Helene Darroze at The Connaught

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.

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.

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.