Bread Street Kitchen

Gordon done good!

I absolutely love this restaurant. Been twice and the first time was for my fianc'e's birthday and we both absolutely loved everything we ordered. The staff are friendly and chirpy and nothing was too much trouble. The bar has a great atmosphere. Cannot recommend this restaurant enough! Try for yourself!

Visits to Hospital Road and Petrus prove Mr Ramsey knows how a good restaurant works. So the fact that the standards are so shoddy at Bread Street Kitchen I take to mean he doesn't give a damn and is just happy to fleece the rich city boys. Well he's certainly making a better job at taxing their bonus's than Messrs Osbourne and Cameron!!
Value for money this isn't and service is shoddy, albeit well meaning. They were under staffed (Mr Ramsey's margins I assume) and woefully undertrained! The food was OK and by way of balance the interior decorator has done a great job. Style over substance!

I went to Bread St Kitchen with a hint of optimism, and seeing the crowds I expected there must be something attracting them there. After dining there I can only expect they could not get a table at Barbecoa or a city-type too busy to find much better mid-high end eateries scattered across London.

The food to be fair was well-cooked, if lacking the wow factor or creativity of other establishments. It did not make up for probably the poorest service I have had at a restaurant of its range. We booked a table at 7.30 and arrived on time, but sat down at 8.10 after the staff seemingly forgot about us. What really took the biscuit was when they forgot about us again when prompted. Even after we were sat it took another twenty minutes for someone to take our wine order. I appreciate that the restaurant was busy, but my dinner at Fino the day after promptly reminded me what good service is even over a busy period and how much service with a smile adds to the dining experience. Some restaurants at least wait until they get a Michelin-star before their staff get arrogant. I can't help but think it confirms the view that Ramsey is stretching himself too thin.

We did make a comment to the manager about this, and were rewarded with an additional delay followed by a somewhat unapologetic goodbye.

All-in-all, not a place I will be returning to.

Our booking was at 8pm. On arrival we were given bread and we chose a bottle of wine. We then ordered and were told there was no burger, no chips and no cuttlefish. We were given litle time to review the menu again so our second choices were hastily picked. We should have been informed what wasn't on the menu in advance, not to discover when we'd chosen that such basics and simple staple as chips and burgers were off the menu. Our starters arrived and we had to remind the waiters we had ordered a bottle of wine. Our plates were removed when one of the group were still eating and generally the service was slow and on two occasions I had to get up and go to the front desk to get attention. When the bill finally arrived an extra bottle of wine was added on! Slow service, OK food, nice environment.

Have been here a number of times now for lunch. I tried to vary my food ordering away from the burger or steak this time. Started with the charcuterie, which was good, but difficult to get wrong. I then followed with the cuttlefish, which was nice if marginally overcooked. This restaurant does have a buzzy atmosphere but they really pack you in, it can sometimes feel you are almost sitting on your next door neighbours lap during lunch.

Gordon Ramsey has told us all (well at the least the hapless owner of the restaurant being that week’s Kitchen Nightmare) that good food, knowledgeable staff, and the right ambience is what makes a restaurant. Well, Dr. Ramsey, heal thyself.

Arriving at the shopping mall entrance of this impressive looking restaurant, we were intentionally half an hour before our table booking to meet our guests at the bar. Having ordered our drinks (Tanqueray gin and tonic, Peroni beer) the waitress came back waving the menu to ask which gin we wanted (err, still Tanqueray) and then came back again to tell us that they were sold out of Peroni. Drinks finally arrived but then further confusion as we tried to add our drinks to the meal (we had to open a credit card tab that would be transferred to the table)

At our table, the initial enthusiasm of the waitress clearly exhausted her as we didn’t see her again for 20 minutes. Still, this left time to mull over what is a very well balanced menu and wine list (even if the wine prices do move faster than usual towards the exorbitant). Looking around the restaurant we noted it was full (Saturday night, 8pm) however the comforting buzz of conversation that one would expect was lost to the bass note of the club music playing in the bar and, bizarrely, piped to the rest of the restaurant.

Food and wine order finally taken. Wine arrives (an accurately described and reasonably priced New Zealand Pinot Noir) with the bread. Things are looking up. Next the food: posh burgers cooked to perfection with equally satisfying sides. We toyed with buying dessert but the thought of the wait to order these coupled with the party feeling increasingly queasy as the bass note of the bar ran through us we decided to leave and get our next course elsewhere.

The now customary delay in spotting our waitress gave one last, long, chance to take in the impressive surroundings, cool décor and scale of the operation. No lack of ambition here.

Bill paid, coats and umbrellas found (I think by now you can guess how long this took), we left via the rather sorry looking street entrance.

