One Blenheim Terrace

A little pricey but maybe the best food in London

Not exaggerating. If there's better food anywhere in London, terrific, I just haven't found it. Not in the most obvious of locations, and nothing inspiring from the outside, One Blenheim is just unbelievably good service and food with so many added touches (a little prosecco when you sit down, between-course mini snacks) that it makes the somewhat higher price worth it every time.

You will not be disappointed you came here.

We don't go to NW8 very often, but I'd seen the reviews and the photos of the food so thought we'd give it a try – it really was worth the trip.The restaurant is much smaller than we expected somehow, but with a pleasant conservatory and some tables outside it fills out. It's a nice mix of traditional space and smart contemporary styles, using slender leather covered chairs, bright orange banquettes, deep coloured walls, white tablecloths and Alessi cutlery. And some cool lamps that I've been thinking of getting for our current refurb but that's another story.

The menu sounds quite ordinary, but presentation is lovely and flavours really good. The amuse bouche was a mini fish finger sandwich, which kept us going which we chose the wine. We had textures of asparagus and scampi to start, and I loved the little pink striped paper bag with a langoustine peeking out, some fab fresh scampi inside and tartare sauce for dipping.

We wanted a red wine so went for meat for main courses – chicken Kiev came with a potato waffle and a mini pot of baked beans, said to be very tasty, and I had the beefburger “Rossini” on rosti with pan roasted foie gras. Wouldn't normally choose a burger for dinner but made from aged rib of beef it had appeal – rather rich but so good. Side dishes were new potatoes and green beans, which were fine. The wine list is fairly short but there's enough to choose from and we had a lovely Argentinian merlot.

We wouldn't normally have dessert after that lot, but because everything else had been so good we wanted to try something. We went for bramley apple tart with rum ice cream, lovely fine pastry, generous spiced apple and raisin filling, yummy ice cream. All good and it all went.

Service is very good, friendly and efficient without being too intrusive. There was one minor glitch, we weren't offered any bread, but we had plenty to eat and as the first courses came pretty quickly it wasn't a problem.

This was a great evening, it was really good value as it delivers food and an experience that matches much more pricey places yet is not at all stuffy, and we'll go again with friends next time.

REVIEW: One Blenheim Terrace, St Johns Wood
My first post – and WOW what a treat!

So I came across One Blenheim Terrace advertising an offer though the website Keynoir. Which i think was a great move as i had never heard of One Blenheim Terrace and will certainly be going back! The offer was for two, eight course tasting menus for a price of £45 for us both. While this was a fantastic deal they do offer other deals throughout the week. They have a Tuesday offering of a £25 set menu and Wednesdays flip a coin, where by correctly guessing which side will be left facing you can score yourself 50% off your bill (food only).

I arrived an hour before my booking but was kindly informed this was no problem and seated promptly. I was expecting the interior to be a bit more lavish, but the simplicity and clean layout matched its presentation of food. Elegant, yet no stuffiness and everyone looked as if they were enjoying themselves, looking from table to table as to the offering the person next to them was getting.

Another big treat was the menu, I had looked online before my visit knowing what to expect when I found out the morning on the way to the restaurant that they had just launched their new menu. I didn't know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. When the waitress handed me the menu I handed it back. I decided it would be great to sit through the meal not knowing what was coming next, which proved to be a good plan. The first out was a lovely, fresh, Bloody Mary Consume with fresh anchovy and a San Manzano tomato. It all worked perfectly with the tangy acidity and peppery finish. While normally the word Bloody Mary to me reminds me of a ‘not so good tasting’ hangover cure, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I forgot to mention, I opted on the Wine Flight which was being offered. It consisted of five wines which were paired with the five main parts to this menu and I'm guessing these had been carefully picked off their wine list by the Sommelier as they all went beautifully with the dishes. The second course that arrived was Golden Cross ashed goat’s cheese, beetroot and seasonal vegetables, the crushed nuts on top married beautifully adding a nice nutty complexity, the cheese being very fresh and smooth but not too overpowering. The wine served was a 2010 Pehhcora Pecorino, Italy.

The next dish that shot out was by far my favourite and put a real smile on my face! Smoked salmon in a beetroot macaroon, potted salmon and a lemon dressing. The sweetness of the macaroon worked so well with the salmon and the texture somewhat reminiscent of Pavlova, soft but slightly chewy. I could eat this dish all day.

Once the fourth course arrived I realised that all the dishes had a classic British stamp to them. Ed Shaerf Head Patron Chef at One Blenheim Terrace quoted this ‘All our menus bring classic dishes to centre stage again but with an imaginative new performance. We take classic dishes on British menus, strip them bare, re-imagine them and then re-present using only the best ingredients. We aim to achieve style with a bit of cheek and chic.’ I like that they have not gone too outlandish with the ‘twist’. The mussels in beer were fantastic, large and very meaty with a side of bread and beer. This was a complimented by a 2010 Picpoul, a dry white wine from France. I had trouble with one who didn't want to be eaten and instead covered my shirt in sauce. I then managed to spill a piece of every course there after! Tip-do not wear a white shirt if you’re as clumsy as me.

After all the seafood it was now time for some meat! Lamb & potato terrine, green beans and samphire mint gravy, it went really well with the 2009 Barbera. I did enjoy this dish but unfortunately, which made this course a slight haze and is the only criticism I can give, the dishes came out so fast after the other (as there were 8 courses) I found that I was having to gulp down my glasses of wine having ordered the wine flight, ready for the next course and wine, feeling slightly tipsy!

