Table Lumière at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester

Why it is on the list

Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester holds three Michelin stars in the current guide, and has held them since 2010.¹² Jean-Philippe Blondet is chef patron and Marion Pépin runs the room.² Table Lumière is the one table set apart inside it: a graduated oval curtain of 4,500 optical fibres falls from the ceiling around it, so the party keeps the sound and light of the dining room while staying nearly out of sight.³ The table is laid from one of four Hermès services, Rhythm Rouge, Mesclun, Century or Fil d'Argent, with Puiforcat silver and Saint-Louis crystal used only here.²

It seats seven at most, and it has no door. For eight to twelve behind closed walls, ask for Salon Privé, the green-buttoned alcove with a fireplace; for fourteen to thirty, Salon Park Lane, with its tall windows along the length of the restaurant.³⁴

How to get it

Call the reservations desk on +44 20 7629 8866 or write to alainducassereservations@alainducasse-dorchester.com and ask for Table Lumière; the desk answers Monday to Friday 10:00 to 18:00 and Saturday 12:00 to 18:00.⁵ Luize Mikelsone, the events manager, handles private dining on +44 20 7319 7384.⁵⁴ The restaurant serves dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 18:00 to 21:30.⁵

The table carries a room hire of £300. Dinner is the seven-course Harmonie menu at £285 a guest or the seven-course Jardin menu at £250, with caviar and black truffle as supplements; a discretionary 15% service charge is added.² Menus follow the season and change with it.⁴ Dress is smart casual: jackets and collared shirts preferred, long trousers required for men.⁵

Discretion

The table stands in the main dining room, not in a room of its own; the fibre curtain screens the party almost entirely from the other tables.³ A party that wants a closed door takes Salon Privé instead.³