Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental

Wonderful bistro feel, a place where you can be as formal as you like with the gorgeously dim lighting on one end and foie gras or dress down casual with finger licking delicious burgers. Wonderful overall experience… having tried the braised beef (slow cooked for 6 hours) with a caramelized onion topping accompanied by bechemel sauce and sauteed veggies. The foie gras warm starter salad with egg was to die for, although can't say too much about the cold lamb starter. Overshadowed by Heston's Dinner, this Mandarin Oriental bistro is definitely worth a try and one I will be coming back to. Recommended. Sehar 30, London (ex-New Yorker)

The Arancini of snails are a joke: excellent rice balls but no presence or taste of snails whatsoever. The Yankie burger was overdone but still the cheese on the top not melted at all. Excellent French fries. Kind and attentive service. The restaurant is by far too noisy and definitely does not deserve another visit.

I heart Bar Boulud!

I have been a couple of times and completely forgot to review…my most recent visit I had the Birthday Burger which was to die for…simply amazing…so much so that I ate it so slowy to savour every part of it!

The service has now been awarded with Best Front of House and they really do look after you…I can honestly say I haven't had a bad experience yet…I'm offered a newspaper if dining alone…drinks are never left empty for too long etc.

Its such a fab place to have lunch…you can almost hear certain tables making money as they eat…really great vibe about the restaurant

This was probably my most disappointing experience of 2010. Having heard about the burgers I was sure that my Saturday afternoon was going to be one of enjoyment and endulgence.
Our crab starters were, I have to admit, superb and I would willingly have them again. But sadly the main course was a massive let down. The burger was dry and tasteless and the bread was far from fresh.
I never thought I would say this of a ‘super star’ chef but when it comes to his signature burgers he could learn a great deal from either Macdonalds or Burger king.
It will be a long time before I return

Having heard about the “best burgers in London” it was only a matter of time before he managed to persuade me that we should try out Bar Boulud. Saturday 2pm for late lunch was the eventual date and we were joined by another couple.

The place was very buzzy and thanks to all of the twists and turns of the underground venue, it wasn't overwhelmining loud. An interesting mix of families, couples, ladies who lunch and those clearly suffering from shopping-induced exhaustion.

Everything on the menu looked appealling but we settled on a selection of the sausages to start. All unique yet delicately flavoured and succulent this was a perfect way to get the taste buds warmed up. Burgers all round for the main course – i tried the piggy burger. This was very good although i was slightly disappointed by the lack of “kick” from the chilli mayo. It was a real shame as i really thought we had found a perfect weekend lunch spot, although as neither my partner or i were ill i'm be willing to give it a second chance.

Great sausages. One of the best burger in London ! Good service.

This was my third visit to Bar Boulud – each time ive been, ive been for lunch and the food has always been excellent. Its an extremely buzzy place – completely full each time we have been and much better than anywhere else in Knightsbridge when you just want a place to rest your feet after a day of shopping (though the Park Terrace is also excellent and in the same hotel). Seatingwise – Id actually recommend the seats by the kitchen if you are stopping off for a quick bite – otherwise its always nice sitting near the front. However, it seems to be only for bigger groups unfortunately.

Foodwise – its a good selection of meat/charcuterie – like a slightly posher American diner. They do offer a basket of fresh bread which does fill up quite a bit however the sausages are very lovely and worth trying at least once. Its the salads that accompany them and make them that little more special. For the main, i dont think anything betters the famous Piggie Burgers – perfectly cooked to your requirements – and just the right portion to fill. I couldnt imagine having a full on hefty main in this place – its famous for the burgers so that's what i always have. Puddings are also various twists on cakes or ice cream desserts but depends really if you have the room! We never do…though they are lovely enough.

My bill for a 2 piggy burgers was a hefty £30 so quite pricey but was definitely a cut above your normal burgers/lunches out. This is not meant in a condescending way but its quite like the Knightsbridge version of GBK but well worth the money – i cant see this losing any of its popularity in the near future and ill definitely be returning.

it was my first visit to Bar Boulud and I took a business client for a work dinner. There are quite simply hundreds of waiters and waitresses but they are all busy doing nothing! I had to catch the waiters eye to order pre-dinner drinks, I had to call him over to place the order and again I had to call him over to order another glass of wine. Not surprisingly they were very quick to bring the bill when we over ran our 2 hour allotted time. The food was very nice but bearing in mind the number of amazing restaurants in London I will not be returning to Bar Boulud.

How much?: £110 for the two of us. That was four courses (Prix Fixe plus an extra charcuterie course)

I came to praise Daniel Boulud, but instead walk away strangely unsatisfied. As a dining experience overall, it wasn't one that will live long in the memory.

