Dorian in Kensington and Chelsea - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

The restaurant is cramped and spaces are tight, waiters keep bumping into you and could not care less. Starters are very small and expensive. The steaks on the other hand are the only positive thing this restaurant has, our T bone was great! I wouldn’t return as every other aspect fails but the steak was one of the best I had in London. Staff are not friendly either.

I had lunch at Dorian today and having read the few terrible reviews felt the need to put my contrasting opinion. The service was friendly, efficient and attentive from the moment I arrived. I was dining on my own and was asked if I’d like to sit at the counter so I could watch the action in the kitchen. I was seated at the pass and the chefs and other staff were very friendly and chatty. Every dish I had was not only delicious but also beautiful, and I will definitely go back to try some of the other dishes. The restaurant is a buzzing, happy place so don’t go expecting a quiet and deferential meal, but if you’re looking for great food and a fun experience I would highly recommend it!

Avoid this place! Even good food hype not worth it To be fair and start with good things, it was excellent food, one of the best in this area, and the wine by the glass choice is excellent which is a hard work of the chef.... but the rest is mess, and to say short, do not go there, service is terrible, place does not worth tasty food, just spare your time for something better! To give a short conclusion, the food and wine are not worth the experience, do not go there, especially if you go with a family, not for kids ever! Simply NOT the place I would ever visit a second time. There are myriads of good places around in Notting Hill, Wild, Gold, Sumi, Zephyr and it can continue endless, excellent food around, places and service if one wants to stay around, and not to go for a bit central Robuchon, or Pavyllon or Sketch, or any old style classical takes or even any modern that are endless in Mayfair for that budget!  For over £500 pounds meals for 2 adults and 1 child that eat almost nothing... I would say no place that made the worst impression on me exists in London. However, Dorian is full packed, I do not think they do care at all for any negative reviews, as it has a busy time serving people that I assume enjoy being mazohist or being a regular customer whom the chef knows!) so this review will change nothing in essence for this 'successful' chef, but still I rarely write any review and this time, I felt it is worth spending time! 1. Seating area is very uncomfortable, almost rubbing shoulders of the guests or waiters, and we talk about the very high prices to be paid, not a cheap Izakaya style place. Again, feels like you visited the house of your boss who is not happy about you today!) 2. I assume this "enfant terrible" chef decides the rules, it is like visiting somebody's unplesant's personal space, his flat where rules are not known nor logical, no second order, one must order all only once, no second chance to order the food. I thought it was a joke, but it was not, I was told a few times that Chef does not like this, the chef does not like that, the chef does not like to put sauce aside for a kid, the chef's kitchen is busy and he has no time for a second order.... what??? for 500 quid, no second chance to order extra food if I am not full.... why not allow me to order extra small scallops or something bite-sized to try that I saw at the next table? Complete nonsense. 3. Best part is that I was told before bookings that first come first served for table choice for a company of three like us. But, on arrival I was told with a strange smirt "you are not going to have a today", you can't have it, and you won't when I asked for a corner table. Later I was told, also in an unpleasant manner, that two corner tables are for the chef to choose for his own guest, see above on visiting some strange person's house, feeling very uninvited. Good luck to all them, they get guests anyway. So this review is intended for somebody who wants to try the place. Always bear in mind, somebody will have special treatment against all the rules of first come first get it they promote when saying no one can book a specific table in advance. Final - avoid this place if you want to enjoy the time and life and good food, London is full of really good restaurants.

BEWARE this restaurant has a 7 day cancellation policy...UNHEARD of. We tried to cancel on line and by phone . They were unhelpful and it's greedy and unrealistic to take our money when you try to cancel as NORMAL 48 hours in advance

Excellent evening last night sitting at the bar eating the most delicious and beautifully cooked food - cocktail barman was fabulous as were waiters, Loved the fun, buzzy relaxed ambience with attentive waiters too!

