Chapter One

Shame about our waiter – arrogant, disinterested and unable to answer questions about the food. Didn't bother to check back with us once we had our food to make sure everything was OK and when he came to collect our plates and one of our party made a comment about a slight dissatisfaction she had with the dish, he coudn't have cared less. He wouldn't make eye contact and looked bored out of his mind throughout the whole of lunch service until everybody started to leave then he was able to crack a slight smile.

I have been here a number of times. First when I was still at school with my parents and the latest for my birthday.
The food is not food… Its art! I remember the first time my parents took me here I had never eaten gourmet food and was a bit confused by how it looked… Then having tasted it, I was in heaven! The blend of flavours was beyond anything I had ever had before. I still remember the scallope and the little drink thing it came with that complimented it to perfection and the delicios fish.
This time I had a pork belly for main and it was indeed the best pork belly I have eaten. I have been to many restaurants since the first time I came here, in cities all over the world. This is beyond doubt one of my favourites, the flavours are trully fantastic, the starters are terrific and the deserts are simply divine! I know I ate too many of the sweets on my birthday but I left feeling on cloud 9!
The head chef really is an artist and for the price which is up to half of central London this is well worth a visit!

In all my years of eating in ‘fine dining’ restaurants I only recently discovered Chapter One. What a waste, what was I thinking of?. I cannot praise the experience of dining here too highly.
The food was absolutely fantastic. Each course maintining the standard throughout the meal. My smoked eel were amazing and my partners special lobster raviolo although probably dripping in calories, was fantastic and one can understand why it is a signature dish for this fine restaurant. The main courses were delicious and well presented. My roast partridge was wonderful.
I completed my meal with cheese and the choice was exceptional and the waiter clearly knew his product really well and took some pride in having his suggestions accepted by the customer. My partner had lemon tart and I have seldom seen such satisfaction with a desert as that clearly brought. The waiter again kindly suggested a dessert wine to accompany it and I gather the blend of the wine and desert reached new heights of enjoyment. The staff were all professional and it was a joy to be served by them.

chapter one is the best eating out experience for miles. the food is exceptional & the quality is always of the highest standard, regardless of how busy the restaurant is.There is always something for everyone & the chef is always willing to adapt a dish to suit your neeeds. Nothing seems to be too much trouble.
The staff are always welcoming & friendly & make you feel special. All of the staff have a great knowledge of the food they are serving & seem to show a passion for what they do.
The prices of the menus are amazingly reasonable,especially the lunch time menu du jour. Why go to london, or anywhere else for that matter, when you have such a jewel right on your doorstep.
Will be returning very very soon

My girlfriend and I both love Chapter One and rate it as our favourite restaurant, which says a lot because we both eat out a lot in and around London and usually make a beeline for places we have read good things about.

Since we first discovered Chapter One a couple of year ago and each visit just reinforces our view of how good it is.

The food, thanks to the magic touch of head chef Andrew McLeish, is some of the best you’ll find anywhere. His modern European menu might not offer as many dishes as some, but that is probably because he concentrates on producing quality rather than quantity.

On each occasion we have eaten there, Chapter One has never failed to impress, both with its food and the sensible pricing, which makes eating out there such an affordable and enjoyable occasion.

The staff are always welcoming and they know the menu inside out, a refreshing change form some establishments I have eaten in recently in the West End where we often get off-hand answers to any queries about the food. Too many restaurants seem to employ staff that they either don’t train, or don’t pay sufficiently well to take an interest in the product they are serving.

Chapter One for us is the ideal eatery; good food, sensible prices, friendly and efficient staff and comfortable, contemporary surroundings. You can’t ask a lot more of a restaurant than this.

