Claude Bosi at Bibendum

We were most looking foreard to experience a new 2*, as few new ones have surfaced over the years. But this one is a complete joke unfortunately. Firstly, the service is cold, not customer centric, and seemingly disinterested. The interior is plain, which is a shame for such a beautiful building. The wine menu is short, obvious, and superficial. But worst of all was the food. Elementary mistakes, inconsistent preparation, and careless plating was common on almost every course. Its was try hard, and lacked basic execution skills. Finally, we found the chef, Claude Bossi, extremely rude and arrogant, as though he didn't want to be there and didn't care whether customers were enjoying themselves or not.

I had the 3-course set lunch at this restaurant on a Saturday. It was great value for money (only £40 per person) considering that it’s a 2 Michelin-starred establishment. For starter I had the Cornish mussels, smoked potatoes, sea leeks, Vin Jaune sauce. The mussels were fresh and juicy, and complement very well with the creamy Vin Jaune sauce. For main I had a Cornish cod, “Tom kha gai” style. The combination of flavours was very interesting and creative - the fish was smooth and cooked to perfection, and the Thai coconut flavour in the Tom kha gai adds a bit of oomph to the dish. To wrap it up I had ice cream trolley for dessert - I got to choose from a range of ice cream flavours from a trolley (I picked hazelnut, mandarin and pear) which made the whole dining experience even more fun. The service was attentive and top-notch. Overall a very satisfactory dining experience.

I tried this one out I think one Sunday without booking but was quickly accommodated without fuss at a table of my choice on the first floor restaurant. I like this.Its always a struggle having to apologise for actually wanting to buy a meal and negotiate where to sit as in some places. Being on my own I did feel a little uncomfortable as most other diners were in social groups or couples but what the heck. It appeared very clean bread and table water were brought along with butter. The service was attentive perhaps a little hovering or ‘smooth’. The meal was fine and the sweet nice too. Perhaps a little pricey for what one got. Throughout I felt a little 'watched'by gaggles of managers and waiters congregating round the central till area but this is common in many high quality places. Overall perhaps a little over fussy and dated in its fairly predictable par for the course accessessories but trying hard. A nice meal on a Sunday Afternoon but bot too often as the price was around £40-50.

Went to Bibendum for the first time for a family celebration, eager with anticipation, and following a pleasant welcome were shown to a table in the middle of the room, sandwiched between two serving stations. The food was absolutely fine but that's the problem, there was nothing wrong with it but equally nothing to rave about; I would prefer to say ‘it was exceptional’ but can't muster more than ‘adequate’ and certainly not worth the premium price. The dishes were generous but barely elevated beyond ‘good gastropub’. It is a lovely room, if a little noisy, but my biggest grumble was the poor service. Our experience included having water and then bernaise sauce sloshed all over us and the table; wine opened for tasting and then left on the serving station and not poured; I was bashed into a total of seven times by staff at the adjacent station; staff arguing with each other about orders within earshot, our waitress even breaking off mid-service to continue the debate with her colleague; staff shouting across our table between the stations. Raised the concern with management at the end of the meal, who dealt with the complaint courteously but with little more than platitudes. Given the accolades I can only assume they know when the reviewers are in and up their game, or perhaps this was a one-off, but they need to show more flair in the kitchen and, most importantly, improve front of house staff training. If you like this kind of thing try The Wolseley instead.

I like Bibendum. It has been there for ever and of course over the long term there are some ups and some downs, yet it has always delivered and has a really good balance between high end dining and a nice non-pretentious style. I sometimes feel it is reviewd harshly because it is compared to the wrong kind of restaurants. The Oyster Bar downstairs is fun in the warmer months and staff are always friendly and make everything possible. An underrated institution.

The food was good, it just wasn't great. Very nice wines, service was good but there was something about it that didnt blow me away. Very pricey but they really do feed you – huge portions. Felt quite ill when I left but felt a bit guilty too as I didnt manage to finish anything. Nothing wrong with it but it just did nothing to excite me. Full of tourists too.

Just brilliant – had a Friday lunch here. Great location, fantastic menu and food, civilised atmosphere, polite but unobtrusive service, and the fixed price weekday lunch menu is good value, considering the calibre of the restaurant. Would recommend it to anyone.