Raffles London at The OWO is one of London’s most storied addresses. Housed within the former Old War Office at 57 Whitehall, the building has long kept its secrets. Now, those secrets are on the menu. This season, the hotel’s celebrated restaurants and bars have each taken inspiration from the building’s extraordinary espionage history to create three distinct, and unmissable, culinary experiences.

Once the nerve centre of British military intelligence, the OWO saw candidates for the Special Operations Executive interviewed in its basement, MI9 founded in a second-floor office, and a young naval intelligence officer named Ian Fleming drew on its corridors for inspiration for the James Bond novels. More recently, the building served as an on-screen home of MI6 in five Bond films. Throughout the hotel, a trio of immersive experiences – from Afternoon Tea to underground cocktails and Michelin Starred storytelling – invite guests in on the secret this summer.

THE ESPIONAGE MENU AT MAURO COLAGRECO

‘The Espionage Menu’ is a new menu at Michelin-starred restaurant Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at the OWO. Recently Raffles London and Mauro Colagreco welcomed the semi-finalists from the popular BBC One series ‘MasterChef’ into their kitchens to cook this menu.

This menu spotlights stories about disguise, spy-craft and espionage, as well as delighting diners with dishes designed to beguile and intrigue. The five-course tasting menu features dishes such as ‘Camouflage’: Lovage, Pine, Mushrooms and Cereal Risotto with Cep Cream, Parmesan Crumble and Smoked Butter Foam, and ‘The Ultimate Spy’ (Vesper Martini Dessert): Orange Mascarpone Cream, Marinated Citrus, Gin Sorbet, Grapefruit Liqueur Foam and a Lime Tuile.