The opening of Dinner was announced in August 2010, to open in early 2011 to replace the Michelin starred restaurant Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.
The opening was originally planned for 1 December, but delays occurred, which would have resulted in the restaurant being ready to open during Christmas week.
The decision was made to push back the opening until after the Christmas period was over.
Reservations began to be accepted on 1 December 2010 for the restaurant's opening on 31 January 2011.
There were 42 phone lines set up on the opening day of reservations, which received over 600 telephone bookings.
Prior to opening, the first three months were solidly booked.
A Valentine's day booking was sold on auction site eBay, which went for £250.

While overseen by Heston Blumenthal, the head chef in the kitchen is Ashley Palmer-Watts.
Palmer-Watts has previously worked with Blumenthal since 1999, and for five years was head chef at Blumenthal's other restaurant, the three Michelin starred The Fat Duck.
The two chefs researched historical menu choices with help of food historian Polly Russell, curator at the British Library Blumenthal's first experience of historical cuisine was in 2000 when he discovered a recipe for roast chicken which required the bird to be plucked alive, and then cooked with a small volume of mercury.
This was further enhanced as he filmed Heston's Feasts for Channel 4, in which he created a variety of feasts from different historical eras including Tudor, Medieval and Victorian.
Despite being called Dinner, the restaurant is also open for lunch as the meaning of the name is intended to be the main meal of the day, regardless of the time at which it is eaten.

The interior of the restaurant was designed by Adam Tihany, and features full length windows allowing diners to see straight into the kitchen.
It features a pulley system based on a 16th-century design used for the British Royal Court.
The brand identity items such as the logo and the menus were designed by design agency Seymourpowell.
A £70,000 clockwork spitroast cooks pineapples for one of the restaurant's desserts.
The opening of Dinner was announced in August 2010, to open in early 2011 to replace the Michelin starred restaurant Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. The opening was originally planned for 1 December, but delays occurred, which would have resulted in the restaurant being ready to open during Christmas week. The decision was made to push back the opening until after the Christmas period was over. Reservations began to be accepted on 1 December 2010 for the restaurant's opening on 31 January 2011. There were 42 phone lines set up on the opening day of reservations, which received over 600 telephone bookings. Prior to opening, the first three months were solidly booked. A Valentine's day booking was sold on auction site eBay, which went for £250.
While overseen by Heston Blumenthal, the head chef in the kitchen is Ashley Palmer-Watts. Palmer-Watts has previously worked with Blumenthal since 1999, and for five years was head chef at Blumenthal's other restaurant, the three Michelin starred The Fat Duck. The two chefs researched historical menu choices with help of food historian Polly Russell, curator at the British Library Blumenthal's first experience of historical cuisine was in 2000 when he discovered a recipe for roast chicken which required the bird to be plucked alive, and then cooked with a small volume of mercury. This was further enhanced as he filmed Heston's Feasts for Channel 4, in which he created a variety of feasts from different historical eras including Tudor, Medieval and Victorian. Despite being called Dinner, the restaurant is also open for lunch as the meaning of the name is intended to be the main meal of the day, regardless of the time at which it is eaten.
The interior of the restaurant was designed by Adam Tihany, and features full length windows allowing diners to see straight into the kitchen. It features a pulley system based on a 16th-century design used for the British Royal Court. The brand identity items such as the logo and the menus were designed by design agency Seymourpowell. A £70,000 clockwork spitroast cooks pineapples for one of the restaurant's desserts.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal