The Menu

It’s not just a restaurant. Hawthorn is an experience. The select group of diners are, they are told, “ingredients in a degustation concept”. On no account, stresses Chef (Ralph Fiennes), should they eat. Instead they should taste…relish…savour each eye-wateringly expensive mouthful. Among the diners are foodie fanboy Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and his last-minute date for the evening Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy). Margot, alone among the diners, feels that something tastes a little off about the whole experience.

The rarefied world of haute cuisine is not exactly a hard target to satirise, but this deliciously savage comedy from director Mark Mylod makes every bitter mouthful count. Subtle it’s not, but any film which toys so maliciously with the kind of people who unironically use the term “mouth-feel” has much to recommend it.