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London’s best fine dining restaurants for takeout

Lauren Hill

Senior Contributor

London is a gastronome’s dream with top chefs bringing influences in from around the world and a staggering diversity of culinary experiences. Since the UK first went into lockdown, restaurants have turned their expertise to creating menus for home dining. Some of the city’s highly acclaimed fine dining spots are playing a part in the movement.

Park Chinois

A London stalwart for Chinese fine dining, Park Chinois pays homage to the golden age and opulence of 1930s Shanghai, pairing bold Chinese cuisine with a stylish setting designed by Jacques Garcia. When lockdown descended on London, the Mayfair dining spot set about delivering luxury straight to your door by launching Park Chinois at Home. Available through Deliveroo and Supper seven days a week, the menus of executive chef Lee Che Liang are designed to provide an indulgent lunch or dinner in, with plenty of choice. Begin with appetisers such as dim sum alongside a choice of caviar, then follow this signature Park Chinois dishes like king crab with homemade rice noodles, wagyu beef short ribs with black bean sauce and the restaurant’s most famous dish, Duck de Chine in which duck that’s been roasted and rested for over 72 hours comes with paper thin homemade pancakes, baby cucumber, spring onions and duck sauce. In addition to these a la carte options, the chefs have designed four set menus including the indulgent family-style Dynasty Menu.

Nobu London Old Park Lane

The original London restaurant of chef Nobu Matushisa, having opened in 1997, Nobu Old Park Lane continues to be an all-time favourite on London’s dining scene. Fans of the brand’s vibe and Matsuhisa’s signature dishes come to the minimalist space tucked into COMO Metropolitan hotel for a distinctive twist on Japanese cuisine. Here you can try famous Nobu plates like the black cod miso, wagyu beef served as tataki, toban-yaki or in tacos, and spicy tuna sushi rolls, or opt for the multi-course omakase tasting menu. Now, these dishes aren’t just available at the restaurant though. To adapt to the current climate, the restaurant has launched a takeaway and delivery service. Delivering every day on an on-going basis, and even offering takeaway collection on Christmas Day, the restaurant has curated takeaway menus of cold dishes like yellowtail jalapeno sashimi, hot plates such as grilled poussin with truffle teriyaki, and of course, the famous black cod miso, along with an array of sushi rolls, distinctly Nobu desserts like green tea ice cream mochi and drinks ranging from champagne to sake.

XR

Xier | XR in Marylebone is the duo-venue dining spot of the Naples-born chef Carlo Scotto who before embarking on his own venture was mentored by Angela Hartnett and the Galvin brothers. Xier offers a specially curated tasting menu on the ground floor and XR offers a la carte fine dining in which modern European plates come with a touch of Asian influence. During lockdown and beyond, the dining venue is offering collection and delivery of dishes on the menu at XR. The takeaway menu consists of small plates and sharing dishes, as well as the restaurant’s indulgent Sunday roasts. Choose from options like burrata with figs, candied walnuts and balsamic, black cod gyoza and linguine with autumn black truffle. Alternatively, go for sharing plates, the one-kilogram butter roasted tomahawk steak and show-stopping lobster linguine with lobster bisque, along with a range of Champagnes and wines including Brunello di Montalcino.

Benares

Modern Indian dining with a contemporary British twist has made Benares one of the finest Indian restaurants in the capital. Here, British ingredients are used to create an innovative modern Indian menu designed to change the way people perceive and experience Indian cuisine. Menus curated to fully explore the Indian subcontinent include a la carte dishes like baked Malabar scallop combining hand dived Scottish scallops that have been baked in the shell with coconut curry and Malabar parantha, and garam masala spiced fillet and keema of Muntjac deer with plantain chips and buttered pao. Benares@Home, which is now available on an ongoing basis, offers dishes from the restaurant as a la carte plates or multi-course tasting menus designed for two. Order tandoor plates like prawn kasundi and curries such as venison keema curry among other elevated favourites. You can even include signature Benares cocktails like the Benares Old Fashioned and Benares passion fruit martini.

Frog by Adam Handling

The flagship restaurant of one of London’s most talked-about chefs, Frog by Adam Handling invites diners into its Covent Garden culinary space for dishes that combine the best possible produce with a theatrical touch. HAME by Adam Handling brings the menus of this highly acclaimed restaurant into people’s homes. Its successful launch saw approximately 4,000 dishes sold. At the beginning of London’s second lockdown in November, the chef added four brand new menus to the HAME home delivery service. In a departure from the previous HAME menu, which consisted of dishes designed for home cooking, the new menus include signature plates like lobster wagyu that were previously only available when dining in at the restaurant. An updated a la carte offering now includes a Sunday lunch menu, the Dine in Style menu for two people, Dine in Style vegetarian and the ultimate ‘Who are you trying to impress?’ menu for two. The delivery service is ongoing with special menus for Christmas and New Year’s Eve