One-O-One

We chose this restaurant after reading a review in a national paper. To say that we were disappointed is an understatement.

The lack of atmosphere was noticeable on arrival and was not helped by the fact that we were probably the only customers who were not tourists who had all chosen to eat early. Our table was booked for 8.15 and by 10.30 on a Saturday night the restaurant was almost empty.

We both chose the sustainable fish tasting menu but were told that one of the fishes – halibut – was not available. Mackerel was the substitute and would be cooked in the same way. Neither of us likes mackerel and an oily fish should not be cooked in the same way as a white fish, this was a lazy option from the chef. We were also told that we could not substitute any other fish as nothing else was sustainable. For a £30 supplement we could add a non sustainable fish. On a menu where there so many fishes to choose from this was ridiculous. We chose to miss a course for which they reduced the price by £7.

The food was unremarkable. All courses looked lovely but were lacking in “zing” – even the desert.

Unlike other reviews we found the service good.

The quality of the food was excellent. However, the service was so slow as to be an embarrassment to us and our guest who paid the bill, incidentally. There was only one waiter taking food orders while the dining room was completely full. As this was the Christmas lunch season, the planning could have been a lot better.

had a lovely meal with friends – the starter of crab legs was absolutely superb – will definitely return.

From the start I should be honest and say that I went to One o One because a) I sampled their food at the Taste of London; and b) they were listed under the London Restaurant Week (which is actually a fortnight) via lastminute.com. On the basis of the latter I am writing this review and I completely accept that I may not have benefitted from the breadth of the a la carte menu which I witnessed being delivered to other customers. Nonetheless we were provided with a menu which was far more extensive than other menus I saw during the London Restaurant Week and a lot of credit should be given for that. It smacked me as the kind of menu you would probably see on their lunch menus with three or four options per course.

We arrived for dinner and sat in the drinks waiting area. Immediately we were unsure of where to go. The lighting in the pre drinks area if I can call it that was stereotypically low with a collection of small two sitter tables with a chair on one end and a long sofa-bench on the other end. We both had cocktails which were ok. My Manhattan arrived dry when I asked for sweet (and it came in a rocks glass, strange) and her vanilla mojito was not as nice as you might think/want.

It was hard to get the attention of the waiters or the drinks staff as they seemed to be rather disorganised. Admittedly the restaurant was very busy and so their attention may have been over there but I noticed that the others sat around us were having the same difficulty to get the waiters attention – which provided for that interesting competition as to who is going to get their attention first!

The restaurant has a yellow theme and is long but not very large.

The food is good. They are clearly very talented and they are trying to do a lot of things per course. The trouble is that each course had one or two features where I was struggling to understand what meaningful contribution it made. These were impressive and tasty such as juniper flavoured jelly but it did not really work in conjunction with everything else. It struck me as the work of a skilled chef but one that needed a little restraint. My starter of crab ravioli suffered as the ravioli pasta was a little thick and chewy. The main course of cod, olives and pesto was architecturally a delight but not memorable. The dessert was a stunning rum baba. I must say that the highlight for me was probably the flavoured butters which arrived including a seaweed butter which I heard from others was also the star of their evening. The experience was nonetheless enjoyable. The wine list is extensive and we drank a rather nice Pinot Noir.

Would I go back again? I am not in a hurry but I would go back based on what I saw some other people having. The benefit of these London Restaurant Week bookings is that I get a sample of the menu as well as peak at what others were having from the a la carte. People appeared to be eating but there wasn't a face of deep satisfaction or admiration at what they received. I am someone who does eat at Michelin starred restaurants and enjoy good food. The food was a little bit of presentation over substance.