
- Location Type: Hotel-Restaurant
- Ingridients: Locally Sourced, Fresh and Mostly Organic, Vegetarian
- Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7235 2000
- Hours: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Address: 66 Knightsbridge London, SW1X 7LA United Kingdom
- Metro: Knightsbridge
- Price level: €€€
- Wifi: 15 GBP
- Wheel Chair Friendly: Yes
- Baby Friendly: Yes
- Take Out: Yes
- @mo_hydepark
- mandarinoriental.com/london
EAT in LONDON



What is the Mandarin Oriental?
The iconic five star Hotel Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park opened in 1902 and boasts London’s most fashionable address, where town meets country. Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park is the only hotel in London to be located on Hyde Park, allowing guests unrivalled views of royal parkland and the Royal Horse Guards as they pass daily en route to Buckingham Palace. Over a century after it first opened, the hotel is still London’s premier address. A London landmark and a “royal” hotel, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park is the scene for extravagant debutante parties, lavish engagement, wedding and christening receptions. Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London has also enjoyed a reputation as a great political meeting place for celebrated statesmen. It is a place where princes and princesses, Maharajas and sultans, presidents and prime ministers have passed through to host high-level forums, receptions and society events.

Interview with Ruben Tabares
Nutritionist, Fitness Coach and Creator of the Superfood Breakfast
You are one of the most coveted strength and conditioning coaches in the world. Athletes like football player John Terry, professional boxer David Haye but also musician P Diddy and regular people want to be trained by you. You are based with Ruben Tabares Wellness in one of the leading Hotels in the world, the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. What makes your training different than others?
I have a training methodology which is unique in that I look at the individual, work out what they want and need and use that as my starting point. Psychology plays a big role too as a lot of the time people’s goals change with their goal achievement. My approach is holistic, organic and bespoke.
Where did you get your experiences from to become a professional trainer and nutritionist?
My experiences are based on studying, achieving the necessary qualifications to be a strength coach, nutritionist, sports therapist and personal trainer, however, I learned more from being a professional athlete and ballet dancer than from things learned in the classroom. Whilst education is very important I would not know half the things I know if it were not for picking up numerous injuries being an athlete and then having to come up with ways to not only recover from the injury in record time but also to get into ridiculous shape in a very short space of time. I have also tried every supplement going along with different approaches to nutrition and what I have discovered is no one diet is good for you but a collection of most of them as long as you know what to look for is the best thing.
How does your fitness and nutrition coaching (for a regular person who wants to become more active and defined) look like?
I always advise people when venturing into health and fitness for the first time to start slow. Start by drinking more water, adding more food to your day such as green juices and superfoods and eventually swapping things containing gluten and sugar for other alternatives. Even changing their toothpaste to make sure there are less toxins coming into their system. Once these things are achieved I have a similar approach to training. The body must be thoroughly prepared with one of my training programs called adaptation before proper training can begin. This minimizes injuries and soreness and ensures completion of goals rather than not being able to walk after training sessions and then giving up.
The beauty of adaptation is that it can be done at home and not much more than a theraband and a couple of dumbbells are needed. I must stress however that depending your goals the gym may be the icing on the cake.
Can you give us an easy all in one exercise for belly, waist, butt and leg to do at home? (Or do we need a gym to train effectively)?
People are under the misconception that when they train a specific body part they will lose body fat from that area. Unfortunately, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it doesn’t work like this. It will tone and strengthen that area but when you work out you lose fat from your whole body and usually belly fat is the last thing to go, don’t blame me, blame our maker. There is good news, High-Intensity Exercise twice a week helps you burn fat for up to 24 hrs provided you eat no carbs during that period. Goji berries also help you lose body fat (especially belly fat).
You do not need a gym and exercises you can do at home are as follows:
• 5 min skip
• 5 min dynamic stretches
• Squat
• Single leg stiff leg dead lift
• Eccentric pistol squats
• Calf raise
• Bulgarians
• Reverse crunch
• Ab crunch
• Ta-‐BAR-‐res (check out my Instagram, don’t know another name for it, sorry, not trying to get more instagram followers, promise ;))
Try 25 reps of each, 1-minute rest and do 3 sets eventually working up to 5.
What is your best motivation tip to go to the gym or just outdoor for a run (especially for people with less time)?
Set a goal, goal setting is the best motivation for training. It is hard to train with no goals. Also, eat Bee Pollen and have foods high in B Vitamins. Once your brain is functioning at its best motivation comes easy. Playing a team sport is also a good way to start, finding a training buddy and training outdoors until you are ready to take the next step and join a gym and reach the next step.
Do you think it is important to do more sports and to eat clean, for example, to follow the paleo diet, to compensate mental stress?
As I said above, there are good aspects to most (not all) diets so following something like the Paleo diet would be a good idea but remember that eating clean and healthy is not hard as long as you follow some simple rules:
• Cut out sugar
• Only drink alcohol once or twice a week if possible
• Cut out gluten
• Drink more water
• Add superfoods to your diet along with Bee Pollen and foods rich in B vitamins
Sports especially team sports are always a good idea.
Plenty of people getting neck and back pain by using laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Can you explain why this wrong body posture affects the pain? What kind of sports training do you advise to avoid it?
For millennia we have not used laptops, been sat at a desk working so we are not accustomed to such things and consequently are bodies suffer. I advise to take regular walks around the office during the day, to walk to work if possible, to work outdoors and to work out at home, in the gym or in the park at least twice a week for 20 mins.


You created this delicious superfood breakfast for the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. The eggs in coconut oil and avocado with the bee pollen topping are a great combination. We also loved the chia pudding and the warm porridge with raw chocolate and goji to get awake. Why did you choose especially these ingredients for breakfast?
I chose these ingredients because they are in the perfect balance for what you need for breakfast and there is something for everybody. Breakfast should be nutritious but also not leave you feeling tired because it is too heavy and instead energize you.
The eggs (protein) cooked in coconut oil (saturated fat) with the avocado and bee pollen (which by the way you could live off avocado, bee pollen and water for the rest of your life without needing any other food) rocket and goji berries are light but have everything a meal should have in terms of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, amino acids, and fats.
What do you recommend to eat for lunch and dinner and what definitely NOT?
Lunch should again be energizing, and if you want to eat red meat and chicken it should be for lunch and never for dinner especially in the case of red meat. Dinner should be fish with vegetables, soups etc. You should stay away from gluten, sugar, and processed foods.
Can you give us one of your favorite recipes which everyone of us can reproduce easily?
Roasted vegetable soup with activated almonds
• Soak a hand full of almonds in water the night before
• Roast as many vegetables as you desire in an oven dish, my favorite are different color peppers, sweet potato, onion and carrots
• Boil spring water in a pot and add a generous amount of kale
• Add roasted vegetables and boil for 5 minutes
• Use a hand held blender and blend until smooth
• Serve with the activated almonds (skin off), a pinch of Himalayan rock salt, a teaspoon of coconut oil and chopped parsley or coriander
When should we meet a nutritionist and fitness coach?
There isn’t a specific time to meet a nutritionist or fitness coach, I would suggest you identify your goals and take it from there. Find a good one as they can save you time and money in the long run.