Delfina

Recently (Dec 2011) went here for a works Christmas meal. The venue itself is large and well presented, if spartan. The food order had to be specified in advance from a menu, and place cards had been set with a diner's selection before the party arrived, which greatly speeded up ordering. The seats were extremely well spaced apart, which was a refreshing change to venues that cram the tables in as tightly as possible. This unusually generous space allowed plenty of room for side dishes, but this only served to emphasise the lack of consumables that were presented. Two pairs of two wine bottles (a red & a white) for a table over 30 feet long meant a bit of a stretch and three pairs would have made things easier.
The starter (shallot tart) was beautifully presented and delicious but somewhat small for the price. Two bites and it had gone, barely enough time to get into how it worked with the stilton dressing and the figs. A selection of breads were presented, but these were dry and unpalatable. The restaurant is only a ten minute walk from a degustibus, where they could have sourced a dozen loaves miles better than the ones on offer. Also, the butter pats were too cold – if the bread had been any fresher, it would have been un-spreadable.
The main course (a tagine and a chickpea dish with a minty raita) was, again, small and oddly served in three tiny bowls as if to say “never the twain shall meet”, which is exactly the opposite of how these dishes should be eaten. To top it all, the dishes were served on top of a napkin, so without disassembling the plate, you couldn't mix the cous-cous in with the other dish! I sampled the side dishes provided with other diners orders. The chips were enormous, if few in number, and great when dipped in the raita, but the brussels sprouts were flavourless and hard – I'd question just how fresh they actually were. The baby leaf salad, however, was fresh and mixed well. The mashed potato, on the other hand, was abysmal – grey, stodgy, over-mashed and lifeless. The waitress was hovering around nicely, topping up glasses as required and sorting out replacement bottles.
By dessert, things were looking up again. The cheesecake that I had was divine, and probably weighed more than the rest of the meal put together. The look of the other selections was good as well, though the chocolate boxes looked far too rich to eat. There was a slight slip up as to who got what dessert, but that was easily worked around.
The worst aspect of it all, for me, came with the coffee. As always, I ordered tea, which was delivered towards the end of a train of coffee. However no milk was supplied at that time. I waited for them to complete the handing out of the coffee, but still no milk. After that, it proved impossible to attract the attention of a server. Eventually I had to get up and go over to the gaggle of staff that were behind the reception desk, but by then my tea had brewed and my colleagues had finished their coffee and were preparing to settle the bill and leave. That kind of basic slip in serving is, in my humble opinion, unforgivable. It seemed as if whilst they could sell you a bottle of wine, they were all over you. Once the main race was over, they couldn't seem to care less and went about polishing glasses instead of attending to their customers. They certainly didn't rush to recover the coats they had taken away when we first sat down, leaving a group of us to wander away behind a sight screen to rummage amongst the coats for ourselves. I've honestly only ever seen less attentive service once and that was by an old battle axe who ran a roadside diner in Canada.
In summary, I found the food too variable in quality, too limited in quantity and the service barely adequate, especially given the bevy of staff they had on. I'm afraid that I couldn't ever recommend The Delphina to anyone else.
From reading the other reviews here, all I can suggest is that this venue is much better at dealing with smaller groups of people. We numbered 16, and that was, I think, a little too much for them.

Delfina is only open for dinner on Friday night so it was a bit worrying to arrive at 7.30 and find ourselves the only people in the place; but fortunately it did rapidly fill up and I understand why as its a bit of a hidden gem.

The room is very simple; plain wooden floors, white walls, high ceilings and simple tables and chairs. it feels spacious and it's so nice to go somewhere in London where you don't have to hear every word of the next tables conversation or be so close you could steal their bread if they turned their back.

The staff are great, all female and dressed head to toe in black, they put places who would charge double or triple as much to shame and know how to ensure everything happens quickly, efficiently and without any hassle, error or drama. The only negative is the way your wine gets poured; whether as an attempt to speed the ordering of a second bottle or not, glasses are filled almost to the brim and it's not cold enough, but that aside top marks.

