The London City Guide

The Savoy has been the talk of London since reopening last fall. But these hotels are now stealing the spotlight with new restaurants from star chefs.

London City Guide: St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Photo courtesy of St Pacras Hotel.

The Gilbert Scott at London's St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

The Gilbert Scott at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

Marcus Wareing is the Michelin-starred chef behind this grand British brasserie. He's reworked traditional dishes like Tweed Kettle (sea trout with nutmeg and lemon crust) and created an all-day bar menu of snacks like potato-and-bacon fritters.

Courtesy of May Fair hotel

Quince at The May Fair

TV chef Silvena Rowe spent years shopping the markets of Damascus and Amman. She shows off her knowledge of Ottoman Empire cuisine with a menu of grilled meats and dishes created to pair with Lebanon's Château Musar wines.

Dinner at London's Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental

Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

At his first London restaurant, Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck re-creates dishes like "meat fruit" (left)—chicken liver disguised as a tangerine—from a 16th-century recipe. "The food is inspired by the past, but it's not ye olde English cooking," he says.

Published May 2011