La Bouchée

I can only assume that the staff training mentioned in the last r review has happened because service was fautless..polite and charming. Inmarked contrast to overrated pits of indifference like St John. The food…oysters and steak hache was very good, as was a pichet of merlot.

A good and atmospheric place. I would go back like a shot.

The quality of the food is good but totally let down by the appalling customer service.
One of the very few occasions that i have refused to leave a tip.
I will not be returning and suggest the management invest in staff training.

I have visitted La Bouchee on several occasions, but never again. As a lunch spot it is OK, provied there are not many customers. The space is very limitted. Menu is over priced. You really will know every word spoken on the table next to you. The tables are so close together that it is near impossible to take your seat without disturbing adjacent customers. The food is generally well prepared and well presented, though generally over salted for my taste. The service is pretty tolerable as a norm. So why did it score so low? The last time I ate there the place was packed. One female customer started brushing her hair at the table (an American if you were wondering). The gentleman sat on the adjent table mid-way through his main course (that would be about 6 inches / 15 cm away) requested politely that she retire to the powder room to “groom”. A huge argument followed during which the manager re-seated the gentleman in another room and said not a word to the grooming female. Let's just say we did not order dessert and made a hastey retreat. I was only two tables away (approx a meter) and the hair brushing disgusted me to the extent that I did not eat further. Will never go back. With place like the excellent Racine a mere 5 minute walk away, serving better food in a similar price bracket, with a far superior wine list and delightful staff, why would you bother with La Bouchee?

I just read the other reviews on here and I could not recognise the restaurant they were describing. This Bistro is an absolute gem with charming staff and incredible food. The only fault I have ever had is once when they did not suffivient strain the fish soup so there were some minute shell particles left from the stock, on the upside it shows the quality of the fish soup! It is expensive however and I couldn't afford to eat here every week.

La Bouchee's food is second to none – I have tried various dishes over there and I can safely say it a piece of France in the heart of London.

In fact, the resturant is so good that all my70 year old uncle, who has a fatal disease, wanted upon leaving the hospital after receiving treatment wanted was to go and have lunch there.

We arrived at La Bouchee at nearly 2 pm, it was almost empty – my uncle wanted to sit away from the door as he wanted to be as warm as possible, so he picked a table at the corner but when it was too tight for him he asked for us to be moved to another table.

After sitting down, he realized that we were again opposite the door, which meant he would be cold again every time the door was opened or closed.

Luckily, a few minutes later the only other couple in the restaurant left and their table became vacant.

I called the waitress and asked her if we could kindly move to the table that just became vacant – to my shock, she rudely declined by saying ‘Uffft ! you just moved tables …’ heading towards the cashier counter.

Moments later, the guy who I believe was the head waitor or duty manager came to us and said ‘What is your problem?’.

I said ‘we asked to move to that table if possible’ – he said ‘well, you have to ask’.

I said ‘we did and we were told off by your colleague’… however, this is when he started interrupting me and raising his voice while saying 'you can't just move, the table is not ready and it could be reserved, don't you understand?' This is when my uncle said ‘sir, please… it is cold here and I have a bad knee’.

The waitor said ‘Well, that is not my problem’, this is when I snapped at him saying ‘look, first of all your colleague behaves rudely and now you are shouting on us, what kind of service is this, we are customers here!?’

Instead of apologizing the waiter said while waving his hand outwards ‘whatever…’ heading off.

A moment later, his colleague (the female waitress' comes back and says that the table is ready if we want to move there.

So, my uncle said ‘it is ok, we feel we are not welcomed here’

We headed off and had a fantastic meal at Rocca which was just on the other side of the street – the food may have not been as good as La Bouchee, but at least we were treated with respect.

Was expecting the restaurant to be a great venue for a Valentine's Day dinner. Instead we found the food to be very poor and as we were sitting near the entrance it felt like we were in the middle of Waterloo Station, with the door left open a lot and crowds of people around. The staff were clearly very stretched. As for the food, the French Onion Soup was burnt (and this was admitted to by the chef…does he ever taste the food before serving?). We were told that we wouldn't be charged for it, but we were and had no interest in haggling. The sauce for the Moules was extremely salty. The waiter said that of course they were as they were seafood! Ha Ha, unless you had to eat them! The head waitress admitted that there were sometimes batches of Moules that were more salty than others. Well I have never (in the UK, France or elsewhere) had anything so salty with Moules in my life before and i hope never again. The Lamb was clearly extremely old mutton and neede strong jaws to chew through. Luckily they couldn't do anything wrong with the prosecco. Altogether a very poor meal and i will not be returning.

Went here on a date and we had a wonderful time, the food and wine was amazing and the service was very attentive. The atmosphere is very quiet and cozy with candles everywhere, I definitely recommend for a date or small group of friends!