Quiet Luxury: How Pavyllon London Is Capturing The Zeitgeist

24.09.2023 - 09:47 / forbes.com / Yannick Alléno / London

Step into the new Pavyllon London restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Laneand it is like stepping into the light – in more ways than one. For foodies, this, the first London restaurant from lauded chef Yannick Alléno, represents the ultimate culinary address in the capital right now– the holy grail in fine dining, if you will (as you step into the bright space, you half expect a heavenly choir to welcome you.) One of the most awarded chefs in the world – with an incredible 15 Michelin stars to his name – Alléno is renowned for his innovative, precision cookery, retelling French classics into decadent plates of beautifully-executed, and absolutely delicious, works of art.

Then comes the aesthetics. If you miss the side door to enter the restaurant, you would have passed through the Four Seasons’ bold, dark and dramatic lobby. This ‘hello’ from the iconic hotel brand is an immersive space that takes you over black marble floors and past obsidian lacquered furniture, by scarlet pops of colour and oversized vases of flaming exotic flowers. When you arrive at Pavyllon London, the contrast is unmistakeable and it feels like you’ve stepped from a jewel box and into a powder puff of a dining room.

Overseen by acclaimed Parisian designer Chahan Minassian, the restaurant’s design – in stark contrast to the lobby – is more akin to that of a chic Parisian apartment. Elegant with baby blue and azure tones, it features natural woods, greenery with towering plants and shimmering textures, such as a gold-beaded curtain, as well as large botanical prints and deep, pearl-grey carpets.

As a long-time collaborator of chef Yannick, including at Pavyllon Paris and Pavyllon Monte Carlo, Minassian translates Yannick’s high-level cookery seamlessly into these surroundings. Contrasting textures and fabrics in complementary calming tones are welcoming and warm and are the perfect backdrop to the live kitchen that dominates the room – allowing the chefs’ domain to be the focal point.

Offering a chef’s table experience within the restaurant itself, the counter dining, which seats 30, offers a wonderful window into the zen-like space that is the kitchen. Disappointingly for some, perhaps, there’s no high drama to be seen here. Instead, the chefs, in their pristine whites, overseen by head chef Benjamin Ferra Y Castell, seem to dance a ballet around each other as each dish is expertly conjured up. There’s also more conventional tables in the main dining room, an al fresco terrace, for warmer weather, and a private dining room for those who want to celebrate in style.

Renowned for his experimental style of cooking and passion for seasonal ingredients, chef Yannick has been widely accredited for having modernised the