Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Savoy tasting menu: worth the spend?
A Michelin-starred, 10-table tasting menu room inside The Savoy, 1890 by Gordon Ramsay applies classical French technique rooted in Escoffier's legacy to a contemporary surprise menu format. The four-course Friday and Saturday lunch is the best entry point; dinner is harder to book and more demanding in format. At ££££, the combination of setting, wine list quality, and kitchen precision makes it one of the more considered splurges in central London.
At ££££ pricing, 1890 by Gordon Ramsay is a significant spend — but the question isn't whether it's expensive. It's whether the combination of a Michelin-starred kitchen, one of London's most historically charged dining rooms, and just 10 tables justifies the outlay against what else you could book at this price point. The short answer is yes, with conditions.
The restaurant is named for the year Georges Auguste Escoffier arrived at The Savoy, and that anchor point does real work here. This isn't branding for its own sake: the kitchen draws directly on Escoffier's classical French framework, then rebuilds it with contemporary technique. The result is a surprise tasting menu that leans on precision and restraint rather than spectacle — the kind of cooking where the discipline shows in the edit, not the excess. Ingredients like Cornish John Dory appear as reference points in the Michelin documentation, signalling a kitchen that sources carefully and lets quality lead.
The room itself is a strong argument for the booking. Ten well-spaced tables, rich golden hues, art deco detailing , this is one of the more intimate fine dining environments in central London at this tier. For context, many of the city's comparable tasting menu restaurants seat considerably more, which means noise levels, pacing, and service attention all shift in your favour here. If you've already done 1890 once, the room is genuinely worth returning to: the spatial experience changes when you're not navigating it for the first time and can settle into the pace of a long dinner.
Michelin star, awarded in 2024, and the World's Leading Wine List 3-Star Accreditation are both meaningful signals. The wine accreditation in particular matters at a venue inside The Savoy: the list is serious, and if wine is part of your decision, this is a better bet than several comparably priced London rooms.
Operating schedule creates a genuine choice. Tuesday through Thursday, 1890 runs dinner only (6:30 PM to 9:30 PM), closed Monday and Sunday. On Fridays and Saturdays, lunch service opens from noon, with a four-course menu replacing the full surprise tasting format. That lunch format is the better entry point if you haven't been before, or if you want the room and the kitchen without committing to the full tasting menu length. It's also more accessible logistically , weekend lunch at a 10-table Savoy restaurant is a different experience from a Thursday evening booking, and often easier to secure.
Booking difficulty is rated hard, which tracks for a 10-table room with a limited weekly schedule. Plan ahead by several weeks minimum, particularly for Friday and Saturday lunch, which combines the more accessible menu with the most popular booking days. If your dates are fixed, treat this as a priority booking alongside any theatre or event reservations in the same trip.
At this price and format, 1890 competes directly with CORE by Clare Smyth, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library, and The Ledbury. Where 1890 differentiates itself is on the combination of setting and scale: no other room at this tier in London puts you inside a Grade II listed hotel with this level of intimacy. If you're choosing between 1890 and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, the food philosophy is adjacent but the settings are entirely different , Chelsea is the reference-point flagship; 1890 is the more theatrical proposition.
For diners who have already worked through London's headline tasting menu rooms, 1890 sits comfortably in a second visit tier , not because it's secondary, but because the Escoffier framework and the Savoy context reward some familiarity with classical French fine dining. First-time tasting menu visitors may get more immediate value from CORE or The Ledbury, where the modern British framing feels less formally demanding. Beyond London, if the classical French contemporary format is what you're after, Odette in Singapore and Amber in Hong Kong occupy the same register and are worth knowing as reference points across the category.
Within the broader UK fine dining circuit, 1890 compares favourably with destination restaurants like The Fat Duck in Bray and L'Enclume in Cartmel on ambition, though those rooms are pilgrimage formats requiring travel. 1890's strength is that it delivers at the same technical level from a central London address , Strand, WC2 , which means it fits naturally into a London stay rather than requiring a dedicated trip.
1890 works well as part of a wider London food and drink programme. See our full London restaurants guide for where to eat around it, our London hotels guide if you're staying in the area, and our London bars guide for pre- or post-dinner options. Also worth considering nearby: Pavyllon London for a different take on French fine dining in the city. For those building a regional trip around the booking, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood are all worth pairing with a London visit. Our London wineries guide and London experiences guide round out the planning picture.
