A private dining room with its own car lift. A wine list spilling out to over 6,000 bottles. Interiors that offer an enchanting extension of the woodsy Green Park situated across the street. And Ollie Dabbous.
I’m sure that by now you’re all-too-familiar with Hide, its myriad of details breathlessly revealed in the run-up to the most buzz-worthy opening of the year yet. Having finally had a chance to visit, here are the stand-out features which made for an altogether exquisite affair…
A Journey of Discovery
Inspired by Mother Nature – the 250-cover, three-storeyed space presents a veritable treasure trove, carved and crafted out of wood as a homage to the roots, trunk and canopy of a tree.
Particularly striking is the oak-sculpted spiral staircase connecting “Ground” (the all-day dining room) with “Below” (the basement cocktail bar) and “Above” (a tasting-menu only space, which sits alongside the city’s most hedonistic PDR).
Thoughtful touches are discreet and in abundance – from the literary inspirations driving the smaller private dining area Below, to the tables on Ground hiding a drawer stocked with all sorts of amenities, including a phone charger!
An Oenophile’s Dream
The basement wine cellar is just as joyful to explore, given that Hide is backed by Mayfair’s highly sought-after wine boutique, Hedonism.
If we’re putting a number on it – the wine list stretches to 6,000 bottles, digitally inventoried on leather-bound iPads. Make your choice based on vintage, colour, region and price (ranging from under £40 to in excess £10,000!) and have your bottle delivered within 15 minutes, straight from Hedonism’s cellar in nearby Berkeley Square.
Beauty in Balance
Star chef Ollie Dabbous makes his signature mark with a beguiling balance, painterly touches and a floral finish adorning the eminently photogenic plates.
Our lunch on Ground features charcoal baked flatbreads embellished with coriander and ricotta, spring vegetables floating in a spenwood broth, and (for my non-vegetarian friend), Cornish cod assembled with buckwheat and black radish.
Personally speaking, the flavour profiles are ultimately too delicate and dainty for a palate which revels in bolder symphonies… but desserts prove a stand-out act, having achieved near-iconic status in a short span of time…
There’s *that* warm acorn cake of course, drenched with smoked caramel and rum (it’s not unlike a boozy cross between a croissant and soufflé!).
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjoeoe-lfGn/?taken-by=the_foodiediaries
Upon eager request, the exceptionally charming – not to mention accommodating – manager, Allesandro, also arranges for the Instagram-worthy dessert from the tasting menu Above – a chocolate egg which cracks open to reveal a creamy explosion of mascarpone and London Stout!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bibs-kCAQ98/?taken-by=the_foodiediaries
Breakfast and afternoon tea offer other other occasions to revisit the all-day dining on Ground; and there’s also a full-blown veggie tasting menu in the works Above… Add to this, the extensive (to put it mildly!) wine list – and methinks there are reasons a-plenty to suggest that I’ll find my way back to this most absorbing addition to Mayfair.
Hide: 85 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7NB | http://85piccadilly.co.uk/restaurant
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