Koffmann's at The Berkeley

Fantastic restaurant . I had matching wines with each course and they where beautiful.
The atmosphere is buzzy and relaxed, the staff are so friendly and lovely and the food speaks for itself.
I had the foie gras for starter with the beautiful home made breads ( olive bread and garlic brioche stood out to me )
Followed by the USA prime steak with peppercorn sauce , the steak fell apart – cooked to perfection .
Finally i had the pistachio soufflé – the icing on the already perfect cake ! Whatever you do don't leave without eating that soufflé !! Lovely little touches such as the sweet shop on the exit.
I sat down in the main area , very buzzy – for a more exclusive , lighter and brighter table. a lovely little corner at the top as well !
Enjoy !

What a great place! I have been to koffmans a few times… and always delivers. It is perhaps the best, or one of the best, lunch deals you can find in London. Both the quality and variety on the set menu were indeed really good. Plus you can have a carrafe of a very good wine that is good value for money. Today was perhaps half full,,,, which is a pity given the quality of what you get. Perfect for celebrations, closing deals and lazy lunches with friends.

The food at Monsieur Koffmann's is very, very, good. The service too, as you would expect. And yet there is a twist: it is just that little bit less stuffy than, that little bit less complicated than the haute cuisine offerings in town. And all the better for it. Don't get me wrong. It is very civilised. The dining room is slightly muted for my taste, but to works. However, having said that some “complications” of fine dining have been removed, they replaced partly by charm, and partly by subtle but fantastic details. The bread is home made and probably the best in London. The peits fours are works of art, the selection of fine spirits is overwhemingly well stocked. And we haven't even started to talk about the cheese trolley… It's great that Monsieur Koffmann is back and let's hope he'll be with us for a few years to come.

We went there last night for my husband's birthday. There were 7 of us there. They gave us a very good table with a view to the kitchen where we could see chef Kuffmann at work. The staff were very attentive and nice. Specially the young lady who was looking after us with a smile through outt the time we were there.
We all enjoyed our starter, particularly the lovely foie gras & the mallard pie. Two of us had Pig's totter stuffed with sweetbreads & morels for our main meal which was extremely nice. All the desrets & in particular pistachio souffle were wonderful.
Overall we had a very enjoyable evening thanks to the welcoming & warm staff & look forward to go there again.

I love this restaurant. The food is simply wonderful and, in my opinion, superior to Dinner across the road. It's not cheap but it's Koffmann, one of the world's legendary chefs so hardly a surprise. Lovely pissaladiere as an amuse bouche through squid bolognaise (really!), a perfectly cooked halibut, good wine list and charming staff who never try to up sell.

We had a fantastic dining experience here. I took my mum for her birthday and they treated her like a queen. The service was warm, attentive, prompt and professional. The food was divine. The highlight was undoubtedly the seafood soup, which apart from being a taste revelation was presented in a dramatic spider crab shell. The place was quiet when we arrived (for an early sitting) but the atmosphere improved as more diners arrived. It benefits from proximity to the Blue Bar, which made a lovely venue for a pre-prandial cocktail.

Memorable dining experience! Took my boyfriend for his birthday and we were shown exceptional service and made to feel like kings. Beautiful understated yet elegant dining space, although seated in the centre the space still has a feeling of privacy and warmth with muted, soft green interior. Service was charming, friendly and the sommelier was helpful without being condescending (as some places are apt to be in terms of recommending greatly expensive bottles of wine) A complimentary course of seafood bolognese was unique and delicious… exclamations of “why hasn't this been done before?”, ribbons of calamari and a rich yet light seafood bolognese sauce. Signature dishes were expectedly impressive. Large meaty scallops with squid ink were quite possibly the best we'd ever had, lobster bisque full bodied and mouthwatering. The pigs trotter stuffed with sweetbreads, reached new depths of richness (for those that can handle it, and those that can't a couple of mouthfuls perfectly satisfied every taste bud) the pistachio souffle was a fragrant cloud of heaven and a must order dessert. Personalized menus and an apron from Signor Koffman himself completed a very special birthday evening.

Definitely recommend Koffmans to anyone who loves french cuisine. Embrace the richness and enjoy every moment of your dining experience.

