Dean Street Townhouse & Dining Room

Well what a lovely time I had at the Dean Street Dining Room last night. I have to say that I was very impressed; much more than I was with my visit to the Hand and Flowers in Marlow a few weekends ago. Sure, the food isn't quite to the same gastronomic level, but it’s not meant to be. What worked was that simple things were done very well.

Old fashioned British classic food with a modern touch.

The lamb sweetbreads on the onion tart with a runny poached egg was a hit on a table of hard-to-please French. The guinea fowl terrine was very yummy too, but the surprising star was the smoked eel kedgeree. Think perfectly cooked rice with a bit of bite, a rich buttery sauce and then this delicate smoked eel coming through; hats off to that.

Again with mains, simple things well done. My calves’ liver, bacon, caramelised onions and rich sauce was very tasty. The shared porterhouse steak and a couple of rib-eyes were gobbled down with pleasure too. Even something that I have perfected at home (in my humble opinion), a slow-cooked cheek of beef was right up to standard, and really well off-set by the best tasting neeps.

Our main waitress was a cheerful Australian girl supported by a band of others who just did things in the background without you knowing. She thoughtfully found that our wine (a very luxurious Cotes Nuits St Georges) was down to the last few bottles, so asked if we would like to set the others aside; a simple and thoughtful touch. Our table was kept in perfect order throughout the service.

The Dining Room itself is tastefully decorated and made me think of a Victorian country coaching inn. Nice silverware, linen, candle holder, sauce boats etc; subtly lit, warm and inviting. Also, some of the nicest toilets I have seen in London in a wee while. Hand and Flowers, with your dingy loo and dusty plastic plants – take note. This is more what a 2 star loo should look like.

The only drawback that I can think of is that because this place is so popular, the bar is as busy as well the restaurant, which made it the experience quite loud. Though, as the night went on, the noise levels dropped and we relaxed into our deserts and digestifs. A particularly good spotted dick and rhubarb cobbler deserve a mention.

At the end, our bill was quite pricey, but that was because our choice of wine and drinks. Had we gone for something a more modest, the bill would have been very reasonable indeed.

Well done Dean Street; simple things done well is a great way to run a business. I will certainly be telling people that this is a great place to go and be returning myself.

I really love Soho at the moment, I swear a new bar or resturant opens on a daily basis, which can only be good news. Of course Dean Street Town house has been around long before these new swanky joints. This was my second visit and once again I am impressed with the food. Lamb Sweetbreads, beautifully tender with tiny Girolle mushrooms and broad beans with a sauce which I am warned by our very young and helpful waiteress will be served just at room tempature. No further explanation? Not shown on their menu via their web site, so a pleasant surprise. My guest diner on receiving his Monkfish, scallops and bacon with Pearl Barley pauses somewhat when it's placed in front of him. Is this a starter pretending to be a Main or maybe a Monkfish pretending to be an infant? It's looks rather a small portion, but no wait, he comes up smiling and suitably filled.

Yes this place is expensive, charging £4 each for some tiny side veg dishes and even £3 for some truffles bought with our coffee. But hey, this is swanky Soho and this place has a real buzz about it that makes you crave more.

Super efficent service both at front of house and throughout and a real joy.

They are clearly forward thinkers here as I see from their web site that their Christmas set Menu is already in place although my garden still has a few daffodils lurking!

Still. it's useful to see what I can eat in December but, whatever you do don't look at the price!

I always feel meaningful and eminent when in Dean Street Townhouse. It’s just a fantastic building in a great part of London. You can escape the sex, colour and vulgarity of Soho, the pick ‘n’ mix of beatnik culture, but then again, why would you really want to? Oh yeah, because everyone has to eat and drink at some point.

I took Anouska in an attempt to impress. I thought it would be a subtle introduction to my flamboyant vogue and give an impression of stardom and distinction, afterall, its become quite the hangout. The latest property in the back pocket of Nick Jones’ Soho House empire (partnered with Richard Caring), Dean Street Townhouse doesn’t quite have the same ‘no status, no entry’ policy of its partner down the road on Greek Street. Clearly, as I’m here and if that’s not proof that they’ll let any old riffraff in then Wagner won’t win The X Factor.

