In the ongoing battle for the unofficial title of London’s most decadent restaurant, Park Chinois is up there. It opened in 2015 on Berkeley Street, surrounded by swanky neighbours (Nobu, Hakkasan Mayfair, Benares, Sexy Fish), and became an instant hit with Mayfair’s glittery set. The bar is the first port of call, lined with red-velvet stools and manned by handsome mixologists in tuxedos. In the dimly lit dining room, Salon de Chine, the walls are covered in thick swathes of red and gold silk and, in the evening, a jazz band sets up right in the middle of the tables. Downstairs, the members’ club atmosphere is taken a step further in Club Chinois. Dim Sum is the obvious place to start on the enormous, Chinese-inspired menu – the dim-sum platter has impeccably made, paper-thin dumplings filled with scallop, truffle or prawn. The mains read like a shopping list of expensive ingredients: Wagyu rib-eye, roast duck topped with Champagne and orange sauce. Book-end the evening with cocktails. We recommend ordering the earthy and seriously boozy Umami Old Fashioned, a mix of truffle-infused bourbon, mushroom liqueur, vermouth, nigella, black sesame and house-made bitters. This is not the spot for a casual Tuesday supper. But it’s a seriously fun, very bougie, money’s-no-object night out. Sarah James
Address: Park Chinois, 17 Berkeley Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8EA
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