Elena's L'Etoile

This really was comically bad in some aspects it made the decidly average food the high point of the evening.

I arrived for my 31st birthday, the maitre d barely looked at us, the waiter broke a wine glass but failed to clear it up, leaving us cleaning specks of glass away from our cutlery and from our water glasses.

We were then asked four times if we were ready to order. Admittedly we took some time to choose, but four times?? Maybe when the waiter knocked my girlfriend in the head with a tray serving the table next to us it was some method of hurrying us along.

Scallops were small & overpriced, my lamb was dry and poorly presented, no better than I can knock up at home for half the price. My better half called her also dry guinea fowl ‘aeroplane food’. I cannot believe they can charge over £20 a plate for this.

Coffee arrived after reminding the waiter twice, and the service charge was begrudgingly removed – the first time we have ever felt strongly enough to request this. A family next to me also were also compaining to each other about the service so I feel the criticism is justifiable.

I feel ashamed that the tourists next to us will go back to Norway and bemoan London restaurants, because the majority I eat in are excellent. However this place should be singled out for criticism. I picked it out based on Square Meals ‘best for romance’ category. They are sadly wrong.

After spending a day at the Chelsea Flower show May 2008, my good friends met me and took me to Etoile.
This was a resturant they had visited several times before, but not for a while. But they felt it was the right one for our evening. We all wanted a relaxed eveing, where we could enjoy the conversation, good food, good wine and discrete service – so it would be a memorable treat, as it had been a long time since we'd been altogether.

Etoile's proved to deliver just what we wanted. Friendly, cosy, interesting, attentive without being intrusive and each dish was excellent. Each of us ordered very different dishes for each course. Each of us know what we like, we are fussy and know when the food, wine and service is right. We enjoyed ourselves. We concluded that Etoiles was the right choice, the food was good and tasted as it should, they were classic dishes and no one apologised that they were classic, as opposed to trendy. So we shall return, next time we are all in London.