Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester (*) – Vegetarian menu

We had a really great dinner this week at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. We went for the vegetarian tasting menu, which felt very in-season and well thought through.

Things kicked off with a few amuse-bouches. The celeriac bouchée was very good, but the standout for me was a pair of mini crêpe sandwiches with cream and lemon zest, it was super light, fresh, and just really nicely balanced.

First proper course was white asparagus with almond, and that was probably my favourite of the night. The combination worked beautifully, and the foam tied everything together in a really delicate way. Then came a garden pea velouté with onions, which was also excellent. There was a really nice contrast between the slight crunch of the peas and the smoothness of the velouté.

The third course was Alain Ducasse’s signature cookpot of seasonal vegetables. It was clearly very well executed and had a nice touch of acidity, but to me it felt a bit more “wintery” than the rest of the menu, so probably my least favourite dish.

Next up was green asparagus with morels. Very solid dish overall, but the sauce was the real star (and absolutely worth mopping up with bread).

We then had a little trou normand with lemon ice cream and Chartreuse, which was a nice, refreshing reset before dessert. The team kindly let us swap the listed dessert for a chocolate and ginger one, and that turned out to be a great call, rich but still balanced desset.

I forgot to take pictures of the petits fours, but there was a selection of chocolates from the Alain Ducasse manufacture and a tarte Tatin made purely from apples, which was a nice touch.

Service was very good overall. It started a bit slow (we waited longer than expected at the beginning) but after that it was smooth sailing. The team was friendly and engaging, and we even got to meet the chef in the kitchen, which was a fun way to end the evening.