11 London restaurants celebrating flower power this spring

Florals for spring?

It may not be groundbreaking, but at London’s restaurants, the botanical touch goes a long way.

See the patchy British weather through rose-tinted glasses at these culinary hotspots, where springtime is bringing flower power to the tastes and the sights of diners.

From cherry blossom cornucopias to horticultural afternoon teas, check out the London eateries in full bloom this spring.

Balthazar

This brasserie with a penchant for patisserie has teamed up with fashionable florists FlowerBX for a spring/summer collection that’s more cake than couture. The new floral afternoon tea features five beautifully designed desserts, all inspired by an individual flower. The arrangement includes a salted caramel anemone, coconut and yuzu hydrangea, raspberry rose, lemon and blueberry dahlia and apple and blackberry – now that’s a bouquet.

4-6 Russell Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 5HZ, balthazarlondon.com

Roka Charlotte Street

Londoners love a cherry blossom, but not as much as the Japanese. ROKA is taking its sakura season celebrations below ground to the Shochu bar, where a ceiling of crawling pink flowers is lit up with magenta neon. Over the bar, the team are serving up libations inspired by its fruit, including a Morello fizz, a cherry and tonka manhattan, and a sakura Sour made with akashi-tai plum sake, arbikie vodka, passionfruit and sakura paste.

37 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 1RR, rokarestaurant.com

Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester

As London gears up for its ultimate floral festivity, so does one of its three Michelin-starred restaurants. Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester will once again be hosting a special botanically-inspired lunch menu for the duration of the Chelsea Flower Show, this time serving up dishes including a “blossoming” tartlet to start, a lemon sole fillet with red and yellow beetroot as a main and an “English rose garden” for dessert.

53 Park Lane, Mayfair, W1K 1QA, alainducasse-dorchester.com

34 Mayfair

34 Mayfair have added sartorial flare to their springtime makeover, with more than a little help from iconic boutique and print design house Liberty London. The store has worked with the restaurant to design its very own bespoke floral print named Garden of Beauty, which now adorns the awnings and interiors of the West End restaurant. Take in the surroundings with a specially designed cocktail and dessert of the same name.

34 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1K 2HD, 34-restaurant.co.uk

Sexy Fish

If fish can be sexy, so can sakura. Japanese restaurant and celeb favourite Sexy Fish is bringing the cherry blossom season to the streets of its native Berkeley Square. It’s “Sexy Sakura” installation lines the exterior walls of the restaurant with vibrant, fairy-lit cherry blossom trees and, inside, diners can pick up bespoke cocktails and a dessert shaped to look like a miniature sprouting cherry blossom, blooming out of a vanilla sponge flower pot.

Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, Mayfair, W1J 6BR, sexyfish.com

Amaya

Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Amaya are also celebrating Chelsea Flower Show with a special menu, where floral flourishes will top specially designed dishes including a cabbage and noodle salad and a fig cheesecake, with cocktails including a creme de violette-infused violets crush. Keep an eye out in May for a floral display over the restaurant’s entrance, as the eatery joins in with the Belgravia in Bloom festival.

Halkin Arcade, 19 Motcomb Street, Belgravia, SW1X 8LB, amaya.biz

Sake No Hana

Sake No Hana are getting arty with their sakura celebrations this year by teaming up with set designer and paper artist Lydia Kasumi Sherriff. Sherriff has created her own interpretation of the “Hana Fubuki” – a phenomenon of the sakura season described as a cherry blossom blizzard. The installation features hanging paper clouds and light projections of delicately falling petals, all running the length of the Kengo Kuma-designed dining room.

23 St James's Street, St. James's, SW1A 1HA, sakenohana.com

Aubaine Selfridges

Wisteria hysteria is hitting the capital once again this year – we dare you not to feel all fuzzy inside at the sight of these lilac stunners. French restaurant Aubaine’s branch in Selfridges is plucking the purple plant from its usual outdoor spot to drape it across the ceiling of its light and bright dining room. How Instagrammable does that sound?

Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, W1A 1AB, aubaine.co.uk

Dalloway Terrace

This outdoorsy eatery has the talent to charm all year round thanks to its on-the-money seasonal decor choices. This spring, Dalloway Terrace is celebrating the season’s fauna as well as flora with a flower wall made up of both a botanical bounty and a bevy of bumble bees. On the table, it’ll be serving a Honey Bee Afternoon Tea, featuring honey roast ham sandwiches, morello cherry scones with raw honey and a lemon shortbread with lavender honey.

16-22 Great Russell Street, Fitzrovia, WC1B 3NN, dallowayterrace.com

Mei Ume

This Asian restaurant serving London’s Four Seasons hotel is celebrating one special element of the sakura season. Hanami is the tradition of viewing the flowers, often commemorated by holding parties under lantern laden blossom trees. This is just what you will find twisting above the bar at the restaurant, at which you’re invited to sample seasonal dishes and a cherry blossom cocktail of Sipsmith gin, lycheee and yuzu juice.

Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, 10 Trinity Square, EC3N 4AJ, meiume.com

The Ivy Chelsea Garden

This outpost of The Ivy chain has floral vibes in its DNA. The garden of its name is channelled inside and out, with horticulturally-happy patterns cramming every part of the interior and the spectacular outdoor facade regularly features bountiful seasonal blooms.

195 -197 King's Road, Chelsea, SW3 5EQ, theivychelseagarden.com