It wasn't the staff. They were as well drilled, knowledgable and friendly a brigade as I've seen…
It wasn't the decor. The light, well proportioned space is a graceful place for the well heeled to dine… Admittedly I was less sure about the arty splashes on the wall. The blot art of famous red wine vintages intrigued but were only vaguely reminicent of blood stained rorchach drawings.
Sadly, and more fundamentally, it was the food.

From the wine list, we went for a so-so Corbier, fair enough, but a little too earthy for both of us. It came from a large and excellent winelist priced squarely for the Four Seasons clientele. There are only a handful below £50, the rest quickly hit hedge fund levels.

The relatively long and involved menu presented a thrill as it was knowledgeably announced by our gallic host. There were certainly sparks of excellence here. Themes of charcuterie, sausage, pâtés and burger were highlighted and so we decided to go for the Prix Fixe with an additional charcuterie course (supplied by expert Parisian charcuterie supplier Gilles Verot). The small plate was more than ample and made a very good pre-starter paired with a moreish (light in texture but richly flavoured) boudin blanc sausage and its accompanying garlic mash. A very good salami made up for the dry and too subtle ham. Pâtés (particularly the tagine dagneau, a heavily spiced Maroc influenced lamb and aubergine mix and a superb pâté grand-mère) really excelled and the portions of the small plate were the ideal way to sample.

The chilled pea soup was simple elegance and one dish I'll remember for a long time. Fresh, creamy and with an occasional snap of tiny rosemary flavoured cruton, it hit the spot perfectly.

Sadly it went a little down hill from here. My guest's burger was initially dry, tasteless, unseasoned and lukewarm with a shredded lettuce, ‘special sauce’ and thin, limp tomato combination eeriely remenicent of a certain golden arched chain. Only a tasty brioche bun saved it. The team were swift to offer a replacement due to the temperature but this arrived in the same state (albeit warmer). The chips were inedibly saline.
My roasted chicken breast had a rich rustic and flavoursome taste of pure perfect poultry and arrived, in comparison, piping hot. Slightly dry too though sadly, it was helped by a rich (if salty) gravy but badly let down by rather floury fingerling potatoes and overcooked artichokes.

My guest had further problems with his desert (though this time arguably of his own making). A pervading scent of lavender that put him off his two (small) scoops of mint and coconut ices was tracked down to the overpowering handwash in the Mandarin Oriental bathroom. That aside, a powder dry hazelnut cookie didn't add to the experience. My exotic fruit sundae was preceded by a long spoon hightening childish anticipation before it arrived in a Martini glass. A pleasant but not earth-shattering mélange of passion fruit purée and cream came with nuggets of an excellent coconut macroon to give some needed bite.

Will I come again? Absolutely. It's a great space for a business lunch in the area, a safe menu overall with some excellent notes and very good charcuterie. It isn't somewhere I'll be rushing back to though. For the price, I'd rather take a day trip to Paris and pop by Gilles Verot's shop in person.

We had the special of the day foie gras burger probably the best and most expensive burger I have ever tasted

I went to Daniels in New York some years back, and was severly underwhelmed. Having heard so many good things about this new brasserie, however, I thought that I'd give M. Boulud another try. (By the way, is it a brasserie or is it bistro? I think brasserie, which tends to make one think of a bigger, place, rather than smaller bistros. Despite its name, it is certainly not a bar). I wish I'd gone to Hix.

Bar Boulud isn't a French brasserie at all. It is a NY take on a French brasserie: everything screams NY, from the “you're welcome” that the (certainly non-US native) waitresses deliver Pavlovian like, to “fingerling” potatoes, corn bread and feather steak, rather than spud, polenta and rib. Even the font in the menu is NY brasserie font.

Now I like NY style French brasseries: I still go back to Balthazar when I'm in NY, many decades after it ceased to be this week's greatest restaurant of the century. I like French French brasseries too: big high ceilings, all day service (and, in some cases, all night too) and fish soup. I do not like Bar Boulud. It is authentically big, but equally cramped and claustrophobic. Of course the tables are close together. That is authentic. What is not authentic, as a cursary glance at the black and white pictures of glorious Parisian and Lyonnais brasseries that lovingly adorne the walls would testify, is the ceiling. It is low. Way too low to get the right atmosphere; it feels like a brasserie in a dungeon.

The effect is that you get the feeling of sitting on top of the person next to you. Somehow, even in the sort of Parisian place where there is only a passing nod at a gap between the tables, you feel apart from your neighbour. Here, with nowhere for the hot air to escape upwards, it is pushed sideways, and you get to be part of your next door neighbours conversation, as they are to yours. So I can tell you that the sort of people we had next to us were wonderfully stereotypical; the American's who moaned about how things in this country weren't like they are back home and so had to be much worse, and the British BB wanabe, who'se oversized shoulder bag nearly took out our bottle of wine and glasses as she sashayed between the tables (clearly only a wanabe; even I could tell that it wasn't a Birkin). Given, however, that this is a big old hotel in Knightsbridge, these are probably the sort of people that they are aiming for.