OK we have all been there. Anyone who has sampled so-called fine dining in one of London’s top Mayfair establishments has seen it all before: the recognisable celebrity who receives star treatment; the lesser-known but clearly wealthy patron who can evoke sickening sycophancy from their favourite waiter with a knowing nod in return for a healthy and regenerative tip. But what I cannot accept is the service I received at Koffman’s last night.
Firstly, let me set the scene. I have not visited this establishment since it arose from the Boxwood Café ashes under the auspices of Pierre Koffman, and I perhaps wrongly assumed that it may be in the process of building a new loyal client base. On arrival my dining partner and I were greeted by a rather surly front of house female who informed us that although there was no booking in our name, she would gladly accommodate us. (I shall gloss over her rather sheepish response to being shown the email confirmation on my BlackBerry sent two days earlier.)
And so, to table. The welcome was convivial enough; one Hendrick’s and tonic and one Pousse Rapier delivered without unnecessary aplomb. My partner was in four minds about her choice of main, but our waiter duly quashed her quandary with the suggestion of a ribeye steak – not because it balanced well with her choice of starter, but simply because apparently he preferred steak.
Starters were served: my black pudding with apple was acceptable if a little under-seasoned; my guest’s snails with mushroom and mashed potato proved in hindsight to be the highlight of the meal. Upon the delayed clearance of our plates I pointed out that I had still not been offered a wine list. Eventually the wine I selected was brought to table – oddly by the previously-inconspicuous sommelier who showed neither appreciation nor disdain for an Alzipratu Rose I had chosen in lieu of the cognoscenti to span the gap between the Dover Sole and Calf’s Liver we had chosen for main courses .
But the real crux is this: my dining partner and I were unfortunate enough to be seated in a quiet alcove adjacent to a table of three guests which, for whatever reason, seemed to maintain the attention of the management and waiting staff throughout. At one point a posse of four staff engaged the three diners in a plethora of conversations about genealogy, viniculture, and linguistics, whilst we sat wondering if our table would ever be cleared, never mind crumbed.
I have no doubt the attention was well rewarded at the end of the evening, but sadly not by me. After voicing my dissatisfaction, the approach of the management changed immeasurably. However I have always been an old fashioned Mayfair diner: no service equals no service charge.
Here is a message for the management and staff at Koffman’s: beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Egomaniacs will always return for further massage; but new patrons and potential advocates will not. Unless you can absorb the pseudo-Orwellian concept that all diners are equal, you can continue to finish the quote alone.

What more to say when the food comes from Pierre Koffman ! The pig trotters are excellent , to follow with a souffle !

Taking over the old Boxwood Cafe site wasn't a particularly challenging return for Pierre Koffmann, doyen of 80's expense account cooking and London's first holder of three Michelin stars. The site has hardly changed since Ramsay's departure, still a library-like space of silk and grey. The hushed reverential surrounds feel fitting for the former owner of Tante Claire and darling of the nascent gourmet restaurant scene, but it feels at odds with his gutsy French cuisine.

If you do go to Koffmann's, and go I think you should, then their £22 three course lunch menu is available all week and is very good value, though you don't get to try the unctuous pig's trotters stuffed with mushroom and sweetbread that made Chef Koffmann's reputation. This is worth a trip of its own.

I ate on a Saturday night and had a reservation at 9.30 arrived 15 mins early and asked to go to the table but was told it wasn't ready so i went to the bar ordered wine and perused the restaurant. i noticed 2 tables empty and was ok till 20 mins later I was led to one of those tables.This is so annoying in restaurants. The service from then on was good although the sommeliers need to be more in tune with one another as they contradicted each other on my enquiry about the wine.The food was excellant the snails for starter,pigs trotter main and soufle dessert were all excellant signature dishes cooked precisely and flavoursome.
Apart from the service the only other drawback is the room itself ,It has no natural light is bland in design and my table shook every time a tube went undrneath us !!! Overall worth a visit because the food is very good

Food quality was certainly good and the wine line list offered some interesting affordable options. Service was a bit of a let down for us though (partly a function of sitting in an actually quite nice secluded side room off the main dining area).

First up, let me make a confession; I'm an enormous fan of Pierre Koffman. Not in a stalking, Richard Ramirez kind of way, but I do have a signed menu from the original Tante Claire framed and hanging in my kitchen.

Like the bone marrow with parsley salad at St John, I've never before managed to avoid the pigs trotter with sweatbreads and morrels when visiting a PK restaurant. I've tried it at Tante Claire in both Royal Hospital Road and at the Berkley, as well as last year at the Koffman pop-up place at Selfridges. Here though, I thought I'd try something else. Fortunately, the amuse bouche was pigs trotter with young leaves, so my strike rate of always having trotter at a Koffman restaurant is intact.

The room is a downstairs affair, all beige and trendy pastels, but light and airy, with a gentle hum, rather than a loud buzz. Decor consists of collections of old milk bottles and jam jars, stuffed with dead leaves, as though somebody popped out that morning to Hyde Park and picked up bits and bobs lying around. Were I to criticise, however, it wouldn't be these elements of the decor, but what is missing: the way that French brasseries make the room seem bigger, as well as allowing the gentlemen sitting on the outside of tables lining the walls to see what's going on in the room, is to hang room-long mirrors. Cafe Luc has done this to good effect recently. It would seem obvious to do it here. Instead, if you're sitting on the outside of the tables lining the walls, you look at the beige, vaguely flocked wallpaper. Not unpleasant, but not inspiring.

