Colony

Never before had an entire glass of wine spilt on me – soaking through a fleece. And staff had the audacity to charge me for a full meal while waiving the wine because of their accident. Frustrated with their lack of service, will never go back and would recommend against.

Other negatives: food was not warm, ambience rather dim in the lounge, ‘live’ jazz did not play until close as advertised, 3 out of 6 white wines were not in stock.

Positives: paneer has excellent texture.

Initial reviews for this restaurant were poor and to be honest put me off, however with their introduction of live Jazz I was lured in and pleasantly surprised. We arrived at peak time on a Saturday to a very warm welcome and were given a choice of where to sit, restaurant or bar area. I started with a glass of prosecco which was perfectly cooled and refreshing. Our starters of Prawns and quail were delicious and I was even more impressed with my main course of guinea fowl which was outstanding. The accompanying rice and bread were cooked to perfection. There was a lovely atmosphere with the Jazz in the background and lovely buzz with some people coming in for a quite meal(seated in the restaurant ) but others sitting at the bar and enjoying the music. I cannot believe that I am writing such a good review as I am not easily pleased but was really impressed with the service, food and atmosphere at the Colony. Keep it up.

I have been to ‘Colony’ twice and I must say its on one of my favourite places in London. What drags me to Colony is its amazing variety of cocktails and their impeccable blend of taste and flavours. I tried quite a few and my picks are Mojito and the Martini (All varieties).

Coming to the Ambience, we were given a seat which is in the lounge and definitely is a perfect place to chill after a hectic week. (I dont mind going daily if it was near my place :) )..next time would like to try out the exclusive restaurant area.

The food was very tasty and quite authentic but thought it was on the little expensive side or I would say, the quantity must be increased to make it proportional to the price.

My Ratings (On 5),

Drinks: 5
Food: 4
Ambience: 4
Hospitality: 5

Over all Rating: 4 on 5…try definitely…

A far cry from the turgid tapas bar that used to dwell here, Colony is another excellent addition to the Marylebone foodie scene and, dare I say it, better than both the Indali Lounge and Trishna, the two other rivals to the Marylebone Curry Crown.

The lounge is now all cream and dark leather, there is a lovely outside terrace and a more formal dining room out the back. The first time we came, we sat in the lounge with a cocktail and some nibbles. This persuaded us to return to try the real menu.

We sat outside, had a cocktail and ordered some food and a bottle of wine. The cocktails disappeared. The starters arrived. The wine didn't. So we asked again. The starters departed. The wine still didn't arrive. It really shouldn't take three requests to get a bottle of wine ordered at the same time as the food. Service is difficult to get right: some people like over-attentive, some like to be left alone; some people don't care if their waiter is called Brad and is here to serve you, others want to know his family history. It is, alas, all to easy to get wrong. A simple thing like bring the wine before the food (or at least with it) is not hard to understand.

This aside, the food is delicious: the fried calamari with yuzu dip was crispy and spicy; the mutton (slow cooked with a tomato gravy), was meltingly tender and richly gravied (or probably jused); and the dumpling with diced garden vegetables a far better dish then it sounds. The wine too is a good complement to the food (think semillion, viognier, riesling and chenin blanc, but oddly no gewurztraminer) and mostly at sensible prices (who pays £80+ for a chassagne montrachet to go with their ruby?). The cocktails too are lovely; a mixture of classics (proper daiquiri, mint julep) and home spun ones (try the ginger spice; definitely not a neurotic redhead, but rather a tangy long drink with a kick).

If you're a lover of the Brick Lane school of curry, you probably won't like this, instead you should try the Rajdoot or Bombay Spice. Both are opposite and both much more in the old school way of the curry and lager. If you like delicately spiced dishes, inventive cocktails and don't mind a relaxed attitude to service, then give it a try.

Really confused food, badly executed and badly spiced. The combination of a supposedly crisp whitebait(soggy as hell) and an apple jelly was just sickening. Scallops served with an over concentrated slop were awful, beef carpaccio laughable.