Going with the recommendations of those who have reported before, we stuck to the meats. A very pleasant plate of charcuterie, with pates and saucisse. Bit stingy for £14.50, but very pleasant. It was interesting to note too that the next door table had the same, but their waiter described the pates as being completely different to ours, even though they were identical. Did I mention that you can hear everything from the next table?

For mains, we forewent the pulled pork burger (a signature dish I believe) and went for (another signature dish, we were told) the burger with foie gras. What is pulled as a style anyway? Pork wasn't the only thing that was pulled that night – so too was the rabbit. Is it a bit like being back at the Southend Roxy: “get your coat you've pulled”?

The burger was pretty good: was done rare as asked for and came with some lovely chips (or, more probably, freedom fries). The chicken too was a large slab of breast, nicely succulent, having a light, crispy skin and with little other than its own juices to go with it and the spinach. A really nice dish.

Chocolate tart was a fine desert, not easy to mess up, but nothing inspiring either.

The waiting staff were friendly, the waitresses just the right side of familiar, without being the sycophantic, first-name-giving waiting staff of US infamy. Service is a bit hit and miss still: small things like food arriving before wine; the main course taking an hour to arrive once the starter had been cleared. That sort of thing. Not bad waitressing, but service not clicking.

Then the wine list. Clearly this is a big hotel in an expensive part of an expensive city, but this is supposed to be a brasserie (or even a bar for goodness sake). How then can more than half of the wine list be over £100, and more than a quarter be over £200? There are some good value wines in there (more so it looked to me on the white than the red), but there are as many £300+ wines than £50- ones. Why? We had only a £20 odd retail bottle, yet even with only one starter and one desert, we still managed to rack up a bill taking us over a ton-and-a-half, which leaves you wondering how? And why?

I'm sure that this isn't top of the concerns of the hotel, where they have a capitve audience and a named chef. They are not going after the typical brasserie crowd, but the hotel guests: those Americans on expense accounts who want to be back in NY; the C list wanabes who want to be seen at the in place. Then there are the rest, who, like us, seem to have stumbled in to some godawful nightmare vision. A New York brasserie in the bowels of hell.

My husband and daughter went last Thursday night for dinner. We had tried before to get a table but were only offered 6:30 and 10:00. 3rd time lucky – we were given a 7 pm table. From the previous reviews I was dreading the room but when we arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The ceilings are low but the room was still pleasant and warm. As we walked to our table in the front room , I noticed that the clientale consisted of the daughter of a Royal Duke and her family and various surgically enhanced women of a certain age with their families and friends. The other diners were mostly in trainers and casual clothes and looked like tourists who got lost on their way to Harrods. But I guess restaurants in hotels are like that.
Anyway our french waiter was a delight and urged us to have the special rose before we ordered. We did, it was lovely. My husband and daughter had the piggy and french burgers which they said were the best that they had eaten in London. I chose the fish-it was awful-over cooked with too much sauce. But I got ahead of myself. If you have to eat anything have the large charcuterie starter. The various terrines and pates are wonderful and really worth the vist. Desserts were not memorable especially as I really can't remember what I had.
I will come again but stay on the carnivore side of the menu. One thing that I didn't get the whole time that we were there,the place was more than half empty but when I made the reservation and asked for a 7:30 table I was told that they were fully booked. What's that about?? .

I popped into Bar Boulud on a Friday lunch time for a quick bite with friends during the working day. After hearing so much about the ‘best burger in town’ this restaurant had been on my hit list for some time. I called the reservation line on the morning of the booking and was able to get a booking which surprised me. I have tried previously to get evening reservations for colleagues and have many times failed due to the restaurant being fully booked.

We arrived at 12:30 with the restaurant already half full (or half empty?!) and were swiftly shown to our table which was by the window. Half booth/bench seating and other half chairs. Service was prompt and attentive with (i think) our waiter being of French ethnicity which was a nice touch. He even remembered one of the party who had dined at BB a few weeks prior.

None of the group feeling particularly hungry and most eager to try the burger we skipped starters and dived straight into the mains. We ordered 2 piggy burgers, one frenchie and i (sadly) opted for the goats cheese salad that i had spied a fellow dinner a few tables along eating. It looked like it was a substantial main sized portion so i asked the waiter what it was she was eating and once hearing the reply i asked for ‘the same’.

Unfortunately, when it arrived it was half the size of the lady id seen enjoying hers (or perhaps i imagined it) and was just a basic goats cheese on crustini on leaves. Still, for what it was, despite its size, was tasty. The burgers that my other diners sensibly ordered looked impressive. Piled high with lettuce, pulled pork (the piggy) and other various condiments and ingredients. The side of fries came in a cute bucket but i couldn’t help feeling that the overall ‘meal’ looked a little small. Perhaps that was just my disappointment in my salad playing up on me. My companions gave it no complaints.

