Bleeding Heart

Went there yesterday lunchtime: rainy autumn day. The cosy, warm, subterranean, low-ceilinged room is a great place to get away from the cold and rain, comes into its own when the weather is bad. I have been here quite a lot over the years, and in my view anyone who classifies this as a “bistro” is sadly mistaken, it is a proper restaurant, with proper restaurant prices and pretentions which, sadly, it failed to be reflected in the delivery. I do agree that the Tinity Hill wines (not at all cheap) are the best value, especially the Pinot Noir. I also like the atmosphere very much – discreet, quite smart, warm tones, the odd familiar face. The food, however, is ordinary and rather meanly portioned. The lamb rump was ok but undistinguished, and the same can be said of the foie gras terrine. Each was under-seasoned and the starter failed to taste of much at all. Worst though, was the service from a “faux French” waitress who had no delicacy of manner, plonked plates before us reaching over the middle of the table, what a joke ! No Bistro, let alone restaurant with a name to protect, should allow untrained waiting staff loose on customers expecting (and paying) for something a bit less at odds with the rest of what the place is trying to achieve. Seems to me, though I don't mean to be mean or unfair, that standards are slipping -whether through hubris or because times are tough, I just do not know. I would love to be wrong, though.

Don't be fooled by the Bleeding Heat, it's a French Bistro of average quality masquerading masterfully as "arguably the best French in the City. I would argue that It isn't.
I have been on two occasions, the first time I was unimpressed and to give it the benefit of doubt I went back and was again unimpressed.
The best thing about this place is not the overpriced food or the oppressive dining room or the braying drunk barristers occupying almost every table, it is in fact the history of how it got its name. Lady Hatton was torn limb from limb by a jealous lover in the courtyard with her heart still pumping ie Bleeding Heart. It’s a macabre and fascinating tale, it’s just a shame that they built a restaurant around it.

This really is a hidden gem and has quickly become one of my favourite restaurants in London. The restaurant , due to its many rooms, is perfect for any occasion from a romantic dinner to a business lunch.

The food is always of a high standard and has a broad menu to cover most tastes.
On this occasion I started with the scallops, perfectly cooked and displayed in the shell. For main I had beef cheeks in a red wine jus – tender and flavoursome.
The cheese board is as extensive as I have ever seen. My partner had the fondant. This means you will need to wait around 20 minutes as they are cooked to order but it is definitely worth the wait.

Service is attentive but not obtrusive and you are allowed to move at you own place.

If you haven’t been – go !!!

For a more casual experience try the bistro or tavern. They all deliver quality food in a great atmosphere.

My wife and I went to Friday night dinner – our first visit to this restaurant.

The previous reviews below are accurate in our view i.e

• the location is cosy and ideal for a chilly winter's evening
• the menu is attractive in its range and the wine list interesting (26% off their New Zealand Trinity Hill wines when we were there)
• the quality of the food was very good.
• we strongly recommend the Trinity Hill Homage Chardonnay 2002 which was well priced, with the 26% discount, at £75. Every bit as good as a high quality white burgundy
• the atmosphere was quite ‘buzzy’ as the restaurant was virtually full (as far as we could see) and the numerous small rooms makes it feel cosy
• and then there is the service! The best way of describing it is ‘quixotic’. It is informal and the multiple staff coming to our table were all very ‘French’. There were moments of confusion during the evening and some of the staff seemed uncertain about what they should be doing and service was not rapid but it was Ok given we were happy to have a leisurely dinner. Nevertheless the result was we had to stop sparking water being poured on top of tap water and visa versa, we had to ask for more bread and after a longish wait for our main course (whole seabass – delicious!) we were approached to be told we were being given an extra course because the chef had forgotten to put our seabass in the oven. We had some rather delicious scallops! We prefered the fact that they didn't try and ‘bullshit’ us about the delay and the offer of an extra course which came immediately was a good gesture.
  

Overall we felt the food quality was high, the location good, particularly for small groups of say 2 -4 people and the service acceptable but I wouldnt want to have the same experience again when we go there because it could get rather irritating!

We will try it again.

