Tom Aikens

Dark & Moody

We visited Tom Aikens for my Birthday as it had been highly recommended to me by a friend.

The first thing that hits you is the sombre and dark exterior – completely black. Obviously you never judge a book by it's cover, but then when you enter and take your seat you think someone has forgotten to turn on the lights. It was so dark I couldn't read my menu. Really. I had to move my menu towards another table where there was more light, very strange.

The food was good, maybe very good, but it lacked something. My wife & I both felt some dishes were trying to be too fancy, for the sake of it, rather than to promote taste, which should surely be the ultimate aim? The monkfish was lovely, but I could have eaten two of them. I have eaten at many nice restaurants and I know the portion size is sometimes small, but overall this is acceptable as the dishes are often rich and sumptuous and it's all forgiven by how the dish tastes. Not so here, the portions were miniscule, tasty, but left me wanting, needing, a bit more.

All of the extras such as amuse bouche, bread and petit fours etc. were sublime, especially the breads on offer. This made up for the tiny portions and overall we were satisifed with what we ate, albeit sometimes misled by the fancy descriptions or overpowering flavours on some dishes (sea bass with olive pasta).

One dish of note was the beetroot dessert – it sounded strange but was the star attraction of the evening, I just wish there had been a little more light to I could have appreciated it even more.

I tweeted Tom Aikens aferwards to give some feedback on our visit but I felt the comments were dismissed as if I didn't understand the dishes. Dark & moody, just like the atmosphere unfortunately.

Like a phoenix out of the ashes – much better than before the recent relaunch in my opinion. The somewhat rustic set-up (bare wooden tables) shouldn't deter from what is seriously good food with at times very ingenious takes on modern haute cousine. Very attentive service to look after you. The food at times is absolutely stunning and fantastic. occasionally it can go slightly overboard but this is definitely again a serious culinary place worthwhile a visit

Had the set lunch menu during a weekday. First of all the food was great, good quality produce working with interesting flavour combinations, especially in the dessert (a variety of white chocolate based treats with black olives – it does work!).
The set menu comes at £30 for 3 courses which, with a canape and one of the best bread and butter baskets I ever had before the menu and petit fours after, makes excellent value for money! Good (although pricey) selection of wines by the glass.
The restaurant itself I'd describe as elegant, yet modern and relaxed, which is helped by the friendly and approachable manner of the staff.
Will definitely go again, a welcome change from otherwise often pretentious fine dining experiences in Chelsea.

What are the qualities that make an ideal restaurant? Well, dining there should feel like a glamorous treat, perhaps even a secret one; you should be attended to by grown-up staff as if you were their most important customer of the day; you should dine on food that looks extraordinary and tastes extraordinary, and that requires not just a chef but a brigade to prepare; and all this should take place in a room that has been designed and furnished by someone with impeccable taste, zealous attention to detail and a little bit of wit. Tom Aikens ticks all those boxes.

My visit was for a business lunch on a Tuesday. There were only four tables occupied in the place (including Matthew Fort) and they seated us nicely, well away from everyone else. First came an amuse of cod brandade with homemade crisps – the brandade outrageously creamy and unctuous. Then after we ordered came five different types of freshly-baked bread rolls (served in a charming little hessian sack): one made with polenta, another flavoured with ceps, and a glazed brioche with bacon and shallots which my companion, a visiting Australian TV executive, cruelly snatched. These were accompanied by three types of flavoured butter, and were absolutely top-notch: what better way to put you in the mood for your meal?

My starter of beetroot was quite the best-looking dish I've ever been offered in a restaurant: a riot of vivid colours and textures, the beetroot prepared three ways: roasted in a wood oven, pickled, and jellied then wrapped around a tube of goat curd. Also present were pickled blackberries and cherries, and – amazingly – a small chunk of honeycomb. Sweet and sour and pungent herb flavours combined in a mystical way that was sensational. My friend ordered foie gras: first the accompaniments arrived on a plate, and then with a little bit of theatre the foie gras arrived in its own glass box from which the maitre d' passed it on to the dish – it wobbled sensationally on the spoon as he served it. My companion pronounced it the best he'd ever had.