Inside, the Georgian replicated building reflects its eclectic neighbourhood by showcasing “the cream of contemporary British art”, with work from the likes of Paul Noble, Keith Tyson, Peter Blake, Tracey Emin, Mark Titchner, Fiona Banner, Keith Coventry and Mat Collishaw. An offbeat antique atmosphere is reflected in dark wood, and red, leather padded seating, plus monochrome tiles and calming greens that produce a contemporary New Yorky boutique feel, yet the menu spotlights a more retro-British quality. Nothing reflects this more than AA Gill’s “attitude dish” mince and potatoes. But I can’t comment on that as I started with fried duck egg, chicken livers, horn of plenty & devilled sauce (£9.75). A cheeky little introduction with a runny yolk and horn of plenty. It’s okay, I didn’t know what it was either. From the fungi family, craterellus cornucopioides, it’s an edible mushroom, also known as trumpet of death, black chanterelle, black trumpet, or horn of plenty. So there you go. Thank you Wikipedia.

The twice-baked smoked haddock soufflé (£8.75) was creamy and filling and a British twist on a classic French dish by head chef, Stephen Tonkin. Anouska gazed, beholding the spherical soufflé that sat in front of her as the warm runny cream dish was raised and poured over like a savoury Christmas pudding. I picked up my fork and did the courteous thing, I ate half. Then felt sickly.

New potatoes as a side dish are steeply priced at £4.00, but is that really a shock? We’re at Dean Street Townhouse in Soho and I was hardly going to bring my own. Several small pebble-like spuds were heavily buttered in a bowl and helped build up my main of outrageously expensive red-legged partridge with bread sauce (£21.75). The partridge was presented on a large, white plate with its size zero legs on one side and the sleek, plumb (ish) breast on the other. The meat was slightly crispy on the outside and succulently moist and tender inside. Mains are always a struggle as I’d quite happily dig-in to everything on a menu, but both my wallet and my size-32 waist (honestly! for now…) refuse me. The partridge was served with braised lentils and root vegetables, all warming and very British. After I’d finished on the legs (the partridge’s, not Annouska’s), there was some breast for me to devour. Don’t worry, I’m not going to lower myself.

Anouska went gamey too with a warm wood pigeon, black pudding & scotch quails egg salad (£10.00). In all a well-balanced dish with the richness matched in both the pigeon and black pudding, cooled by salad leaves and warmed by small orbs of breaded quail eggs. Those of you who read my enduring, dragging pages will know about my quest for wonderful scotch eggs. These petite versions were dainty and soft and a lively booster in a salad.

Anouska chose the wine and picked two glasses of Pinot Blanc (£8.75), the point genetic mutation of Pinot noir, full-bodied and dry. Easy to knock back if a little languid held against pigeon and black pudding which burst with matcho faculty. Future pairings will see me reach for an elegant Piedmonte Nebbiolo d’Alba or a recent discovery, A & J Gomes, Azamor from Alentejo.

Sticky toffee pudding served with Scotch whisky ice-cream (£6.50) was an absolute winner. Unfortunately, I was too full and therefore unable to finish the dessert, something quite unheard of by me. I have let everyone down. Writing this I can’t help but be reminded of the scene in BBC2′s The Trip when Steve Coogan persuades Rob Brydon to try the sticky toffee pudding, “Mmmhhh, that is wonderful,” says Coogan. Brydon agrees, “Mmmhhh, that’s fantastic!” This sticky toffee pudding was wonderful and the Scotch whisky ice-cream cooling and melting in truly orgasmic fashion and creating involuntary contractions of the muscles of the genitals. Smoothly casing the throat and wrapping up a quiet wonderful evening of British grub.

We only recently made our very first visit to Dean St Townhouse, which was early December, but so far this year we have been back three times and our visits have covered, Thursday lunch, Monday dinner, Sunday late lunch and a Saturday lunch. Each visit has been with different people including two vegetarians and one really fussy eater!

The restaurant is really good fun, really welcoming staff at the door, a lovely Maitre D' from Scotts restaurant who is efficient and friendly. We have always had pleasant waiting staff and good service. Decor is great, good lighting comfortable seats, glasses and cutlery just the right side of good quality without feeling like they have got the best set out.