Although not quite as impressed as some of the diners reviewing here it would be unfair to say I wasn't. I took a leisurely lunch at Colony prior to Easter and as a big fan of Atul Kochar I was happy to see standards hadn't slipped despite the venue coming accross as more of a trendy neighbourhood venue. The lounge is very cool and would I imagine be full of an evening although was quite quiet – then again cocktails at lunch? Food was superbly tasty although the menu for lunch did seem a little limited. I do like the direction the venue is leaning to – almost like the logical evolution of Mr K's work and would say more Indian influenced that outright Indian. Drinks did seem a little pricey – for cocktails anyway but the wine was excellent value – even with letting them choose something for me! I'll be back for dinner but may just let it settle a little first.

Oh my God Dev M – what sort of places are you used to? We found this amazing value – £32 per person for food in a West-End restaurant with first class food, service and atmosphere – sorry Dev but you could not be more wrong. By the sound of your name you are of Asian heritage (so am I) but when I want curry and rice I go to my favorite curry house. Atul has produced here something new, exciting and delicious to eat (better even than Benares Atul)…all for £32 per person…GREAT VALUE!

Too much fusion cooking Atul. I thought you were above this? I really don't see this menu becoming popular. As for the prices.. ? Hmm, a bit too steep. I think this ones gonna take a back seat as my clients weren,t too impressed.

This is no Indian!! It's a real treat, a fabulous night out. Nothing wrong with Indians you understand, I love them, but this is very different. The bar is the best I've experienced outside of a 5* hotel with great service and atmosphere. The restaurant is intimate, beautifully decorated (with fabulous art) and again offers great service. As for the food, well Mr Kochhar has clearly done it again with choices and flavours to die for. Overall the concept is stunning and so welcomed to Marylebone. As a resident…I LOVE IT.

We live in Marylebone and were so delighted that Colony has finally opened – I've been watching it develop over the past few weeks. A great concept, elegant, comfortable, modern but full of old world charm.

Four of us paid a visit last night. We started with drinks and a few appetizers in the bar that were delicious. Then we moved to the restaurant where the lack of starters didn't matter at all as the appetizers we had more than made up for it. The choice in the restaurant was truly yummee including ‘giant tiger prawns’ the most delicious ‘mutton’ and ‘duck’ and a ‘monk fish’ to die for. The dishes are slightly smaller than normal main course size allowing you to order a wider choice and all share. The service was attentive and not over powering, as is often the case in top restaurants, if I had to choose one word to describe the feel it would be ‘charming’.

A man was walking round the restaurant chatting to customers, he introduced himself to us as Carlo. He was the owner and explained that he and Atul Kocchar were partners. He was professional, informative and seemed genuinely interested in our comments. It is so rare these days to be able to chat to an owner who actually knows what he is talking about and not to just investors that have ‘backed’ a celebrity chef (too many of those around now). Both my husband and I are real fans of Atul and were excited to know that he was actually in the kitchen.

All in all the experience was fabulous, great food and atmosphere and first class service. The bill for 4 of us was £194 that represented very good value indeed. We will be back!

We met up with some friends at the newly opened Colony Bar and Grill over the weekend . The place was completely unrecognisable from the previous Tapas bar.
We sat down in the bar and lounge area for pre-lunch drinks. The cocktails were great. The snack menu was very tempting and nashta plates very moorish. I really enjoyed the three scallops three ways.
There was a lively, vibrant atmosphere. The bar is well designed and the restaurant seemed very busy. Overall a fantastic venue, fantastic drinks and excellent food, a great time was had by all!

I visited the Colony Bar and Grill on Friday, for a few drinks in the bar. What a transformed from the old rundown dark and unwelcoming place. It is now beyond recognition! It has turned into a really elegant and welcoming bar. I thought I would be intimidated by the place but I couldn't have been more wrong. It is indeed a very ‘comfortable’ trendy place. The atmosphere is very vibrant and it has a feel good factor that is mainly created Carlo Spetale (one of the owner).

The drinks were outstanding, the Lychee Martini is a must have! I even tried the non alcoholic fruit punch, which I have to admit it was the best fruit punch I have had.

Being a vegetarian I had reservations on the tapas food but I didn’t need to worry. The choice was interesting and very good and the quality was excellent.

I returned on Sunday, with friends, for lunch to try the A la Carte menu and I have to say it was great and to the standard of quality that is expected from Atul Kochha. It's a refreshing change to experience a bill that reflects the quality of the food rather than the celebrity of the Michelin star chef.

It’s a place that will improve over time with regard to the normal teething problems and a place I will be returning to and recommending to the rest of my friends.