Not all that, and overall there is definitely room for refinement. All three of our starter plates (both hot and cold) were brought to the table at rapid speed even before we had had a chance to order wine. We had to ask them (twice) to stop bringing food to the table before our wine arrived so we could enjoy our food with our wine. The wine selection was excellent and the turbot we ordered was very well cooked, but it was not the smooth and enjoyable environment that you would expect from a michelin starred establishment, and a bit of a madhouse with staff rushing around. We also had a huge number of different people take our orders/talk to us about wine so it was hard to know who to communicate with about our meal/drinks. I hope when we return in the future it's found itself and a has a more enjoyable atmosphere

Food was good, but massively overpriced. Staff overall were decent and attentive. I then had the misfortune of meeting the owner who was clearly on a different planet to the rest of us! He started off nice as pie, but the veneer wore off very quickly when I told him we had been charged £25 per head for our two guests who couldn’t join us for the meal. That changed his demeanour instantly and he proceeded to tell me how he had far more important customers than us who spend thousands, and we should be lucky to be there. Joker. Surprised anyone goes back there given the owners behaviour, attitude and clear intoxication.

We loved it . The food was fantastic. We spent £160 excluding drinks for 2 people , we left feeling full. I would recommend sitting at the bar so you can view the chefs do their work . Staff were very friendly and professional. We would definitely go again . Highlights were the liver parfait , scallop french toast and the various rosti's. Lunch was a good time to go by the way

We had a 11.45am booking and I rang ahead to ask what time the restaurant would open and the gentleman on the phone tells me 11.30am was their first booking. We naturally made the assumption that the opening time was 11.30am. We arrived a few minutes after 11.30am only to be told they weren’t quite ready. We said not a problem at all but were told to come back in 15 minutes. We asked very politely if we could just wait in a corner somewhere as it was raining but were given instant death stares by the manageress and her adjunct. The gentleman then decided to give us a hard time for turning up at 11.30am and said they were just not ready for us. I swiftly reminded him that I rang ahead to ask what time they opened and he himself said to me their first booking was at 11.30am. Had we misunderstood? We didn’t say anything more and very politely enquired if we could have a table instead of counter seats. We were the only two customers in an empty restaurant but were given a table right in front of the main entrance. I asked if we could possibly have another table for two in the corner but was informed by the manageress “that’s not how things work here” which I assumed meant NOT IN THIS LIFETIME. She then proceeded to inform us that we had booked counter seats and NOT a table. I checked my confirmation email as well as the website of the restaurant and found that it was not possible to specify whether one wanted a table or just seats at the counter. It was clearly a fib designed to get us to back off. I didn’t wish to get into yet another unpleasant exchange because we realised immediately what the main issue was. We both sensed rather distressing vibes/undercurrents from the staff which we attributed to the fact that we were of the wrong skin colour. This would have been our second visit and we sensed it the first time round already but said nothing at all. We had thought we were just being sensitive. The management made it abundantly clear in more ways than one that given a choice they would rather not have our custom. It all became a tad unpalatable given the exchanges so I then made a decision to just leave and cancel our reservation only to find that they weren’t planning to refund the deposit until I made a point in ensuring it would happen right in front of me and not have to take a leap of faith. I never bothered to write a review after our first visit as the food was infinitely better than the service. Any review would have done a huge injustice to the kitchen. As this was a second visit it would be remiss of us not to call a spade a spade. We visit 4-6 restaurants a week and we cannot recall having had a similar experience elsewhere in any part of London. Just most unfortunate.

Abominable experience! Never been spoken to so badly and treated with utter contempt. The owner was rude, obnoxious and shouted at our table without reason. I have seen from other reviews that this isn't a first. Amazed it could achieve a Michelin star when treating guests so poorly.

