Le Gavroche

There are 70 staff in this restaurant, and 70 covers. I find it hard to believe that any customer in the history of Le Gav has struggled to catch the eye of a waiter – if there was a masterclass in Service then this is it.
The restaurant feels quite informal in a formal way and it is very easy to forget you are in a windowless basement when surrounded by artwork and flowers and gliding waitrers. There is nothing new I can add about Le Gavroche's cooking only that as a restaurant there is nothing in London with the same sense of occasion and theatre that Le Gavroche has consistently maintained through its life. I hope it never changes.

I always regret taking my boyfriend to restaurants.He is quite good with food and I have made the mistake of taking him to several of my favourite eateries only to have him a) say he could make it better and b) proving that he can.
So when we decided that I would take him to a nice restaurant for his birthday I was undoubtedly nervous. Our orginal plan was to go to the Fat Duck, but when I realised how much it would actually cost (we reckon about £500 for the 2 of us) I had to find a suitable alternative that wouldn't put me out on the street.
My flatmate had just been to Le Gavroche for lunch and she thourghly recommended it and when she told me it was £48 for a 3 course meal with half a bottle of wine, half a bottle of mineral water and coffee I was sold.
We went on what was possibly the wettest day in London for half a century and were quite soggy when we arrived. We were put at ease by the staff and as we descended to the dining room we passed Michel Roux Jr (though I didn't know it at the time) who politiely wished us a good day and hoped we had a nice meal.
The dining room is low, fairly dark and how you would imagine it to be. We are in our mid-20's and felt a little out of place amongst the rest of the high-society types that you would expect to be in a triple Michelin star restaurant on a Monday at lunchtime. The staff are a little cold and aloof as you expect them to be, but extremely professional and worth every part of the 12.5% service charge. The best part of the interior was the table funiture. All the cutlery were made with… More

I went to Le Gavroche last night for my 20th wedding anniversary. I was anticipating a wonderful experience and came away sorely disappointed. 2 rings of the doorbell were not enough but we were eventually spotted by a passing member of staff. An appetiser involving mutton ! Who eats mutton ? Yuk. My starter was £58.20 ! I have had better mousse from Tesco. The John Dory was good but very little in the way of companions in the dish save the odd tiny prawn or clam and stuffed pasta tubes I was so famished when I came home I had to have marmite on toast. The sweet arrived and halfway through they realised that they had forgotten to serve ice cream with it. I could go on but cant be bothered. £380 for 2 people and not an experience I am inclined to repeat. I find it astonishing that 4 waiters are required to serve every dish to 2 people.