If you decide to visit Hide after reading this review please take note that the restaurant is very aptly named in that we walked straight past its nondescript And well hidden frontage and continued walking down Piccadilly towards Marble Arch. By the time we arrived at another excellent dining destination – Coya- I realised that we had ventured to far and we made an abrupt U turn and headed back towards Green Park station. Hide and Seek – where are you Ollie ?
Actually I was a huge fan of Ollie Dabbous’s first restaurant, simply called Dabbous, that opened back in 2012. Somehow I managed to be in the know at the time and secured a table early on in its run, thereafter becoming the latest hot ticket in town as reservations became like gold dust in what was a relatively tiny Industrial space requiring you to literally books months and months in advance to try Ollies take on modern Cuisine.
Whilst opening a few other ventures in the meantime, including the restaurant at the Henrietta Hotel, the doors of Dabbous closed permanently earlier this year, presumably for him to focus his attention on this new huge Dining Space set over 2 floors overlooking Green Park.The Restaurant has apparently cost £20 Million to put together and whilst it was not clear how this cash has been spent there is a grandiose Art Deco Wooden Staircase impressively linking Hide Ground to Hide Above but surprisingly Above is no more luscious then Ground which I think is a mistake. I would have thought there was an opportunity here to create a different ambience over the two levels but in fact the decor is almost identical. Notwithstanding my own personal thought on decor, Ollie is not taking any chances with his new venture. He has surrounded himself with quality people including Lucas Shelby – National Chef of the Year 2917 and others from well known establishments such as L’Autre Pied and Le Manoir. Additionally the restaurant is a co Venture with Hedonism Wines contributing to a cellar of 6000 bottles – the largest in London. These wines are all contained on an iPad which you can gleefully play around with hours if you so desire, but I restricted myself to a few minutes and found a Russian / Soviet Champagne for £600 from 1968 – maybe a nod to Hedonisms Russian Oligarch Owner.
There are wine pairings on offer with the 8 course tasting menu that costs £95 with the wine at an additional £65. We are at lunch though and do not feel like an extended 8 course meal and therefore go A La Carte. The menu is split into Grazing – snacks ranging from £3 to £9 and then the more conventional Starters/Mains etc with starters between £12 and £16 And Mains from £26 to £32.
Flatbread
From the grazing menu we go for a Charcoal Flatbread with CEP shavings And Lemon Thyme – raw thinly sliced mushrooms on a beautifully baked bread – a lovely little alternative to the normal bread and butter side whilst awaiting the main event. There were also other versions available involving Ricotta and crushed green herbs or Sesame Labnah, pickled vegetables and crushed seeds.
Mrs.West started with Chesnut parcels in a light duck broth – little Tortellini shaped parcels bobbing about in a pungent and intend,y flavoured broth – actually deeply coloured as opposed to the light broth advertised but so good I was not offered a taster. I had opted for the Red Prawns with fragrant herbs in a chilled broth made from prawn shells. It was a picture on a plate, raw delicate prawns complimented with strong dill and fragrant aniseedy baby fennel. 
The broth was earthy and well balanced – a delightfully refreshing dish perfect for a Summers Day. I had also opted to pay the £18 supplement for additional Exmoor Caviar – adding a little extra saltiness to the meal but unclear as to where in Exmoor they had unearthed Sturgeon?
Since discovering Sweetbreads some years ago I cannot resist them when found on a Menu and here was no exception. This was to be roasted Veal Sweetbread with an unusual accompaniment of Smoked Almond Praline coupled with cooked and raw root vegetables. This was a revelatory meal with the almond sauce complimenting the unctuous sweetbread perfectly and the texture provided by crunchy baby turnips and radishes. 
Mrs West chose one of her Restaurant staples – Octopus- another picture of a plate having been barbecued and dressed with Moscatel Grapes, Lovage And White Miso. Another meal where not one morsel came my way but I was advised was soft,sweet but with a little smokiness and crunch from the Hot coals. 
The rest of the menu was also extremely inviting with a Grilled Spice Quail with date syrup,Globe artichoke and toasted grains looking very much like a meal that would require testing on a second visit.
Ollie has invested in a soft serve Ice Cream maker for this restaurant and on offer in the desserts were both Sheeps Milk and Barley Malt ice creams. However we chose a Pear Sorbet with Chervil Syrup And Toasted Angelica Seeds – an unusual combination – but the Chervil Syrup was amazingly good and who would have thought that it would go so well with the intensely flavoured Pear Sorbet.
Anothe dessert – which I believe could become their signature dessert – was the Warm Acorn Cake with smoked caramel and a choice of liquor to flavour it, served with Cornish clotted cream on the side.
The Cake was akin to a Brioche sitting in a small round pot upon which the Smokey Caramel sauce was poured over together with our choice of rum. The taste was a little like a luxury bread and butter pudding with added caramel and alcohol and was finished hastily whilst piping hot. Exceptional.
We were now more than satisfied, and whilst the Cheese and Savoury selection looked curious, including a Tarte Fine of Kentish Apples and homemade black pudding this would also need to await a second outing.
So other than a chance missed Decor wise, a fantastic addition to Londons Dining scene, and whilst as good as anything produced at the now defunct Dabbous hopefully the size of the new restaurant will avoid the necessity to book 12 months ahead.
A curious note to end with – the new Restaurant will be open all day offering breakfast with croissants at £4 etc. Was it this Cafe style opening hours that had led half of the Ground floor of the restaurant to be populated by young families (many of Russian descent) with prams and kids running around? This is not the atmosphere I was expecting and not one I enjoyed – this is not MacDonalds or PizzaExpress and to my knowledge does not have a kids menu ? Obviously evenings will be different, but this was a little surprising and whilst clearly not detracting from the 5 star food did affect noise levels and comfort in the restaurant, albeit I am sure as long as people are spending their hard earned cash then Ollie will not be complaining – £20Million is a lot to recover in Londons highly competitive Restaurant scene. Go now !
Rating
Food 5 Blazingly Hot Pan
Service 5 Blazingly Hot Pan
Hide, 85 Piccadilly, W1 8JB
Hi hotpan chef that chef is very young to be in the kitchen! Really 2917