I appreciate this is a very new restaurant, and will take time to perfect, though I am surprised it has already received a star, based on the experience we had there. The wine list is really good, and not obnoxiously priced - I was very happy with the selection and enjoyed the wines we had. The menu is a sort of "sharer" concept, which every new restaurant in London seems to be embracing, I personally prefer the more traditional a la carte set up, though I can understand others would disagree. I had the liver parfait from the "snacks" section, which was delicious but tiny, along with the kale and cheddar rosti, which was also nice, but tiny. The T-Bone steak was great and easily suited three of us (is £160). The sides/accompaniments were a bit average (potatoes, bitter leaves and brussel spouts), but that is okay. The following is the reason I only give 3 stars: - The same waiter twice made very amateurish mistakes, yet didn't apologise or really acknowledge that they had happened - firstly, he knocked over my (untouched) parfait with the water jug, leaving the dish on it's side on my plate, parfait all over the bottom of the jug (and then the table cloth) - I don't know why he didn't offer to replace the parfait or at least change the water jug. Secondly, when taking away our plates, after finishing the mains, he dropped a dirty knife into my lap, staining my jumper. He also came to try and take our food order within about 30 seconds of the final member of our table arriving, they were 5 minutes late, but that is not required. - The tables are far too close together, I was basically sitting on the lap of the man sat on the table to my right, and all conversations can easily be heard. Three times I was asked by staff to move my chair in nearer the table, the reason for this was because a "large" man had sat on the table with his back to mine, meaning the waiting staff had trouble moving through, without me having to squeeze up to our table to compensate for the other gentleman. After this, a woman accidently knocked over a bottle of wine and water jug all over someone on the adjacent table with her bag, as she approached her table for the first time, due to it being so tight. - Our dessert took forever to arrive and then, before we had finished it, you could tell they were panicking and trying to get us away, as the next party was waiting in the doorway. I understand we are given 2 hour slots to eat, which seems to be standard these days but, if a dessert cannot easily be delivered in the allotted time, they should state this when taking the order. This just leads to a rushed and un-relaxing atmosphere. Final point is it is very loud, so I was struggling to hear people, though I like the fact it was busy and buzzing, but some people may not enjoy this. - The whole restaurant has 1 unisex customer toilet, meaning there was always a queue to go to the bathroom. I can't believe a restaurant of this stature does not have more suitable toilet facilities. In conclusion, I am glad to visit somewhere that is "in" at the moment. I enjoyed the food, and love the fact you can see head chef Max Coen preparing food in the open plan kitchen, but I would likely not return. Judging by the fact we were only just able to get a (6:30pm) reservation on a Tuesday the day before Valentines Day, I doubt they care.

Preis-Leistungsverhältnis stimmt nicht. Service unaufmerksam; Fleisch kam kalt auf den Tisch, Fischqualität der Bouillabaisse fragwürdig Viel zu teuer für diese Performance

We came for my birthday, and it really was a wonderful experience. From the service (our waitress was so lovely) to the food (the ribeye steak was amazing) we thoroughly enjoyed our experience. Also the ambience was just so lovely, the place was packed out for a Tuesday night and it was great to see! We will definitely be back soon!

Insanely good atmosphere. Bustling eatery in Notting Hill was almost a ‘who’s who’ of the celeb world. Brilliant service was matched by some really fantastic dishes, and specious wine. On the pricey side but just worth it for the atmosphere alone. The best part is - I was there on a Monday night!

Myself and my partner went on Sunday night and the place was packed. We arrived early and enjoyed a drink whilst we perched, before being taken to our spot. The menu was so vibrant, we basically ordered all the small plates and took a fried guinea fowl leg to share. Sensational, the lot. I’ve eaten my fair share of things but the leg was something new - both by itself and with the various sauces that accompanied. Three days later and my partner and I are still discussing it. Puddings were just as good, our favourite being a fist-sized choux bun filled with ice cream and other delicious things. The wine was superb, the team (Callum, Kai + somm, et al) were excellent, and the vibe was electric. Such a well spent evening.

