Elystan Street London - Buy Reservations

My wife and I had booked to have Sunday lunch at this restaurant in order that we might celebrate together three months having passed since we wed in April of this year. We were eagerly looking forward to sampling the set Sunday lunch menu-having come across it on the restaurant's website. Imagine our surprise however when we entered the restaurant only to be met by a young lady who, although very well-presented and attractive, seemed to have difficulty stringing two words of English together. I gave her our surname and informed her of our reservation. This drew a blank face in response. Rather than replying to us directly she simply turned her back on us and a few moments later returned with a colleague/supervisor who was fortunately able to take over and direct us towards our table. Once we had been seated for about five or ten minutes a waiter eventually appeared at our table with a couple of menus. His attitude was not particularly welcoming-as if to say "what are you two doing here? The sooner you are both out of here the better". He really did not seem pleased to see us at all. Had we said or done something to upset him? However in spite of this seeming reluctance to engage he nevertheless proceeded to take our orders. As a starter I opted for the beetroot with the mackerel rillettes while my wife chose the courgette salad with ricotta cheese. These dishes when they arrived were both excellent we agreed. My only gripe was that there was not more mackerel on the plate! I accompanied my starter with a nice glass of French cote de provence Rose wine which went down very well. Next came the mains: roast beef with roast potatoes and Yorskhire pudding for me and sea bream with vegetables for my wife. Both dishes definitely worth waiting for in terms of quality and presentation. Fine ingredients all expertly cooked. My beef had a perfect flavour and texture and the roast potatoes were all crispy and salty as they should be. My wife assured me that her fish was perhaps the best she had ever had in any restaurant anywhere. But why serve both main courses in bowls instead of on plates? Also the waiting time between the starters and the mains was way too long in our opinion. Food impossible to criticise-but service questionable in just about every way. I went to use the facilities while waiting for the main courses to arrive and not only was there water on the floor of the gents-but it was clear that the urinals had not been flushed through for some time. The basket containing the used hand towels was also overflowing-with some of them on the floor. My wife also said that the ladies room left a number of things to be desired. Once the mains had been finished and our dessert orders taken (raspberry millefeuille for me and sorbet for my wife) I asked for the waiter to bring me a black coffee at the same time as the desserts. This instruction seemed to bypass him completely since not only did the desserts take about 15-20 minutes to arrive but the coffee arrived 10-15 minutes after the desserts. In all the meal took almost two and half hours which is way too long to spend in a restaurant. The desserts were both delicious like every dish which came before them. But the simple fact remains-the 15% service charge turned out to be totally unjustifiable on the day. Thank heavens my wife and I were not Michelin guide insoectors in disguise-otherwise the star rating might have been in jeopardy based on the level of service received alone. I have given 4 for food but please read 4.5.

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Food, service, price all excellent! The dressing did wonders bringing out the sweetness of the tomatoes. The cheese soufflé simple to die for.

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Did not start well when we were served stale bread. Not wowed by the food. Courgette flower was bland and could barely taste the lobster. The lamb was a little tough. The only sublime experience was the lemon tart.

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Hmmmm……the food is delicious, no complaints, although the portions were meagre. Not a problem for me but maybe for our guests. However the service was rubbish. We had booked for 7.30 and arrived promptly. We left at 11pm. The wait between first and second courses was about 40 mins and the bill was £540 for four. The wine we ordered - a Crozes-Hermitage - wasn’t available and our second choice of a Gigondas although very good, turned out to be single bottle. Not acceptable, they should have told us that when we ordered. Disappointing.

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Amazing meal, the cool almond soup was amazing, bursting with flavour and nice contrast of crunchy almonds. The strozzapetti was very buttery, could have easily eaten another portion. Wasn't sure what coastal vegetables (contained peas) were with the Cornish bass but nevertheless was tasty. The lamb was so tender and the jus complemented it well. Dessert was superb packed with flavour and different textures.

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