There's a partially open kitchen too; I couldn't see in (as I was facing the flock), but I don't believe that the great man was there: the report back from my companion was of young men, none of whom had beards.

Bread tasted freshly baked, and our choice was a bacon and onion fougasse, a tomato and a crunchy brown, all of which were lovely. Water was offered, but then not topped up, which sort of summed up the service; it was very friendly and, when we arrived, very attentive. Once the mains had been cleared, however, it took 45 minutes to get the desert list, and only then because we asked for it. Nobody came to take the desert order, so we had to flag somebody down for that too. When the deserts came, they got one of them wrong. Quickly fixed, but a little sloppy for a top joint like this.

Anyone who reads any of the other comments I've made on brasseries, will know my love of fish soup. So I had to try it here. It was lovely; not as thick as some I've had, but with a lovely fishy/saffron taste, with thick, garlicky roulade and grated gruyere. This is what fish soup should be. My companion had the mackerel terrine. This came wrapped in cucumber, with lots of little bits (caramelised bread, red currents, a caperberry on some apple mush), that were maybe a little too much.

Having eschewed the pigs trotter, I went for the rabbit with mustard and lovely it was too; not done with a creamy, mustardy sauce, as I'd imagined, but with a light, grain mustard jus. This too comes with lots of bits, like artichoke, broad beans, baby leek and tomatoes, but they all added rather than overwhelming. My companion had the cod, nicely rich and moist with a crunchy top, chorizio and butter beans.

Desert, when they got them right, was a super rich chocolate mousse and the Île flottant. The latter was a gorgeous, lightly poached meringue atop a honeycomb crunch (think crunchy bar) and a lovely creme anglaise (ok, vanilla custard). The only downside was that it was slathered in caramel, that was just too sweet for the whole. It was so sweet, in fact, that it made the monbazillac that I had with it seem dry in comparison.

Talking of wine, the shortish list is excellent, with a good selection by the glass or carafe. The vast majority on the list are under £75 and only a few, silly trophy wines to show that this is a big hotel in Knightsbridge, although the surly French sommelier did his best to remind us of this.

Overall, I was slightly surprised at the size of the bill (considering that our bottle of wine was a mere £29, although the two glasses of champagne did come to more than this on their own), but it is Knightsbridge, so hardly unexpected.

Finally, a word about the table next to us: a family, mum, dad and three kids, I'd guess 5, 7 and maybe 11? Tables are close, but not so close as to be annoying. Anyway, the eldest boy had the famous pigs trotter. There is too much talk these days of the young only being interest in McDonalds and turkey twizzlers, and the death of this country's epicurean culture. I don't know who you are young man, but I salute you.

There has been a lot of talk recently about Boulud and Koffman going head to head in brasseries in Knightsbridge hotels. On the evidence of my recent trips to them both, there is only one winner; PK by a country mile.

Quick review for a Saturday lunch. Overall I think the general sense of “underwhelmed-ness” that has greeted the re-emergence of the eminent Koffmann is correct. Absolutely nothing wrong with the food or service but the venue is dull. We both had the pre-fixe and it's a great value meal. A neat salad with generous shaves of foie grois, a perfectly acceptable duck confit, solid cheese selection and soporific floating islands made this all very pleasant but its all, sorry to say, forgettable. Would be more than happy to be taken there but unlikely to return under my own steam. Which is a shame.

I have been twice now to Koffmann's since it has opened. Once for dinner and once to try their set lunch on Sunday. Unfortunately, on Sunday we never actually got to ordering as we had to leave because the service was just so bizarre.

Every critic under the sun has given this place rave reviews. The food was superb when I came for dinner the week before and the infamous pigs trotter and mustard rabbit was good.

However, this review today is more about the service and bizarre attitude that seems to exist amongst the staff.

Both times I have been, I have been made to wait for my table at the bar, despite the fact that each time we were led to our table, it had been empty for the duration that we were at the bar. It was also the case that both times there were a number of tables that were empty that we could have sat at, but it seems that they want to make people wait for the privilege of sitting at a table.

On our Sunday lunch trip, when we checked in with at the front reception, we were told that as we were ten minutes early our table was not ready. I politely enquired as to whether there were any other tables. We were informed that we could sit on our own on the mezzanine level, no thanks, or we would have to wait for ten minutes for our table, Sitting at the bar, I could see a few tables for two that were vacant and surprise the ohe we were led to 12 minutes later was our table. We were given a menu at the bar which stated 3 courses for £22.50. We were then given different menus at the table that said 3 course for £26.00?? A quick decision to up the prices because we didnt order a drink at the bar?

