Andrew Edmunds

Andrew Edmunds is a little, intimate, friendly, filling, unpretentious, fairly-priced, gem of a restaurant perfect for second dates, friendly catch-ups and small group gatherings. I love that the menu changes frequently, implying seasonality and freshness, and has plenty of hearty options. I ordered dressed crab followed by crab spaghetti to much merriment (but the guy next to me went for chicken parfait followed by poussin so he wasn't one to laugh). The first crab was delicious: fresh-tasting, delicate, a whiff of the seaside, with a delicious sharp sauce on the side (of which I would have liked a second dollop, but that's a minor niggle) and good value for a fully stuffed beast at £8.50. But I was sorely disappointed by my main as the chef had committed 2 cardinal pasta sins: firstly, the spaghetti was not al dente but cooked to a denture-friendly sogginess; secondly, some buffoon had broken the strands before throwing them in the pot thus making it impossible to twirl around a fork and shovel in to the mouth. A deliberate insult to the Italians (as any chef worth his salt knows the trick to cooking spaghetti whole), a sop to the terrible Brit habit of cutting up cooked spaghetti (not to be encouraged by the professionals!), or just a trainee error? There was also too much chilli oil for me but that, and the enormous portion size, would no doubt please others. Happily I have had other wonderful mains here (mostly meaty masterpieces) and this meal finished off with a delicious treacle tart which reminded me of school days, but in a good way. The long wine menu included a lovely Gewurtztraminer­/Riesling/Pinot blend which kept me happy too. Service was helpful and efficient as ever and the atmosphere its usual cosy self (although I would have liked to turn down the volume on the hedgie behind us). I look forward to finding another excuse to return to this place which feels blissfully “local” despite its central location.

If only there could be more places Andrew Edmund's in London! What a great place. The food is very good. Not Michelin Star good, but French countryside restaurant good. And then there is the wine. The owners have a special agreement to buy bin ends at a famous London merchant and pass the discounts on the guests. The result is without a shadow of a doubt the best value-per-drop wine list in the London. It is an absolute joy, really really great. All this is topped of with a romantic atmosphere and some of the kindest and most genuine service around. It is seldom that I such things but, it would be very difficult, if even possible to improve Andrew Edmunds.

Well I find myself in the slightly unusual position of not even getting to the restaurant before being completely annoyed! When I called up to make a reservation, I was bluntly told by a hoity toity lady that she couldn't possibly take my order as they were in the middle of the lunch service. Oh, and that I should call back later, when they're quieter. She may have said some other things, but by that point the phone handset was heading firmly towards the receiver.

Honey, it's great that you're busy, and I appreciate you don't have 4 pairs of hands, but what a great way to give a first impression of your establishment. An apology for not being able to take the reservation and taking my number for a call back would have been a great way to deal with that situation.

This is a Restaurant that pretentiously insists you book no more than a week in advance, rings you on the day to confirm your reservation, then when you rock up at the allotted time, tells you your table isn't ready. No apologies, no “have a complimentary drink to alleviate your inconvenience” more “just stand to one side until we tell you your table is ready”, which in itself was easier said than done, seeing as there was hardly any room to sit down at the cramped tables let alone stand up in the passageway for any length of time. Some would describe this place as cosy, intimate and romantic. I would describe it as uncomfortable noisy and claustrophobic.
When we were eventually allowed to sit down, the food was no less enthralling than their rude staff. Crab spaghetti that tasted of absolutely nothing, and steaks, though tender, had no flavour at all; one member of the party enjoyed their sea bass. Because of its location, this Restaurant doesn't care whether you come back or not, and sadly behaves accordingly.

Dark, cosy and romantic. It's a restaurant that wraps you up in a slightly sexy cuddle, like a beautiful older French lady wearing her lover's jumper. Imagine a ramshackle and quaint bistro, with disarmingly efficient and yet laid back staff, a wine list curated by someone with a keen eye for a bargain and fantastically fresh, unstuffy fare prepared from whatever the chef feels is best at the market that week. The menu is handwritten before being photocopied, the wine list changes weekly. Paper cloths, mis-matching furniture and spluttering wine bottle candlesticks certainly aren't contrived, but certainly won't help win them a star.

With such atmosphere, it's all we can do to stop ourselves ripping our clothes off then and there, but I didn't get the stomach I've got today by ignoring my basest food based desires at the exclusion of all others, so we dived into the menu instead. Firm fleshed smoked eel comes with beetroot chutney and horseradish cream, complex but perfectly balanced mix of sharp and milky smooth flavour and soft but crunchy texture. I also somewhat share my obliging guest's cauliflower and cumin fritters. A firm patty fried and served with a delicate raita.

