review of French restaurant The Ritz in Piccadilly by Andy Hayler in July 2025

The Ritz now has two (long overdue) Michelin stars, the kitchen led by executive chef John Williams and head chef Deepak Mallya. Its grand dining room, all marble and gilt and mirrors, dates back to 1906, and now features air conditioning, which came in very handy on this 32C July day. The Ritz offers a wide range of menus including a la carte, with fixed set menus from three courses at lunch for £92 to five courses at £199 with the lengthiest seven course version priced at £221 per person. The latter is what we opted for today.

The meal began with a trio of classic canapes. Coronation chicken in a cylindrical sugar tuile was particularly good today, with a touch more bite than I recall, and the tuile having lost the over-sweetness that it once had some years back. Chicken is mixed with curry powder and salt, steamed and then chilled. This is mixed with spices, coconut cream, mayonnaise, coriander, raisins and mango chutney. The result is wrapped in a sugar tuile seasoned with coconut, curry and espelette pepper, the ends being dipped in toasted breadcrumbs. The result is a lovely blend of flavours, the delicate tuile melting on the tongue as the flavours are revealed. This is an almost faultless canape. Duck liver parfait with sour cherry and gingerbread is another old favourite, the richness of the liver nicely balanced by the sharpness of the sour cherry. Another veteran canape was Ragstone cheese mousse with wood-roasted pepper and basil roasted on a sable biscuit base, the mousse smooth in texture and the base of the canapé being very delicate. These were followed by two further amuse bouches. Tartlet of beef tartare had the beef mixed in with crème fraiche and topped with a layer of Imperial caviar. The salinity of the caviar worked as a natural seasoning for the beef, while the tartlet was crisp and delicate, and the crème fraiche balanced the richness of the other elements. Barquette of smoked sea trout featured trout that had been cured in a mix of gin, citrus and salt. This was then smoked, diced and bound with lemon zest and juice, freshly grated horseradish, fresh dill and a dill pickle gel. The canape was finished with a topping of trout roe and herbs. This was also lovely, the trout flavour nicely accentuated by the gentle bit of horseradish, the citrus bringing freshness and the dill being a classic pairing for the trout. Finally, there was a classic gougere, served warm and piped neatly into a sphere, topped with black truffle and with lovely texture and flavour (canapes 18/20 average).

Dorset crab was the first formal course of the meal. The crab was sourced from Norfolk, the white crab meat mixed with passed brown crab. This was mixed with crème fraiche, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. There was then a chopped jelly made from Granny Smith apple juice, fennel juice, grape juice and minus 8 Verjus. The dish was finished with Imperial caviar. On the side, a traditional crumpet dough was made using a sourdough starter, salt, sugar, and baking soda. This was cooked gently on a hot planchet and topped with a brown crab butter, crème fraiche, crab meat bound with brown crab. This dish was not only beautiful to look at but it was extremely well composed. The natural sweetness of the crab was balanced by the apple, with an appealing contrast of textures from the crumpet, jelly and crab itself. This was high class (19/20).

Ballotine of duck liver was next. Hungarian duck liver was de-veined and marinated in salt, pink salt, sugar, pepper, port, Sauternes, and Armagnac. The dish is served tableside with a little micro salad, a damson and pistachio puree and a homemade brioche. The duck liver had silky texture, and the acidity of the damson fruit cut through the richness of the liver, the salad providing some relief to the richness. I have eaten many duck liver ballotines over the years and very few have been of this standard (19/20).

Langoustine a la nage is a signature dish here. Large butter poached langoustines were sourced from the coast of Scotland. They rested on a cauliflower puree, with baby Cornish vegetables and bronze fennel from Merseyside. The herb nage is terrific and complements the superb langoustines, with the vegetables providing balance to the richness of the sauce. This was, as usual, beautifully executed dish, the langoustines gloriously tender and naturally sweet (19/20).

Agnolotti with Parmesan and black truffle had stuffed agnolotti pasta filled with Taleggio cream. This was gently cooked in boiling salted water and then glazed in a truffle sauce made with black truffles (tuber melanasporum), Madeira and port. The agnolotti sits on a Parmesan foam made using 36-month aged Parmesan. This was enjoyable but the pasta could have been a touch thinner, and the dish is quite rich, and I wonder whether an extra element to balance the richness might improve it (just about 17/20).

Suffolk lamb was the final savoury course. Suffolk breed was supplied from Dorset. The meat was roasted in a pan and then finished in a hot oven. It was brushed with lamb fat infused with garlic, using an aromatic herb brush made from thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. It was served with stuffed courgette flower filled with lamb sweetbread, confit courgette and wood roast pepper, bound with chicken mousseline and freshly diced basil.

Additionally, there was a spiced tomato and red pepper condiment, courgette puree and savoury lamb sauce finished with kalamata olives, tomatoes and basil. On the side, a lamb 'bun' made from lamb shoulder was braised overnight in a lamb stock with garlic. The lamb was superbly cooked and very good flavour, and apart from the lovely sauce I particularly liked the little condiments, which nicely lifted the mild flavour of the lamb (18/20).

A grapefruit pre-dessert consisted of grapefruit segments, grapefruit juice infused with Baie Des Bataks, yoghurt sorbet and Sumatran Baie Des Bataks (lemon pepper) tuile. This worked very well, the tuile delicate and the grapefruit very refreshing, which is the real point of a pre-dessert. The hint of spice from the lemon pepper was a nice touch (17/20).

Rum-soaked baba with exotic fruits and vanilla was the main dessert. This was a visually beautiful dish, with many elements. Rum-soaked babas were glazed and covered in lime zest. Yellow domes were filled with fresh mango, mango and passion fruit sauce, dipped in white chocolate and then glazed. There were small white domes of vanilla mousse, and fresh mango curls filled with exotic gel and micro mint. Mango and passion fruit sorbet curl rested on a vanilla sable disk, served with lemongrass and vanilla espuma lime zest on the side. The mango in particular had lovely flavour and the combination of flavours and textures worked incredibly well together. This was a top of the range dessert (19/20).

As a general comment, one of my experienced fellow diners felt that the seasoning was more precise today than it once was. Service was superb as usual, the staff being enthusiastic, attentive and professional. The bill came to £424 per person, of which the food element was £221. If you had the three-course menu and shared a modest bottle of wine, but also had water and coffee, then a typical cost per person including the 12/5% service might be around £160.

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