Outlaw's at The Capital

22 November 2017

Our introduction to this restaurant was in the form of a rather perfunctory welcome, and unfortunately this presaged the situation for the rest of the evening, for, with the notable exception of Alessandro, the excellent sommelier, the staff were rather below the level expected of a one-star restaurant, and inevitably we had to draw an unfavourable comparison with the Port Isaac team. Once we had been seated there was something of a hiatus before we were able to give our order, which was rather a contrast with the swift service of the dishes on the tasting menu, a feature perhaps of this being a hotel restaurant. Luckily there were some nice rosemary bread rolls to supplement the one canapé, smoked cod’s roe on a seeded cracker, but we were soon tucking into the starter, cured fish in the Outlaw tradition. This one was whisky-cured salmon, the whisky to the fore, the saffron kohlrabi accompaniment very good with the salmon and not at all overpowering and the horseradish yoghurt was a nice touch. Although octopus used to be a turn-off for a lot of people we’ve always been keen on it and after ten seconds in the deep-fat frier this version was not bad, along with some cold slices, a useful bread sauce, almonds and a tarragon sauce which came through very well. We are always pleased to have brill which is one of our three top favourites, and here the fresh, tasty fish was boosted by a super deep-fried (again) oyster, a parsley, rocket and mint hollandaise and well cooked kale. Being familiar with the wonderful Porthilly sauce in the Cornwall restaurant our curiosity was raised by the appearance of Port Isaac sauce with the bass dish. The difference between them, this version being darker and with a different taste and consistency, was explained to us as being down to which locality the shellfish were obtained from. The bass was good with a nice crispy skin and was an interesting match with the sauce. We passed on the cheese and the desserts were soon on the table, my wife having a very light custard tart with a lovely gingerbread ice cream and quince, the other being an attractive mix of stout cake, plain chocolate mousse, ice cream and kumquats. Overall we felt that the food was not bad, but the experience was not up to the standard we would expect from such a highly-rated venue.

06 January 2017

Outlaw's is a safe bet for business lunch in Knightsbridge. It is quiet a rare commodity around these areas nowadays. It strikes a balance between formality and accessibility. The dining room is small and thus has a certain intimate appeal. The food is technically hard to fault. The lobby could do with a touch up but the whole setup is nice enough to feel high-end and sober enough to have a slight corporate air to it. Service stood out good house wines are available and the overall experience is positive.

13 July 2015

OK, the City to Knightsbridge is not a huge trek as the crow flies, but on a warm summer Friday night, anything involving a trip on the tube, seems like an epic expedition. Fortunately, the cool, calm interior of the Capital Hotel came as a very welcome relief. Initially we were offered pre-prandials in the bar, but when it quickly became apparent that there was no room to be had in the bar, we were shown into a room slightly away from the bar/restaurant. Whilst the room itself was pleasant enough, we were the only inhabitants and it felt like we had been banished to the naughty corner! However, the staff did not forget us and we were very well looked after with fizz and nibbles. The dining room itself is very small and we were lucky that the table that abutted ours was unoccupied, otherwise it may not have been quite the romantic dinner a deux we had planned! However, once the food arrived, all this was forgotten, as this place is all about the food. We both opted for the lobster risotto and were quite relieved to order the same starter otherwise plate envy would have been rife! Whilst the serving was not overly generous, it contained a good amount of lobster and a light hand with the orange flavouring made it wonderfully light and fresh. Oddly for us, we actually ended up swapping our main courses; I much preferred the light and delicate flavouring of the bloke's hake with crab, whereas he preferred the robustness of my grey mullet. Desserts were so-so but think we were still reeling from the starter! Although three courses is priced at a reasonable £55, once drinks and service were added to our bill we knew that we were in Knightsbridge, but that aside, will definitely return for a special treat.

27 July 2014

The invention of each dish was perfectly complimented by the exquisite quality of the ingredients and the skill of letting each element of the dish have its own moment of glory. The menu catered for both the adventurous and the more conservative palate, something that can sometimes be lacking in some restaurants who seem to want to shine through their creativity alone

20 July 2014

I feel very disdained to write this but Outlaw's at the Capital was really a waste of money and an evening to be quite frank. Whilst the service and surroundings lacked, it was the food that really stood out as disappointing. It was just so unimaginative. There were a couple of reasonable dishes (we had the tasting menu), such as a good lobster risotto but one of the mains, a cod based dish, came soaked in what tasted like a tomato sauce from a jar. It really was quite shocking. The dessert, which was a sort of fruit parfait, had far too much gelatine in and tasted utterly bland. I left hungry which after 7 courses is nothing short of amazing. It's very rare that I feel the need to comment upon the atmosphere in restaurant but it really was quite dire for a Friday night. I can't exactly say why this was but the dining room does have a rather stuffy feel to it. The surroundings feel quite old fashioned and dull which might explain it. The service couldn't save the evening. Staff were unattentive and got two drinks orders wrong, one was forgotten about all together (there were quite a few wine orders to drown out the dull food) and the lady we spoke to initially about our wine order seemed overwhelmed by the wine list. Our waiter wasn't very enthusiastic about the menu either but to be honest I don't blame him. The absolute mystery to me is how the restaurant obtained (and has retained) a Michelin star. A terrible disappointment.