Kim's Reviews

I so wanted my dinner at Galvin Windows to be blow-your-socks-off good. Really really wanted it to be. And yet I left feeling a little deflated and disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, the food is very good on the whole. We chose from the Menu Prestige, which at £65 for three courses is a little steep in comparison to something like Marcus Waering at the Berkley. The choice however was good and varied enough, though not vast, and I was torn between the venison and the fillet of beef bordelaise (which incurred a £5 supplement)

The amuse bouche was superb – pumpkin bavarois, mushroom cream, topped with a parmesan froth. It was spectacular, although they lose a few marks by not telling me it had pistachio mixed into the parmesan froth. I have a partial nut allergy which I told them about before ordering, but still the amuse bouche came with the pistachios! Fortunately pistachios, hazelnuts and almonds are the only three nuts that I am not allergic to, but still it could have been a close call.

Starters for my partner were scallops in a slightly nondescript veloute of some sort, whilst I had a duck and foie gras terrine. The scallops were perfectly cooked – lightly browned on the outside, squishy in the middle and full of flavour, A shame then that the veloute was so bland in comparison and did nothing to lift, or complement, the scallops themselves. My terrine was very good – full of flavour, and came with an astonishing piece of brioche toast which I could have kept eating all night.

Mains – my partner had a roasted fillet of cod whilst I went for the beef. The fish elicited murmurs of delight, whilst the beef was actually really rather good, with slices of ox cheek underneath and a lovely bordelaise sauce. The smoked potato puree was also rather good, although not spectacular enough to elevate it onto another plain from other forms of mashed potato.

Dessert was a huge tarte tatin to share – huge in that it was a full dinner plate size, cut in half. Lovely looking caramelised… More

Coming here on a double-date foursome on the strength of a recommendation we were very surprised at how lived-in and comfortable the setting was for what is a very new restaurant. Lighting is dim, the candle-lit tables quite romantic, chairs lovely and squishy and it was lovely to see smartly dressed and smiley staff.

The menu was very nostalgic in its choices and presentation and in truth we had great difficulty in choosing what we were going to eat, despite there only being eight or so starters and mains each to choose from. In the end we all chose different things in the hope that some of us would let others share! The dressed crab salad was really lovely and fresh and showed that simplicity is sometimes the better way to go. Oysters apparently were great although not my thing at all. When the mains arrived we were literally gob-smacked. The toad in the hole I ordered was breathtakingly huge with the most enormous yorkshire pudding i have ever seen. The beef wellington also compelled my partner to utter a few unrepeatable words and embarrassingly enough our waiter just laughed at and said it was a normal thing to hear. The eating was every bit as good as the seeing and it was a struggle to keep hold of my own plate as the others were itching to have their share.

We only managed two desserts between us and I can safely say the rice pudding is the best I have ever had. Better than my Mum's even (sorry Mum). So rich, creamy, sweet without being sweet, it came with a side of strawberry jam which I don't like but over which the others fought.

Service was really great and the staff ever so friendly. It was nice to see the management take an active interest in our dining experience and my only critical comment is that the portions were fractionally too large for us girls, although typically the boys immediately vetoed my suggestion! I loved the cocktails too which were some of the very best I've had in London.

Overall the service is top rate, the food really impressive and… More

What a swish and glamorous entrance! A dimly lit entrance hallway where you are greeted by a host and then whisked up in a lift to the top floor where we exited into another secondary reception and led into the dimly lit bar. Lovely atmosphere populated by what is undoubtedly a ‘beautiful’ crowd with guys in suits and girls all dressed up for a night of cocktails, food and maybe a little debauchery later on!

I was with a group of six girls and we were definitely out on a mission to have a night to remember. The drinks were lovely with a long list of cocktails and champagne although the house champagne of Louis Roederer was not to my taste. The staff at the bar were really friendly and accommodated us well (might have been the dresses though!)

Dinner was almost as good. Sushi was really fresh and delicate and the scallops were heavenly, being fat, juicy, balanced with the stickiest of sticky rice. Crab rolls were also great. A shame then the miso soup was quite insipid, the miso cod way over cooked even for us girls and the beef fillet chewy. Some great, some average then. However the biggest disappointment was the staff who were just horrid. Not only did they not care, they practically threw our dishes onto the table, they left empty glasses cluttering up all the space and looked down their noses at us when we raised a complaint. Really wasn't what any of us were expecting and one of our party just wanted to leave.

The receptionist on the way out was very nice though and had the decency to listen to our comments and said she would pass it on to a senior manager. Whether or not it will happen I don't know, but it makes me pause for thought when I think about going back again. Maybe just for the drinks at the bar. Oh, and the view over Oxford Street is such a wow factor it's worth going just for that.