Dorian called itself “a bistro for locals”.   It was a long place featuring a wood fired grill.  There was a long counter with stools and a few small cloth covered tables near the front.  The tables are additionally covered with a piece of paper, probably because dishes are meant to be shared, and this makes for a mess.  They had a couple of uni-sex bathrooms with crazy tile work, distorted mirrors and “crapper” toilets, so don’t miss those when you go.    Exposed duct work and lots of stainless steel in the open kitchen behind the bar provided a show for the counter and the throbbing music kept those of us at the tables entertained.  There was a fantastic aroma when you entered the place and friendly, helpful servers gave it a fun vibe.  They have one Michelin Star.  The menu is composed daily and all a la carte.  The beef, which they are known for is a UK hybrid aged 60 days, below the restaurant.  There were a couple of specials offered, including a chicken skewer appetizer and suckling pig main.  We got the former as we were there to try the beef.  The wine list was much better than last nights at SOLA.  I would easily recommend this place when you are in London.

Set-up

Food

The chicken skewer had heart, liver, giblets, morels and onions and was excellent.  It came with a raspberry sauce which was nice.

 

Crab and pomelo rosti had tons of crabmeat with mild flavor on the pieces of hashbrowns.  It was mild but tasty.

 

Fried squid and sea urchin rosti was sold by the piece.  A fun blend of fried squid on small chunks of hash browns topped with sea urchin.  It all blended nicely with lots of flavor and texture.

 

Veal sweetbreads were with celeriac and ranch sauce.  There were two good-sized pieces on the plate all nicely crispy with moist centers.  The sauce was perfect to go with them.

 

Scallop was with hot sauce and red carrot.  It was one large scallop and not spicy.  The scallop was perfectly cooked with sliced carrot underneath, creme fraiche on the side and topped with roe.  It was very good.

 

T-bone steak came to the table sliced.  It was cooked rare as ordered with lots of smoky flavors.  The tender and juicy meat was enhanced by the buttery drippings.   They brought a small bowl with large flake salt if you wanted it.

 

Pink fir potatoes were crushed and then fried to end up with lots of crispy edges on each small potato.  They were yummy good.

 

Pistachio ice cream, dark chocolate and malt was pistachio ice cream on thin strips of chocolate with chocolate custard underneath.  It was great and all parts melded well.

 

A Brûlée apple doughnut and vanilla was a custard-filled doughnut alongside a bowl of sliced apples in custard.  Both were very good and the recommendation was to dip the doughnut in the apple bowl.  I preferred to eat them separately as both were marvelous.