Park Chinois, in Mayfair is a veritable banquet for the decorative senses.
If you like red, chinoiserie interiors and dancing while you dine, then add this restaurant to the London List.
In my imagination I thought Shanghai, back in the 1920’s. I have never been to Shanghai so whether I am on point or not I can’t say; it is how Park Chinois made me feel.
The restaurant is opulent; overly theatrical and overblown when it comes to the decor but it is fabulous. Luxuriously over-padded red velvet curtains, curving staircases and cosy nooks make this place a sit back, relax and indulge kind of place. The food is good, nothing mind blowing but I don’t think it is a destination for a foodie; it’s a venue for those who love “big” interiors.
I love a “decor” destination.
I can experience the interiors for myself and at the same time gather inspiration and ideas to take away. There are nights to dine with this sumptuousness and there are others where simple and minimal are all that’s required. Park Chinois is a special occasion kind of night.
This particular evening at Park Chinois we celebrated my birthday so it was the perfect vibe and so much fun to be in these surroundings.
The Independent’s Tracey Macleod writes,
“From the moment the red velvet curtain is pulled back to reveal a dining room so gloriously camp it makes Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom look humdrum, it’s clear that Park Chinois is different. It isn’t a restaurant, according to its prime mover – serial concept-launcher Alan Yau – it’s “more like an entertainment lifestyle project”.
The walls of the long, two-level room are swagged with peekaboo curtains, draped like a can-can dancer’s skirts, and the lamps and chairs are saucily tasselled. “It’s a bit brothelly,” as one of my guests puts it, not disapprovingly. But there’s a magic about it too, a patina of glamour. We could be extras in a movie, albeit hidden in a corner because they haven’t been to hair and make-up.”
That sounds about right, xv.
Park Chinois
17 Berkeley Street
London W1
+44 (0) 20 3327 8888
images park chinois
