Chef Alex Dilling is cooking some of the finest French food in London. After honing his craft under two titans of French cooking, Dilling now presides over one of London’s most refined dining rooms. His double Michelin-starred restaurant at Hotel Café Royal is a masterclass in modern haute cuisine.
From California to London
As a teenager in sunny California, Alex Dilling thought he would be a punk rocker or a skateboarder. Decades later, the would-be rockstar is cooking exquisite French food in the heart of London. His half-British, half-American background and west coast drawl belie a career shaped by French culinary giants. He trained at Westminster College in London and worked under Alain Ducasse in New York and Hélène Darroze in London and Paris. In 2022, he opened Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal on Regent Street, earning two Michelin stars within six months.
“It’s a very modern and loose interpretation of French food,” Dilling explains, describing his cooking as having a “French accent.” This accent is most evident in his sauces, which are glossy, unctuous, and lip-coating. The sauces reflect so much light that photographing his dishes becomes a challenge, yet his food is among the most visually stunning in the capital.
Playful Elegance
The 34-cover restaurant, swathed in cream and beige with a mirrored ceiling, attracts diners eager to capture the food. One table even brought a ring light for better photos. Beyond the photogenic presentation lies impressive technique. A dish of sweet crab is served in a caviar tin, topped with whipped cauliflower and confetti, accompanied by a mini muffin and pearl spoon. Another dish of brill is draped in a lacy cuttlefish shroud over Basque-chorizo sauce, showcasing extraordinary skill. Even the bread course features a perfectly molded block of butter on a silver dish.
Dilling’s approach is refined yet playful. “I think that more and more, without pretension, it’s trying to get everyone to chill out and realise everyone’s here to have fun,” he says. “The little cherry on top should be absolutely delicious food that doesn’t challenge people too much, but stimulates them and excites them.” He adds, half-joking, “When it all boils down to it, it shouldn’t be such a complex thing to run a great restaurant.”
Lessons from the Past
Before opening his own restaurant, Dilling was head chef at The Greenhouse in Mayfair, which received mixed reviews. A 2018 critique by Sunday Times food critic Marina O’Loughlin called it “cooking for dick swingers,” though she conceded the talented Dilling wasn’t at fault. With his own venture, Dilling avoids such flourishes. His cooking involves hours of meticulous technique disguised as simple combinations. “It’s a direction I seem to be going in more and more. I like it when you have a really complex plate of food, but you don’t have to confuse your palate,” he explains.
Hunter’s Chicken: A Signature Dish
Exemplifying this philosophy is his hunter’s chicken: corn-fed chicken from the south of France, wrapped in mushroom duxelle and chicken mousse with smoked Alsace bacon, caramelised and glazed in chicken jus with lemon thyme and bee pollen, served with an albufera sauce enriched with foie gras. Simple ingredients transformed into an extraordinary dish. Dilling has a love-hate relationship with it, wary of monotony but unable to remove it due to popular demand. “People dig it,” he shrugs.
The dish reflects Dilling’s infatuation with homely French cooking, like hearty poulet chasseur from bistros. His love for cooking budded in San Francisco with his mother and grandfather, making homemade pasta, and blossomed in Paris. “I go to Paris all the time, seeking out restaurants that have been there for hundreds of years, serving the best blanquette de veau. I adore that. One day, that’s the kind of food I’ll probably end up cooking,” he says.
Looking Ahead
As spring turns to summer in London, Dilling eagerly anticipates seasonal menu changes, sourcing the best produce from across the UK. He currently has sweetbreads on his mind. “I adore sweetbreads because they’re crispy, soft, and not funky—just a really beautiful thing.”
But his ultimate goal remains elusive: three Michelin stars. How does he plan to join the exclusive club of six triple-starred London restaurants that includes his mentors Ducasse and Darroze? “Striving for excellence and making small improvements every day. We got two stars in four or five months, so we can’t be that far away.”
