Odette's

We (two of us) went for dinner at Odette's on Friday the 3rd of June 2011. Having been to this restaurant before, well, couple of years back, when it had just started under new ownership of Bryn Williams, we had a pleasant experience and the restaurant provided us that feeling of eating there again. The ambience hadnt changed, we discovered that there is a small garden tucked in at the basement although it wasnt in a good condition. We started our evening with x2 cocktails, Negrano – a gin and martini based concoction and Bellini. Both the drinks were fairly staple drinks but they costed us a ridiculously expensive £9.50/- a glass. For the starters, we had crab lasgane and scallops. The scallops were succulent and nice but not delicious. I thought the crab lasagne didnt taste like crab to start with and it tasted of cheese although the sauce accompanying the crab dish in the middle compensated the taste a liitle but definately didnt deliver overall. We chose a New Zealand, Marlbourough, Sauvinon Blanc to accompany our meal, hand on heart, the wine menu is too expensive for the repertoire it boasted of. For example, there were wines on the menu I had before, and one of them in particular would have costed in mid-£20s in other Central London restaurants, was priced at £41/-!! The wine we had wasnt spectacular either but it carried a high price tag. Coming back to the main course, well, less I talk about it, better it is because we did not like our main courses at all! I had the Sea Trout which tasted bland, raw in the middle, presentation was poor and I thought the catch wasnt fresh. My friend had a Halibut which was slightly better than the Trout but again the dish did not deliver on taste. In between the meals, the chef sent through a complimentary sample of soup (waiter didnt know what it was! but) which tasted absolutely fantastic and we thought that would be the standard for the evening to follow but aghast we were hugely disappointed. We will not visit again as the standard seems to have gone down but the prices have gone up from as if they were low in the first place! because it wasnt…

My wife and I were curious to try Odettes in its new icarnation under the ownership of Bryn Williams. I had never really rated it when it was the haunt of the denizens of the “World of Advertising” (a number of whom had over the years taken me there to show how big a bill they could write off on expenses). We went with a couple of friends visiting London from San Clemente (Nixon territory for those that remember). We had a very enjoyable evening, but I have been left with the feeling that this is a work in progress rather than the finished article. I feel I need to justify this conclusion. Good points: The food itself was very serious – I eat out a lot, and all over the place, but this was imaginative cooking with unusual pairings of flavours, the odd flight of eccentric individuality (Assiette de Porc or Pig's Head – not for the faint hearted), very well executed and stylishly presented. My starter of miniscule pieces of raw tuna on confit tomato served with a concentrated beetroot nage was a feast on the palate. The main course of Turbot pan fried to absolute perfection with crispy, almost caramelised pieces of oxtail with cockles was… well, I loved it. Our friends ordered mushroom soup – sounds uninspiring ? The actual soup looked really wonderful (especially in the way it was served) and I am told tasted original and great. My wife's Quail's egg starter was, by comparison, more a triumph of style over substance. However, all the main courses drew huge praise (the lamb was perfectly executed, the salmon looked equally good, as did the halibut). Less Good Points: The Wine List seems to me to be overpriced: I love certain Portuguese reds, and there are four levels of Quinta do Crasto available if you look for them, the entry level one is fine and not expensive to buy: it deserved a place on the list, but not at £28. I don't really like Montepulicano D'Abruzzo and £24 seems too high a price for such an undistinguished wine. We chose the Trinity Hill Syrah at £28 (what can I tell you, I look for value when I buy wine in restaurants). I think that the Bleeding Heart charges less for this wine ( I tried to check, but the website has no specific wines listed) and other Trinity Hill wines (which are very enjoyable). In my view, all restaurants should have at least one “house wine” which represents good value for those that aren't looking to impress or to spend what is left of pre-crunch bonuses. Another minor gripe is that our glasses were over-filled though I did not get the impression that this was out of the usual attempt to get us to order another bottle (which we did anyway). I was also minorly irritated by the person who “welcomed” us to the restaurant abandoning us temporarily to do other things because my friend was taking too long to take off his coat – either you are serving a customer and stick with it, or you are not. You cannot half-serve. So, there you have it: Primrose Hill – lovely. Setting of the restaurant – comfortable, elegant. Food – loved it. Wines – could do better at the “value” end. Service – work in progress. This restaurant could be great !

Bryn Williams is a masterful chef with a talent for combining flavours and textures. The dishes are skillfully assembled and beautifully presented. The restaurant's wine list is well put together with some very interesting bottles at reasonable prices. The restaurant's revamped decor is warm and cozy. However the service is amateurish and approximative. In our visit it was shambolic and careless. From the moment we walked in (we booked for four and we were given a tiny table for three), to waiting for 45 minutes for someone to take our orders. We had to ask for bread and the wine list four times. With a front of house like this Williams makes a disservice to his excellent cooking. The restaurant has a lot of potential but he needs to employ professional staff. A real pity. Our suggestion: try it. Just ignore the hit-and-miss service and just enjoy some very fine food.

fantastic restaurant – food always superb. we usually take our own wine and pay the reasonable corkage charge. would recommend this restaurant to everyone. going there again on sunday for mothers day – cant wait :-)

If you're not hungry and enjoy style over substance, with inattentive service, this is your restaurant. Portions are tiny (3 slivers of wood pidgeon as a starter with a blob of sweetcorn panacotta!), small portion of steamed halibut, which would have been tasteless had it not been accompanied by a puree of mushrooms and an amuse bouche of foamed something or other in a shot glass. My partner had the Welsh lamb for mains, which one might have expected to be delicious, but wasnt tender. It took about half an hour to bring our bottle of wine, the waiters were running about but seemed more interested in re-jigging the tables than serving customers. A poor effort.