Laypy's Reviews

Arranged dinner at 34 on a Saturday night with another couple only a few days after the opening. The place was already packed with the usual Mayfair restaurant clientele. All dressed in fur and dripping in beautiful jewels. These ppl rotate between all of the excellent Caprice Holding venues, and i can again confirm why.

The restaurant is designed in a simple elegant style. White crisp table cloths, a glamourous moody bar at one end and leather booth seating on one side of each table. There was also a grand piano and small band playing as we walked in for our 9:45 seating which was a nice treat.

The menu is very clean looking, some inspiring starters- all delicate sounding and detailed, many large cuts of meat and some fish dishes included on the main.

All the starters were well received, think the option we were all jealous off was the venison carpaccio which not only was bigger than the rest but looked more appealing.

For the main i had the cod which was excellent, served on lentils. The cod fillet was huge and i was very full afterwards. The boys had meat, naturally. They opted for a decent sized portion but nothing too large. However as we were sat near the open grill i could see ginormous cuts of beef being grilled. And all around us people were gorging on huge cuts off beef. Im not sure i have seen bigger to be honest.

Our waiter was knowledgeable on wines and helped us with choosing starters so no problems there.

All in all i would definitely come back again. The food bill was about £100pp to include 1/2 bottle of wine per person for 4. The prices are to be expected for high standards that are also seen in the other restaurants in the group.

I ended up at Lucknam park after being whisked away for a surprise weekend. And i can honestly say that it is a fantastic place to spend a weekend or 24 hours. There is so much to fill your time with. But this post is a restaurant review of the Michelin Star restaurant within the house at Lucknam Park so i shall get started,

We (two of us) sat down at 21:30 for dinner at the restaurant. First impressions were positive, the dining room is divided into two, a main bigger room and a small room. We were seated in the larger room which would have been my preference. The restaurant offers spacious dining with no two tables being near each other, one of my favourite things when dining.

Our table was at the back near the wall and was neat;ly layed out. Upon being seated we were informed of the specials which immiedetly grabbed the attention of my partner who put his order in for that which was the beef with truffle jus.

The menu offers a gourmand menu at about £90 and then a choice of either 2 or 3 courses at £70 or £80 (i think!) We were feeling not so hungry (being so late) so opted for a starter to share, a main course each and a dessert to share. For the starter we chose the scallops, my partner chose the beef special as a main and i opted for the venison. We made our choices and we were left to mull over the vast wine menu. Most of the wines started at at least £60. The somelier's assistant (!) came over and offered some suggestions but we stuck to our guns and went for the Pomerol which was on the somelier recommendation list. So glad we did as it was one of the nicest red wines i have had in a very long time. Absolutely delicious.

The starter of scallops came with 3 scallops and was utterly devine. The mains arrived in good time after and every mouthful of both our dishes was savoured and met with 'mmm's. Both dishes were perfectly cooked and the pureed vegetables and jus' complimented each meat ideally.

For dessert we glanced over the menu, and feeling pretty full we… More

Around a month after new local restaurant Tinello opened we decided to check it out. Having passed by on many occasions and always seen the restaurant fully booked (and also on few occasions failed to get a booking for the evening) we expected good things from a site that has seen it change hands a few times from L’Incontro to Mauro and back.

Without a booking and at around 9pm we chanced our luck and walked in. Staff were friendly and within a few moments we were shown downstairs to a large round table with a view (if you are stood!) of the kitchens. We didn’t even know the venue had a downstairs, what a nice surprise. It’s less noisy and atmospheric than upstairs but nicer for a quiet evening meal.

We both opted to share some of their smaller plates to start, ordering a mixture of fried Zucchini, buratta, the special of polenta and wild mushrooms and some Italian ham. All the dishes were tasty and at very good value considering the size of some of them. For my main I had the aubergine and warm smoked cheese salad which was one of the best in London I have had. The smoked cheese flavoured the whole dish perfectly and I couldn’t have been more pleased with my choice. My companion had the lamb dish which too looked good and I am assured tasted the same.

Our waiter (a charming young man who hailed from Sardinia) recommended a Sardinian wine to accompany our meal which was also very nice. From our table we could see the impressive wine cellars and already look forward to sampling some other bottles.

After our meal Manuel, the proprietor of Tinello came and spoke with us and explained the concept of the restaurant and recommended other dishes for our next visit. He also claims to have the best coffee, something which we will discover on our next visit.

Dishes are fairly priced which is a huge plus for Tinello, that and the friendly on-the -ball staff thrown together with great Italian food makes Tinello a winning local restaurant. We will definitely be returning!

I popped into Bar Boulud on a Friday lunch time for a quick bite with friends during the working day. After hearing so much about the ‘best burger in town’ this restaurant had been on my hit list for some time. I called the reservation line on the morning of the booking and was able to get a booking which surprised me. I have tried previously to get evening reservations for colleagues and have many times failed due to the restaurant being fully booked.

