It's £650 a head for New Year diners who land on Mayfair

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Telegraph
By Jan Moir
(Filed: 31/12/2004)

Many people look forward to spending New Year's Eve in style and as much splendour as they can afford but tonight one London restaurant is going to test diner spending power like never before.

By charging customers £650 each for its special New Year's Eve dinner, the Cipriani in Mayfair has become the most expensive spot in Britain to see in 2005, perhaps even the world............

"It will be history in the making, with a lovely orchestra and magnums of Dom Perignon all night long. There will be lovely food and whatever drinks you want; a Bellini cocktail, a brandy afterwards, whatever.".............

By comparison, the late sitting at Angela Hartnett's Menu restaurant at the Connaught Hotel is £150 per person for a five-course meal, music provided by a pianist; at Locanda Locatelli, where Madonna, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Nancy dell'Olio and even Tony Blair like to dine, chef Giorgio Locatelli and his wife Plaxy are offering a glass of vintage champagne, caviar with spaghetti plus scallops, lobster, parmesan dumplings and beef fillet with foie gras among the treats during a six-course dinner for £180; both the Savoy Grill and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's are asking £175 per head for their second sitting, with jazz music, a magician and a bagpiper providing the entertainment, while Marcus Wareing's Petrus restaurant promises a gourmet experience at £150 per customer.

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AT nearby QUAGLINOS we used to charge £100 a head, all in, to include fab views of semi-naked cigarette girl, scantily clad dancers and all the house champagne you could consume before bad behavior took over....