Helene Darroze at The Connaught

What an amazing meal. The sumptuous surroundings of the Connaught are the perfect backdrop to a dining experience that is second to none. Helene Darroze and her team produced an experience that my partner and I will remember for a long time to come. After a friendly greeting and welcome glass of bubbles the amuse bouche told us we were in for a treat. Spanish ham cut off the bone in the restaurant with a Parmesan donut and a volute to die for got our taste buds screaming for more. We both chose the full Inspiration Menu, 9 taster dishes, all beautifully introduced by young and very knowledgeable waiters. The whole menu has a theme of real food with natural ingredients sourced from South West France and the UK blended in a sublime manner that blew us away. The tuna in a white garlic and almond sauce was divine; the terrine of foie gras was moist and perfectly matched with figs and jelly. The ravioli with ham and snails was moreish and the black and creamy rice with calamari and chorizo was the best dish yet. The creamy mariniere of mussels, girolles and spinach was more memorable than the sea bass on top if only for the amazing perfume of ginger and lemongrass that provided a real zing to the dish. The venison done three ways was superb and went perfectly with the Pommard I chose to accompany the meal. A cheese course of three cheeses with very appropriate accompaniments was highlighted with some organic creamy Stilton that just melted in the mouth. We are both not great fans of pineapple but the next dish of pineapple chunks, ice cream, lemon jelly and curry powder (yes curry powder) was outstanding. The final dish of chocolate creams, sorbets, sauces and cake was remarkable and we were both ready to fly the flag of surrender, we never made it to the petit fours and had to ask for a doggy bag or we would have burst. We had glasses each of an excellent Pully fuisse and the Pommard was an excellent choice for most of the dishes. Our only complaint if we can call it that was that at times it felt like a relentless succession of dishes and the occasional break would have been nice. Neither of us are American so time to savour each dish would have been nice and we calculated 11 mins per dish before it was all over. The portions were very generous and all in all it was excellent and hard to fault. Without question it was on a par with Gordon Ramsey’s at Hospital Road and the Waterside inn at Bray. Helene Darrozze deserves her place at the Connaught and watch out the old guard there is definitely a new kid on the block!

Oh dear, what a fiasco. For an establishment that wants to be seen as one of fine dining, they fall woefully short. Service is unbelievably mixed – depending on which of the many staff is involved. Some heads need to roll straight away – including the dining room management for not keeping all of their staff up to scratch.

Food was dull, bordering on unpleasant – to the extent that I left part of the amuse bouche and part of the dessert.

My wife received a menu with no prices – how quaint and a little bit pathetic thesedays. The dining room is cramped and not very stylish.

We were encouraged quite intently to order our dessert at the beginning of the meal (which we did) but then waited a full 25 minutes for it to arrive after the main course had been cleared – it was a just few bits of cheese and some kind of Angel Delight with nuts on – 2 minutes prep time at the most!

Overall a really poor experience. I mentioned this to the fellow dealing with the bill – he reacted with disdain and indifference, made no apology or showed any interest in my displeasure.

There are literally hundreds of really good restaurants in central London – this is certainly not one of them.

This was a truly awful experience. Like being in a bad 80s nightmare. The food was tediously dull and nose-bleedingly expensive. There was not one stand-out dish. The best were probably the amuse-bouche, and the cheese. The rest boringly predictable (truffles, foie gras everywhere), but really just not very palatable. Worst of all was the service. Smug and oily, ending up with outright aggression: I was remonstrated for ordering an Irish Coffee – “sir, you cannot 'ave a whisky coffee with this dessert, you 'ave armagnac”. Mmm – no. The atmosphere was redolent of what a 16 year old country snob would aspire to if they lived in Paris. Avoid. Go somewhere truly excellent like Atelier de Joel Roubchon, Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, Angela Hartnett's Muarno, or Richard Corrigan.

From a thirst quenching aperitif at the Connaught Bar to a cocktail at the Coburg Bar (which is worth a visit in its own right), I felt that an intoxicating crescendo was being slowly built. The bill had been seamlessly transferred from bar to bar to restaurant, I had been given a full history of Hendricks Gin by an enthusiastic mixologist, sampled variations thereof and was thoroughly looking forward to the main event. It was at this point that things quickly went downhill. We were seated immediately next to an elderly gentleman dining alone who I doubt was looking for the company of two young men in a celebratory mood. The restaurant was quiet on this Thursday evening, perhaps 25% capacity and remained so for the duration. We were moved to another table and found myself on a small brocaded winged highchair which was not designed for comfort or grown men. Fortunately my companion was slighter. The moment he stepped away from the table, the amuse bouche arrived so I explained upon his return exactly what he was about to eat. It was delicious. We were then informed that as the deserts were cooked ‘a la minuit’ we had to order all three courses together. I felt like I was at a bad wedding. After a great deal of confusion we managed to order drinks. A Montrachet with the starters and a Chateau Pichon Longueville 1999 for the main course. The food arrived, our decanted White was forgotten and finally after two requests our glasses were recharged seconds before the main courses were presented at the same time the sommelier produced the bottle of 10 year old wine unopened and undecanted. Naturally that was sent back – he blamed his colleague. On the whole this was a bad experience, not for the cooking which was very good but for the sniffy, arrogant service which quite frankly and for the first time almost completely ruined what should have been a terrific meal.