With a total of eight diners in all and with varying degrees of culinary foibles I can say everything we ate was enjoyed by all. A good Bloody Mary to sip while reading the weekend papers, both our weekend lunches were very civilised and relaxing. The restaurant is open all day so you can linger without feeling rushed.

Dinner time the restaurant is lively and good fun, everyone seemed to be having a good time – we certainly were.

Our favourites so far are the chopped salads for starters, mains being fish, chips and mushy peas, steak with béarnaise sauce, my personal favourite is the mince and potatoes, always a winner on a cold day.

Having whiled away many an hour we have seen the Afternoon Tea pass us by, and hope to one day manage it…

I've been wanting to visit this restaurant for ages on the back of some excellent reviews. However, my experience was decidedly average.

3 of us had lunch last week. Two of us had steak and the other had a curry. The curry wasn't that good although I thought it was a bit silly ordering a curry in a place like this so maybe not really their fault? The waiters got our steak orders wrong so I ended up having my friend''s medium-well whilst she had my medium rare. The steaks themselves were ok but not great. And they were really oily! I would like to think that the chips were home made at an establishment like this but I do not over egg it to say that I've had better oven chips!

The service was charming but not all that good, mainly, I think down to the fact that they were exceptionally busy. They offered us a free dessert due to the mix up, which I think was a good way to try and win back some good will. However, because of the poor standard of the mains, two of us opted for the cheese. I couldn't be bothered.

All in all, this place was ok but I won't be rushing to go back.

Earlyish on a hot, busy Thursday night in Soho we hit this spot with some confusion (where's the entrance? Not through the hotel, not the staff door – ah, next one…there's the desk, where's the front-of-house person? Aha! The rather frazzled girl in the floral dress, being run ragged).

The buzz was brill, the table right by wide- open windows at the front: a rather small but perfectly placed table with the temperature so high (see said table on the restaurant image gallery). The staff were cheerful and friendly, and coped well with the frenetic level of activity. Properly cold champagne, fab-sounding menu – so good, so far…

I had the herb-roasted salmon on toast with crushed broad beans to start. It looked so pretty, little nuggets of golden-crusted salmon, a bright green smear of colour on a rustic slice of country-style toast, the plate artfully decorated with pea shoots but it tasted of…next to nothing. The salmon was underseasoned, the toast underdone & very soggy and the crushed broad beans were effectively pureed to an unidentifiable mush, again underseasoned. Boringly bland.

My friend had the spinach & pennard ridge (a goats cheese) tart. It was ‘a slice of quiche’ as she declared, surprised. She was expecting an individual tart, which was not the kitchen's fault, but it was served cold as in not-long-out-the-fridge cold rather than room temperature, which was the kitchen's fault. It tasted disappointingly bland, she said. I had a go: nice pastry, nice texture and nicely-seasoned; the flavour was delicate and much improved in the heat of the restaurant, eventually. My friend had by then got bored of it.

The boys won hands down with their starter choice: wood pigeon, black pudding & scotch quail egg salad. The wood pigeon breast was well-cooked (as in correct ie rareish), the black pudding was crunchily cooked and terrifically tasty but the deep-fried dinky scotch eggs with warm, runny yolks were fantastic: I want them as a bar snack, all by themselves – please! A really satisfying punch of flavour and novelty (I salivate as I type).

Mains: my man had steak & chips, competently cooked. The other man had duck, and the ladies both chose rump of lamb with marinated artichokes & heritage carrots (like tomatoes, the humble carrot now proudly proclaims its ancient roots). I wanted my lamb medium rare and my friend asked for medium to well-done. “Don't get them the wrong way round” I joked to the waiter. He then did, a seemingly genuine mistake rather than a punishment for my (un)wisecrack. We swopped plates, and my meat was cold. Not even warm. I asked for some hot gravy, but the staff insisted that the meat was cooked afresh. The new plate arrived with the meat nicely cooked but just warm. I gave up and just ate it; the dish was otherwise fine. My friend said hers was cold too, really, and the duck man admitted his duck was cold too. This was nothing to do with the adjacent open window – in fact the steak man was closest to the window and his rare steak and chips were perfectly hot (I blagged forkfuls while waiting for lamb rump no. 2).

