by Scott Laird
Last updated: 10:00 PM ET, Tue October 18, 2016
The Lanesborough is perhaps one of the best addresses in London, both for bespoke hospitality that feels more at home at the turn of the last century, and has now been recognized for having world-renowned cuisine. The hotel reopened last year following an 18-month restoration in which every single piece of furniture was auctioned off and the building completely redone from the bare walls.
Now, just a year from the grand reopening, the hotel's restaurant Céleste at The Lanesborough has been awarded its first Michelin star. The restaurant touts "French-inspired, modern and imaginative cuisine, using only the best of British ingredients" and a peek at a sample menu certainly reads like a tour of Britain: seafood from Cornwall, Burford Brown eggs, and game evocative of country estate sports such as Hare, Partridge, and Wild Roe Deer.
Céleste derives from the French word for "heavenly," and this theme literally floods into the Regency-flavored space from a skylight which reflects the changing heavens throughout various phases of the day, from breakfast through afternoon tea and on into the evening. The new Michelin star is Chef Patron Eric Frechon's fifth. Chef Frechon, a recipient of the prestigious French M.O.F. award, has been with the Lanesborough's sister hotel Le Bristol in Paris for over 15 years, following a stint at Hotel de Crillon.
Five-course prefix tasting menus are available from £85.
Should foodie travelers wish to make a multi-stop trip out of hotels housing Michelin-starred restaurants in addition to the Lanesborough, here are a few other Oetker Collection properties which also boast restaurants that have received the noted French gastronomy guide's nod:
Add a star in Baden-Baden at Brenners Park
Guests wishing to continue their tour of Michelin-starred hotel restaurants can head next to the spa town of Baden-Baden, Germany, to another well-lit space overlooking verdant parkland at the Brenners Park-Restaurant, part of the Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa. Chef Paul Stradner helms the restaurant and is one of the youngest two-starred chefs in Germany.
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Cuisine here is a tour of Europe with seafood from the Baltic and North Seas, game and beef from Germany, and poultry and game birds from France. The focus here is on offering cuisine that is light and healthy, leaving the diner sated but not overfull; in keeping with the resort's traditions as a wellness spa.
Five course prefix menus are available from €145.
Enjoy the full three-star experience at Le Bristol Paris
By the "full three-star experience," that's exactly what we mean. Epicure at Le Bristol Paris, also helmed by Chef Frechon, pampers diners with bespoke Limoges china by Raynaud, Baccarat crystal glasses with engraved stems, designed and hand-crafted especially for the design of the restaurant to reflect sunlight onto linen blend tablecloths. Silver Christofle cutlery shares table space with a Baccarat crystal butterfly so when the light hits the table correctly it literally sparkles.
The menu is, understandably, the very best of French cooking, including Chef Frechon's famous stuffed macaroni with black truffle, artichoke and duck foie gras, au gratin, with ripened parmesan. Other dishes seem to tell short stories in their expert composition with a supreme blend of whimsy and stylish precision.
Chef Frechon's five-course tasting menu starts at €320.
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