Tom Booton to open Ralphie's, his first solo restaurant

Tom Booton, the chef who ran The Grill at The Dorchester, opens his first solo restaurant, Ralphie's, on Pimlico Road in Belgravia late next month. He named it after Ralphie, his Maltipoo, and built the menu around the modernised comfort food he grew up eating in Colchester.

Booton trained at the Michelin-starred kitchens of Alyn Williams at The Westbury and Ollie Dabbous' eponymous restaurant before taking over The Dorchester's grill room in 2019, becoming the youngest chef to lead that kitchen in its history. Ralphie's is his first venture without a hotel group behind it.

Pie, scampi and a menu for the dog

A good pie is a test of restraint, not ambition, and most kitchens still fail it.

The à la carte menu runs from crispy cod cheek scampi and beef tartare to starters, through to mains such as pork and mushroom pie and moules marinière, with daily specials chalked on a blackboard. Dessert includes a vanilla soft-serve sandwich. A Sunday lunch menu centres on a whole stuffed Sutton Hoo chicken.

“Most importantly, I want Ralphie's to feel like a proper neighbourhood restaurant,” Booton said. The 40-cover dining room has a small outdoor terrace and a 14-cover basement room, The Den, overlooking the kitchen for private events. True to its name, the restaurant also runs a dedicated dog menu, served in bespoke bowls.

A wine list built for a local crowd

Sommelier Emma Robinson has put together the wine list, with glasses from £7.50 and bottles from £32, while Pritesh Mody leads a cocktail programme built on seasonal pickles and foraged infusions. The pricing sits below what Booton charged at The Dorchester, a deliberate shift toward repeat, local trade rather than hotel footfall.

Belgravia and Pimlico have drawn a run of chef-led openings this year, from reopened institutions such as Cloth Cornhill to returning names like Lee Tiernan back at Black Axe Mangal. Ralphie's joins a comfort-food wave that includes the cottage pies and braises now filling menus across the capital. Booton has not said who, if anyone, will replace him at The Dorchester.