Wild Honey

I ate at Wild Honey last night and really enjoyed it. Soft poached egg with wild mushrooms and turnip tops was remarkably tasty for relatively few ingredients and the pear clafoutis I had for pudding was possibly the most delicious pudding I've ever had – crisp outer shell and soft, squidgy, warm sponge. I had cod and octopus in red wine for my main which was good but had less sauce than I would've liked and wasn't that hot – i think it just cooled down quickly as there wasn't much sauce and it was spaced out on the plate. We tried a bottle of white Rioja which was very crisp and fresh, and seemed good value. The total bill was a bit less than expected which was a welcome surprise. The only stand-out odd thing was the lighting – it's so bright! The waiter said that he feels it should be dimmed a bit too but the chef wants it bright so that we can see the food. I'm sure we could see the food in a more ambient light! The odd candle wouldn't go amiss but perhaps that wouldn't suit its quite masculine feel. Overall it was very enjoyable and delicious, interesting food.

My first experience of Wild Honey was exactly one week ago, a friend invited me and it was an experience that urged me to put up my own review of the restaurant. The food was simply sumptuous, from the succulent plaice, my first experience of snails to the delicious mouth-watering sherry trifle.
It was a wonderful evening and the staff of Wild Honey truly makes this eating experience fine. They are so willing to make an informal evening feel very special indeed and even though the restaurant was packed, all courses were well timed with great service in between; wine, fresh warm bread. By far my favorite dish was rabbit, very tender, great flavors to complement. My best side was the garlic gratin.
Overall a great evening and wonderful to meet the head chef: Colin. I'll definitely return. By the way value for money was excellent. This is a restaurant for all occasions. Kieran

Wild Honey is one of those restaurants you'll love going to, rave about in the middle of your meal, leave thinking why hadn't we gone there sooner- and then forget!

The food is superb, ambiance is noisy but polished. But it wasn't enough to make me want to go back, like I would for the Wolseley or Sketch. Something is too wooden about the interior for it to feel fresh & energetic.

A great food pick, but maybe not your all time favourite.

Crowd was 30s-50s, not really a personality in sight, all rather conservative.

The tables for 2 are squashed together and ours was right by the stairs down to the toilets and so close to the next table that it may as well have been a table for 4. The service was dreadful and we sat in front of our menus for way too long each time. When the food came, the portions were very small, given the high prices and it was lukewarm at best. I did eat mine as I was so hungry by that point and we hoped that things would improve. However by the time I had eaten half of it and it was too late to complain, my meal was actually stone cold and very unappetising.

Our new friends next door were then served scallops that were actually off.

We sat with our dessert menus in front of us for so long that we eventually decided to leave and go elsewhere. Equally, our neighbours sat in front of their used plates for just as long, while the staff seemed to faff about with no one really taking responsibilty for anything.
We asked for the bill and told the waiter of our complaints (as, while you would ignore one problem, by this time we were very fed up with having our evening ruined) He responded with a gallic shrug and not much else.
When we left the restaurant the coat check girls provided service with a sarcastic smirk.

All in all, the attitude here seems to be that as the as the restaurant is full because of the good reviews it got in the press when it first opened (no doubt by toadying to well known reviewers) that they don't need to bother being polite or offering any service at all to “ordinary punters”.
I would have liked to have given it no stars but that wasn't an option. We eat out in London a lot and this was by far the worst experience we have had for a long time.

For those looking for a quiet night, try a week night in January. Wild Honey's calm, wood panelled interior was a welcome relief from the sales mayhem on oxford street. Smoked eel, crisp deboned chicken wing and turnip may sound like a dogs dinner but tasted delicious due to careful balancing of flavours. The mains were also perfectly cooked. The portions are delicate but with the moreish bread on offer we didn't have room for pudding. The staff couldn't have been sweeter and we left very pleased with our evening.