Just go, it is fabulous, intimate, amazing food and service and the cheese trolley is to die for. We have been going for years, on special occasions and it is always the perfect night out.

Having heard lots of good things about the Bleeding Heart, I was pleased to be able to visit it this week. The basement restaurant is quite a dark space with deep mahogany panelled interiors, so not ideal for summer days but your eyes soon get used to the light and I can imagine its a welcome cave in the winter months. It is without doubt the sort of eaterie where you go in and emerge several hours later having to loosen your braces and belt (for ladies suggest you wear slightly loose attire), heavily laden with delicious and fancily plated food and at least two bottles worth of good chablis or pinot noir.

Food is decidedly French and the menu is not wholly surprising given the cuisine, with all the favourite ingredients from goats cheese to fois gras. When going to a restaurant of this kind, I always find it silly to complain about trivialities as you are more often than not paying for the privilege and experience rather than a serious technical creation, however Bleeding Heart can maintain both with only a few discrepancies.

For those who want the dirt… the starter of goats cheese beignet and cherry tomato salad was quite average, in that there was only one tomato in it and the salad tasted like it wasn't completely washed, with the muddy nutty flavour still present. But it's a french restaurant , so that is ok because they are apparently the authority on cooking ;) . The scrumptious main of sauteed fillet of salmon with cauliflower puree and pea and mint vinegarette however was without fault, though did take some time to arrive and one diner had to wait five more minutes after we all got our dishes, which was a bit of a shame.

Overall a great place to go if your not fussed for time and you do see a glimpse of that famous French technical expertise in at least one dish if not all, not for fussy or particular diners though.

Had a business dinner at Bleeding Heart restaurant end April 09. I've been there several times in the past and always been very impressed with virtually every aspect of the place. As usual the place was nearly full, it seemed with similar groups of business types.

The atmosphere was good, if a little loud, as we were seated next to a table of 12. The downstairs setting is superb and really sets the scene for a great meal. It was a strange night for service, however. We arrived early at around 6.40 before the place filled up and no-one seemed to know who was serving us. We were asked by two different waitresses if we wanted an aperitif and then by a different 2 waitresses if we wanted water! At several times during the meal the waitresses misunderstood what we were asking for and we had to repeat ourselves several times. Despite this they seemed to speak decent English (they were all French) and maybe it was the loud atmosphere which was the problem. It's certainly better to be over-serviced than not to be able to catch a waiter's eye. So I'd give them the benefit of the doubt as they were friendly.

The menu looked impressive as always but the food, when it came was disappointing. Service was suprisingly quick (not necessarily a complaint and as I said we were ahead of the rush). My rabbit and fois gras boudin with green peas was bland and not particularly appetising to look at. Disappointing. My colleagues both had Goat’s Cheese Beignets on Confit Baby Fennel and Roast Cherry Tomato and seemed satisfied.

For mains, I had Assiette of Suckling Pig: Roast Loin, Confit Shoulder en Kromeski and Faggot with Potato Blinis. At £18.95 it was again disappointing. The confit was OK but very dry, the faggot was probably the best bit, although very small and the roast loin a bit tasteless. The potato blinis were very oniony and didn't go with the pork. I left most of it. My colleagues had the steak and were happy with their choices so maybe I just chose badly. However, the pig is supposed to be a signature dish of the house.

Happily the cheese board was up to its usually high standards – particularly the runny smelly cheeses!

The wine list was also to its usual high standard and we had a couple of bottles of very good Rhone.

So in summary a disappointing return to the Bleeding Heart. I wouldn't rush back but will give it another try at some point. Much prefer Cafe du Marche which is nearby on current form.

Have been to the restaurant many times in the passed and always loved it. However, I was there (group of 8) on Friday night (20 Feb) and it was bad (apart from the sommelier who was great).

We had a couple of vegetarians on our table who had ordered a veggie starter and the vegetarian risotto (i think the only vegetarian main course) so you would think that the staff might have an inkling that they were vegetarian…however, everyone was presented with an amuse bouche containing ham. This was just dropped in front of all without explanation as to what it was (as though we should be thankful to receive something gratis). Enquiries revealed it was a ham and cheese croquette so the 3 vegetarian servings were picked up and replaced with a leek and potato amuse bouche – guess that is something – they could have ended up with nothing (which I was half expecting).

