5 /5 Alex Fatho: I’ve wanted to visit Dorian for some time now and met some of the team previously, but some days everything just rolls into place and fate delivers something magical. It was absolutely buzzing when we arrived and we had no reservation… and it was a Saturday. Lila was very patient and attentive at the door to do everything to help us find a seat, and she gave us the best seat in the house! With attentive smiles from the team, we walked through to the corner table that sits looking directly into the whole restaurant. I’m glad we were treated to this spot, because it made us aware of what so many guests were missing whilst absorbed by their phones. The passion of the team, brilliant personalities, encouragement mentoring other new members and truly caring. Rob came to take us through the menu and apologetically prompt us along quite rightly as we’d managed to get in close to the kitchen closing. Whilst there were evident show stoppers like the cuts of beef firing up in the open kitchen and glossing tables with those succulent juicy vibes, there were seasonal dishes that were just that little bit different we just had to try and I think genuinely delighted the team that we went for it. We started the show stopping service with Classic and Dorian martinis, that were exhilarating like the fresh Autumnal air outside. We also ordered the Crete house white, which was fabulous. Never judge a book by its cover or its price tag. An exceptional restaurant will always pay even closer attention to the house wines that they aren’t ever a default, but often the kind of wine you’ll note down and buy yourself. Which we will definitely do. So, first up we had Bluefin tuna crisp tostados, that resulted in us simultaneously turning to each other with our eyes bulging that says it all. Fabulicious! Dorian have an extensive rosti menu, which is a lot of fun, where we went for crab & honeycomb rosti, that just pop in the mouth with creamy meatiness. Veal sweetbreads with a light crunchy coating, and octopus with it’s own crispy fried coating, sat proudly together with two sauces that gave a great bit of cut through and had me mopping the finger across the bowl till there was only an art piece left. I think we surprised the staff, picking Autumn mushrooms next, sitting on rice that had the top crisped off and a plump yolk to pop on top. An awesome dish! As we played into our main course, we broke with the dinosaur steaks and went instead for fallow dear with prawns, four different sauces and arranged beautifully like a Christmas wreath. The level of cooking and perfection to ensure the prawns were succulent and fallow pink, was jaw willing, where we used smashed crunchy potatoes to mop everything up. Definitely a fantastic way to finish on savoury. Dabbling into dessert we had a hazelnut old fashioned, followed by the brioche donut, filled to the brim that we dipped into peanut butter milkshake (you see a theme of how to eat at Dorian) that had that classic ice cream thickness, with a perfect layer on the top that gave a bit of fun decadence. In an incredibly busy restaurant, it felt like it was just the team, my partner and I. You’ve got to commend a restaurant that can hold a room of people too caught up in themselves to notice the very human, lovely team and level of excellence to the table. Thank you guys for a fateful Saturday, where things just kept going so right it felt like a dream.
