Following the move, the kitchen staff was more than doubled in number, and White used Pierre Koffmann's La Tante Claire as a template to pursue his third Michelin star.

During the course of The Restaurant's two locations, White sought to develop the techniques used in the dishes and expand the range of food on offer.

The space used at Harveys was inadequate for his plans, but with the Hyde Park Hotel location he was able to add elements which were braised or made confit.

Following the agreement of Michelin, White left Harveys in July 1993; The Restaurant was opened at the Hyde Park Hotel less than two months later,[5] on 14 September.

[7] The Restaurant was the first time White had a kitchen staff organised into traditional brigades such as he had worked in while at Albert Roux's Le Gavroche.

[18] Following White's retirement, the Oak Room continued to operate under Reid,[18] albeit with a new menu where the prices were reduced by between a third to a half.

[19][20] The majority of the staff remained with Reid,[20] with Jeff Galvin installed as the new head chef, until he left to run the restaurant L'Escargot in May 2000.

[21][22] MPW Criterion was wound up on 11 September 2001; by which time planning was already underway to close the Oak Room, which took place on 15 February 2002.

[18] One of the reasons White sought to leave Harveys was that the size of the kitchen was insufficient to allow him to expand the range of techniques in the dishes he served.

[9] White was in the habit of creating new dish concepts late at night, sometimes drawing sketches of the plating directly into the pages of French cookbooks he had picked up during the course of his career, or at other times selecting a protein and writing a long list of potential accompaniments.

The dessert menu featured a quote from French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, "To know how to eat well, one must first learn how to wait."

White's rules dictated that after lunch, the cheese was reviewed to ensure that a sufficient serving was left to present for the dinner seatings.

These juices were mixed with those from the roasting trays after they had been deglazed with Madeira wine and then added a small amount of veal stock.

Winner found that the hotel's entrance to the restaurant was still under refurbishment, and that the service was sub par with items being dropped by their waiter.

Once the food began to arrive, his opinion changed immediately with a dish of vichyssoise with oysters and caviar showing that White was "on brilliant form".

[31] John Lanchester dined there for The Guardian, on the second night following the opening, but complained of the cost of the meal, which at £60 for three courses including cover charge and VAT, he thought made it the most expensive in London.

The other course was ham wrapped sweetbreads served with braised lettuce and cep confit, which he added were "stupendously good".

[26] Jonathan Meades ate at The Restaurant for The Times in late 1993, and noted the evolution of some dishes and sauces from White's days at Harveys.

Meades also noticed that White had "tempered" the sauces served with meat and fish, referring to their previous versions as "assault courses".

He praised a new roasted salmon and tapenade dish, calling it "of breathtaking quality", and the work of pastry chef Roger Pizey.

[32] Meades later listed The Restaurant as the second best in the country at the end of 1994, placed only behind Phil Vickery, having recently taken over from Gary Rhodes, at the Castle Hotel, Taunton.

He recommended the starters of red mullet soup, the ballotine of salmon, and the chicken oyster served with a celeriac remoulade.

He called his main course "utterly simple and completely perfect"; it consisted of roast partridge with choucroute garnie.

He called the interior of the dining room "soft and thick and luxurious", adding that a painting by Mark Gertler and three bronzes by Rembrandt Bugatti were "worth the entrance fee alone".

[40] The same year, Ladenis also won his third star at fellow Rocco Forte hotel based restaurant Chez Nico.

[30] Following the decision to retire, White gave back his Michelin stars as of 23 December 1999 and asked not to be featured in the guide any more.