We were then informed that the chicken from the set menu had sold out. So1 out of the 3 mains from the set menu was not available. Slightly annoying so we asked what they would supplement in its place where we were promptly told that they would not be replacing it with anything.

We decided to leave at this point and on our way out, we were asked by the same member of staff who originally greeted us whether there was a problem. Yes was the answer – the fact we had to wait for 10 minutes at the bar to sit at our table that was ready from the outset, the fact we were given menus with different prices on and the fact that your manager was not willing to supplement the chicken for anything. Her response was that we turned up early and our policy is not to seat people until their allocated reservation time. However, she was happy to seat us at another table before our reservation time but not one in the main restaurant.

I find this sort of management / behaviour most bizzare. I hope Mr Koffmann is aware that his front of house team are making dining at his establishment a real misery. He is lucky the food does the talking.

After almost a decade of absence, Pierre Koffmann is at last back with a new restaurant. A brief appearance at the helm of a hugely successful pop-up restaurant at Selfridges last Autumn sent bloggers and writers into a frenzy, cementing the public's desire to see Koffmann back in the kitchen. The man is a legend and has set tongues wagging with his recent re-emergence on the London restaurant scene, at the same location that previously housed the second incarnation of ‘La Tante Claire’, The Berkeley Hotel, SW1.

This time around, cooking is less ostentatious and more condusive to the hearty traditions of Koffman's Gascon heritage. Good old fashioned rustic cookery, no pomp or fanfare, instead bold dishes that remain unapologetically simple… the kind of food that sticks to your ribs and warms your insides. Comfort food, like no other. The menu is peppered with classic Koffman dishes like scallops with squid ink, pigs trotters stuffed with sweetbreads and morel mushrooms as well as the infamous pistachio souffle. My starter of cassoulet of escargot and girolles with mashed potato was served in a miniature Le Creuset pot complete with a thin garlic croute. The escargots had a wonderfully smokey taste and without the usual lashings of garlic butter, it made it possible to actually taste them and they were superb. A bite of my friends scallop with squid ink starter served up a contrast of delicate white scallop, soft and sweet with a jet black slick of glossy squid ink.

A mini portion of the pig's trotter was served to us as a special course courtesy of Pierre Koffman and admittedly although I would never have chosen this dish, it was absolutely delicious and incredibly delicate and perfumed with morels. My main course of rump of lamb with couscous came sliced and cooked to medium-rare perfection. Glistening with meaty juices and every mouthful wonderfully succulent and tender. The coucous accompaniment spiced with middle-eastern flavours, was a tad heavy on the cinnamon and cumin but nothing I couldn't handle. My companion chose calf's liver ‘Lyonnaise’ . The liver, served in manageable slices was outstanding with a crispy shard of salty bacon against creamy mashed potatoes laced with butter. A mini fry-basket of golden frites wrapped in this week's ‘Le Monde’ newspaper looked out of place on the table, but proved to be a welcome treat with crispy, salty fries that you only wish McDonalds could produce!

Dessert had to be the pistachio souffle and the dark chocolate mousse. There is not much you can say about Koffman's pistachio souffle that hasn't already been said… But ‘glorious’ would be a pretty apt term to describe the feather light pale green souffle that receives a spoonful of ice cream through the centre as its served. My chocolate mousse was the stuff of legends, not tainted with unecessary harsh liquor, just sinfully rich and devillishly good.

The average starter at Koffman's is priced at around £8-10 with main courses from £17 and desserts from £7, which represents the value that we all need in belt-tightening times like these. Knightsbridge is quickly becoming THE destination for consummate foodies with Gordon Ramsay's Petrus around the corner, Marcus Wareing also residing at The Berkeley and Daniel Boulud's ‘Bar Boulud’ already open at The Mandarin Oriental and Heston Blumenthal soon to arrive at the same site, competition has never been so intense. But Pierre Koffmann is a silent hero, shunning the limelight in favour of the familiar heat of the stoves, demonstrating the same exceptional technique and skill that made him the legend he is today. His reign over London will no doubt secure him a place alongside culinary greats such greats as Bocuse and Escoffier.

Is it possible that we have at last receded to the glory days of restaurants where Chefs were in their kitchens, where book deals and TV shows were not the priority and where eating out was about experiencing good, honest cooking at justifiable prices? Let's hope so. If predictions are to be believed, Koffmann's is set to become the darling of the London restaurant scene so I would book whilst you still have the chance!