review of French restaurant The Ritz in Piccadilly by Andy Hayler in August 2026

The Ritz hotel is currently undergoing a multiyear £300 million expansion and refurbishment project, due to finish in 2028. As part of this, the historic hotel dining room, which dates back to 1906, has temporarily been moved to another room in the hotel, just a few yards away from the original. This new dining room has about the same capacity as the old one (65 diners) and will eventually become a second, separate restaurant. The original room will undergo some refreshing and the main Ritz restaurant will move back there towards the end of this major project. The new dining room has a large central skylight and much the same furniture as the old room, but without the 1906 era marble and gilt. The menu and cooking team under head chef Deepak Mallya are unchanged, and indeed there is now a small kitchen next to the new dining room, whereas the original room was serviced entirely from the vast basement kitchen.

Anyway, so much for the logistics. Today we did the usual full tasting menu, which as always is one of a wide range of menus here, including a la carte and a three-course set menu for £105, as well as five and seven course tasting menus (the latter at £235) and a seafood menu. We went for the longest tasting menu.

The meal began with a trio of initial canapes that have been tried and tested for some time. Ragstone cheese mousse with wood-roasted pepper and basil was roasted on a sable base. The mousse was smooth in texture and the base of the canapé was very delicate. Coronation chicken is wrapped in a sugar tuile cylinder. To make this, chicken is mixed with curry powder and salt, steamed and then chilled. This is then combined with spices, coconut cream, mayonnaise, coriander, raisins and mango chutney. The mix is wrapped in a sugar tuile seasoned with coconut, curry and espelette pepper, the ends then being dipped in toasted breadcrumbs. The result is a lovely blend of flavours, with the delicate tuile melting on the tongue. The final regular canape was duck liver parfait with sour cherry and gingerbread, the richness of the liver nicely balanced by the sharpness of the sour cherry. This was followed by Devon crab and caviar. Tartlet of white crab meat was mixed with crème fraiche, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. This was served with a chopped jelly made from Granny Smith apple juice, fennel juice, grape juice and our own elderflower cordial. This was an excellent dish, the crab and apple working well together, the natural sweetness of the crab balanced carefully by the sharpness of the lemon and apple (canapes easily 18/20).

The first formal course was duck liver ballotine. Duck liver from Landes in the south-west of France is de-veined and then marinated in salt, sugar, pink salt, pepper, port, Sauternes wine and Armagnac. It is then wrapped in a jelly made from port infused with orange and ginger. It is served with a sour cherry gel made from black and red cherries, pistachio flavoured yoghurt and a little salad of micro leaves and alongside is a pistachio Bakewell tart. This is served alongside toasted brioche. The ballotine had a silky smooth texture and deep flavour, its richness nicely offset by the acidity of the cherries, with the little salad providing additional relief from the richness. This is about as good a duck liver ballotine gets (19/20).

A huge scallop from the Isle of Mull was seasoned with curry salt and pan-seared. The scallop was served on a base of cauliflower puree infused with ginger, coriander and chilli. Borlotti beans were braised in Alsace bacon, aromatic mirepoix and chicken stock, they were then covered in a dressing made from fresh coriander, ginger, garlic, espelette pepper, cabernet sauvignon vinegar and fresh lime zest and juice. The dish was finished with a sauce made from lobster and prawn shells, cooked with tomato, chilli, ginger, lemongrass, coriander and fennel seed and chicken stock, which is reduced and then mounted with double cream and butter. The dish was completed with fresh coriander seeds and split with an intense espelette oil. This was a particularly impressive dish, the scallop itself having lovely natural sweetness. The sauce worked beautifully with its gentle touch of spice, and the borlotti beans flavoured with bacon added a contrasting texture. This dish is an example of fine dining at its best (20/20).

Butter-poached langoustine was sourced from the coast of Scotland, the langoustines alive when delivered and displayed at the table before being cooked. The tails rested on a bed of cauliflower puree, baby Cornish vegetables and bronze fennel, topped with edible flowers and served with a langoustine nage made by infusing the langoustine shells with a light aromatic mirepoix, white wine and soft herbs. This is a signature dish of the Ritz, and works beautifully. It is a relatively simple dish compared to some here, but the sheer quality of the ingredients and the lovely balance make it shine (19/20).

Agnolotti pasta was filled with a Taleggio mousse, glazed in truffle and served with an aerated foam made from 36-month aged parmesan and then finished tableside with a Madeira and Perigord truffle sauce and fresh Australian truffle. This was a lovely rich dish, and the truffles were particularly fragrant. I do wonder whether an additional element to offset the richness might be beneficial, whether something acidic or sour, or perhaps just a little salad. Nonetheless this is a most enjoyable dish (17/20).

Grouse from Yorkshire is roasted in the traditional way with Alsace bacon rind, garlic and hard herbs with plenty of foaming salted butter. The bird is cooked medium. To accompany the grouse were fresh Provence figs gratinated with a spiced port reduction and seasoned with Dorset sea salt. There was also a smoked walnut emulsion topped with fresh fig segments, candied walnuts and flowers, preserved fig gel and finally sauté duck liver from the Landes, topped with an oat crumb cooked with honey and seasoned with black pepper, Timur pepper and juniper. The grouse was accompanied by crisp pomme souffle, the grouse leg stuffed with black pudding and wrapped in spring roll pastry and oats before being fried in clarified butter and a jus roti made from infusing a very light traditional jus gras with Alsace bacon and the grouse carcass. Grouse is not my favourite game bird, but at this early time of its season it tends not to be too gamey, and the treatment of it here is about as good as anyone is likely to be able to make of it. The souffle potatoes here are also a joy, remarkably light and crisp (17/20).

Sweet British strawberries were delicately macerated in house-made elderflower cordial, bringing out their natural sweetness and floral character. These were paired with smooth vanilla yoghurt and vibrant strawberry sorbet, finished with fresh lime and Moscato d'Asti for a bright, refreshing acidity and a delicate aromatic finish. This was a very good pre-dessert, using seasonal fruit and having enough acidity to be genuinely refreshing (17/20).

Dessert was a delicate coconut mousse with a pineapple and lime insert. A sphere of fresh mango brunoise was served with exotic fruit sauce. Pineapple gel was dotted across the plate alongside a silky coconut crémeux, a pineapple compress with fresh lime zest and vanilla. There were also coconut meringue drops and toasted desiccated coconut pound cake to add lightness and texture, while the coconut rum sorbet brought a clean, refreshing finish to the dish. This was a very pretty and enjoyable dessert (17/20).

Service was excellent throughout the meal. The bill came to £418 per person including wine. This was a magnificent meal, with many of the dishes at genuine three-star level, Indeed, there is not a single Michelin three-star restaurant in London currently producing a meal of this standard (18/20).

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