Best possible taste?
Astonishing new restaurant features a riot of gold leaf and crystal and customers can feast on… brain masala and camel meatballs
THE lurid interior design is redolent of the Palace of Versailles at the height of the reign of the French king Louis XIV.
But this £1million collection of gold wallpaper, chandeliers and ornate furniture has been put together for the benefit of diners at a new luxury restaurant – in Dundee.
Dynasty, billed by its owner as Tayside’s answer to London’s Ritz, will serve camel meatballs, lamb brain masala and General Tso’s Monk Cheeks, a dish of monkfish and vegetables, as part of its £55-a-head dinner menu.
The wine list includes a £635 bottle of Tenuta San Guido red and a Chateau D’Yquem dessert wine at £1,165.
Diners at the restaurant, which opens tomorrow, will tuck into the exotic menu beneath a Sistine Chapel-style ceiling, wall-to-wall gold and original props from fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.
The five-star dining venue where ‘luxury meets serenity, tranquillity and reverie’ also offers a chauffeur service and enforces a strict dress code, with sportswear forbidden.
It is the brainchild of entrepreneur Usman Malik, a fine art graduate from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, who already runs the Oshibori Japanese restaurant in the city.
He said: ‘As an artist, I’ve always been interested in Renaissance art and knew I wanted to create a business that featured that.
‘We were meant to open in 2016 but, because the building is B-listed, the planning permissions took longer than expected. We had to be very careful how we refurbished the place because of the listing, but thankfully everything went ahead as planned.’
Mr Malik said props from Game of Thrones take pride of place.
He added: ‘I was in Ireland buying pieces for the restaurant and found a company that sold props from the series. I managed to secure the gilded lamp-posts I have put either side of the fireplace and the Roman-style colonnade on the patio.
‘By the time I got all the equipment, furnishings, crockery, cutlery and everything, I have spent just under £1million.’
The restaurant promises to celebrate ‘different dynasties of the world, where menus are catered to celebrate the royal cuisines where you will indulge yourself with our historic signature dishes – an experience which will take you back in time’.
Mr Malik said: ‘I wanted to create something exclusive in Dundee, similar to the Ritz.’