Visited for a friend's birthday and overall pretty ok but I'd say it's not quite what I'd expect from a place bearing Gordon Ramsey's name. Thought long and hard about the score for the food and for me it's a 6 / 7 out of 10. Atmosphere wise the dining area is very impressive in terms of its decor. New York style art deco, very buzzy, spacious and as big as an aircraft hanger. The food for me was a mixed bag. Ordered a combo of things between the group. Pressed Chicken and Fois Grais terrine, delicious but for me maybe a little on the salty side. Prawn Cocktail was pretty good. Scallops also good but ruined by the fact they were gritty (not washed properly and a bit sandy?) – The Manager to his credit took it off the bill and mentioned something about the cooking process however we were not 100% convinced with the reasoning. Mains were veal (huge slab of meat), seared Tuna steaks and a combo of sides – chips and green. All of the food was competently cooked but none of it had the wow factor you'd expect from a Ramsey operation. I'm probably sticking my neck out but I would say the Tuna isn't as good as something you might get at a high st chain like Sophie's Steakhouse. I'd say the Tuna steaks were maybe even a little over seasoned. Service was however excellent as our waiter was kind enough to arrange a birthday dessert for my friend. Think I will give it another go but I will probably stick to Saturday nights to eat there as given it's location, it will probably be packed with City Boys flashing their cash during the week.

Went on a Wednesday evening for date night and pleasantly impressed by the whole experience of Bread Street Kitchen.

The decor is industrial and minimalist, and while the whole restaurant was busy, never felt cavernous and tinny. The many nooks and crannies seem to be able to accommodate the small and large tables, and the quiet and raucous parties. The views are not as spectacular as those across the way in another celebrity chef's meat project – Barbecoa looks out directly onto St Pauls, but the buzz of the room and obviously the wife's beauty and banter kept me from noticing too much.

The one fault we had with the service was that they brought the starters too soon before we had a chance to finish our cocktails – not the worst complaint to level at a restaurant. Apart from this our servers were courteous, knowledgeable and unnoticed when they were not required, but always on hand when needed.

I have knocked them down a bit on the food and drink. Actually, the food we ate was spectacular. My scallops were well cooked, and my rib eye needed a dull spoon to cut it rather than the steak knife they gave me. The wife's choice of terrine was tasty and pork belly was succulent. Side orders of chips were really good, but the macaroni cheese and honeyed carrots weren't far behind. The problem I have with the food is that apart from the sides, we weren't really struggling to choose what to have. We are not fussy eaters, enjoy meat or fish and willing to give anything a go, but the choice didn't have me salivating and asking our server for more time.

The drinks may have me coming back though. The wine list was sufficient – especially for by the glass as we were wanting to try a few different wines, but the cocktail list won the night for me. We had a couple to start off the night, and were too stuffed for dessert so tried their dessert cocktails instead. Their Espresso Martini did its job, but if you have a sweet tooth, the Bread Street Chocolate is a winner. More sugar than a MacDonald's bread bun, and a nice kick to boot.

All in all, really enjoyed our experience, but it won't have me running back too soon – not until I've got bored of Barbecoa…

I very much enjoy visiting Bread Street Kitchen.
It’s well located in a nice area in St Paul’s, the décor is minimal is interesting … I found myself constantly looking around at different aspects of the room; it’s lit perfectly, not too light and not too dark. The atmosphere is fabulous, it’s lively on a Friday night and gets very busy however this is something that you would only notice as you got up to leave, as whilst you are there you are certainly made to feel like you are the only guests!
The food comes very quickly and the staff are happy to make recommendations on request. I have tried a few different dishes and despite their fast arrival there has been no compromise on quality or flavor and it is always piping hot.
The price is excellent value for money, particularly as you are getting the type of service that you would expect in a more costly environment.
I would always recommend this restaurant as you are guaranteed great food, great service and a great atmosphere whether dining with colleagues, clients or friends/ family.

I'm not sure why I still get excited by another Gordon Ramsey venture, but next time I do, I'll remember Bread St Kitchen and that should dampen it. The decor is all industrial rafters with kitschy chandeliers which left me uninspired: it's inoffensive, but also a bit 'we've seen it all before', a bit of modern day Browns. The pretentious and pointless splitting of the menu into raw/hot kitchen/wood stone (which makes no difference to what you order) should have rung louder alarm bells. Service started off promising with lots of smiles and then descended into an abyss: despite there being an inordinate number of staff, it took half an hour for 2 glasses of wine to arrive for example; perhaps no surprise as no one particular waiter was assigned to the table so no one thought it was their responsibility to serve us. The food took the edge off: my pork belly with spiced apple sauce was delicious, but then London has been serving up this kind of stuff for 20 years so getting it right isn't that impressive any more. After 2 courses and a glass of wine, I left £56 worse off and disappointed. Although no doubt destined to become a favourite with suits looking for a cooler client lunch venue and for secretaries looking for after work pseudo classy pzazz, if you've got any imagination you should be able to find something better than this shopping mall housed let-down, even in The City.