Dovetale is the new restaurant from Tom Sellers, the two-Michelin-star chef behind Restaurant Story and most recently Story Cellar, the wine bar for grown-ups located in Covent Garden. Whilst there’s definitely some similarities in the menu – a killer roast chicken for example – the new restaurant sets itself apart with that beautiful dining room, which might just be one of our favourite dining rooms in the city.
But it’s not just a pretty space; the food and drinks more than match up to the looks, with a menu that features elevated spins on classic dishes, plus enough east London cool to keep the hipsters happy too. That east London cool is partly down to the team in the kitchen, which includes Tom Anglesea, of Laughing Heart fame, and Chase Lovecky, who previously headed up Two Lights in Shoreditch.
There’s a big raw bar and you’d be mad not to order the English wagyu carpaccio with hot mustard, chives and beef fat chips, which you’re advised to used to make a rollie out of the meat. The high(light) of our meal. We also enjoyed the dressed crab served with mini brown crab crumpets, the super fresh Isle of Wight tomato tart with horseradish and basil, and a very rich guinea fowl and lardo terrine served with two slabs of toasted brioche.
We went a little lighter on the mains because we got sucked in by the small plates – it’s the cliche London foodie in us – so we shared a very pleasant roasted Herdwick lamb with gem lettuce, yoghurt and wild garlic capers alongside a tin of moreish AF fries.
When it comes to dessert at least one person has to get the knickerbocker glory trolley and Instagram it. If not, we can’t really be sure if you even really went to Dovetale. The dessert comes with tick list of ingredients, or there are four ready-made combos, but where’s the fun in that? We went wild with birthday cake, jellies, raspberry sauce and more, which transported us back to our Blackpool holidays. And there’s no shame in that.
Great cocktails, a good amount of low intervention wines and brilliant service: Dovetale really does tick all the boxes, and not just those on the knickerbocker menu.
1 Dover Yard at 1 Hotel Mayfair, London, W1J 8DJ
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