Max's Reviews

Now this is refreshing. Colchis balances slick decor and menu with a very unpretentious, relaxed attitude. We also found Georgian food the perfect comfort food for a freezing London night. However comfort in this case doesn't mean thick, grubby stodge. The food is quiet refined and well thought through. We started off with ham and figs and despite the figs being a bit out of season the ham was outstanding. The beans with bacon and cheese bread were a good starting point: full of flavour but not so overwhelming that you wouldn't taste the nuttiness of the beans. We had lamb stew and kebabs for mains and they were also very well executed. The lamb cooked with aubergine and thyme was tender and sweet. The kebabs were accompanied by two excellent spicy sauces that arrived in two separate pots. Great care is taken in the presentation of the dishes and this is a plus. The portions are very generous. We washed it all down with a caraffe of Georgian red and a bottle of Georgian sparklin water that we are told comes from Stalin's favorite spa (some achievement!). The service was good, friendly and competent. We had drinks at the bar and the Italian bartender does mix a mean Negroni. The dinidng room is very relaxing and being a jazz fan I appreciated the not obvious choices of background music. The only fault we could find was a slightly too long wait between apetizers and main courses but you can excuse that as the restaurant has been opened only three weeks and it is inevitable that they might have some teething problems. However we had a very pleasant night out, the food was new, the wine good and we really enjoyed ourselves. Colchis is relatively new and we think will become a destination for foodies looking for something different. We certainly go back and bring friends with us.

What a delightful surprise. A very popular establishment with locals, we were very keen to try it and we took the plunge with a couple of our foodie friends from NY. The dining room is smartly decorated and the atmosphere lively although a bit loud. The service was relaxed and to the point. Our your waitress was very competent and made very good suggestions for the wine. The focus is really on the food. The chicken raviolo was a real revelation: moist, tasty filling wrapped in lovely light pasta. All my companions had the foie gras and rated it highly. My main of Rump of veal, caramelised cauliflower, roast salsify and parmesan was bordering on exquisite. I am partial to salsify and it matched beautifully the milky sweetness of the veal. A quick taste of
the fried sea bream and of the pork belly and cheek made me realize that I want to go back before these to dishes go off the menu. The deserts were equally compelling. The creme catalan with vanilla doughnuts and seville orange marmalade was a triumph of bold flavours. The bill was accetable for a restaurant of this caliber. There is some real passion for food in this place. They just got a star, it is completely deserved and we will be keeping watch of how the progress to the next one.

Bryn Williams is a masterful chef with a talent for combining flavours and textures. The dishes are skillfully assembled and beautifully presented. The restaurant's wine list is well put together with some very interesting bottles at reasonable prices. The restaurant's revamped decor is warm and cozy. However the service is amateurish and approximative. In our visit it was shambolic and careless. From the moment we walked in (we booked for four and we were given a tiny table for three), to waiting for 45 minutes for someone to take our orders. We had to ask for bread and the wine list four times. With a front of house like this Williams makes a disservice to his excellent cooking. The restaurant has a lot of potential but he needs to employ professional staff. A real pity. Our suggestion: try it. Just ignore the hit-and-miss service and just enjoy some very fine food.