Koffmann's at The Berkeley

Why have I left this place somewhat underwhelmed, I acutally wondered. The food is of a good standard although not terribly exiting if you consider Koffmann being the one who brought haute cuisine to London all these years ago and has trained a whole raft of today's top chefs. Admittedly this is meant to be more top-end brasserie-style than haute cuisine but maybe it was just the expectations I had that left me a bit disappointed. Service is good but be aware that they have some rather awful tables at the top of the restaurant so get yourself a nicer table downstairs

Absolutely love this restaurant!!! I went there with my fiance and our families to celebrate our engagement. Since then, I have been to this restaurant at least once if not twice a week. The food is amazing, incredibly tasty, imaginative, with great ingredients and presented in the most special way. You absolutely have to try the pigs trotter at least once to see how special it looks! My favourite dish is squid bolognaise which can be made into a starter or a main. Usually I have it as a starter in the main portion as it is just that good. The atmosphere is relaxed, the service is great. I cannot recommend this restaurant more highly.

Those with long memories may recall the site at the corner of The Berkeley hotel as the Boxwood Café, part of Mr Ramsay’s culinary empire. Those with even longer memories might recall it as Vong. So, it’s perhaps with some trepidation, given restaurants don’t seem to last here, that I find myself reviewing Koffman’s, the latest venture from the man who used to in charge at La Tante Claire, now site of Mr Ramsay’s signature restaurant in Royal Hospital Road.

Pierre Koffman is a name to inspire foodies everywhere and the latest venture is a very nice addition to the fine dining restaurants in London, though at least unlike some similar establishments it doesn’t get lost in its own importance. Hotel based restaurants are always a bit of a risk, but at least this has a separate entrance and doesn’t really seem like part of the Berkeley, but I’d guess at least half its custom comes from the patrons round the corner.

It feels grown up inside; it’s not stark or particularly sexy, more a Mercedes than a Ferrari, lots of muted colours, nice white linen etc. On being seated you get a wonderful selection of bread, almost too much to get through, though we saw it as a challenge and did some serious munching, sampling the full range and it’s all really tasty – I liked the olive, but loved the croissant which came in a novel muffin shape. Food and wine ordered from the excellent staff we sat back and waited, but fortunately not for too long given, despite the bread, we were all hungry.

I started with the Coquillages, which is a light shellfish broth with langoustines and scallops – lots of really interesting flavours, but also a couple of slightly rubbery bits of shellfish amongst the otherwise perfectly cooked selection. I then followed this with Roasted monkfish with French bacon and baby leeks and hats off to them for the best monkfish I’ve ever eaten, big thick slices wrapped in bacon, with leeks, buttery carrot ribbons, lovely tasty fries and side orders to share of spinach and potato gratin. This was followed by the much vaunted Pistachio soufflé with pistachio ice-cream – sadly this wasn’t half as good as I expected; you know that funny, slightly waxy, taste you get with a mint Aero, that you can’t quite place, but know its not mint, well this was a bit like that. So overall the food was good, but rather let down by a couple of touches that you might have expected to be better.

Service was consistently excellent and all just worked.

Atmosphere was ok, but not fantastic; we went on a Thursday night at 7.30pm, so it should have been prime dining time, but despite this the restaurant was half empty and the music you could vaguely detect in the background was a curious sound like a 1940’s wartime broadcast that wasn’t quite tuned in properly.

Value for money was reasonable, 3 courses, water, wine and a dessert wine each, plus service, came to about £80 per head, which seems better than Scott’s and worse than Pollen Street Social.

I enjoyed it and hope it lasts long enough that I get to go again.

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 and 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 it 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 petits fours are works of art, the selection of fine spirits is overwhelmingly well stocked. And we haven't even started to talking 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.

Had a really nice meal at Koffman's. The coquillage broth was superb and the Grouse special was perfectly cooked. Desserts were OK; the chocolate mousse, whilst light could do with a bit more flavour and the pistachio souffle whilst being beautiful to look at tasted more of egg than pistachio! Wine was expensive but well chosen by the sommelier. I would have prefered it if the sommelier had not needed to check the wine list to see what he had though! Despite these niggles I had a great night and would recommend it.

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.

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.