Taking a quick loo break between the bill arriving and finishing the mains i was able to see just how big the restaurant actually is. It is vast. With many few sections and many tables of diners all enjoying this new London offering for Daniel Boulud.

To summarise i would say that the venue has alot more hype surrounding it than is necessary but the food is fresh and ‘clean tasting’. The interior is rather masculine and at the time of dining the ratio was in favour of male business lunches so perhaps why. I would say portions are small but perhaps this wouldn’t have been an issue had we have ‘made a meal’ out of the experience and sampled a few more things. I would go again, but then again, if i didn’t i wouldn’t cry about it.

No longer do we have to trek across the atlantic to eat at a Daniel Boulud establishment. I have been a number of times to Bar Boulud and the food and service still excels each time.

The room is managed by Paulo De Tarso, a well known face who you would recognise from The Wolseley and Scott's. The more I eat out, the more I realise that the staff are at the heart of any restaurant. If they are happy to be working there and want to be there, it makes the whole experience far better for all involved.

OK, the dining room is not the nicest dining room in town, but it is not as bad as many have claimed. It is sleek and clean and I reckon will wear well with time. The food is french brasserie with charcuterie plates, a selection of sausages and the infamous burgers available. They also do a cracking 3 course £20 set menu for lunch and for early bird dinner. The charcuterie plate is good with fresh cold cuts and pates to gorge on with the lovely french bread that is served. £14 for small plate is not the best value dish in town but if you split it between two for a starter it doesnt work out too expensive. A nice touch is to add a sausage dish between starter and main. The boudin blanc with truffle mash is a stunner of dish – so light and moist.

The real star of the show though is the burgers. The Frenchie and The DBGB are the two to go for.

Wine focuses on France with a good selection of wines available under £40 and a perfectly good house white and red for £20 a bottle.

Service is supreme. Have not faulted it to date. Ask to be served by Richard – great waiter.

The thing I love about Bar Boulud is that you could pop in on your own and sit at the bar with a paper and have a quick burger and glass of wine or you could go for a superb celebration meal. Now they serve breakfast and afternoon tea, it may well become The Wolseley of Knightsbridge.

Finally made it to Bar Boulud at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel to see what all the fuss about and after an incredibly disappointing experience at ‘Daniel’ in New York, I must admit my expectations of Bar Boulud were not high. Perhaps this is the best way to tackle these foofy, over-hyped places, but on arrival I see the venue is not so much the ‘Bar’ that it claims to be and in fact crams double the amount of covers I would have thought to be sensible for a venue of this size. I don't like this at all. If anything, when you first open a restaurant, quality of service and attentiveness should be your key focus surely? Not so at ‘Bar Boulud’; it's most definitely a “Cram 'em in and kick 'em out” type affair, with fabulously snooty French service to boot. This may wash in America, because Americans love our Euro-snobby ways and find it endearing, but we Brits expect better, especially in our own country/.

I wonder why they call it ‘BAR Boulud’ when it's really more of a Brasserie. Doesn't Brasserie Boulud sound better? I digress. Chatting to my companion we quickly realised how the interior reminded us of the formulaic standard decor of the ‘Strada’ restaurant chain. Bizarre considering how high profile the brand is, did they not think to try and do something a little better suited to Knightsbridge and the 5 star hotel that houses the restaurant? ‘Null points’ for decor.

Food wise, I dont buy into paying twenty quid for a charcuterie platter. Stuff that, if I want sliced meats I will nip to my local deli and get them there. I ordered the New York Burger (DBGB or was it DBBG???) and actually it was really very good, a bit on the small side, but accompanied by some pommes frites it was just enough for a greedy girl like me. My friend has the steak which she seemed to enjoy but she said her chips were hard and not very hot. The devil is in the detail you know.

Dessert was not good. My friend said that “A meal without dessert is like sex without a climax” and I laughed, but sadly there was no food-gasm this time. The dessert choices fell flat and we opted for some Madeleines and a trio of not-so-nice sorbets and ice cream accompanied by the ugliest biscuits I have ever seen, which needless to say we didn't touch. And to think we were charged so much money for the pleasure of desserts that we didn't enjoy – The biggest shock being that they charge a fiver for the Madeleines, which are usually complimentary in ‘Daniel’.

What a shame. I really thought they would exceed my low expectations tonight, but sadly the mediocrity of the experience did nothing but reinforce the fact that I was right in my pre-conceptions and that unless you are in the area and fancy a quick bite, you are probably better off avoiding ‘Bar Boulud’ altogether.