This is not a place to sit back and indulge far from it .This is a well oiled machine that works on excellant value for money.The food is flavoursome but sloppy in presentation and at times gives the feeling of being rushed.
The service at reception is functional but not warm. In contrast the waiting staff are informative and efficient with total knowledge of the impressive cheeseboard.I would like to go again on a quieter night …if there is one

I’ve been to a few restaurant in my time so it is fairly difficult to wow me any more as I’ve pretty much seen it done it and eaten it. So Wild Honey proved to be a real treat

A fairly unassuming façade led into a fairly bijou restaurant, mixing old fashioned wood panelling with modern paintings hung on the wall made for a very convivial atmosphere. We were seated in a nice booth for the four of us which made for a cosy setting.

The food too was well deserving of it’s Michelin star, our starters included smoked eel; smoky and meaty tasted with a subtle piquant after taste and razor clams in garlic and parsley; very good flavours but for me a tiny bit chewy.

Main courses, came in just as good, I had Icelandic cod; a very succulent and moist chunk of cod with crispy boneless chicken wings and we also had the aged rib of beef; which was very tasty and tender.

Cheeses course to follow, £29.25 for a selection of 9 (we just had one of each cheeses they had!), the deserts Paris Brests, bagel shaped choux pastries filled with praline cream. Coffee and handmade petit fours finished us off.

The bill I thought fairly reasonable at just under £400 for four people of which £150 was on drinks.

The food and ambience was very good and tempting for a soon return visit, the fly in the ointment though is that the service let the whole experience down. In a restaurant of this type I don’t expect the who is having chicken conversation when the food arrives, and steak knives were given to those of us having fish and not the steak eaters, we had to ask for a bottle of water, and we had to visit the cheese board rather than vice versa. All minor issues though that could and should be easily ironed out; especially if they want to keep that star.

That said Wild Honey is highly recommended for a visit.

I won't go here again.
The manager and host were definitely amateurs.
Our table was booked for 8pm. We arrived 10 minutes early and waited another 25 minutes. We were made to wait in the bar/entry where there was no room for other diners to pass in front of us.
We left for Via Condotti, just down the road and were seated immediately without a reservation.

Having not been for a little while, I decided to try it again recently. Superb experience. Loved sitting at the bar near the window (by choice) and sampling the delicious delicately prepared food. Divine melt in your mouth seabream was surpassed by … wait for it … the best selection of sesaonal vegetables I have ever tasted (I could have had another helping of the crispy medley (pan served)). The availability of the carafes to sample are such a winner; nearly beaten (according to my dinner companion) by the only beer on the list – unique, not found in your local wine&drink shop. The service was excellent – attentive and constant as we were at the bar and had (when we wanted) conversations with the knowledgeable bar tender. Good value for such high quality food and drink.

The experience and food were terrible – we had the a la carte menu, which cost a fortune per person, but the food was disgusting and tasteless. My starter stated pheasant and foie gras boudin blanc which turned out to be some indistiguishable foam rolled into a sausage. The mushrooms on the side were oversalted or undersalted depending on which one you took. My main was veal which was cooked OK but was so bland I could not taste anything at all! I cannot believe they have a Michelin star! The cheese board was shocking – you pay £10 for one small piece of cheese (and I mean REALLY small). The service was equally disappointing – the waiter rushed us, then rudely brushed us off when we tried explaining that we did not order two tarte tatins saying “they are getting cold, I don't have time”. Their other restaurant Arbatus, I heard, is of the same quality. Avoid at all costs!!!

I took a client for lunch (i.e two people) for a 1st visit

The food was really excellent.
The ability to choose small carafes of good quality wine meant we could have a glass and a half of white and red instead of having to buy a full bottle. I like this versitility a lot! The room has high ceilings and is stylish in a relatively old fashioned way.
The service was pleasant, low key and fine (I had heard mixed reports previously)

We both thought it was great as a lunch venue and I will definitely be going again! I might try dinner next time.

Wild Honey is an excellent place to dine. I had already been to Arbutus and enjoyed my meal there so was curious to see what this place would offer. We wanted somewhere quite modern but decent bistro-ish food.
We went for Saturday lunch and the place was empty. When we finally left at closing time, there were only 3 other tables occupied. This dented the atmosphere slightly but the service wasnt affected in the least. Cocktails were made perfectly to order and the bread was delicious and warm…sigh! I slumped into my lovely booth seat, excited of what next!

