deep pockets required!

I have been here of numerous occassions for drinks, but last night was the first time i have dinned here. we chose the japanese restaurant, service was very slow to start, i think we sat for 20 minutes before someone came and took our order. The menu is vast, sashimi selection was excellent and extremely fresh as was the chillie squid really very good. Maki rolls are not quite up there with zuma's, dim sum was excellent and full of flavour. we opted for salomon for main and steak and scallops which were overcooked and rubbery., both were average and nothing special. desserts selection were very good indeed especially the green tea mouse , superb. If you can get past the Pretentious staff and stuck up russian and middle east clientel ,then this is the place for you, but prepare to take a big hit to your wallet, my goodness this place makes zuma look cheap! Would i go again, probably but only for a very special occasion. id probably stick to zuma or dinings.

if you can put aside the slightly damp atmosphere, then this is the place to go. I went last night, the experience took me back to the first time i ever tried sushi at nobu10 years ago, however this was in a different level. it was quite simply the best sushi i have ever had…period and i am a sushi snob. you cant beat zuma or nobu for the atmosphere but food and presentation blows zuma out of the water i will defo be going back. you have to go to expreriece the tastes and textures of flawless sushi. i would reccomend sitting at the sushi counter to see the masters at work!

Ask used to be one of our favourite italian restaurants, good food, great service, nice atmosphere and value for money, now owned by private equity group Cinven, it crappy food, terrible service, horrible atmosphere mainly because they are half empty and terrible v alue for money. The menu is too big for a start, my wife an i had the anti pasta to start £11, 2 bits of low quality parama ham, a bit of salami and some bread…please, this was an insult , mains terrible my wifes pasta dish resembled a childs portion and was truly awful, my pizza which is served on a fancy wooden board was terrible thick uncooked base and low quality ingredients on top. service was slow and cumbersom, probably because they only had 2 staff on at the time to save money… could not wait to leave.

i have said it before, what private equity do, is buy a company, push up prices and slash quality . i will never go again, what they are interested in is there profit line, nothing else, i work in finance so i know. I now go to my local family run italian, the food is great, the portions great, the staff friendly and attentive. If you go to ask you are a fool, all you are doing is giving money to private equity millionares who dont give a hoot about their customers!!

a real shame becuaed they have destroyed what was once a great chain. greed in this case is not so good.

went with a group for dinner on Thursday, compared to last year it was a massive dissapointment. I can understand the tasting concept, however when u have to wait 30-40 mins between each course, it takes the edge off!! we arrived 7.30 , we had 4 courses each nearly 3 hours, i complained a couple of times to waiting staff, asking the kitchen to speed up. we declined deserts, could not endure another 40 mins wait. The chefs and guys at the pass need to get there S**t together. Not good when its costing nearyly £100 a person.

as for the food it was good, nothing special and most dishes were very underseasoned. I will not be going agagin. The dinning room has zero atmosphere, probably why i could get a table pretty easily.

great location, the restaurant has a nice layout, with exposed brickwork. staff were very polite and knew there stuff. we were a group of 6 people, i had the muscles to start, were very good although quite a few were closed, perhaps chef should check at the pass next time. i had beef of the main menu, was very tasty but lucky i ordered a starter, it was very small portion. My sister had the chicken it was superb, we had to order bread to soak up the lovley juice ! Couple of annoying things the special which was rib eye on bone has sold out by 8 pm, this was not acceptable, who is doing the ordering! my friend had the only other special which was whole baked seabase which was total rare in the middle, it was sent back, but to be fair they handled it well and did not charge us and gave us free deserts which were good especially apple cruble with custard!. Overall it was good, would i return, probably not, dont get me wrong it was nice, but silly errors in the kitchen took the shine off slightly.

went with a friend for lunch, greeted by friendly staff. we opted for spicy chicken wings which were epic!, lovley crispy skin, nice soft chicken on inside, then we had the whole rack of ribs, fantastic loads of meat and well presented on a wooden platter., we could only manage three quaters of them between us, great onion rings and macaroni cheese. A real good nose bag. burgers looked good aswell, will defo go back, 2 people with wine 2 beers water was £80, excellent value, plenty of yanks in here so must be good as i know they love there meat, will try the “devastator” burger when i go back in a try “man vs food” fashion!

My wife and i , had dinner here on saturday, i must admitt i was slightly optomostic that this would live up to other 2 michelin star establishments i have been too, but i am glad to say i was blown away, it was a country mile ahead in my view. The restaurant is very small, but has a very traditional feel, and has kept the “pub” theme, which is great. Very friendly and informal staff, really liked this, not some ponsy snob looking down on you like he is doing you a favour as many of these michelin restaurants have…that i hate!

the food, i had the crispy pigs head to start my wife had the haddock omelette, both were brilliant and of the highest standard , mine in particular was for a lack of a better word, monumental!! i could have easily eaten another one and beautifully presentented, not a pigs head in sight!!!

second course i had the duck which won Tom the main from great british menu, it was brillaint and the chips to die for, my wife had the beef which was one of the best i have tatsted soo tender and flavoursom.

