Making a Cross-Eyed Mary cocktail at the Pine Bar
Despite its prestigious address on London’s Grosvenor Square, The Biltmore Mayfair feels like a home away from home. Opened in September 2019, the hotel marries world-class amenities with attentive staff ready to provide guests with the best service imaginable. Schön! alive speaks with three members of the team: Jude, a decorated butler, Sommelier Jolanta Dinnadge and Head Chef Luis Campos.
From the moment we check in, we are in the safe hands of our personal butler Jude. With over three decades of experience in luxury hospitality, Jude takes pride in providing warm, natural service to his guests. While his day depends on individual clients’ needs, he typically starts by reviewing his schedule and coordinating with multiple departments to make sure that each guest is well taken care of. Whether that means communicating with the kitchen about dietary preferences for breakfast or overseeing wardrobe preparation with the household team, Jude finds fulfilment in attending to guests’ requests and enquiries, ensuring that every detail contributes to their comfort and satisfaction.
Jude is meticulous, astute and known for delivering consistently exceptional and memorable service. Entrusted by global dignitaries, celebrities and high-profile clients, he approaches his work with dedication and discretion. When a guest once requested a tea that wasn’t on the regular menu, he took the initiative to source it specially for them. When one of his regulars wanted to surprise his mother, Jude quickly conducted dutiful research about her personal tastes and prepared a private cocktail party complete with elegant presentation and thoughtful touches.
“Seeing her genuinely moved by the gesture – and the guest’s appreciation – was a highlight of my career,” he remembers. “It reminded me how meaningful hospitality can be when it’s thoughtful and heartfelt.”
left. Pine Bar, right. Jude
Come evening, Jude will escort you to cocktails in the Pine Bar or to your table at Grill 88, the hotel’s celebrated steakhouse. From Japanese Kobe and Kagoshima tenderloin to Australian Wagyu and, of course, the very best British beef, guests can choose from the finest cuts in the restaurant’s intimate yet theatrical art deco setting. “Our guests are sophisticated and discerning: their expectations are high, and rightly so,” Chef Luis Campos tells us. “That pushes us to constantly refine our craft and ensure that every ingredient and every plate reflects the very best the market has to offer.”
Campos has led the Grill 88 kitchen and the hotel’s casual all-day dining Café Biltmore for over five years, but last autumn reopened Grill 88 with a sharpened focus on combining high-end dining with a welcoming and energetic atmosphere. His multicultural culinary direction, as well as his dedication to leading a robust kitchen, is what makes Grill 88 such a standout success in London’s fine dining scene.
Chef Luis Campos
Campos’ passion for cooking extends back to a childhood spent on his grandparents’ farm, where he developed a preference to cook only with the finest locally sourced ingredients. “The taste of fruit freshly picked from the tree or vegetables pulled from the soil carries a depth of flavour that simply can’t be replicated with store-bought produce,” he stresses. “Those flavours became memories and those memories, in turn, became my inspiration. Cooking, for me, is a way of reliving those moments and sharing them with others.”
In addition, Campos is inspired by his travels around the world, but each dish is reinterpreted and fused with contemporary techniques. From his tenure as a chef in Portugal’s Largo de Paco, where he earned a Michelin Star, he brought back the traditional methods of cooking that shaped his early years: slow-roasting suckling pig and gently cooking meats for hours in clay pots inside a wood-fired oven.
Grill 88
Working alongside Campos is Sommelier Jolanta Dinnadge, whose wine pairings are meticulously crafted to suit the guest’s palate. Deeply committed to her craft, with many accolades including being shortlisted for the GQ Food & Drink Awards and curating award-winning wine programmes for Marco Pierre White and Corrigan’s Mayfair, Dinnadge aims to connect guests with wine that compliments their gourmet dining experience.
A typical day before service begins with checking the cellar, updating the inventory and making sure every listed wine is available, stored correctly and served at the right temperature and vintage. Before guests arrive, she sweeps through the dining room and reviews the evening’s reservations: who’s coming in, whether they are regulars and if there are any special requests. “My personal ritual is to taste a couple of wines by the glass – not only to confirm quality, but also to calibrate my palate and shift into the right frame of mind,” she explains. She will talk through the day’s specials and potential pairings with Campos. “Sometimes I’ll even bring a glass into the kitchen so the chef and I can taste together, making sure we’re in sync,” she says. “The goal is always the same: to create harmony, where food and wine enhance one another seamlessly.”
left. Jolanta Dinnadge, right. Bone Marrow Wagyu Steak Tartare
Once service begins, their communication becomes quick and precise: if a dish changes mid-shift, pairings are adjusted immediately. Dinnadge pays close attention to what works and what doesn’t. She reviews sales data to understand which wines guests resonate with and why. Each wine is different, with its own personality and flavour. Through maintaining close contacts with importers and distributors and meeting her guests where they are at, Dinnadge introduces pairings that are new and exciting, dynamic and relevant. “Updating the list is never about adding labels or vintages; it’s about offering choices that excite adventurous drinkers while still providing comfort for those who prefer the familiar,” she elaborates. For Dinnadge, her craft is all about calibrating the dining experience to enchant guests: “It’s the moment when a guest takes a sip, and you see their face light up. There’s something magical about introducing someone to a wine they might never have chosen themselves and watching it elevate their whole dining experience. That sense of discovery and shared delight is the most gratifying part of the job.”
Grill 88
The Biltmore offers 250 guest rooms, 49 curated suites, and 8 signature suites. Bespoke service is key: you can expect only the most elevated experiences during your stay. A shared philosophy among the staff makes The Biltmore more than a luxury hotel but a place reminiscent of home, a place where sophistication and warmth meet. “Hospitality is a field where kindness, discretion and excellence come together, and being part of that environment motivates me every day,” Jude says. “I find great fulfilment in making people feel genuinely cared for.”
left. Pine Bar, right. Silver Service cocktail
Read more about The Biltmore Mayfair here.
images. Courtesy of The Biltmore Mayfair
words. Cathy Li
editor. Huma Humayun