The food and service would get top marks but this otherwise brilliant place is ruined by terrible acoustics and compulsion to blast loud, loud music. A pity.

Fabulous, atmospheric, delicious, expensive! But we sat at the bar and Max cooked the most incredible food and Moses looked after us so beautifully. Would go again in a flash!

It started with the amazing vibe and ambience. Then we fell into the hands of the excellent waiter Moses-highly informed and personable. Then we tasted the unbelievable cooking of Max A magnificent experience I hope to repeat soon

Was so looking forward to eating at Dorian, but i must say it was a disappointing experience: 1) The beer tap wasn't working but they didn't have any bottles of beer to offer either 2) food arrived at different times and they had completely forgotten to give us a couple of dishes 3) The wine list was EXTREMELY expensive. I wholly support fine wines on a wine list, but it was impossible to find anything cheaper than a £70 bottle of Chablis - the next cheapest wine was £250. It felt like someone has been to an advanced school of restaurant management and concluded that margin comes from only selling expensive wine. But i fundamentally disagree with that philosophy - i have been to plenty of Michellin starred restaurants where it felt more inclusive and patrons were brought together for the love of food, not the size of their wallets. But we were in NH of course and that probably says it all. The last point i'd make is that i ate toast when i went home as i was still hungry. Over £700 for 4 people and was still hungry. Hard not to feel ripped off.

My wife brought me here for my birthday shortly after the restaurant opened and we visited again a few months later with friends of ours who are locals. Dorian operates a sharing menu of richly sourced and seasonal ingredients under the auspices of French bistro style cuisine. We had the Crab Rosti, squid and lobster salad followed by the turbot, trout and beef ribeye which were all bursting with flavour and perfectly executed. I was slightly underwhelmed by the puddings on the menu but that might have just been me. The service was exemplary and the staff clearly well drilled and trained. Would also recommend solo dining at the bar which looked very inviting but being very busy at the moment, I wouldn’t recommend turning up without a reservation. Dorian is arguably the restaurant of the moment among rife competition in Notting Hill and draws an upwardly mobile, local crowd as well as foodies from further a field that flock to London’s hot spots.

An absolute gem of a place . A great atmosphere and the food is absolutely amazing. The staff are friendly, knowledgable and efficient. Recommend.

We are very local to Dorien, and a regular customer of the Notting Hill Fish and Meat - owned by the same person. We were among the very first customers at Dorien and thrilled with the concept, food - although the service is very amateurish apart from the sommelier most of the time. Been many times since it opened and decided to do a Sunday lunch/brunch. So first off, the very amateurish and unprofessional waiter tried many times to rush us eating our food. In fact, after 1.5 hours, no questions asked, we were presented with the bill even though we didn't ask for it and was about to order another bottle of wine (which does not come cheap at Dorien). I asked if we were being kicked out - if others had a booking - and the waiter said no. So I said we're staying despite his distain, and we stayed on to spent another £500 - even though they wanted us out for no reason at all. Very strange. This restaurant claims to cater for locals - yet using the email I was told to use for locals - my most recent request (1.5 months in advance, and on a Tuesday night) was rejected because it is now up to the owner to approve reservations at 8pm or later. Obviously I don't spend enough. It seems to be run like a private member's club now. I recommend reading the numerous reviews on Google - before attempting to eat here. I also find it strange that there are only 2 reviews on TripAdvisor to date....?!?

An incredible meal, everything was unbelievable. I would highly recommend the Steak Tartar, the pork chop, the cabbage, the crab rosti, the scallops and everything else we had. Service was fantastic, the food was some of the best I have had in London. Head Chef Max Coen has done something wonderful here and I have already booked to come back. 11/10

Good food, small portions, left hungry. Weird, very inattentive service; after ordering we were fully ignored. Caught between the blaring techno crap sound track and the non existent service we could hardly wait to finish lunch and hightail it out of “Darien”.