Dovetale

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Where Precision Meets Produce

Dovetale sits at 1 Dover Yard in the heart of Mayfair, a British restaurant built around a single conviction: that fine dining and pure, simple cooking are not opposites. The name itself comes from the dovetail joint — a mechanism that joins things together harmoniously and precisely — a philosophy that chef-owner Tom Sellers articulated at the outset and that runs through every corner of the restaurant.

Tom Sellers and the Team Behind the Kitchen

Sellers, who grew up in Nottingham and opened his first restaurant, Restaurant Story, at just 26, shaped his craft alongside some of the most demanding kitchens in the world — Tom Aikens in London, Thomas Keller in New York, René Redzepi in Copenhagen. He became known for breaking convention, and for nostalgia-stirring dishes that celebrate seasons without sentimentality.

Day-to-day in the kitchen, Executive Chef Tom Anglesea brings a complementary range of experience: stints at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Per Se, Noma, and Chiltern Firehouse inform cooking that is creative yet grounded. Together, the two Toms produce a menu that changes with what is fresh and locally available — a produce-led à la carte that takes British ingredients seriously.

The Menu

The à la carte moves confidently across the seasons. From the raw bar, Achill oysters arrive with shallot and chardonnay vinaigrette; Umai caviar is served traditionally garnished. Starters include a carpaccio of English wagyu styled after Harry's Bar, and a stracciatella made that morning with spring shoots. Pasta dishes — roast potato gnocchi with cime di rapa and aged pecorino, or an aged wagyu ragu pappardelle — sit alongside mains of grilled Herdwick lamb cutlets with sheep's yoghurt and wild garlic, or a 300g Lake District sirloin. Sharing cuts include a 1kg grain-fed T-bone and a whole roast halibut tranche with leeks and whey butter.

Desserts earn their own attention. The warm Peruvian chocolate soufflé, the Yorkshire rhubarb with muscat meringue and clotted cream, and — singled out by The Independent as "the most thrilling dish on the Dovetale menu, hands down" — the knickerbocker glory.

A set lunch menu at two or three courses offers the same kitchen's sensibility at a more accessible price point, alongside a full breakfast service and a Sunday roast.

Wine and the Room

The wine programme, now earning Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence, was shaped from opening by Wine Director Tara Ozols — a Michelin Sommelier Award 2023 recipient — and overseen by Assistant F&B Director Oliver Espersen, who previously ran the wine list at Restaurant Story. The result is one of London's more extensive cellars, balancing traditional bottles with new-world selections.

The dining room itself features custom hand-stamped tables and accommodates private receptions, with bespoke seasonal menus available for groups. The combination of serious British cooking, a thoughtfully assembled room, and a wine list recognised at the highest level makes Dovetale a reliable address in a neighbourhood that sets a high bar.