Mains were roast pigeon breast for me, served with heritage carrots ('heritage' is a trendy restaurant word for vegetables that are pig-ugly) and root vegetables; for him, John Dory with borlotti beans and shrimp heads for garnish. Mine was somewhat peasant-like in presentation, but his looked like the centrepiece on the top table at a wedding. Again, superlative flavours, sauces and tiny details offering extra tastes.

We skipped dessert but they brought a tray of petits fours with our coffees, including a blackcurrant jelly, a warm, marshmallow-y ricotta dumpling and a tiny round carrot cake. Thankfully my companion was full by this stage and I was rightfully able to claim the carrot cake all to myself; it was wonderfully sweet and rich and possessed of a gorgeous crumb.

I gave 8/10 for value because the bill came to £129 for two incl service and we only had starters, mains, a half bottle of wine and coffees. That is not to say it is overpriced – a restaurant like this is so rare that they can charge accordingly – but rather that I couldn't praise them for the keenness of their pricing.

Can't wait to return for a tasting menu.

Having been an avid fan of Tom's Kitchen I was keen to sample Tom's restaurant since it's revamp. Gone are the white tablecloths and now there is an underlying Scandinavian theme. The setting is informal and I loved the private dining room which accommodates 12 people so was ideal for my business lunch set around a hand-crafted bespoke wooden table. The staff are friendly and the service is without fault. The food lived up to Tom's reputation and visually spoke a thousand words crafted with pure love and genius. We all agreed to have something different from the a la Crate menu to give us the whole picture food wise. I however went for the 8 Course Taster Menu which was scrumptious!
I would not hesitate to recommend the private dining for business lunches, or indeed a small private party. We had a good look around the main restaurant which was buzzing but yet still had the feel of private conversations amongst the buzz. You seriously have to try Tom's Restaurant, as contrary to popular belief, it is well priced but with exquisite food in a fantastic location.

I ate at Tom Aikens Restaurant last week. The staff and their service was impeccable. I started with the Jasmine cured Salmon with viola flowers, pickled apple, jasmine oil. The taste was spot on as well as a creation in its own right visually. Then I had the John Dory with black olive oil, borlotti beans, artichoke, prawns.YUMMY. Had to resist the desserts as watching my weight but wow that was hard. 10 out of 10 and a must to visit and find fantastic food.

I took my son to Tom Aikens for lunch on his birthday as a special treat. The restaurant has been completely refurbished which I was keen to see, but perhaps because it was a Tuesday lunchtime, there were only two other tables with people eating. The food was delicious, but the service was appalling…in spite of the fact there were probably only ten people eating in the whole restaurant! Our wine was put in a bucket the other side of the room, and I had to keep calling the waiter to top up our glasses. Overall it felt like fine dining in a cafe atmosphere…i won't be hurrying back!

The most amazing dining experience – the food tasted absolutely wonderful and the presentation was stunning. All of the food was very imaginative and there was lots of choice – I would love to come back and try the tasting menu. Wine was delicious, but only disappointment was that they don't do cocktails as they don't have a ‘proper’ bar. Staff are charming, very attentive and extremely knowledgable about the food and ingredients. Very good value food, and the wine list wasn't overpriced. Would recommend to anyone and would absolutley go back.

Was bought for my birthday a lunch voucher for two to this place. Was a little disappointed at first as was expecting a voucher for Marcus Waering or Gordon Ramsay.

But what a great choice, the place exudes class and style from the colour scheme to the location to the level of courtesy and interest shown by the staff. I felt this was even more on show with us being a lunch cover and the level of service was impeccable.

The standard of food was the best I have had and the first trip for my fiancée to a Michelin starred restaurant. She found the food to be above her expectations and went away thoroughly impressed.

