Dinner by Heston Blumenthal • London

Heston Blumenthal named his restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, “Dinner,” because depending where you are in the British Isles, “dinner” might be served at lunchtime, suppertime or, dinnertime.

Blumenthal, along with Ashley Palmer Watts, created Dinner’s historic inspired menu by working with a food historian to research the British Library about the theatrics of Tudor dining and King Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Place; the dishes of Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and historical cookbooks by royal chefs.

Expect unusual names and surprising combinations; the menu item that gets all the buzz is Meat Fruit (c. 1500), a mound of chicken mousse encased in citrus jelly with a real leaf stalk, so it looks exactly like a mandarin orange. The Powdered Duck Breast (c. 1850) with braised, grilled red cabbage, spiced umbles, and pickled cherries is another favorite, as is the Tipsy Cake (c. 1810) with spit roast pineapple. Diners have a view of the open kitchen and the unusual pulley system, which rotates the spit over an open fire. Highpoints in the contemporary dining room are the custom-made wall sconces in the shape of antique jelly molds, and the views of Hyde Park.

Visit: 66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA; 020-7201 3833; dinnerbyheston.co.uk