Chez Bruce

Went for my birthday treat. Disappointed. As we walked in we were greeted with 'Name?'. Not so much as a good evening.

Formulaic feel about the food, dull room with not much ambience.

When we left we wanted to say goodnight but were ignored by all. Not memorable - staff should make you feel special, not just bums on seats.

Will not be returning.
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Battersea Caffs
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, December 18, 2007

I've been wanting to try here for ages having eaten many times at La Trompette and the Glasshouse and also the Ledbury. It wasn't really quite as enjoyable as I was expecting especially in comparison to La Trompette. For one thing the set lunch menu increased by £4 a head for all of December - it's not alot of money but it's a litle bit annoying since there didn't seem to be any logical reason for it. On the plus side the food was excellent. The service was nice. The dissapointing thing though was the venue itself. The room is pretty bland and soulless and lacks atmosphere even though full at lunchtime. When we first arrived we were stuck down the back behind a mirror and couldnt see anything but our reflection. We asked to be moved which they did but on the whole it just seemed a bit boring and didnt have the buzz of other great restaurants such as Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, Petrus or Gavroche at the top end or some of the excellent mid priced Nick Jones run places like Cecconi's or High Road Brasserie. I think if they spent a bit more time on the restaurant it could be as great as it's sister La Trompette.
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Terry Coyne
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, December 12, 2007

We ate here on Saturday night, after eagerly anticipating it for many weeks, not least because of the endless rave reviews the place has received. We were, it must be said, a little disappointed.

Chez Bruce seemed to me to have something of a personality crisis. On the one hand it wants to be a local, neighbourhood restaurant, serving great food to its locals, and on the other it has become a victim of its own success which has to pander to the endless influx of tourists (like ourselves, admittedly) and the (wo)man from Michelin.

The highs: the lady sommelier was outstanding. She really knew her stuff, and recommended some great wines that we wouldn't have otherwise tried. Of the different courses, the foie gras starter was superb as were cheese and creme brulée.

However, to be honest, the rest of the food was pedestrian at best. The scallop and bok choi starter consisted of great scallops, but, essentially, was nothing I couldn't do at home. The pigeon main was, it must be said, underdone and quite chewy (although the sliver of foie gras that accompanied it was great) and the sweetbreads/calf's kidneys were okay (although the kidneys were very tough), with a nice mustardy gravy. Although, again, nothing I couldn't do at home. The other dessert - an orange panna cotta - was incredibly bitter and topped with a nest which looked like chocolate but was actually burnt biscuit, and redolent of the burnt garlic/blowtorched everything flavour that seems to permeate so much Michelin-starred cooking.

And, service-wise, we were treated to a very grumpy young French lad who kept topping our wine up (too much) but not really making any eye contact or being particularly friendly.

Plus, Chez Bruce isn't as cheap as it makes out. £47.50 for four courses sounds okay, but break that down... £9 starter, £22 main, £6.50 dessert, £10 cheese PLUS 12.5% service... In our case it came to £182. Now I'm sorry, but as much as the restaurant can claim to be just a neighbourhood place serving hearty food, at those prices, I'm expecting to be wowed. At least a little.

Finally, the whole two-sittings thing is out of order. We sat down at 7.15 and had to give up the table at 9.30. Fine, we accepted it but certainly won't go anywhere with two sittings again. But when a restaurant has a menu with four courses on it, and you want to try them (and maybe a nice selection of different wine) it just isn't long enough. It just smacks of greed on the part of the restaurant.

We zipped through the cheese course (seconds after dessert) and didn't have time for coffee. An unsatisfying end to what should have been a relaxed and fun evening.

When paying £200 for a meal, you really should have the right to stay all night, take your time, and not feel that you're being mechanically rushed through to squeeze more and more punters in.

This clearly permeated through to everyone in there too. Very few people seemed to be really enjoying themselves. Rather lots of hushed whispering, stiff, awkward looking couples racing through dinner in their alloted time. Not the convivial laid-back atmosphere the place is renowned for.

On the plus side, there's a cracking boozer next door. So we popped in there for a hot toddy to finish of the evening, which was great.
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Matt
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Monday, December 10, 2007

A colleague recommended this restaurant to me when I was searching for a restaurant for our first anniversary dinner. As the reviews below have already waxed eloquent about the restaurant, suffice it to say we wholeheartedly agree - I have yet to eat at a restaurant with a finer balance of excellent, perfectly cooked food, attentive yet absolutely unintrusive service and a relaxed atmosphere in London. Excellent wine and a brilliant dessert topped off a perfect meal. My wife never has her own dessert and always shares mine, but the quality of the food inspired her to make the only exception I have seen.

And it is unbeatable for value - I would not at all have been disappointed to pay more than twice the £110 we paid for the best meal I have eaten in three years of eating out in London.

