Dorian
Chris D'Sylva already owned the Notting Hill Fish + Meat Shop and Supermarket of Dreams when he opened Dorian, so the restaurant buys off a produce network he built first.
Why go
Max Coen runs the kitchen. He came from two-starred Ikoyi, before that Kitchen Table in London and three-starred Frantzen in Stockholm, and the technique lands on a wood grill instead of a sauce station. Michelin awarded a star in the 2024 guide and still lists it in 2026, calling the wood-fired grilling highly skilled
and noting that terse menu descriptions belie the quality of the cooking at this energisingly busy neighbourhood brasserie in Notting Hill
(MICHELIN). Live fire is the whole argument: dry radiant heat over hardwood browns the surface faster than the interior sets, which is what makes a ribeye or a squid skewer taste different here than it does under a salamander. The room is small, loud and booked, and it opens five days a week.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the steak tartare, which Giles Coren in The Times called
epochal,
and the sweetbreads he calledpeerless.
2 Anything off the grill, the bone-in ribeye above all. - Avoid: treating it as a casual local. Harden's 2026 survey puts it at £110 a head and its respondents call the prices absurd.
What locals & experts say
- The Times (Giles Coren, November 2022): the wild mushrooms
honestly broke my heart,
served in asunny and gorgeous room.
2 - Harden's (2026 survey):
Cooking is of the highest order,
withevery mouthful designed to grab your attention,
food rated 4 out of 5.3 - MICHELIN Guide (One Star, 2024 through 2026): the inspector recommends a counter seat to watch the chefs work the grill.1
- Jean-Philippe Blondet, Chef Patron of the three-starred Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester (The Relisher, 28 July 2026): this is where he sends a chef visiting London. He rates the grill above everything:
It serves one of the best wood-fired cuisines in London,
and he wants the open kitchen and the noise with it.I have eaten there many times and have never been disappointed.
He orders the crab rosti, crispy potato topped with sweet crab meat, and the T-bone steak, and he goes for dinner.5 - Local rec: a chef sent Jeff here. REAL.
Good to know
- Timing: Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 11pm. Closed Monday and Sunday.
- Booking: essential, through SevenRooms or 020 3924 9246. Ask for the counter if you want the fire in view.
- Price: £110 a head per the 2026 Harden's survey.
- Dietary: the venue publishes no gluten-free, celiac or vegan statement, so ask when you book.
- Location: 105-107 Talbot Road, a few minutes from Westbourne Park and Ladbroke Grove.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "New restaurant. Chef rec" REAL.
- Rec via: a chef, unnamed on his list. REAL.
Verdict
must-visit — Plan around it. Coen came out of two-starred Ikoyi and three-starred Frantzen and put that technique on a wood grill in a forty-seat room, fed by a supply chain his business partner already owned. Michelin's star landed in the 2024 guide and held through 2026, and Harden's survey rates the cooking 'of the highest order'. The combination of that produce access and open-fire cooking at this scale is difficult to find elsewhere in London.