I ordered the scallops which were not good due to grittiness (something not cleaned properly?), tasteless cream sauce and the miserly scallop portion – the scallop either suffered a birth defect and its growth was stunted or it was sectioned – cut horizontally into 4 small discs of about 1cm in height…a proper whole scallop is about 3cm in depth at least. Think that dish was about £10 – my guess is the raw ingredients would have cost less than £1 – now that is a rip-off!

For main course I had wild sea bass on a marinara risotto. My friend next to me asked the waiter what was in the marinara risotto (she doesn't like mussels and neither do i). Just prawns, was the answer, so we both ordered it. Very disappointing as the bed of risotto was more like the seafood mix you get at the supermarket with those tiny unidentifiable shrimps and mussels (yuk) etc. Anyway, the sea bass was topped in this tomato based stuff and then had breadcrumbs on top of that. Am not sure why you would ruin a good piece of fish with unnecessary additions – maybe to make the dish appear more plentiful? Anyway, it was not good – i think the price for that was just over £20 – i left more than half of it on the plate, although I wish now i had scrapped off the topping and finished off the fish…

Wasn't impressed with our waiters either – we had two main waiters, one male, the other female – both a bit on the arrogant side.

On the bright side, the cheese plate was good and so was the wine list.

Bottom line, this is far far far way from fine dining. At close to £80 per head, I was not happy. Never again, next time it will be chez bruce which never disappoints!

Last visited Jan 2009

The Bleeding Heart used to be a local of mine when I worked in the area so I have paid frequent, fairly lengthy visits to this place. Despite numerous visits however I am still totally confused by the number of eating experiences available. I believe I have eaten at various times in “The Restaurant”, “The Bistro”, “The Tavern” and had a drink in “The Bar”, however with so many different rooms and options available you may need to bear with me if I seem a little schizophrenic.

I'd like to start with the bad stuff as there's not much of it and it gets it out the way. My experience of the Tavern will not be repeated. It seems to be where the group bookings get put, the menu was limited, the atmosphere was lacking (nothing to do with the company I was keeping) and altogether disappointing having raved about the place earlier in the day (I hate to be shown up!) Needless to say I have not made a repeat visit so I can only hope that it has improved since.

Now with the good stuff. The bistro and restaurant are both fantastic. Although they are very different to each other they do share some things in common – the quality of the food is great, the menu's have led to much last minute mind-changing and food envy, the winelist is extensive and yummy but my favourite thing is the service. Not necessarily because it is slick, knowledgeable and very professional (which it is) but more because it is a perfect stereotype. Having had the specials whispered in my ear to share with the table and practically having knuckles rapped for daring to top up my own glass I love it for it's absolute french eccentricity. It definitely helps if you are a francophile.

The differences between the bistro and restaurant I would describe as being seasonal. The bistro is definitely my choice for summer when they open up into the courtyard, they also seem to have a slightly lighter menu. The restaurant however is definitely the place for the winter. The downstairs is dimly lit and very cosy with a rickety old trolley that serves as a fantastic cheese board. I have unfortunately never been here for a romatic dinner a deux (I would imagine if you must do Valentine's Day this might be a good choice) but I think given the extensive selection of venues there's something here that will suit any size of party or circumstance

In terms of the food itself I've never really had a bad choice but it is really the service that keeps me coming back even if it is for slightly comedic purposes.

Generally the restaurant offered everything promised in the various other reviews I had read. The setting, ambience, food and wine lists are all excellent. The sommelier did a professional job recommending wines in the price range I wanted and all five of us agreed it was a memorable dinner. It seems a shame to highlight any flaws but the combination of our waiter's personal hygeine and the complete lack of interest in providing our bill took some of the gloss off. That being said, Bleeding Heart will become my 'go-to' venue for a business dinner or rendez-vous.

Very good all round French bistro. The service is very good, which is quite something considering the staff are French. The food is very good and the wine list excellent, if a little French, perhaps not surprisingly!