A modern British bistro in Notting Hill, London, co-owned and helmed by Chef Max Coen, which quickly earned a Michelin star and a high ranking in the UK's National Restaurant Awards.
Max Coen is the chef and co-owner of the Michelin-starred modern British bistro, Dorian, located in Notting Hill, London. His culinary style is characterized by a blend of global influences, precise execution, and a...
Insights
SteakhouseFrenchSeafoodVegetarian Vegan FocusVegan-friendlyFine diningLunchDinnerFine DiningWine Bar
Last updated: 7/11/2026, 3:58:52 AM
Key Information
Dorian is an energisingly busy neighbourhood brasserie in Notting Hill, London, known for its focus on excellent primary ingredients and a lively atmosphere. It aims to be a bistro for locals, offering a high-quality dining experience with terse menu descriptions that belie the quality of the cooking.
Customer Perception
Customer perception is mixed but leans positive, with many praising the excellent food, particularly the steak, and the lively atmosphere and great service. Some reviewers describe it as one of the best restaurants they've visited, despite lower Google ratings. However, negative feedback includes concerns about high prices, cramped seating, slow service, and occasionally over-seasoned or bland dishes like tough squid and duck.
Additional Details
Located in Notting Hill, Dorian emphasizes a local bistro feel. The restaurant has a significant social media presence with a large following on Instagram.
Dorian is open for both lunch and dinner, Monday through Sunday. It's a popular spot, so reservations are recommended. They also offer 50% off for hospitality industry professionals on Mondays.
A perfect meal. So many brilliant dishes, standouts were the lobster with gazpacho, wild mushroom salad and chicken liver parfait toast. Interesting flavour combinations without being fiddly. Staff were really friendly and helpful (big shout out to Mo for guiding us through the menu), and the barman was happy to talk us through cocktails, wine and show us what we were drinking. Great design, tunes and atmosphere. Perfect place for a treaty dinner.
We went for lunch for my birthday and were super excited but I’m afraid I just don’t get the hype. There is club like music playing in the background and the restaurant is quite loud. I had a couple of cocktails which were really good but quite small and I was really put off by the cramped seating and paper table cloths. There is also one toilet for an entire restaurant which is a bit grim. We had a couple of small bite starters and then the steak, pork chop and sides. The sides were similar to home cooking and the meat was overly blackened which was unpleasant to the point where I trimmed the black char from my meat otherwise for me it wasn’t edible. The overwhelming flavour throughout all of the food was salt and/or burnt bitterness which is a shame because the ingredients are clearly good quality. They then started reorganising the restaurant for a wedding and so we felt silly still sitting there whilst tables were being physically moved around. The service is no better than in any other low end restaurant and there was no attempt to acknowledge a special occasion. I wouldn’t recommend or return, we skipped dessert and were met with a £280 bill. Overall a really forgettable meal.
5
The best lunch we have had in ages and we eat out a lot. I don’t ever do Google reviews but given how low the general scores are I felt I had to. The food was incredible, the atmosphere is relaxed, the service was amazing, rob & alberto looked after us, thank you. I actually managed to book the wrong dates and they still accommodated us. Yes it’s expensive, the bad reviews are from people that don’t understand that it’s not a cheap restaurant. You get what you pay for honestly. Our bill for a few starters, 800g of steak without the bone and two sides: two deserts and a £180 bottle of wine and two glasses of champagne was £480. It’s not cheap but you get what you pay for, 100/10 will be back. Don’t let the bad reviews put you off. It’s amazing
3
I have heard endless reviews and great things about this Michelin star restaurant. The vibe overall was really nice, great selection of foods and drinks and our waitress, Mo, was really exceptional.
However, I definitely felt let down by the food - from the bland flavours, to the incredibly tough squid, and duck I’ve had cooked better at mid-range restaurants. I’m in no rush to go back.
1
I’m afraid this was a rather disappointing dining experience.
The restaurant is extremely cramped. Tables and seating are placed so close together that we had to move our table twice just to allow neighbouring guests to sit down. Considering the pricing, the paper tablecloths also felt somewhat underwhelming.
Unfortunately, the food was excessively salty — every dish we tried was heavily over-seasoned to the point that it became difficult to enjoy.
Despite there being many staff walking around the floor, the service felt slow and disorganised. Our order was taken incorrectly, and overall the attention to the table was surprisingly limited.
The music was also played at a very high volume, which made it difficult to have a proper conversation during dinner.
Drinks by the glass were quite limited, and overall the food felt significantly overpriced for the quality and experience offered.
All in all, the restaurant feels rather overrated and not really worth making a special trip for. Definitely does not deserve a star