We went there a couple of weeks ago for lunch and received the usual friendly welcome from the maitre d’. We had a drink at the bar while we looked through the menu and were told our table would be ready whenever we were. The last time we ate in London, an aggressive waiter practically insisted we finish our drinks immediately because our table was ready. In fact, we were almost dragged to the table.
Our meal was a delight. We opted for the Menu du Jour and my girlfriend started with basil marinated heirloom tomato salad with pecorino, basil cress. I went for potatoes, warm black pudding and apple salad with summer truffles and it was delicious.
For her main course my girlfriend ordered pan fried black bream with a cassoulet of coco beans, orange, pancetta and salsa verde and I went for roast hake with chorizo, tomato sauce and pilaf rice, scented with kaffir lime. We couldn’t fault either dish.
We finished by both having the dark chocolate tart with Kentish raspberries and vanilla ice cream.
Our bill came to £18.50 each for three courses and we paid £18.50 for a bottle of very good Chenin Blanc, 2009, Kleine Zalze, Stellenbosch.
For an eating out experience, which offers panache along with great food and professional service, Chapter One is in our opinion, unbeatable.

I recently had lunch in the Braserie side of Chapter One, the food was good but very much overshadowed by the treatment we received from the staff. One staff member was excellent, but due to the fact that we are smokers and it was a hot sunny afternoon, we wished to sit outside to finish our drinks after our meal. Firstly, we were made to stand on the left side of the exterior of the restuarant with no tables or chairs – we were not allowed to sit on the right side where there were tables and chairs, as this, we were told, was for diners – even though there were no diners outside! Furthermore, to make us feel even more unwelcome, whilst 2 of us were finishing off our bottle of red, we requested that our 3rd guest could have a white wine spritzer, but we were told that the manager would not serve us any further drinks outside the restuarant, and in fact practically asked us to leave. I am quite disgusted with the how we have been treated, and would not recommend this restuarant to anyone. I note many others on your site have said how bad the attitude of the serving staff and management is at this restuarant and it does make me wonder why a restuarant with such a great reputation for it's food seems to think it is ok to treat their paying guests in thiis manner, in my opinion it is quite disgraceful!

A £20 Sunday set menu at a restaurant opposite a set of crossroads on the A21 just outside of Bromley, not the most obvious venue for one of the best Sunday lunches for some time. It is, according to the Michelin guide “A very good restaurant in its own Category” and they were spot on.
The Sunday lunch, whilst sticking to theme, was not your uncomplicated and obvious options. To begin there was Veloute of butternut pumpkin, Espuma of spring peas with confit smoked salmon poached hnes egg pea shoots, Risotto of chorizo &wild garlic with parmesan & Crème Fraiche amongst others. Main courses were Slow braised Pork belly, Roast Salmon with brown nut butter and red wine sauce, Sirloin of beef with braised red cabbage, roast potatoes and jus and these just the highlights, the menu was not limited either. The bread was freshly baked, the service was impeccable and by 12.30pm the restaurant was almost fully, occupied by couples enjoying a romantic lunch, to families with a dozen members of all ages enjoying high quality, creative cooking. I look forward to returning for dinner very soon.

I thoroughly enjoyed my Summer promotion meal this week – three courses for a set price proved excellent value. All beautifully presented. I bravely tried the “peanut butter and jam sandwich” for desert and wasn't disappointed. The only negative comment was the snooty reply to my enquiry whether their sister restaurant “Chapters” in Bexleyheath was involved in the Summer promotion as a colleague was interested. Clearly they haven't discovered the benefits of cross-sell yet.

We dine out regularly, at least three times a week, but stopped going to Chapter One sometime ago due to the off-hand manner of the staff. On one occasion, having arrived ten minutes early, we asked if we could have a drink at the bar but were told that we would have to go straight to our table (presumably so that we could be “in and out” within a very short time). When you are paying the sort of prices they charge, you expect a leisurely meal. On one occasion, three courses were consumed in little more than an hour … enough to give even the hardiest of constitutions indigestion!

Before you read this review, you should know that my family and I have been coming here for ages, through at least 4 managers, and are very well known, and so I am the very antithesis of the anonymous reviewer.