The service was probably a bit slow for many people, but our group had plenty to catch up on so we happily chatted through the any gaps without caring – and the repeat lamb came fast. The wine list was okay, and the wine chosen was fine (there doesn't appear to be a sommelier, and we four knew much more about wine than our waiter, which with our combined years of age & experience didn't surprise or faze us).

I wanted to like it, I sort of liked it but not enough to go back in a hurry. Maybe my expectations were over-raised: it's undeniably a ‘happening place’ but the food didn't quite cut it. Try it.

It's probably more than 20 years since i have been and eaten somewhere so up itself. At lunch today it was heaving with poor sad souls who clearly need to be needed. I had booked a table 3 weeks ago and when I called to book I had asked for a table at 12.30-12.45, the French woman on the phone, so full of hauteur it wasnt true, offered me noon or 1.30. Finally after much negotiation and me saying for goodness sake its three weeks away you cant be full offered me 12.45 (original request). I should have cancelled then and there as this experience had left me with a sense of foreboding. Today on arrival, my guest already there had been seated in Siberia (aka side room adjacent to main room) which was like a yuppies creche so full was it of screeching children belonging to residents of the hotel rooms above. Do you need a password on booking to be given a seat in the main dining room? They clearly even three weeks advance of booking try and keep the 12.30-1.30 slot for their chums. But here is the thing that sums up the whole place (and I could indeed write an essay on this pretentious gaff) I asked the waitress if they had a sommelier. Is that red or white she said? I repeated the question slowly since her English was very poor and i thought she might have misheard, to which she then said did i want a sweet or dry white wine? In god's name what poor excuse of a joke is this place? It's a club for Soho ingratiates. As someone who eats out regularly for both professional reasons and for pleasure and count a number of leading chefs as friends I dont think I have ever come across such a shambolic mess. Salt beef was as tough as old boots.

Visited last night with a group of 5 people and sat in a booth at the back of the restaurant which in itself was very comfortable. Only problem is that there is a serving station behind those tables where throughout the evening the noise of plates and cutlery being dropped from a great height created an earth-shattering din!

The food was very good – classic combinations of flavours executed well with minimal fuss. Slightly disappointing were the scallops with wild boar which lacked any real flavour from the boar but the devilled livers were a winner, as too was the sea bass with samphire. Sides of creamed spinach, tomato salad and chips were fiiting accompaniments to the main courses.

The service was fairly complacent which is a shame and when the bill finally arrived there were over 5 items on it that were not ours – these were removed with minimal fuss but it still leaves a “bad taste in the mouth”.

In summary I will probably go back, albeit wary of the noise levels, as the location is great and the food itself very enjoyable and reasonably priced.

I love this place, particularly the service (the sommelier offered me two different glasses to try, even though we were hovering around the lower reaches of the wine list) and the space (can't make up my mind whether I prefer the bar seating or booths at the back and the terrace is great too).

No complaints about the food either; at around £20 a main it's on the pricey side, but ingredients are excellent and portions pretty generous. We had a stack of asparagus to start and nextdoor's haddock souffle was mountainous.

Only grumble is that our bill listed £9 plus service for a glass of prosecco and £9.50 for a G&T, which put a bit of a downer on an otherwise very pleasant experience.

A mashup review of the last few visits…

Where: Dean Street Townhouse, Soho
With whom: Most recently, me and the Insider, a couple of times before Christmas with various clients and colleagues and a very enjoyable night with Vole and the Travellers
How much?: The Insider had a couple of pricy glasses of Crozes Hermitage that brought it to £35 a head for one course, drinks and coffees, but between £11 and £16 for a main course generally with starters and deserts around the £5 to £8 mark.

I'm not normally the pretentious sort, or the kind to show off, but when the Insider called me up on Wednesday with “are you free for lunch, I need to tell you something.. you book it, I trust you”, there really wasn't anywhere else I was going to take him.
The lovely Gina, formerly of the Ivy, is running the Front of House and it's certainly got the relaxed but with it vibe you'd expect from one of the Caprice Holdings operations. Restaurants where you're made to feel welcome… not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a perfectly executed ‘how to’ guide to a modern British restaurant appealing to the widest range of people and while it won't get in the way of some of my exploring, I'll certainly be a regular there for a good time to come.

