I was taken here by my girlfriend as a birthday surprise, and the experience was terribly disappointing. We ate in “L'Atelier” on the ground floor; we, it would seem, were lucky in that we had a table, although this was small, high and cramped, which reflects the restaurant as a whole, which has a long line of diners sitting canteen-style at a counter on bar stools, and conversation is easily audible from table to table despite the background music.

The service was good in parts, but the descriptions of the dishes and their accompanying wines had already been delivered to neighbouring diners well within our earshot enough times that they were entirely superfluous by the time they were delivered to us, we were approached by the Sommelier with wines to accompany courses we had already finished, and the first glass of wine came with a floating moth.

The food was good rather than spectacular, and well-presented and delivered, but the dishes as a whole were simple and well-executed as opposed to a masterpiece of the chef's craft and art.

Had the occasion been different, I would have been disappointed, but knowing the effort which my girlfriend had made to try and arrange a genuinely memorable occasion, I left feeling angry at the experience, even more so because it was my girlfriend's money which had been wasted (though I hope that I was able to hide my disappointment from her).

Overall, I find it hard to understand the rating of this restaurant – I can't begin to see how it comes close in terms of atmosphere, quality of food or sense of occasion to other two starred restaurants such as Le Gavroche, Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons or Le Champignon Sauvage (each of which differs significantly from the others, but all of which are most definitely “special” places to eat with magnificent food).

I really hope we're not going back.