and Eisenhower in the Marie Antoinette Suite. A pianist suited in a white dinner jacket tickles the ivories where Elton has played, Rod Stewart broke into song and the late Margaret Thatcher performed renditions of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square after dining at her preferred spot at Table One.

Sunshine enters through vast windows and Green Park’s trees are reflected in a mirrored wall. The elegant space glows warm, with chandeliers joined by gilded garlands in a sea of soft pink and green. The food more than lives up to such splendour, from canapés of coronation chicken encased in brandy snap cigars and tiny crab macarons to starters like poached lobster tail. This arrives bathed in a tomato elixir of unforgettable flavour, sprinkled with herbs. Then there are the delicate desserts – confections of white peach sorbet and raspberries, and the petits fours of the Arts de la Table menu.

The main event this season is game: individual venison Wellingtons, game pie with a buttery puff pastry top and woodcock quickly roasted and flambéd with cognac and Périgord truffles. Grouse shot in the countryside that morning is hung, plucked, roasted and served up for supper, sliced tableside by dapper waiters in bow ties. The plate of perfectly cooked bird breast with puréed celeriac, toasted walnuts and peeled grapes is revealed with a ‘ta-da’ from under a gold-trimmed china cloche. The port and cheese to follow are the Holy Grail. RR. 020 7300 2370, theritzlondon.com