Continental Diner's Reviews

Cassis offers a very pretty setting just minutes from the V&A and Harrods. It is a true bijou with genuine pieces of modern art and a surprisingly unstuffy and well thought-out menu loosly based around the idea of modern Provençal cooking. The food is really good, as long as you do not expect a Nice or St. Tropez mini-break. Cassis is of a US-owned stable of restaurants and thus the cuisine feels a bit like a Provence to New York and then London “re-import”. Which is not bad per se, one simply needs to be mindful. On weekends there is a fun brunch menu. My only concern is the wine list which I feel lacks a few classic choices from the region the restaurant seeks to represent. However, this is an enrichement to the Brompton Road area.

Now, reviews are a subjective thing. But Scott's, I think it is safe to say, is a matter of taste. It does, without doubt, encapuslate a certain pre-2008 financial sphere and scene of early 21st century Mayfair. However, you should be absolutely clear about one point before coming here: you come to be seen and, if you're lucky, to see others. Food is secondary, service is tertiary. Wine is widely availible at a London and Mayfair markup. But, especially if you come here when you're tired, there can be moments where you feel like being in a (not very good) movie. However, as an anthropological experiment it is quite interesting. Having said this, I would like to make rid wih the myth that this is a good place for a date. It is not, unless your opposite is the kind of person who like to name-drop where they've been taken out…

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon is absolutely sublime. The centre of attention is and has to be the food and its preparation. Both in the upstairs “cuisine” and the downstairs “comptoir” (the original bar dining on high stools) the team in the kitchen is on full display to the diners. The professionalism, dedication and perfect results are nothing short of inspiring. There is no shouting and throwing as some biritish TV chefs would like us have believe. Here a zen-like approach is evident and the result is a pleasure to behold: a perfectly tuned haute cuisine power house, working as perfectly as a swiss chronograph. It is said that many of the ingredients are brought from France and as a result the quality of the igredients speaks for itself.
The next layer which makes this restaurant probably the best in London, is the friendliness of the staff and the apporachability of the cuisine. The waitresses and waiters are there to discuss dishes, mix and match tasting plates, starters and main courses and then the somelier will help in adding the perfect wines to one's choices. Be prepared to be surprised here, as this is a great place to discover new and wonderful wines.
There is a mother-ship branch of this restaurant, as many readers will know, in Paris. However the fact that the team are maintaining these levels of cooking and service in London for the past six years speaks volumes about the dedication of everyone involved. Mr Robuchon is said to have wanted to remove some of the stuffiness from haute cuisine dining with the concept upon which the Ateliers in Paris and London are based. It has worked. There is a slight Japanese whiff about seeing the skilled chefs at work and the wonderful tasting plates which are ideal to share, remind of very good reastaurants in Spain, but the overall restaurant with its team, its food and its service is one thing: modern french cooking at its best.

We came here again after a while without visiting in Autumn 2011 during fhe truffle season. I am a great admierer of Locanda Locatelli, and so have had (and kept ) a soft spot for Zafferano as the Locatielli saga began here as we all know. Now, there is the dreaded effect of “resting on one's laurels” but in the case of Zafferano what seems to have happened is “not changing the name” and “keeping the place open”. It was abysmal. I cannot believe that there are many places in London which have declined so far so quickly, and that in what is one of London's most desireable locations… The service was very poor, the white wine was warm, the pasta overcooked and notably mediocre, the mains completely unispired and the bill hefty. Even the restrooms were not properly attended to! What a pity, is all one can say.

A very decent effort was shown by the Breton team. There is one strange thing: the food here seems to outperfom both the setting and the service. However it is so good that I am return customer. I agree with some of the comments about the service being poor, however I would like to add that this is not the waiter's fault, but the managers, three waiters couldn't possibly service a restaurant this size! Also, being nestled on the brick lane end of the City it is a good bet for a business lunch. While in summer the terrace unstairs in the market is wonderful, the interior is slightly generic faux-french brasserie.

If only there could be more places Andrew Edmund's in London! What a great place. The food is very good. Not Michelin Star good, but French countryside restaurant good. And then there is the wine. The owners have a special agreement to buy bin ends at a famous London merchant and pass the discounts on the guests. The result is without a shadow of a doubt the best value-per-drop wine list in the London. It is an absolute joy, really really great. All this is topped of with a romantic atmosphere and some of the kindest and most genuine service around. It is seldom that I such things but, it would be very difficult, if even possible to improve Andrew Edmunds.

What a pity. Even the great heritage of Scalini in Walton Street can make us forgive its current shortcomings. Let's hope they will in time be overcome. Like so many other “vintage” London Italian restaurants, Scalini has been resting on its laurels for quite some time. The food was not “bad” but notably mediocre and by current standards of inspired italian cooking in the capital. But the problem here is that there are so many so much better places close by. Let's hope that one day there's a revival in the kitchen. At the moment there is room for imporovement. However, there are glimmers of hope, I believe it would be a very good place for a private party…

A very good place overall, warm service although mostly very busy. A wide range of well prepared dishes ranging from “something light” to a full french meal. The patisseries in the afternoon are great and this branch of Aubaine has the added benefit of a truly very pretty setting and good lighting all day. Attention to detail has always been a strong point, but constistency is a key point here. This was on of the initial branches of Aubaine and I recently had to remind myself that these guys have been around for quite a while and keeping up standards far better than other growing chains. Well done. A branch inside Selfridges doesn't happen by coincidence.