Luxury never comes cheap, but some divine experiences are more expensive than others. Last week the Michelin two-star restaurant Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal on London’s Regent Street, had to defend its policy of charging solo diners double.
As the price for the seven-course tasting menu is soon to rise to £195 a head, for the likes of aged Kaluga caviar with Cornish crab, and Shetland cod with smoked butter and black truffle, that would mean a bill of £390 for one, before service and wine. The restaurant’s owner, Victoria Sheppard, argues that they are a small venture with just 34 covers across 11 tables. “We have ever-increasing staff and ingredient costs,” she told me. “Our business would simply not be viable without implementing this policy.”
