L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

The partner I booked this for came back to me and said 'It was really awesome I would say one of the best meals I have had in London, though quite pricey'.

Had a fantastic time with my friends there. Sat next to the beautiful “garden wall”. Wow! The food was delicious and fabulously presented. Had the chocolate desolving dome. Lush! Would like to return some time again.

Whenever it is a Robuchon, there is always the reassurance. Enough said. “Go and try out for yourself if you still haven't done so!”

Although there are more economic options available we opted for the 8 course tasting menu with wine matching and were not disappointed. While undoubtedly pricey, the food was of an extremely high standard and the servers courteous, friendly and professional throughout. Other diners may prefer a more formal presentation but the style at Joel Robuchon worked well for our party. From the amuse bouche (foie gras, port reduction and parmesan foam) through to the end this experience was a delight. Highly recommended for a variety of occasions (romantic dinner, pre-theatre or relaxed weekend lunch).

Every item was sublime. Small quantity but great quality.

The food is quite outstanding and entirely worthy of the 2 Michelin stars. Value of money amongst the global elite of restaurants is comparative and in this case, while not cheap, this is value for the money. To be able to watch the chef and his team on the ground floor L'Atelier is a privilege and you should ask to sit at the bar. Cannot fault it and now in my personal global Top 10 restaurants

If you go sit at the bar. It is unusual to have this type of top-notch haute cuisine being prepared in front of your eyes (as you would in a sushi restaurant) and it adds to the experience.

Lovely place to go to if you want a good meal in a quiet place where you can enjoy good conversation. Me and my sister went for the ground level counter area, and we both had the tasting menu. Much is down to individual tastes and you may not like all the dishes – personal taste! It is expensive but considering the overall experience we were happy. The counter seating is good if you are going as a couple or 3 people, but any more and you're better on a table as it's hard to talk to someone 2 seats down. But it was a superb experience. Very attentive and well mannered waiting staff.

I booked a table for 3 people as I had 2 visitors from Australia and went to L'Atelier for lunch. We had 2 course set lunch with matching wine. As we were 3 of us, the staff seated us cleverly in a L shaped corner where 2 sat on one side and the 3rd person on the other side. My visitors commented how the seats were so comfortable, correct height, not too tall not too short. Until they mentioned, I didn't realise how comfortable the chairs were. We had main course and desert for our 2 courses. My main course was lamb cutlet type 2 chunky pieces with herbs and beautiful fried potatoes and some green vegetables. The lamb meat was so well prepared, they melted in my mouth. Excellent taste, great presentation and overall it was a pleasure to eat. For the desert, I had Mango-Mango. I knew that you cannot beat the French when it comes to deserts – wow what a delight to have this Mango-Mango desert. Another beautiful presentation, fantastic taste and truly enjoyable. When my visitors decided that they will have 2 course lunch instead of 3 course, I was not sure how filling it will be. To my surprise, this 2 course meal was just right for lunch time meal. As my visitors had come a long way from Melbourne and we only meet once a year we had a lot to catch up and spent almost 3 hours at this restaurant. They staff were fantastic. Explained to us how they prepare the food and how they are able to keep the kitchen so quiet even during the busy lunch time etc etc. The staff came across as happy people unlike some restaurants where you end up getting grumpy staff. We finished our lunch with coffee and I had a cappuccino. If there is any complaint about any thing at all, I would complain that my hot drink was not hot enough. I like my hot drinks hot, whereas this was at the lower end of being warm. I was tempted to ask the staff to warm it up, but as I was entertaining my visitors from Melbourne, I decided to drink not so warm drink. Apart from this minor point, my experience at this restaurant was positive and excellent. I will certainly visit this place again. Good value for money – if you are looking for a decent meal at a decent place.

Our visit to L'Atelier was overall a great gastronomic experience, although it didn't quite meet my, admittedly sky high, expectations. We went for the set lunch, four courses with matching wines (£60). A starter of white asparagus with quail eggs and honeyed pistachio nuts was beautifully delicate. But my second starter, the pate, was not worth the £7 supplement: too rustic, too chunky, with lumps of gelatin and not enough foie gras and with a matching wine which was too flabby to cope. My main of pork belly was delicious, quite salty but flavoursome, with (is there a Michelin restaurant in the world which has resisted froth?!) a light celeriac mousseline. I finished with a william pear on a creamy pot (not unlike the bottom of a creme brulee) chosen mainly because I fancied trying the intriguing Gewurtztraminer from Mendoza and which turned out to be as sweetly drinkable as anything European (who knew?). Swift delivery of the dishes does make it feel a little bit like you're on the lunchtime conveyor belt but we were the last leave so perhaps it was justified in our case. We sat up at the bar stools looking into the kitchen: I love the theatre of it but I wonder if it's just a bit too Yo Sushi, taking away the mystery, diminishing the sense of occasion and making service, with all its reaching over the counter to get to you, feel a little too casual? Decor is a hedonistic mix of moody black and sensual red: a bit incongruous on a sunny lunchtime and no doubt better suited to the evening crowd who, given they'll be ordering from the a la carte menu, must indeed be loaded hedonists (a sneaky peak reveals many more delicious looking options but at an average £17). Service was absolutely excellent, from the refreshingly snooty-free reception and the friendly upstairs bar to our smiley, approachable waiter and the sommelier (who responded to my dislike of the second wine by coming over in person and ensuring I got to try the following wines first, good work). A lovely lunch and not bad value for a taste of 2 Michelin stars but I'd like to come back in the evening, with someone else picking up the bill.