I didnt fancy any of the starters which were the usual fare, but that was because i anticipated being a hog later. For mains, i had braised lamb with aubergines, peppers, feta cheese and pine nuts – a combination which worked really well though potentially sounding a bit strange to my lunchtime companions. I ordered a side of mash which i think was required. Cant do without my carbs! My family had chicken which was labelled as made for two but when it arrived, i think it could have easily been made separately, ie not one big chicken on one plate so i didnt really understand why a min of two could order! Everything worked really well perfectly, and we savoured every mouthful – i actually enjoyed this more than Arbutus as the tastes seemed to just work so well. The chicken came with some sort of cornbread type thing but again worked very well.

For pudding i had the floating islands which was part of the set menu. There was also the choices of cherry clafoutis, cheesecakes etc but all looked delicious. By the way, the set menu itself is limited but the normal menu has a decent choice.

Wild Honey is a place where you go for the food, rather than the atmosphere, although did strike me as a rather romantic place to have a meal in the evening. It's not huge, service was great, and the food was excellent. We had a great time. The bill came to £110 for 2 courses each plus drinks/coffees etc for three people so not cheap but definitely earns it's accolades. I shall be back…

In our first visit we found a very relaxed atmosphere and some inventive food. This has not changed in our following outings there. We like that some old classics are paired with more adventurous items on the menu. We wish there were more restaurants like this in London. The only fault we have found is that some items on the menu seem to be running out pretty soon in the evening. If you have a late booking you might be left with rather impaired menu.

Overall a good option in Mayfair.

I've eaten here twice now and both times the food has been reasonably priced (for the area!). I've stuck to the set menu -and have enjoyed the quality of the cooking and the variety.

Staff are efficient and friendly enough. Basically a great post-shopping/ pre-theatre restaurant with a bit more life and buzz to it than many of it's Mayfair competitors.

My colleague invited me to lunch at Wild Honey as the reviews he had read were great. Unfortunately, I was not impressed for the following reasons:

We were handed a menu which was set out very professional with the special of the day highlighted in bold (a waitress pointed out the special, rating the lamb) What she didn't do was point out that there was a set menu which was not highlighted in bold but in very small italics…read the small print people!!!

My colleague and I both chose the Lamb (special of the day); both arrived right after the starters…no breather guys, get you in and out!! As I looked down on to my plate and smelt the lamb my taste buds started to tingle, I continue down with my knife and fork to turn over what I thought was meat, but to my horror it as a big piece of FAT yes that right FAT and two small pieces of meat. As you would, we bought it to the attention of the head waiter who prompted to tell me “there is meat there madam, but just more fat than usual”. He took it away and came back 5 minutes later with the same plate of food but with FAT removed from the underneath and another small piece of meat…talk about insulting the customer, don't you realise the average customer becomes more acute when they have to pay a lot more for a meal. Trying to discard the skin by turning upside down is ridicules.

No apology, not worth the money…

As a fan of Arbutus, I was curious to see how its sister restaurant matched up, and I wasn't disappointed. Catering for the Mayfair suits rather than the Soho trendies, the dining room is wood panelled and has a rather hushed, relaxed atmosphere.

We dined from the excellent value set lunch menu and every dish was superb. As I mentioned in my review of Arbutus, portions are on the small side, but this is common with set lunches, and for the price it was well worth it. Ingredients melt in your mouth as flavours dance around the palette. The menu is well constructed and their wine list has a great variety of fairly priced plonk.

If you're looking for a nicely priced set lunch in central London, you couldn't do a lot better than this. They fully deserve their Michelin star.

Bitterly disappointed. Half the menu had run out by 2.30pm. Food was luke warm. Wine was corked. Service was sloppy. We ordered things that never even arrived, but were added to the bill! Then we were hurried out. There are so many amazing places to go in London for a really special meal but don't go here – it was awful, and a dreadful waste of money.