A Glamorous Lunch at Park Chinois, Mayfair
A Glamorous Lunch at Park Chinois, Mayfair
Trying the set lunch menu at Park Chinois, Mayfair
Park Chinois is the sort of place you hear about a lot from a small number of people; it’s a restaurant that has a very specific fanbase, and a clientele who seem to absolutely love it. Encouraged by their words and by an invitation to come in, I put on my nicest dress and head to one of Mayfair’s most opulent restaurants.
Is it any good?
The idea around the restaurant comes from an opulent 1930’s Shanghai jazz lounge. In the evenings the restaurant comes alive with music, and the numbers of performers almost equal the numbers of diners.
It’s a lovely setup, but it comes at a cost and prices on the dinner menu suggest that you would have to be quite wealthy to comfortably dine here.
Lunchtimes are much quieter however, and whilst I feel like they miss out on the live music, they also offer a very price-accessible set menu.
Three courses at £30 is a great way to take Park Chinois out for your first spin, and the food we order turns out to be lovely.
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The set lunch menu at Park Chinois
The brainchild of Alan Yau (the restauranter behind Yauatcha, Wagamama and Hakkasan) Park Chinois is a decidedly more opulent proposition but one that, at its heart, is based on great food.
Having settled into our red velvet seats, we take a quick look at the menu. From it, the dim sum platter calls out to be ordered. It arrives in a steaming basket, filled with four delicately folded dim sum. The XO Hokkaido scallop dumpling is a firm favourite – and makes us wish we’d ordered two baskets instead of just the one.
We also love the absolutely enormous prawns, served in a fiery wasabi sauce.
Moving on to mains, we try the Park Chinois version of Black Cod – sticky, sumptuous pieces of fish with that signature black hue, and perfectly flaky inside. My companion has the Cantonese roast duck, served on a clever orange sauce.
For desserts we opt for the chocolate fondant, made with 85% chocolate (and it shows). It’s a lovely dessert, all gooey and chocolatey, and makes for a nice end to a good meal.
We finish up lunch very well fed, and planning on when we might feasibly be able to come back for dinner and the show.
Is the food at Park Chinois Halal?
Park Chinois have halal chicken, duck and wagyu beef. They also have lots of halal fish and vegetarian options if you’d like to visit.
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Park Chinois, Mayfair
Address – 17 Berkeley St, Mayfair, London W1J 8EA
Website – Park Chinois
Phone – 020 3327 8888
Nearest Tube – Green Park
Disclaimer – the halal food status note is true at the time of writing. Please phone or email the restaurant before you make a booking to double check the halal food status and anything around cross contamination.
We dined as guests of the restaurant.