The mains follow a similar rustic tack. There's nothing too challenging here, though the kitchen isn't afraid of a little nose to tail eating, when appropriate. A muscular and resolutely unthreatened hunk of fresh cod wearing a cape of herbs reclines royally on a bed of wilted spinach and tomato coated broad beans. It's not elegant, but my god does it taste good. And that's what little I managed to scavenge from under my guest's now watchful eyes.

An Angus beef shepherd's pie on the lunchtime menu didn't make it as far as the evening, I was smugly informed by our waiter it had wound up as the staff lunch. A shame, as I'd had my eye on it since walking past earlier and seeing it on the board outside. Um'ing and ah'ing between a seafood paella, heaving with langoustine and shellfish, and a lamb shank I was finally able to kick the menu Tourettes and dug into one of the best bits of throwaway lamb I can remember. Sinking into a quicksand of pureed potato, it bravely clung onto a thick branch of perfectly cooked cabbage. To no avail, I drowned it in a thick gamey gravy and slowly stripped the soft, succulent meat from the thick bone.

Sated, though with just enough room to share a treacle tart from the trencherman's list, the end of the excellent rose Sancerre turned my thoughts to matters romantic once more. We gazed at each other over the drippy candle and sighed… deeply… There's no doubt that the mood and the food provokes, but like Macbeth's porter and his wine, while it provokes the desire its sheer volume takes away any possibility of the performance.

Reservations are only taken a week out, which is useful to know, and I find the upstairs a (tiny) bit more pleasant than the seating downstairs. Just don't ask for my table, or I'll really have to kill you.

I have a system when I sit down in a restaurant. On being handed a menu I first look at the choices of main course. Based on that decision I then chose something complimentary to start and an appropriate drink. This system has served me well for the last 30 years. The only time it comes off the rails is on the very rare occasion that I can’t choose a main course.

This is what happened on my last visit to Andrew Edmunds. The choices on the daily menu on that particular day all sounded amazing. In a way I would have been happier if the staff had chosen at random and delivered their offering as a surprise.

In the end I opted for the scallops ceviche to start and the gnocchi for a main course with a beautiful and reasonable priced bottle of St Aubin. It was a delicious meal. I loved my starter; it was full of small scallops with mixed leaves and a refreshing sauce. Main course was just as good with a wonderful tomato and ricotta sauce. My only criticism of the entire night was that the base on my treacle tart was slightly (and I do mean slightly) too thick. I washed it down with the nicest bottle of Tokaji ever.

As for the service, well, it was as brilliant as the meal. I have been going to Andrew Edmunds since the early 90’s and it is consistently excellent. I can think of few London restaurants that can deliver this level of satisfaction.

The only central london restaurant I have in my contacts list. It is a great place that we have never been disappointed with.

Great for a romantic meal

This restaurant has clearly seen better days. The service when we visited at lunchtime was non existant and we would have walked out except that we were waiting for our host to arrive, who was paying. Upstairs is cramped and downstairs, where we were eventually seated, gloomy. We were curtly told the restaurant did n't serve soft drinks (i.e. coke or similar) and the coffee machine was out of order. The food was very so so and certainly nothing to get excited about. The waitress spilt drink over two of our guests and said nothing until prompted. All in all a very poor experience and I was glad I was n't paying.

I visited Andrew Edmunds for the first time last night with a friend. The restaurant was recommended by her boss who said that this is his ‘favourite resaturant in London’ so we went their with high expectations…we were not dissapointed!

We arrived at the restaurant 25 minutes late for our booking but the staff were not at all put out and quickly showed us to our table downstairs. It's a very small and intimate restaurant and has such a warm, cosy and homely feel and the smells coming out of the kitchen were fantastic.

We ordered a lovely bottle of 2008 Fleurie, the halloumi cheese starter and steak for main. The starter was absolutely gorgeous, so many flavours on the plate and they all complemented each other so well. The halloumi was devine – but I am a sucker for squeaky cheese! The steak was cooked perfectly, lovely and pink in the middle and served with a beautiful light peppercorn sauce – it could have done with a little more sauce but that's just my preferance. The steak came with a lovely mash and long stem brocolli which were both equally as good. We finished the night with a Neals Yard Cheese board and another glass of red wine.

Andrew Edmonds is a fantastic little restaurant that I will definitely be recommend to others and I will be visiting again very soon!