Elliot's Café

I'm glad others have experienced the good service at this establishment, as it was missing when my friend and I dined here. Real shame as the food was good.

great location, the restaurant has a nice layout, with exposed brickwork. staff were very polite and knew there stuff. we were a group of 6 people, i had the muscles to start, were very good although quite a few were closed, perhaps chef should check at the pass next time. i had beef of the main menu, was very tasty but lucky i ordered a starter, it was very small portion. My sister had the chicken it was superb, we had to order bread to soak up the lovley juice ! Couple of annoying things the special which was rib eye on bone has sold out by 8 pm, this was not acceptable, who is doing the ordering! my friend had the only other special which was whole baked seabase which was total rare in the middle, it was sent back, but to be fair they handled it well and did not charge us and gave us free deserts which were good especially apple cruble with custard!. Overall it was good, would i return, probably not, dont get me wrong it was nice, but silly errors in the kitchen took the shine off slightly.

Everything about this restaurant is amazing. Had dinner there last night with friends and the service was outstanding. The waiters knew their menu in great detail and the quality of the food and drink was exceptional. Extremely good value too. The ambience is quite casual however I think it's very fitting for the area of Borough Market its in. Streets ahead of its neighbouring competitors.

I thought this place looked promising – popped in after work (about a 5 minute walk away) with my sister who'd come to London at short notice. It was very busy, but had space (unlike Brindisa and Applebee's nearby) for us. I loved the decor and atmosphere was very busy. Great place to hang out. In fact, to be honest it had the feel of Polpo, Polpetto etc etc about it. i.e. very NY, very relaxed.

Problem however, was the food. Felt compelled to try the French duck (the place seemed to specialise in steak and duck), which at over £23 was very disappointing. Nicely cooked pink, but totally underseasoned. We ordered a number of other plates (everything's really suitable for sharing). Aside from the chargrilled squid, I found everything well underseasoned. Has the chef even tried the food that's he/she's turned out? Slow cooked pork belly was nice, but not as good as I've had in other places (and not as good as when I've cooked it at home). Chips were good but no salt (and didn't appear to be any salt and pepper nearby to season them with) – think they might have been cooked in goose fat. Nothing that arrived was worth coming back for…so despite the excellent ambience, I won't be coming here again.

‘A little knowledge is a dangerous thing’ a wise man once said, but an even wiser man; Einstein A, said there is no knowledge without experience. It is with this in mind that lauding praise upon the virtues of this fine establishment potentially provides the barrier to entry, should the foodie masses elect to descend upon Stoney Street and thus hamper the availability of tables, good for the restaurant bad for this diner. It would be terribly glib to say that there is nothing not to like about Elliot's cafe but that was certainly my impression on my recent early evening visit, then again I didn't have to take a comfort break, so the facilities could have been awful, but unlikely. All very open plan, exposed brickwork, a communal table, encourages an intimacy and a friendly atmosphere, aided by the confident and welcoming staff. The daily changing menu is sourced from the provender’s of Borough market, I am assured, and the limited but interesting wine list covers bold choices and crowd pleasers admirably. The waitress showed a deft touch in interpreting some of the less obvious choices on the menu and certainly steered my companion and I to choices befitting appetite and palate. I began with the Squid & Black Spelt; the squid grilled not fried and the spelt, blackened by the squid ink had the consistency of a light but rustic risotto; a superb pairing. My chum tucked into the Mussels, chilli and Iberian ham, to which he had offered me a sample and I foolishly replied with a request to be left one at the end. Now either deaf ears (conveniently) or the overwhelming enjoyment of the dish prevented me from sampling a mollusc but I was rest assured that the flavours were well matched and that it was a dish straight out of the toppest of drawers in the tallboy. For the main course we both opted for the Beef Wing-rib with beets and horseradish, accompanied (on recommendation) with a side order / starter of the Cauliflower Fondue, dill pickle and onions. The beef was pink, well seasoned and the horseradish fresh and grated not in a creamy sauce. Also on the plate was some radicchio, a fitting yin of bitterness to the yang of the sweet beetroot. In the normal rules of Association Fondue Eating, a fine is levied against the perpetrator of a dropped piece of bread, meat or vegetable into the fondue pot, and as such someone in the kitchen will have to neck of shot of schnapps every time this dish is prepared, for the cauli comes already ‘fondued’, atop the pickle and onions. Rules aside this is a clever use of the ingredients and did stack up well against the beef. In a bid to keep the sugar intake down I passed on the pud, but took a piece of Beaufort, one of the two cheeses on offer, which was a generous helping accompanied by quince and oatcakes. M’colleague had other intentions and didn’t waiver from the warm chocolate cake with butterscotch sauce, nor did he offer a sample, enough said. Wine-wise; I cowardly didn’t plum for the Essex white despite enthusiastic coaching from our server, but an Austrian Riesling, which was excellent and we took the very reasonable Saint Emillion with the beef. It is worth noting that all bar a couple of the wines on offer are available by the glass. Another big positive, particularly dear to the heart and wallet of this writer; was the proclamation of “No bottled water. Filtered water is free” refreshing in every sense, particularly when you don’t have to ask for it. Others take note. So the food’s great, the service is great and the surroundings and atmosphere endearing. Will I be back, yes if I can get a table, if only to check out the loos!

What a find! Tucked in the corner behind Borough Market is this understated gem. The menu is fairly limited and so do not visit this restaurant if you are a fussy eater but it does mean that the produce is phenomenally fresh and seasonal. There are no frills and fancy sauces, just food simply but perfectly cooked with a menu produced by someone who has a real talent for balancing ingredients. And as for the service, there are many front of house staff at posh restaurants who could learn a lot from Elliot's staff. We asked for a recommendation of rose wine and the waitress admitted that she was not very familiar with the restaurant's rose wine, which I have to say I found very refereshing and perfectly acceptable. I would always prefer honesty over lies. But the impressive behaviour did not stop there. We, along with the staff, were then given two different rose wines to sample (free of charge) before we chose our favourite, meaning that we got to drink a delicious bottle of rose to our liking and the staff learned something extra about a couple of their wines. No bookings taken and so my top tip would be to get here early; by 7pm the restaurant was busy and humming.

Went to the opening night of Elliotts yesterday- amazing food and very good value. Loved the attention to detail- apple sorbets where you could almost taste the orchard, the in-house coffee alchemist and not to mention the delicious mains. I'll be back!