It's got a grown up feel to it, despite the slightly yawnsome ‘risque’ Victorian pictures balancing the Gavin Turk prints. I like how the team are on the ball and so polite but not deferential, there's a certain balance to be gained with waiting teams and the guys here certainly have it. A niggle on the timings but nothing massive, and it was a very busy serving.. we rolled out after 3pm and it was still full of the great and good of Soho's media scene.

And the food? What can I say, it's very good… basic, and I do mean that in a good way, 10 or so starters including a beautifully dense and salty potted ham served with a punchy piccalilli and a homemade Scotch Egg (that seemed to have vanished from the menu this visit…)

Waiting for the Insider to turn up gave me chance to sit back and people watch, I haven't sat at their long bar yet, but that's got to be the biggest disadvantage… you want to be somewhere you can see what's going on and not hear it happening behind you. He turned up with whispered tales of the theatrical world that I've (semi) left behind, and I love catching up on the gossip so I don't begrudge his trip to the most expensive glass on the wine list, my Argentinian Malbec is perfectly acceptable.

The mains are exactly what you'd expect to see on a great British menu… if I were presented this little list at the final supper I certainly wouldn't have any complaints. The meat is sure of its provenance but not intent on telling you everything. We get that the (large portion of) panfried monkfish with fennel is from Cornwall, but we don't need to know the name of the boat, or what the fisherman got for Christmas.

Previously I've gone meaty, trying the Mixed Grill – a wonderful sausage and a bubble and squeak cake won me over the kidneys, the perfectly cooked, marbled Rib-Steak and the Salt Beef – slightly disappointing with most of that layer of lovely moist fat removed, but an almost New York sized portion for a pre-Christmas lunch. This time I went for the Fish & Chips. Light batter (importantly not too much of it) served on a slick of minted mushy marrow-fat peas with a feisty tartare sauce on the side. Chips were forgettable. The Insider went for some very good looking pork cheeks which came in a shining gravy.

Rolling out after a nice coffee and a good few hours out of the office, we reflected that this was what our Soho kind had been doing for many years. It's how business round here seems to happen, and the Dean Street Townhouse looks and feels like it's been part of that scene for considerably longer than the 6 months they've been trading for.

I love the Dean Street Townhouse, the intimate setting is wonderful and if required you can always request the private room for 10, the venue feels like you are in a stately home, but with a Soho twist. They have opened up the front for summer with tables, chairs and umbrellas plus heating if you want to people watch.
The food is wonderful, the service spot on, just remember to book in advance as it always seems to be fully booked especially on a Friday lunchtime.

The Dean Street Townhouse is a new boutique hotel and dining room from the Soho House Group. The restaurant service classic British cuisine from first thing in the morning until the early hours and already feels like a Soho institution.

I wish they could sort out the service at Dean Street, if they did, I'd use it all the time. Unfortunately sullen hosts and a combination of pretentious and unskilled waiters makes for a frustrating dining experience.

I have been on several occasions for lunch and breakfast and not once has the service been good enough for a Richard Caring venue. I have had to wait almost half an hour for a drink, 40 minutes for the bill, almost an hour between starters and mains, the list goes on, all delivered by staff who look like they're doing you a huge favour by just being in the room.

The food however was excellent. Makes it even more irritating that they can't get it right!

I'll try again in a few months to see if it's improved. I so want it to live up to the hype but it's nowhere near at present.

Aside from a stern woman in black with folded arms who stood at the entrance (but failed to greet us either on arrival or when we left) glaring over her charges like a victorian school mistress, and pretty lackadaisical service, my boyfriend and I had a lovely and relaxed brunch here today.

The little loaf (a la Hix) was warm and delicious (the butter creamy salty yumminess), scrambled eggs and smoked salmon were tasty, I ate the best Buck Rarebit I've ever eaten, and the ham hock soup (broth poured over veg and ham at the table) was warming, healthy and hearty (if a teeny bit underseasonsed).

I had a bone in my soup and left it (uncomplained about) on the bread board – a hazard of the hock I thought – but, the owner (Nick?), mentioned it and immediately took it off the bill when I explained that it had been found in the soup, not the salmon. I thought that was really nice of him, and made up for the waiters gossiping and banging about at the back of my banquette throughout the meal.

