Look around for the most expensive restaurants in the world and you’ll get a few different answers. Per Se in New York City and Sublimotion in Ibiza sit high on the list but the latest to join the illustrious fray is also the most beautiful. That is, Bacchanalia in Mayfair, London, which opened at the tail-end of last year with a Greco-Roman interior reportedly costing in excess of £75 million (AU$138.9 million).
Housed in an old Porsche garage, the main dining room of this jaw-dropping restaurant is defined by suspended statues that date back 2,000 years, complemented by Damien Hirst sculptures to build an aura of Neoclassicism reminiscent of a typical Roman basilica. But this isn’t in Rome. It’s in Mayfair, where a solemn, relentlessly wealthy dining scene outright demands this kind of expensive distinction.
And there’s little that’s more distinctive than carving out what genuinely might be the most aesthetically-pleasing and mesmerising dining room in recent memory, handled so beautifully by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio. Both the decor and the layout of the restaurant is inspired by landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Versailles Palace, lavishly mirroring some of the most visually impactful scenes in history. The word ‘cinematic’ comes to mind but even that doesn’t quite capture the awe-inspiring dining room.
Diners are looking at around £40 (AU$76) for a set menu at Bacchanalia.
Richard Caring of Caprice Group is responsible for this head-turning project, adding to his staple of culinary institutions like Sexy Fish, Annabels, Scotch and Yve Club. This, however, is possibly more ambitious than all his other restaurants combined, created as a homage to Baccus God Dionysus who had a reputation for all things hedonistic.
Gary Myatt’s large-scale murals are what help hold up the Greco-Roman influences, flecked by 300 pieces of 24-carat golf leaf used around the space. And that’s just for the main dining hall, titled Artemis.
Bacchanalia has many different spaces, all treated with the same sense of occasion, from the women’s bathroom which uses over 400,000 tiles to evoke orchard vegetation, inspired by the Garden of the Hesperides, to the men’s bathroom which takes design cues from the underworld and the legend of Hades.
A member’s only VIP lounge, Apollo’s Muse, reaches even higher than Bacchanalia’s main dining hall and draws inspiration from the Admirable Gallery at Villa Albani in Rome. Floor-to-ceiling marble, plush seating, silver cutlery and porcelain tableware are reserved for this area of the restaurant, which has its own personalised menu and promises guests a range of experiences that remain secret with all photos and social media posts strictly forbidden.
Chef Anthinagoras Kostakos handles all menus for Bacchanalia with dishes made with rare and expensive ingredients including exclusive and hard-to-source caviar and some of the world’s finest lamb exported from Greece. According to online Bacchanalia reviews, highlights so far include pasta of lobster paccheri with black truffle, veal cheek with saffron polenta and dry nuts, salt-crusted sea bass, crab salad, sea bream carpaccio and a signature Bacchanalia tiramisu.
If you want a closer look at the restaurant you can follow Bacchanalia on Instagram.
Bacchanalia, London
Address: 1-3 Mount St, London W1K 3NA, United Kingdom
Contact: +44 20 3161 9720
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday (12 PM – 12:30 PM); Sunday (12 PM – 12 AM)
