Dorian Restaurant - (Near , South East)

5 /5 Lucy: The food is incredible - let the staff guide you on what and how much to eat or you will end up with tiny portions and not full. The staff were superb and v accommodating. We had a lovely meal and we will be back! It is a small busy restaurant and the tables are very close to each other.

5 /5 Rish S: We had wanted to visit Dorian for a long time so decided to book to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were slightly apprehensive given the bad reviews but we need not have been concerned as we had a fantastic meal. We found the service to be great, all super friendly and smiley. the atmosphere was amazing too! We went at 2pm on a Saturday. All of the food we had was amazing, particularly the beef tartare (which I’m not usually crazy on) and the dessert - donut with peanut butter milkshake. We do think the sommelier could have been a bit more helpful with the choice of wine but we managed to pick a bottle we were more than happy with. The chef Max also came and spoke to us which was lovely of him and he was so friendly! Yes it’s an expensive meal but worth it for a special occasion!

1 /5 Dionisis Salai: Unfortunately, a big disappointment! We had booked a table to go eat at the restaurant about a month in advance, four people. When we arrived and walked in, everything looked nice. We knew we were going to an expensive restaurant, BUT we also expected the portions to be appropriate. Unfortunately, we were extremely disappointed when we saw the dishes we had ordered. Bite-sized canapé-type portions priced between £9 and £35each — literally a single bite of food. As we continued, the starters arrived. One of them was the scallop, which was exactly ONE scallop and cost £29!! With some sauce on top, and that was it. As for the main course, we ordered a T-bone steak and they told us it was between 1.4–1.6 kg and enough for four people. It was nowhere near the weight they claimed. There were four of us and we each ate only about 3–4 thin slices. The wine we ordered was nice and there was a wide selection — that was one positive. The staff served us nicely at first, but then they were hovering over us and trying to clear plates as quickly as possible, even taking plates we hadn’t finished yet. After some time they informed us that the table was reserved for the next booking and that we would need to leave soon. We had been there for just under two hours. When we got up to go to the bathroom — and since there was only one restroom for both men and women — we were standing and waiting. One of the staff came over, handed us our jackets while we were waiting, literally threw them into our hands, and said “thank you very much.” In short, they kicked us out. Overrated restaurant with very high prices and no substance to the food they offer. The bill came to £800 for just four people!! You can’t charge such tiny portions at such high prices! We definitely won’t be going back! A huge disappointment for a restaurant with one Michelin star!

5 /5 Edward: 10/10 experience for us. We had a table of 4 and 2 of us had previously visited with great reviews. From the moment we walked in it was buzzing and lively. Service was great and the food was spot on. We ordered the T-Bone which was absolutely delicious! Our waiter was friendly and had a great sense of humour. (I’m not sure why the reviews here are so low, I’d come here again in a heartbeat)

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.