Tom Booton to open Ralphie's in Belgravia in late November
The former Dorchester Grill chef goes solo with a 40-cover British bistro on Pimlico Road, named after his dog, with mains around £30 and a menu for dogs.
Tom Booton, the chef who ran The Grill at The Dorchester for six years, will open Ralphie's, his first restaurant of his own, at 87 Pimlico Road in Belgravia in late November 2026.
The 40-cover British bistro takes over the former Enoteca Turi site and adds a small outdoor terrace and a 14-seat basement dining room, The Den, which overlooks the kitchen. It is named after Booton's Maltipoo, Ralphie, and the dog has inspired a menu of its own. In a city whose classics are mapped in our guide to what to eat in London, the bet is plain: British comfort cooking, reworked by a chef trained in Michelin-starred kitchens.
What Tom Booton will serve at Ralphie's
A Dorchester chef bets on pies, Sunday roasts and regulars rather than hotel guests.
Starters, all under £18, include crispy cod cheeks scampi with warm tartare sauce. Mains sit around £30: a pork and mushroom pie with charcuterie sauce, moules marinière and blackboard specials that change daily. Puddings stay under £12, led by a vanilla soft-serve sandwich finished at the table with warm hazelnut and fudge sauce.
Sunday lunch starts at £27 and runs to rump of Hereford beef with horseradish, a leg of lamb "shepherd's pie" Yorkshire pudding and a whole stuffed Sutton Hoo chicken for two or three. The dog menu lists a pig in blanket, a crispy fish skin roll and a "Chew Board", served in bowls made by the chinaware maker William Edwards.
Wine consultant Emma Robinson wrote the list, with glasses from £7.50 and bottles from £32. Pritesh Mody, the resident cocktail expert on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch, leads the drinks, including a Beetroot Martini and a Hedgerow Negroni made with fennel pickle liquor. "I want Ralphie's to feel like a proper neighbourhood restaurant," he said in the announcement.
From The Dorchester to his own address
Booton, 33, grew up in Colchester, a background the menu openly nods to. He cooked under Alyn Williams at The Westbury and at Ollie Dabbous's eponymous restaurant, both Michelin-starred, before taking over The Grill at The Dorchester in 2019, the youngest chef to lead it in its long history. The hotel later put his name above the door as The Grill by Tom Booton.
Pimlico Road, a street known for antique dealers and interior designers, does not lack wealthy neighbours. A neighbourhood bistro there lives on regulars rather than hotel guests, and the prices are pitched accordingly. The benchmarks it joins are in our list of the best restaurants in London.
Ralphie's will open Monday to Saturday for lunch from 12pm to 2.30pm and dinner from 5.30pm to 9.30pm, with Sunday lunch from 12pm to 5.30pm. Reservations go live in late October, a month before the first service.