We arrived at 12:30 with the restaurant already half full (or half empty?!) and were swiftly shown to our table which was by the window. Half booth/bench seating and other half chairs. Service was prompt and attentive with (i think) our waiter being of French ethnicity which was a nice touch. He even remembered one of the party who had dined at BB a few weeks prior.

None of the group feeling particularly hungry and most eager to try the burger we skipped starters and dived straight into the mains. We ordered 2 piggy burgers, one frenchie and i (sadly) opted for the goats cheese salad that i had spied a fellow dinner a few tables along eating. It looked like it was a substantial main sized portion so i asked the waiter what it was she was eating and once hearing the reply i asked for ‘the same’.

Unfortunately, when it arrived it was half the size of the lady id seen enjoying hers (or perhaps i imagined it) and was just a basic goats cheese on crustini on leaves. Still, for what it was, despite its size, was tasty. The burgers that my other diners sensibly ordered looked impressive. Piled high with lettuce, pulled pork (the piggy) and other various condiments and ingredients. The side of fries came in a cute bucket but i couldn’t help feeling that the overall ‘meal’ looked a little small. Perhaps that was just my disappointment in my salad playing up on me. My companions gave it no complaints.

Taking a quick loo break between the bill arriving and finishing the mains i was able to see just how big the restaurant actually is… More

Hearing all the buzz and hype about this restaurant made a couple of friends and myself a little more than desperate to have a taste for ourselves. So there we found ourselves, on a Friday night in the capital of impossible to get reservations without a reservation. It seemed like the perfect time to sample Polpo with its no reservations policy.

We hot footed it over to Beak St and walked through the welcoming doors. The wait, we were told, could be up to 40 mins, but since we were in no rush and needed an excuse to prolong our catch up we were more than happy to wait at the,(albeit crowded) bar. The bar space is small and busy but if you expect this then you won’t mind the odd treading of feet on your own toes! Prosecco (on tap) is served in small tumblers which is authentic but don’t expect to feel chic drinking out of one! Immediately you feel a since of friendliness with fellow diners. We shared pre dining banter (which resulted in pre dining drinks and nibbles) with 3 friendly city types. Had it have not been more difficult to get a table to seat all 7 of us we would have joined each other for dinner, but tables are small at Polpo and it was much easier to seat in our small groups.

Dishes are designed small (including cicheti), for the table to order lots and share between yourselves. We were so excited by the variety on offer that we ordered far too much, in the end having to balance water bottles, wine, plates of small Venetian delights and the rest on the small table. It would have been nice for the waitress to inform us that dishes would be brought out at the same time when ready so that we could have staggered our ordering. This was my major fault with Polpo.

From our choices the ones which stood out were the White anchovy, tapenade and egg cicheti, the broad bean, ricotta and mint bruschetta and the calfs liver, onions and sage (delicious!) but all were delicious. Just beware of ordering too many dishes!

Overall Polpo is a good choice for a buzzy casual meal… More

Feeling peckish after what was a glorious (and rare) sunny day in London, myself and a friend decided to head over to Ricarrdo’s for a spot of dinner. We arrived at 8:30pm without a reservation and the place was packed. It was a Sunday and i was shocked- this was, after all, my first venture to Ricarrdos, my friend was not at all shocked. It wasn’t his first visit, Ricarrdos is very good i was assured. The wait for a table was going to be 30 mins so we left bitterly disappointed. Walking away from the restaurant we realised that we had to have Italian, after driving for ten minutes we realised it had to be Ricarrdo’s. The smell had been so fresh and Italian that nothing else would do. We called up and booked in for the next available table.
Upon returning to the restaurant we were shown to our table, which was a lovely table at the front of the restaurant big enough to seat four. It was worth the wait. Having perused the menu and the specials there was one thing that i was certain of: I wanted everything. The menu was vast and offered most of the Italian classics…Pasta, pizzas, risotto, fish, meats, salads. The choice was daunting. Sadly, we both played pretty safe on the starter opting for an avocado, mozzarella and tomato salad. It wasn’t the best tricolore salad that i have ever had and nor will it be the worst. There was nothing outstanding about it, but it was fresh and light as it should be.
For the mains, again we played twins and had the tagliatelli with rabbit dish. This dish was special. The pasta was coated in generous amounts of the pomodoro and rabbit sauce and the pasta was cook to what can only be called perfection. I did not want the dish to end. Both of us passed on dessert.
The staff are attentive and very accommodating, when we asked for more light to be shed on our table the waitress went out of her way fiddling with switches to turn it on, sadly the light was broken. We made do with a tea light instead.
I would highly recommend Ricarrdo’s to others, but… More