Desserts were great, I haven’t had a toasted marshmallow for years and it brought back some great memories of toasting them on the gas cooker when my mum was out and her coming back to a hob covered in sticky, burnt residue! Slightly too much chocolate for dipping the marshmallow but that was no problem, just scoop the rest of the 70% Valrhona chocolate sauce with a spoon. The Bakewell slice was also delicious, lovely, fresh and moist underneath with a delicious rich jam base, Cassis syrup and Cherry ripple Ice Cream. My partner seemed to have gotten a slightly dryer slice, not sure if it was cut from the end of the tray bake? It was still thoroughly enjoyed. I also found the Black Muscat wine that was served with desert a little too light for my liking and could of had a bit more body and sweetness. But maybe that is just my personal judgement.

The meal was finished off with coffee and petit fours (the truffles and shortbread with fresh jam were very Moorish) which was much needed to awake me from my slightly drunk state.

Overall I really enjoyed the food and would be very happy paying the full asking price next time I go. Service was immaculate, food delicious and apart from not having quite enough time to appreciate the wines I still really enjoyed them and thought they worked perfectly with the meal. Well done Blenheim Place and especially Ed Shaerf. I will be back!

8/10

I am thrilled this new restaurant has opened up in my neighbourhood but frankly I'd travel to eat here. I have been twice and already looking forward to the next visit. The food is top notch, the service easily matches it – the maitre d' is excellent, the decor is spot on too. The only worrying thing is that by posting this review – will I be able to get a table next time I want to go!

I went to One Blenheim Terrace on Saturday night with my boyfriend. We had a wonderful evening!! The restaurant was full and had a great atmosphere, very lively, just what you want on a saturday night!

The manager came over with the menus and explained any queries we had about the menu and the wine waiter helped us to chose the perfect bottle to accompany our meal. Even though the restaurant was full the staff still had plenty of time for us and nothing seemed to be too much trouble for them.

The food was superb! I had the salmon to start which was presented beautifully and the combination of flavours was amazing! For main i had the duck which again was lovely and we had a selection of sides, which i have since found out changes on a daily basis. The menu is small but perfectly formed and I cant wait to go back to try some more!

My partner and I are always looking to try new places and One Blenheim Terrace is a short walk from Queens Park, so we thought we'd go along and see if the food was as good as the pictures looked.

Whilst we were waiting for our table to be prepared we sat at the bar and had some rather unusual popcorn – I'm a big lobster fan, my partner isn't, but tried it anyway. I loved it, he preferred the black pepper and goats cheese. It was a fairly short wait, not long at all really.

I had smoked Salmon to start – which was amazing. It came out in a smoke filled klosh which I thought was going to be over powering but was divine, it gave an amazing oaky smell. Very theatrical and dramatic. My partner had the ‘Baked Potato’ which The Times had tweeted about. The potato consommé came out in a miniature glass tea pot which was quite quirky.

I normally opt for fish dishes for mains but decided to try something different and had the duck a l'orange. Wonderfully rich, well rounded flavours without the sugary taste you sometimes get, it really was done to perfection. My partner had liver and onions – what can I say opposites attract – well presented, smelt nice, but not enough to tempt me away from the duck.

Dessert really was something else – we both had the cucumber sandwich – what a delight! I'm not quite sure how to describe it… the cucumber sorbet was heavenly and the rest merely framed it, beautifully so I might add. I decided to go for this as I am a big fan of gin and they go perfectly together. My partner was impressed at the beer menu.

Overall I thought the staff were friendly enough and efficient. I don't like it when they are in your face and asking you if you are enjoying your meal after every bite so for the us the balance was just right – they weren't intrusive and we didn't have to wait for anything.

Price wise we thought it was good. We left feeling full and rather happy. We'd definitely go back and try more.

At last a decent local restaurant we thought – how wrong could you be!

We were attracted to try One Blenheim Terrace by the fact that it was local; it had a good chef and also provided an attractive Menu du Jour. We arrived at 7.00pm to an empty restaurant but were shown to a table and pre-dinner drinks were served. The menu and wine list were then presented to us, but it was the a la carte, so I asked for the Menu du Jour. That seemed to cause a problem though nothing was said to us, then the menu was brought and weirdly the wine list was taken away! However, we did manage to get the list returned and ordered a bottle of wine.

There was a choice of two starters, gnocchi with basil and tomato sauce and endive salad with pear and walnuts followed by either sea bass or chicken breast with girolles. We both ordered the salad followed by chicken. Our cutlery arrived for our starter, a fork and a spoon (surely for the gnocchi); the salad was ok but not exactly inspiring and would have benefitted from some dressing.

Then a peculiar thing happened, we were served risotto with a chicken skin crisp for our main! The gentleman in charge did ask whether everything was ok (I did eat the risotto and it was very good, but my husband barely touched his) and my husband said he was a little surprised to be served risotto as he had ordered chicken breast.

We were then told how they were not in fact serving the Menu du Jour, to which my husband suggested that perhaps we could have been told that in the first place; then we were offered a reduction in our bill and a glass of Prosecco, both of which we declined. That was another interesting idea we had witnessed; what appeared to be a regular ordered a Kir Royale, when she tasted it she queried whether it was ok only to be told “Ah! We are just experimenting with Prosecco”!

We wish Ed Shearf all the best with his badly-needed restaurant in this area, but honesty really is the best policy in restaurants!