The restaurant is located on the A21, near a busy crossroads and on the outskirts of the village of Locksbottom. When we, my wife and I, arrived, on a Monday evening, the car park was pretty full, but the restaurant was only half full – the explanation was a function going on in the private room upstairs. Incidentally, I have used the private room in the past and it’s a good place for a private dinner party of 15-30 people.

Even half full, the room was buzzing and I would guess there were some 40-50 people.

We were quickly shown to our usual table and brought the menus, but no wine list. My wife was then brought her caffe latte and salad ( a standing order in all our regular restaurants) but still no wine list. My guess is that it was some 10-15 minutes before one was brought. I had the impression throughout our meal that there were simply not enough waiting staff, and this was subsequently confirmed by an assistant manager (the manager was off that night) who told us that a couple who were supposed to be on had not turned up.

When I finally managed to order some wine, I started with a glass of chardonnay (I believe it was from the USA, but am not certain – £5.50). I then went on to a NZ Pinot, Alana 2004, well worth it at £43, served in decently large glasses.

Maybe I eat out too much, but when I saw the menu, I was not too sure I fancied anything. The chef here turns out excellent food, but he doesn’t ring the changes all that often, at least with the meat dishes which are pretty much all I eat. However, I settled for jugged hare to start and lamb as the main, with a side of new potatoes (£2.50 – enough for the two of us, except when we are being greedy). My wife also chose the hare and asked if the quail could be served without the accompanying fois gras, of which she is not at all fond. When it turned out that all the quail had been boned and stuffed with the fois gras, she followed me in having the lamb.

The jugged hare, which I have had several times before, comes in a rounded tumbler, with the hare at the bottom, surmounted by some truffled mashed potato. On the side are 3 hare kebabs, small pieces of cooked hare on a stick. Boredom forgotten, I got stuck in – the kebabs were OK, as always, but the actual jugged hare in the tumbler seemed much better than usual – deep, rich and almost juicy. The silky mash with its delicate odour of truffle went very well with it. My wife left a little of hers, simply because it was rather filling. I think that counts as an unqualified success.

I was more ambivalent about the lamb. It was accompanied by a lot of little bits – one clove of garlic, one small, peeled tomato, one piece of Jerusalem artichoke balanced in a small dollop of mashed potato. All a bit fiddly and rather nouvelle cuisine. There were several small pieces of breast of lamb, cooked pink as requested and very good. Also, there was a “cannon” – well cooked lamb rolled up around what I believe were apricots. I like apricots, but not with meat. Also, the roll included a fair bit of rather claggy fat, which led me to dissect the whole thing to get out the bits I judged edible.

For dessert, my wife asked for a fruit salad, not on the menu, but rarely a problem here, whilst I, despite looking longingly at the cheese trolley, for which I felt a little too full, had the lemon tart. The cheese here is always good and there is normally an excellent selection, as there was on this occasion. However, enough of what I didn’t have – what I did have is one of the immovables on the menu. It comes as a small scoop of iced something, (crème fraiche?), some passion fruit cream sandwiched between some nutty wafers and then the star of it all, a smallish square of lemon tart, which is invariably among the best I have had anywhere.

There is little doubt that standards of service here are no longer anywhere near as good as they used to be and I have often thought that the restaurant is understaffed. Equally, however, you will not find this standard of cooking in too many places, even fewer at the prices charged here. For my part, I would be happy to pay a few pounds more to have a couple more staff on duty – if they did that, the occasional unexpected absence of one or two (which will inevitably happen) will not lead to the sort of sloppiness we sometimes experience here. Even at a pound or two more per head, this would still be a bargain.

Three courses for two of us (plus a salad for my wife), a bottle of sparkling water, a bottle of wine and a glass of wine, plus a couple of lattes came to about £135, and cheap at the price. Incidentally, to demonstrate that the chef has not lost his inventiveness, you should attend one of the gourmet evenings, where a no choice menu is accompanied by an appropriate selection of wine. The dishes served then are usually not ones which have been seen on the menu and are usually unqualified successes.