The roast veal chop was fantastic and my partners John Dory were cooked to perfection. The sides on offer give a great alternative to the usually food added to these meals. The fresh bread choices on offer to start of the meal were great and the knowledge and helpfulness of the staff was worthwhile alone. The little added extra amuse bouche added those touches that you expect and thrive on when in such a place.

I would happily eat here again and would like to sample the more adventurous sides of the menu. The idea that there is an arrogance or aloofness to be found in this establishment was not noted by me at all, in fact clearly the opposite with helpful and attentive staff who were welcoming and willing to spend considerable time with guests in order to make sure they were fully happy.

I hadn’t been to Tom Aikens for years, although I do recall the famous spoon incident, which I thought had happened in 2004 – clearly, from the most recent of reviews, the man has not relented in his desire to account for missing cutlery. All I can say is that this remains one of the finest restaurants in London: quite how it has failed to garner a second Michelin star is somewhat beyond me, as the food is amongst the best in London.

I should, perhaps, add a word on my rating of 10 for “value for money”; the four of us went in February, when the restaurant ran (or is running, depending on when you read this) a promotion for customers of Berry Brothers & Rudd who get to BYO with no corkage. Hence we were able to quaff a Schramsberg Reserve 2000 pink sparkler, a 1988 Leeuwin Estates Chardonnay (which, even though it was a Denis Horgan Reserve bottle, was a little tired), a glorious 1982 Caymus Special Reserve Cab and a very youthful Ridge Montebello 2002, for which the restaurant received not a bean. How good is that?

From the moment we arrived, bearing our wines, we were made to feel most welcome. We sat in the (tiny) bar area with a glass of Fino, the menus and some amuse bouche. These consisted of an intense olive reduction; a highly truffle infused warm duck jelly and a parmesan and polenta ball. The latter may not have been to the same standard as Angela Hartnett, but to criticise it for such would be unbecoming.

At the table, things continued as they had started: service was polite, discrete and nothing but friendly all evening. The breads, from mushroom fleur de lys to bacon brioche, were uniformly lovely.

Starters too were excellent. The pick was probably the scallops with beetroot: the plate looking like a Jackson Pollack (not in the rhyming slang way, I hasten to add), and the intense flavours of scallop, beetroot and roasted red onion went superbly together. The salad of mallard was another visually pleasing dish, delivering intensely flavoured meat amongst the greenery, with white carrot tubes (like mini cannelloni) filled with various delights. The langoustine risotto, with a base of pea and an egg on top, was a joy, if a tad over-salted, whilst the crispy pork belly in the lobster dish was a strong counterpoint to a very delicate lobster and apple consommé.

Mains too were all on top form, with the suckling pig for two meltingly sweet, with a good layer of crackling. I am a big fan of suckling pig; yes, I know that the poor dears don’t get a long life, but they do taste so good. If you are a baby porker lover too, go to Segovia in central Spain, about an hour north-west of Madrid. It is a magical town in its own right; the cathedral rising out of Spain’s plain like an ocean liner through the waves, but it is the home to suckling pig. They worship the porcine baby. There are statues of great chefs, plates in hand, ready to do battle with the beautifully roasted whole animal; these plates, by the way, are not to bare the pig to the table (no, the splayed little dears come to the table in tiny roasting tins), but, as the meat is so melting soft, to cut the animals up with.

I digress. The suckling pig was very good, and the artichoke (and more pig, this time in the form of Iberica ham) and fennel side dishes went very well with it. Our guests had no complaints over their red mullet and salt marsh lamb dishes, but next to the pig, they barely registered with me.

By this stage, we were flagging, so I am afraid that I cannot tell you what the deserts were like: the cheese trolley, however, was a joy. Not huge, but with a lingering aroma (which they maddeningly kept bringing by and then taking away so that some other lucky punter could get a whiff).

I’ll certainly be back, although I may again wait until Berry Brothers have their next corkage free BYO promotion.