Pavyllon London, Park Lane

This review was written as a paying customer, and no part of the experience was gifted, discounted or otherwise compensated.

Pavyllon London sits inside the Four Seasons at Park Lane and holds one Michelin star. It is Yannick Alléno’s London offering, built around polished French cooking with a modern edge, served in an elegant hotel setting that manages to feel both luxurious and surprisingly approachable. I had the six-course dinner menu a few years ago and loved it, so expectations were fairly high going into this.

The Details

We visited for the set lunch menu, which is available Monday to Saturday and costs £55 for three courses, with five options to choose from for each course. There is also an optional wine pairing for £45. It is worth noting that two of the five choices in each section carry a supplement, so if you are sticking to the advertised price, there are really three options per course.

Interiors

Having been to Pavyllon in the evening before, the daytime atmosphere felt quite different. During lunch, it leans more obviously into its Four Seasons setting, with a polished, luxury hotel feel throughout. That is not a criticism at all. Everything is immaculate, calm and comfortable, and the open kitchen with counter seating gives it a bright, spacious feel. Sitting at the counter adds a bit of theatre, but overall the experience feels gentler and less buzzy than dinner service, as you might expect.

Drinks

We were sticking to the non-alcoholic options, so opted for a soda and a ginger ale, both priced at £7. Still water is also £7 a bottle. Those prices are not exactly low, but we had two rounds of bread and butter and were not charged for either, which softened things slightly. If you did want to lean into the full experience, the £45 wine pairing looked fairly pitched for the setting.

Starters & Amuse-bouches

The menu began with two complimentary amuse-bouches. The trout tartlet was fresh and delicate, while the spiced celeriac tartlet was more unusual: creamy, gently aromatic, and carrying a note of clove that was reminiscent of Christmas.

For starters, the Orkney scallop tartlet featured sliced raw scallop atop perfectly crisp pastry, with a smoked brown butter sauce alongside. It was elegant and perfectly judged, with nothing overpowering the delicate, creamy flavour of the scallop. The steamed Comté cheese soufflé was impossibly light and properly cheesy, but never heavy or cloying. It was lifted by the watercress, while the smoked eel butter added real savoury depth. This is apparently one of their signature dishes, having been on the menu since day one, and I can see why. I will be dreaming about that soufflé for some time.

Mains

For the main course, based on our waiter’s recommendation, we both opted for the roasted Devon duck magret, served with a rich green pepper jus and a celeriac and pear condiment. The thin slices of duck were perfectly cooked and well rested, and the sauce brought everything together beautifully. It was an excellent plate, but the surprise mashed potatoes, or pomme purée if we are being honest, nearly stole the whole course. Silky, rich and buttery, they were pure perfection.

Dessert

For dessert, the textures of rhubarb layered perfectly poached rhubarb with brown butter shortbread, shiso diplomat and an intensely tart rhubarb sauce. It was light, sharp and a very elegant way to finish. The hazelnut île flottante sat at the opposite end of the spectrum, with rich caramel flavours, a beautiful hazelnut crème anglaise and an airy meringue island. Both were excellent.

Coffee & Petit Fours

We were served a petit four and ordered a couple of coffees alongside. The dark chocolate finger, filled with salty almond praline, looked simple but tasted far more complex, and was a very good final note. One point where the postcode and luxury hotel setting becomes abundantly clear, however, is the coffee pricing, with a cortado at £9 and a macchiato at £8. Worth knowing if you are trying to keep the bill down, as this quickly becomes a significant contributor once service is added.

Service

The service here is incredibly attentive. Possibly, at moments, a little too attentive depending on your preferences. Sitting at the counter means you are being looked after from both sides, and my friend did comment that perhaps one waiter checking whether everything was alright per course might have been enough, rather than two. Personally, I would take that over the opposite problem, and it did not bother me, but it is something to note if you prefer a more hands-off style. There is no faulting the professionalism though, and everything runs with real polish.

Value

At £55, this feels like superb value. Everything was flawless, with no missteps or weak points, and there was enough creativity on the menu to make you curious about the dishes you did not choose. I also think Pavyllon has fairly universal appeal in that sense. There is enough choice to suit different tastes, and while there are bolt-ons and supplements if you want them, we deliberately stuck to the standard menu and still felt we had a complete, luxurious experience.

Final verdict

This is one of the strongest set menus I have had so far, and I think it will be tough to beat. The cooking was polished, creative and deeply satisfying. Yes, some of the extras quickly remind you that you are dining in the Four Seasons, but the £55 menu itself feels more than fair for the level. Very much one to book.