A Mayfair oasis: The Ritz Secret Garden, lit up in all of its after-dark glory
Mimi Connolly
César Ritz certainly knew how to create a hotel and exceptional environments for indulging, specifically divine gardens that give off a sense of ‘luxe, calme et volupté’, from the Belle Époque wonderland in Place Vendôme to the leafiest terrace in Madrid, where your fingertips can almost graze the Prado, to this Mayfair jewel that borders Green Park; and while the hotels are not part of the same family any more, their horticultural magic still remains very much ingrained their DNA.
The Ritz London is an institution, as if from another place, another time. Too gilded and baroque to be a hotel, it’s more a ‘museum mansion’. Especially with the mother of all £300 million restorations happening, where the hotel now is operating in part from its neighbouring historic William Kent building. There are many zones of enchantment at this 18th-century jewel, but a particularly luxuriant mood is at play in its new Secret Garden Restaurant that has been ravishingly landscaped by Marcus Barnett Studios, and collaborative design with David Collins on all other areas – as polished as it is romantic, admire the frescoed splendour of the ceiling with the goddesses of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter before heading outside. Here in this palatial oasis, artfully planted with irises and white wisteria, hellebores, hydrangeas and crab-apple trees creep up its latticed walls, it’s like a micro Elysian Fields with Green Park rising up in the distance, where you could imagine nymphs sitting under vanilla-hued umbrellas enjoying all the white jacketed-finesse that the Ritz is renowned for. Take the signature cheeseburger that has become a myth in its own right, fast. Partly down the Choron Sauce (a silky blend of tomato purée with rich Béarnaise) and also the quality of the meat, and the fact that it is served in Westminster, which means you can order it rare (but it is still cooked to 75 degrees). Then there is a fabulous Dorset crab brioche roll (which you will want to order twice) and a major paella best accompanied by a glass of Château Léoube Rosé. And don’t get me started on the chocolate and vanilla ice cream mille-feuille.