Maybe this review is coloured by the early-March credit-crunch laden atmosphere, but the fact that at lunchtime my host and I were one of only four or so tables being used, did cast a bit of a wierd aura over the place. Having siad that, one of the amuse bouches was -as my younger brother used to put it – “orgasmic” ! It was a foie-gras icecream with a apple caramel crunch to it. I can still taste it in my mind. The service was professional and attentive, though everyone “in authority” seemed to be female (what happened to equal opportunity ?). The sommelier, interested and helpful – not automatically going for the top end of the list (what a nice change). The food was incredibly rich – that's the abiding memory – I felt unbelievably full by the time we left, even though the actual portions were very “correct”. There was a pre-desert desert too, and it was all in fact a vindication of the stellar (pun intended) reputation. Criticism ? Possibly the expense, but that would be griping. Possibly the rather middle-aged and self-reverential air of the place (I don't recall that in Angela Hartnett's time). I think food is associated with enjoyment, rather than worship, and I guess that's my one true reservation about my experience.

To me this is the perfect gastronomic experience. The food is just perfect and really tasty, the service seemless and friendly and all this in a really beautiful environment – heaven on earth!

Very disappointing. I was expecting good wholesome French cooking and was sadly disappointed. Starter and dessert tasted as though they had come straight from the fridge – too cold, almost icy and very bland. My main was partridge which was overcooked on the breast and undercooked on the wing. It was also quite tasteless, plus we did not get any vegetables, just pieces of fruit with our main. I found there was too much emphasis on the look and presentation of the food and not enough on the actual taste/quality of the food. My other criticism is that it lacks a certain professionalism – eg napkins were not laid across the lap, I had to ask for the wine list and the sommelier, our starter and main were rushed but then we waited ages for our dessert. The only positive thing I can say is that the bread is very good as are some of the tasters, eg the cauliflower puree which was very tasty. Finally, I don't like the ‘armchairs’ they use for dining, they make your back ache when sitting for so long in an upright eating position. In summary, I do not think it is in the same class as some of the other ‘top’ restaurants in London. I would not return and much preferred the Connaught with Angela Hartnett.

I ate lunch here today and found it almost faultless; from the first scallop to the last chocolate; it was wonderful. The restaurant is comfortable and would be oppulent even taking into account the Christmas decorations. It fulfils for me that essential addition to good food; I need to be able to hear the people I am with, and not be overheard by the next table. The food is clever without being too showy; and was – today at least – served quickly by attentive (but not pompous) staff. So everything came at the right temperature which ensured that it tasted as the Chef expected it to. And it was full of taste; scallops and meaty cepes – red Mullet – each perfect flake holding its own against a background of piquant rice, little squid perfectly cooked. Perhaps the sponge on my pineapple pud was a little on the heavy rather then heavenly side but – but who cares after the mains. With coffee and chocolates aplenty this is a kitchen that doesnt want its guests to leave hungry. This meal fulfiled my expections and more. Lovely.

My wife and I made it here for its second day of opening and had a fantastic time. We were given a good table by the window and experienced excellent service from beginning to end. It did suffer from over-attentiveness and familiarity a bit, but I do not think that is a big deal.
Food was classic modern-continental and all well-executed, although with no dish especially memorable. It was really the combination of the gorgeous decor and the feeling of being treated like a lord and lady that made the experience so special.
More generally, I highly recommend spending time in the other areas of the Connaught. The refurb has been done in a really beautiful way – plush, modern, but retro, understated but bang on trend. It is a real gem.

Oh – And I did try to eat the Chocolate stands for the chocalate petits-four. They tasted fine, but it would be rather ambitious to eat them as they are huge. My tip – more chcolate in the petits fours, and drop the stand.

There was an unprecedented hype about the opening of The Connaughts new restaurant with internationally renowned chef Helene Darroze taking the helm, and unfortunately my experience did not live up to expectations.

Myself and three colleagues went for lunch, and found the dishes to be rather bland, and dishes were not executed with the same culinary flair as other notable restaurants in the capital.

Service was not poor, but too over attentive, with waiting staff seeming to out number patrons. A request for some more bread and butter was dismissed by the waiter who decided my starter should be given my undivided attention, this theme continued throughout the meal including a decision that we had finished eating and swift clearing of the table while two colleagues were still eating.

Despite the much publicised refurbishment, the dining room felt dated and stuffy. The atmosphere stale and stade.

Value for money. Average. There are far more restuarants in London, where for the same price you can experience far superior innovative and inspiring cooking.

At Helene Darroze, petits fours are served atop little towers constructed from dark chocolate – which, it turns out, are merely decorative and not designed to be eaten. Of course, there are plenty of chefs in London who unintentionally make something perfectly edible into something completely inedible. But when half the world is starving, is there not something a little obscene about a restaurant that *deliberately* makes food you can’t eat? Come to think of it, why was this hotel even re-furbished? It used to be the last place in London you could find top-drawer, old-world English charm, now it looks like every other five-star that happens to have a bit of history. Great bars, though.