Value is excellent, three people, three courses, wine, water, a glass of port with the cheese and service for £135 – bargain!

Food is a strong point, though desserts are less exciting that they sound on paper. I started with tea smoked mackerel, fennel jelly and confit tomatoes – the fennel jelly was curiously bland but otherwise a triumph and the other dinners both ate salmon which they proclaimed to be excellent. A main course of pancetta wrapped roast monkfish tails with samphire – really fresh taste – with a side order of some of what are amongst the best chips in London, golden, hot, crispy with a wonderfully fluffy centre – I could have eaten twice as many. This was followed by banana and praline parfait with caramelised banana and sesame crisp – sounds great but was bland and the sesame crisp wasn't crisp either. Other dinners in the party also reported their desserts to be the least satisfactory of the 3 courses. The wine list is also somewhat disappointing, lacking much that you'd want to drink and screw tops always give the impression of teenagers in parks.

To sum up – poor wine and desserts which aren't as good as they sound on paper, but very good service, generally good food, nice to have space, excellent value and I'd return just for the chips!

My husband and I visited Delfina last Friday. I only happened by this restaurant one day while in the area, and thought I would give it a try. The art on the walls was interesting, and the decor well-presented and not over-stuffy. What a hidden gem, I kept saying to him.
It was a warm evening, so we were able to dine in their Urban Garden, which was so cleverly decorated and felt really welcoming. A wonderful wine list to select from. I chose the scallops, my husband the asparagus tart for appetisers. Oh my goodness. … the scallops. Fresh as if we were sitting on the beach somewhere. I thought that pea puree would be too bland for them, but turned out to enhance their flavour even more. Absolutely loved them. I grabbed a bite of my husband's tart.. the asparagus was fresh and stood out.
For mains, he had the poisson chicken and I had the fish of the day — coley. I had never tried this fish, so I was looking forward. The dish did not disappoint. Simply served with an organic lemon… again… I would have closed my eyes and thought we were eating close to the water's edge. So fresh, so delicious. The chicken was good… my husband only allowed me one small bite in his attempt to keep it all to himself.
Dessert was a treat… husband had the strawberry cheesecake… an individual round biscuit crust with creamy cheesecake and strawberry ice cream on top. Again.. the theme was fresh. My chocolate cherry torte was decadent… a rich chocolate and cherry mousse surrounded with pieces of cake… it reminded me of those expensive cakes and tortes in Christmas catalogs that I always wanted as a kid. It came with a homemade blackcurrant sorbet… which matched perfectly and balanced the dark chocolate. Our friendly and prompt waiter paired the dessert wines nicely, and the end of the meal left us refreshed and ready for the weekend. We are definitely returning to Delfina!

Everything about Delfina's was spot on. The room decor(modern white washed gallery space! Very slick and spacious. Food was a revelation! Inventive, tasty and beautifuly presented! Each dish an artwork in it's own right(I still haven't been able to get out of my head how good that cheesecake was!). Service was also superb from start to finish! The staff were highly professional and friendly! Nothing seemed like hard work! Everytime my glass got low I'd turn around to see it miraculously topped off again! Nice! We left with a contented smile on our faces and 80 pounds less in the pocket which for London is extremely excellent value. We will definitely be back!

This has to be the most interesting, flavoursome and basically exciting meals I have ever had in this country, or on reflection anywhere. How this chef has not been lured away to greater pastures I don't know.
Delfina is based in an old Chocolate warehouse (clearly the reason I was lured there in the first place) and when you first read the menu it all sounds a bit mad.
But even thinking about it makes me hungry.
It will come under ‘Pan-Asian’ umberella, but there is so much more to it that it seems a shame to label this food.
You have to go to Delfina to experience it – but if you don't you are missing out on a hidden gem of delight.
Enjoy!