we opted to share a dessert, a chocolate cake, it was very good indeed, not the best i have had, but it can be forgiven for the rollercaoster of flavours we had just been presented with.

i have eaten at most 2 and 3 star michelin retaurants in london, this was right up their with the best and in my view eclipses them, well done michelin at last your inspectors have got it right, shame they cant get it right with the london scene, i would be stripping many of them of their stars, they simply do not deserve them in any way shape or form.

the most amazing thing, 2 starters 2 mains, desert, 2 glasses of champagne, wine, water, a smidge over 140, notes,service was not added to the bill we left tip in cash, any london restaurant would be minum double that if not tripple, plus how these london restaurants have the bare face cheek to add 15% service charge to the bill is a disgrace, i always cross it off and leave what i think is a reasonable tip. this is the best value michelin eatery i have ever been too and i cant wait to go back.

went or lunch with a friend, very buzzy and busy, we were seated quickly. started with some maki rolls which were excellent, calafornia maki, spicy tuna and softshell maki. then we had 5 sashimi selection, which was very good indeed, finsihed with ribs and black cod, all great and ribs were yummy. still quite expensive with wine and coffee and a few other bits, but not moaning, dont mind paying if its worth it and this place is, not quite on par with zuma .

was a walk in at lunch time with a client, was greeted by a irate receptionist asking if i had booked, looking down at me, was offered a table, i thought “thx for putting yourself out” after being ignored for about 15 mins, i finally managed to grab a waiter to order. food was ok, nothing special and luke warm, god knows how long it had been sitting on the pass…but could not be bothered to send back, has already ben there 1 hour and 25 mins! got the bill, 2 beers added on we did not have and service charge added, were they takingthe p**s, that all came off. not a good experience, defo will not be going back. poor

very friendly and attentive service, we had antipasta to start , was very nice indeed, i had a ravioli special, filled with ricotta and italian meat with beatroot was excellent, my friend had seafood pasta was very tasty aswell, panacotta for dessert was ok, but still nice. overall was very good, buzzy atmosphere and not expensive at all, would go back..liked the fact we were offered tap water instead of overpriced bottled water, nice touch.

very nice location, just behind old bond st, my friend and i had drinks at the bar first, then were shown downstairs to the other part of the restaurant, defo the place to be seen, nice layout with open kitchen, so you can see chefs at work. this is a sharing concept like la petit masion, we shared tuna tatar and calamari, both nice although calamari had paprika infused into, which was a bit too overpowering for it, tuna was great, second course dauphouis was the best i have had anywhere, steak was lovley as was dover sole, pasta with beef ragu was nothing special, chocolate dessert was yummy. overall very nice and this is the place to be seen as we saw from the clientel, princess beatrice rocked up as we were finishing the dessert. One negative for me personally it was very very noisy, so having a conversation is tricky at times, but liked it overall, not quite as la petit's level, but judging by it being filled to the rafters i dont think they need to worry!! will be going back.

came with a client, last minute, oh well we all make mistakes! dark and souless dinning room, we were seated in one of the darkest depths of the restaurant, we shared a fish platter to start and to be fair was very nice and for £15 was pretty good value, my client had a fish and chips , i had steak, why they came 10 mins apart i have no idea, trying to get hold of staff was like trying to raise the dead (it cant really be done)! not good there, trying to gt the bill was also traumatic , i think it was around 15 minutes or so…, the waitress looked at me as though i was from mars when i refused to leave a tip, sorry love, you have to earn that, no such thing as a free lunch!! this is the kind of place you go as a last resort, so if the que is to long at mcdonalds come here!!

i am bafled how some restaurants retain their stars, but then in this place you copuld probably spot a michelin inspector a mile off as he/she woulkd be the only customer. I took my wife for lunch 1 oclock, it resembled an old peoples home, food was a huge dissapointment, its a real shame, but with a 2 star restaurant 20%full at lunch, alarm bells should be ringing with the owners, its either too expensive or simply not good enough and i am afraid its a bit of both. Staff were very polite and service was excellent, but thats not really the point. ahhhh!! one day ill go to a michelin establishment and not leave on a downer!!

I like the dining room, with the open kitchen set up, nice and buzzy. Food is good but nothing to shout about, i had steak tartar to start was a tad overseasoned, which was a shame and fillet steak for main, was very nice but not up to goodmans or cuts standard. having said that its not overprices and therefore i have been back on a number of occassions, entertaining clients and for groups its great fun, well done jamie!

what has happened to this place, last time i reviewed was excellent, seems u can have to much of a good thing. i went with my wife on a saturday night 7pm, was deserted. staff were sloppy, seemed more interested in talking to each other than serving us. We orderd 2 clipper treats, 45 mins later!! they turned up, i was on the verge of walking out, they apologised and said there fryer was broken, it tasted ok, but not up to usual standard. main i had butter chicken, it was poor completetly overseasoned and far to salty, my wife had a prawn curry, it was average. my local indian in rickmansworth is spectacular and half the price, i dont think i will be going back £110 for 2 is just to steep and for that money i want great things, a real shame. i will go back in a few months , maybe i just had a bad night!