Lunch is the better starting point. The four-course format (available Friday and Saturday only) gives you the room and the kitchen at a more contained commitment level than the full surprise tasting menu at dinner. It's also the easier booking to secure. If you've already done lunch and want the full picture, an evening Tuesday through Thursday is the natural next step , the tasting menu is where the Escoffier-meets-modern-technique approach fully plays out.
At the same ££££ price tier, CORE by Clare Smyth is the comparison for modern British tasting menus with comparable technical rigour. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea is the more formal flagship in the same group. The Ledbury works if you want modern European rather than classical French. Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library is the choice if theatrical setting matters as much as food.
The menu is a surprise tasting format at dinner, so ordering isn't part of the equation , the kitchen decides. At lunch, a four-course structure applies on Fridays and Saturdays. Cornish John Dory appears in the Michelin record as a reference ingredient, indicating the kitchen's sourcing priorities. The wine list holds a 3-Star World's Leading Wine List accreditation, so a sommelier pairing is worth requesting , this is one of the stronger wine programmes in central London at this price point.
Yes, it's one of the better options in London for exactly this purpose. Ten tables, an art deco room inside The Savoy, Michelin-starred cooking, and a serious wine list add up to a format that works for anniversaries, milestone dinners, and client entertainment. The surprise tasting menu removes the pressure of ordering decisions, which helps the occasion. Book well in advance , this is a hard reservation, and availability at short notice is unlikely.
At ££££, the tasting menu justifies the spend if the classical French framework and the Savoy setting are what you're after. The Michelin star (2024) and 3-Star wine accreditation both point to a kitchen and floor operating at a level consistent with the price. If you want a tasting menu at this tier without the formal classical French framing, CORE by Clare Smyth or The Ledbury may suit better. But for the specific combination of Escoffier-rooted cooking, intimate scale, and a historic hotel setting, there isn't a direct substitute in London.
The 10-table format makes large group bookings genuinely difficult. The room is designed for an intimate dining experience, and parties of more than four should confirm availability and configuration directly when booking. For a group occasion at this price tier in London, venues with more flexible private dining infrastructure , such as Sketch , may be a more practical choice. Smaller groups of two to four are well served by the format.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 by Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | ££££ | — |
How 1890 by Gordon Ramsay stacks up against the competition.
Lunch is the better entry point. Friday and Saturday lunch offers a four-course menu at ££££ pricing, making it a shorter commitment than the full dinner tasting menu. Dinner runs Tuesday through Thursday evenings and extends through the weekend, giving you the complete surprise menu format. If you want the full Escoffier-inspired tasting experience, book dinner; if you want to test the kitchen before committing to a longer meal, the Friday or Saturday lunch slot is the smarter call.
CORE by Clare Smyth and The Ledbury are the closest comparisons at the Michelin level with tasting menu formats. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road is the flagship three-star option if you want more formal classical French cooking from the same group. Sketch's Lecture Room and Library offers a more theatrical setting. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at the Mandarin Oriental is the best alternative if you want a hotel-restaurant tasting experience with a historical British food angle rather than a French one.
1890 runs a surprise tasting menu, so ordering is not part of the format — the kitchen decides the sequence. The menu draws on Escoffier's classical French canon interpreted with modern technique, and ingredients such as Cornish John Dory appear in the rotation. If you have dietary requirements, flag them at the time of booking rather than on arrival.
Yes, straightforwardly. Ten tables, art deco surrounds inside The Savoy, a Michelin star, and a surprise tasting menu format add up to a credible special-occasion package. The intimate room size means it does not work well for large groups, but for two or four people marking a significant occasion, the setting and format are well matched. The ££££ price range sets expectations clearly: this is a considered spend, not a casual dinner.
At ££££ with a Michelin star (2024) and a 10-table room inside The Savoy, the price reflects both the cooking and the address. The surprise format means you are committing to the kitchen's judgment rather than choosing dishes, which suits some diners and not others. Compared to Restaurant Gordon Ramsay — the group's three-star flagship — 1890 offers a less formal atmosphere with comparable ambition. If the Savoy setting adds value to your occasion, the spend is justifiable; if you are purely after cooking credentials per pound, CORE by Clare Smyth or The Ledbury warrant the comparison.
The room holds just 10 tables, which limits group capacity practically and atmospherically. It is suited to parties of two to four rather than larger gatherings. For a group celebration requiring a private dining room or flexible layout, a larger Savoy venue or a restaurant with dedicated private dining space would be a more reliable choice.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
