Koffmann's - Restaurant Review

Cuisine: French

Cost:

Rating:

Where?:  The Berkeley, Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, London. SW1X 7RL

Closest station(s): Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge, Victoria.    

Telephone:  0207 235 1010

Website: www.the-berkeley.co.uk/koffmanns  

 Koffmann’s is a welcome return for Pierre Koffmann to the London restaurant scene having previously held three Michelin stars with the Tante Claire on Royal Hospital Road. Following his break he has returned to the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge with a more relaxed effort in the form of a French brasserie, this restaurant will not win three Michelin stars however it is not trying to.  

The menu is a joy to peruse with little effort made to build up unnecessary pretention or theatre; from snails, bone marrow and wild mushroom to Gascony-style black pudding with Darphin potatoes and fig chutney – there is something refreshing and exciting about the menu. The a la carte sees starters around £12 and mains around £25; for this you get excellent produce cooked in ways that simply attempt to draw out the quality of the produce.

The pig’s trotter salad with which I started was fantastic, I can’t say I often eat salads in restaurants however the wafer thin slices of trotter with the artichoke and cauliflower worked wonderfully well and left me hugely satisfied. The calf’s liver with which I followed was also very good; I haven’t had liver that well cooked for quite a while. The wine list is again well thought out with something on offer from around £22; they also offer carafes which I found a welcome surprise – possibly for when that second bottle with the mains doesn’t seem quite necessary. On top of this the service was also of a very high standard without being intrusive, it also had a human edge to it which can at times be lost in a hotel setting.

It is the set menu that has drawn the largest crowds, ensuring that the restaurant has a healthy buzz at all times – at £21.50 for two courses it is excellent value. It is a shame that I now find myself coming to the one thing that lets Koffmann’s down, namely the décor. It is horrible. With so much going for it it is such a shame that you are forced to eat in such uninspiring surroundings. It certainly did not ruin my meal and I would recommend Koffmann’s however it has certainly fallen into the hotel trap that all too many restaurants do – seemingly believing that distinguishing features, or features at all for that matter, are unnecessary.

It is great to see Pierre Koffmann back in the capital and Koffmann’s is a positive addition; the cooking is excellent as is the service – just make sure you go there with good company so you won’t have a need to look round at the painfully bland interior. 

Bank, Westminster - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  Modern European

Cost:  

Rating:

Where?:  45, Buckingham Gate, London. SW1E 6BS.

Closest station(s): St. James’s Park, Victoria, Westminster.   

Telephone: 0207 630 6644

Website: www.bankrestaurants.com  

To reach bank Westminster’s dining room we were led through Zander Bar, an uber-modern metallic space which forms part of the Crowne Plaza in Westminster, seconds from St. James’s Park tube. The setting for the restaurant is a huge conservatory – it is just a shame that they have done nothing to make it look inviting. The dining room is utterly soulless.

Once we were brought our menus we had 10 minutes of silence, the menus are huge meaning that any chance of conversation is killed. Thanks to this hiatus in conversation I spent a little longer perusing the menu than I might usually. I don’t know who decided on the Bank Westminster menu however they clearly weren’t very decisive. The menu is split into numerous sections including crustacea, pasta & risotto, meat, grill and Tandor Clay Oven. Why on earth anyone would think it wise to place these food types on one menu is beyond me.

The meat section is a fine example of why bank Westminster fails – sausage & mash, Malaysian chicken, Thai green curry, crispy duck and slow cooked lamb shank – there can't be many chefs out there who have mastered all of the styles of cooking needed to produce great food across this wide specturm of food types. 

The food that came to the table was as feared; each dish was just about ok in its own way however it was very much like a reasonable home cook’s attempt at various dishes from a selection of cookbooks that they were given that morning. Those dishes with an Eastern influence were not authentic and lacked any depth of flavour; being cooked in a very much Western style.

With starters around £10 and mains around £20, with a bottle of wine and service came to around £100. There is infinitely better food in London for the same money.

The highlight of the venture to Bank Westminster was the post dinner drink we had in the courtyard behind the restaurant, forming part of the Crowne Plaza. It is a stunningly picturesque space, free from the hustle of Westminster. The G&Ts were excellent and only thanks to these was it that I was able to end the evening smiling. 

Made in China - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  Chinese

Cost:  

Rating:

Where?:  37, Monck Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 2BL.

Closest station(s): St. James’s Park, Victoria, Westminster.   

Telephone: 0207 222 2218

Website: www.madeinchinarestaurant.co.uk   

I seem to find it surprisingly difficult to find a decent Chinese restaurant in London these days – I therefore did not go to Made in China holding out any great hope. The welcome I received was warm and we largely had a free pick of tables as it was largely empty; which it seems to be on most occasions.

The menu offers a small selection of Dim Sum alongside a substantial selection of dishes that are pretty standard for any high street Chinese. I was slightly perturbed by the speed at which the starters came from the kitchen, a possible sign that the food may not have been cooked to order. I could however not have been more wrong. Both the squid with salt and pepper and the sesame prawn toast were excellent. I have come all too accustomed to eating chewy, stale and oily sesame prawn toast. These however were crisp, without the slightest residue of grease in the mouth and with a covering of prawns that allowed me to tell what it was. The squid too was delicious, beautifully cooked so that it was crunchy and bursting with flavour without being overpowering.

The crispy aromatic duck with which we followed was again a fine example of this dish when cooked well – I could happily have spent hours sucking the bones and nibbling every last crisp morsel. The mains kept up the high standards; fresh and flavoursome produce cooked in an expert manner.

The only reservation I have regarding Made in China is the price, the starters aren’t bad at around £6.50 and the duck fine at £12 for a quarter. I feel however that £6.00 for egg fried rice is rather a lot. That said this is not a hideously expensive restaurant and you certainly get excellent food; it just comes to that little bit more than I would like to have paid. The wine list is quite reasonable, house wine for under £20; though then rising sharply.

I do not know why Made in China is not busier – it certainly deserves to be a lot more popular; though I don’t think it is helped by the location. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed made in China and would certainly recommend it for classic Chinese dishes cooked well.