The atmosphere was lovely, the room is gorgeous, and I could happily while away hours here. Just need to give the service a leg up, and that lady in black a smile.

Very disappointing Sunday brunch with friends from New York who had heard about and were interested to experience what Dean St was all about. Having spent a couple of atmospheric evenings there for dinner previously, we were confident of an enjoyable time. But it let us down on a number of fronts: awful bank table right next to the kitchen – with crashing and banging of plates and glasses the whole meal, indifferent service from what seemed to be 3 or 4 different servers, an unusually long wait between courses, and most unfortunately – decidedly off form food. Portions were mean – anchovies on toast a joke really and decidedly empty-looking chicken pies once the crust was broken though. Roast chicken which is usually very good was not cooked fully through, and beetroot salad that looked like they had to stretch the ingredients so as not to run out before dinner. The bread, however was excellent – warm, fresh and plentiful – but not enough to make up for a poor meal. It seems perhaps Dean St is becoming a victim of its success – and the attention to detail that a place like this simply has to deliver sitting after sitting has slipped well below a level we've come to expect. We may go back once more, but if things haven't improved considerably from today's experience it will be our last.

This is a n extremely busy restaurant serving a well executed retro influenced menu. The kitchen excells in mainting excellent quality with so many covers. it's completely let down by waiters ‘with attitude’ who simply don't seem to care. I've never seen as many glasses brocken in my life as did on the consecutive evenings I dined there last week. it sems they need help from one of Mr Carings more mature restaurants

Bit like meting an old flame after some years and then wondering why you went out with them!

We really enjoyed the food and atmosphere – both first rate. A buzzy and welcome additon to the Soho scene. However, finding our pre-booked table was not actually rwady (at 12.30?), having to ask for menus and being made to wait quite a long tiem for our orders to be taken slighlty detracted from the experience. For this sort of money – not unreasonalbe but not cheap either – we expected everything to be tip top and it wasn't quite.

Ping ! An email from Caprice Holdings announcing the opening of Nick Jones's latest venture Dean Street Townhouse and that there was a soft opening with 50% off the food bill. An offer to hard to resist so I booked a table for 3 people for a the first Thursday night it was open at 9pm. I understand that with the discount applied this review may not be the same as a review whereby I paid the full price but anyway here goes.

Located on Dean Street in Soho, the name kind of gives it away, it is hard to think why I have never noticed the building Dean Street Townhouse is now housed in. I believe it was once a pub. For some reason, I am not too sure why, I presumed the place would be fairly quiet as it was the ‘soft opening’ week. I could not have been any more wrong. Upon entering the restaurant the buzz of London on Thursday night hit you and it is the sort of buzz that really makes you appreciate being able to eat out at venues such as this.

We were politely informed by a friendly receptionist that the table wasn't ready and to please grab a drink at the bar. Not a problem, for two reasons. Firstly, not fair to complain when you are receiving 50% off the bill and secondly, the bar is so inviting that you almost feel you should have a drink even if your table was ready. There were a number of familiar faces from the restaurant scene scattered around the tables, including Fergus Henderson tucking in to the dishes available on the British menu.

As Mr Jones described the restaurant himself, the decor is Granny Chic. A kind of The Ivy stroke The Wolseley love child dressed in Laura Ashley. It works very well. Food is British and is similar to that of Mark Hix's new place Hix. We started with a few starters to share. Some Oysters, which were served just as they should be on some ice with some shallot vinegarette and tabasco sauce on the side. A large homemade Scotch Egg brought on a brown chopping board with a side of tartare sauce was good homemade grub. Finally, a superd dish of foie grois, black pudding and quince jelly, which I thought worked well despit the complex rich flavours present.

To follow, another great few british dishes. Cod and chips, steak and chips and game pie. The chips, a good tester of any restaurant, were not too greasy and were well seasoned. Simple, homemade food done well. OK – this is not the greatest food in London or the Nick Jones empire but the concept works. Easy food, at reasonable prices even without the 50% off, and house wine starting at £17 a bottle really makes it a place worth going to. And if you eat and drink too much and cant face joining the masses back out on the streets of Soho, one can stumble upstairs to the hotel where ‘tiny’ rooms start at £95 for the night.

Is there any stopping Nick Jones?