Canton Blue

Canton Blue occupies the ground floor of The Peninsula London and keeps its own street door on Grosvenor Crescent, so a party can arrive without crossing the hotel lobby. Henry Leung of CAP Atelier in Hong Kong drew the interiors from the Keying, the Chinese trading junk that sailed between Canton and Britain in the mid-19th century. The reference is carried in the rooms rather than announced: walls of Cantonese porcelain lit from behind, a backlit ceiling panel mapping a celestial navigation chart, a carved dual-aspect fireplace set between the tea lounge and the dining room.

Four dining rooms run across two levels, each pitched differently. The main room is the widest, low-lit round tables and booths beneath the star chart. The Tea Room is quieter, armchairs under a carved gilt ceiling with cabinets of teaware along both walls. The Silk Room lines its walls in silk with dragon motifs under a ceiling massed with red Beijing glass vases, and takes its cue from Chinese opera; the Music Room hangs antique instruments, among them a moon lute and a guzheng, beside calligraphy-inspired work. Executive Chinese chef Dicky To came to London from the group's Shanghai, Tokyo and Paris kitchens, and cooks a Cantonese menu running from dim sum to Peking duck finished at the table.

The two private rooms seat 12 and 30, the Tea Room 30, and the restaurant can be taken in full. The wine list carries Chinese rice wines by the glass alongside the cellar, and Little Blue, the cocktail bar on the same floor, is reached by the internal staircase. Availability for private hire is arranged through the house.