Thanks Chez Bruce for making it a memorable first anniversary dinner!
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ss - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, December 07, 2007

My boyfriend recently treated me to an anniversary dinner at Chez Bruce, and this was my first fine dining experience. I was a bit apprehensive as to how to behave and what to expect and was pleased to find the staff very friendly and accommodating and the atmosphere in the restaurant pleasantly unstuffy and buzzing. Our food was great, too. I had a starter of hare gratin, the meat was very tender and the dish was perfectly seasoned. I picked grilled halibut as my main; the fish was cooked absolutely right and was complimented by the savory Jerusalem artichoke puree and prosciutto that it was served with. The lady sommelier recommended a lovely Chenin Blanc from the Saumur to go with the meal. For dessert I had a cointreau and orange panna cotta, which was an excellent balance between sweet and bitter flavors. My boyfriend was very happy with what he ordered; he especially liked the creamy foie gras parfait. One more thing that needs pointing out is that although we were amongst the last people in the restaurant that night, the staff was in no hurry to present us with the bill and hurry us out at all. It was a very enjoyable evening and Chez Bruce can definitely be recommended.
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Nik
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, November 30, 2007

I visited Chez Bruce for the first time last weekend and I must say I was expecting to be disappointed considering all the hype but I am pleased to say that it was fantastic in every respect. Unlike many restaurants you are not rushed, the service is attentive and spot on and the atmosphere was ideal for a Sunday evening meal out.

In terms of the food well the wine list deserves a mention itself as it is fabulous. Ask the “smellier” and he will be able to recommend something according to your tastes. We had to start a delightfully light cheese and caramalised onion tart and a rabbit, chestnut and beaufort cheese spatzle which were both superb. For main the veal was delicious and tender and I went for the halibut with scallops and artichoke puree which was sublime. The pudding of hot chocolate fondant with mike ice cream and honeycomb was also delicious.

In terms of cost - £125 including wine, service and three course, for two people, was excellent value, considering the bottle of wine was the best part of £40!

I will definitely be returning to Chez soon to work through that wine list and sample some more wonderful food!
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James
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, November 02, 2007

We have just moved to within a 2 minute drive from this restaurant and have just had our first meal at CB. And WOW we are soo pleased. This is what a restaurant should be! Delicious freshly prepared food, great service and lovely atmosphere at a very reasonable price. We have dined all over london and many parts of the world and could not be happier that we have such a lovely restaurant on our doorstep! Will be going back regualary...
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sharon - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, October 28, 2007

Ive been wanting to go to CB for a while because of excellent reviews from colleagues and friends. We had a table booked elsewhere last night but during the day I thought Id cancel in favour of going to CB if they had a cancellation booking for that evening-luckily for me and my husband they did!

The restaurant itself is very elegant and classy, plain walls, dark brown wood floor and nice artwork and mirrors ,its very nice and perfect for an upmarket local restaurant, it had a really nice feel to the place.

We had a 9.45 booking ,we arrived and were shown to our table and promptly given menus. Because I have strong allergies including fish and I dont eat pork I was surprised to see there wasnt anything on the starter menu that I could eat or fancied and I noticed the mains selection included pumpkin raviloi with a beurre blanc which I absolutely love so explaining my allergies to the manager he was happy for me to have the ravioli for a starter which was so yummy, out of this world, the flavours were fantastic and the crisp sage leaves really complimented the dish.

My husband had the foie gras parfait which he was very happy with and we both opted for the Cote de Beouf for 2 with bearnaise sauce and hand cut chips which was fantastic, the meat was so soft. The sommelier helped us choose a bottle of Chianti to go with the beef which went extremely well and he helpfully wrote the name of the wine down for me so I can buy a bottle!

Desserts were brilliant, I had the lightest egg custard tart Ive ever had ,served with butter pecan ice cream and the hubby had Valhrona chocolate mille feuille which was also very very tasty and not too heavy.

All in all it was a great experience and now in my top 10 restaurants.

Thanks so much Chez Bruce for a great meal and at a very good price of £126!!
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Seral, Blackheath
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, October 19, 2007

What a fantastic delicious restaurant!!

Thank you it was the perfect setting for my parents Pearl Wedding Anniversary on 8th October!

The food was gorgeous i couldn't decide which course i preferred the mackerel, the pumpkin ravioli or the lime and ginger parfeit! They were all fabulous!

Then the wine recommendation was superb as was the service.

Thank you very much! We will be back!

Please could you send me the Menu from that evening, my Mum would like a copy.
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Natalie Duff-Cole
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, October 15, 2007

Having lived across the common from Chez Bruce for 29 years and never having been in a position to go there, we ventured out for our 6 month wedding anniversary to spoil ourselves.

Chez Bruce exceeded all our expectations and was the best food since we ate at Le Quartier Francais in Franschooek on our honeymoon.

The starter of Hare Gratin was incredible, full of nice rich flavours and with a lovely, varied texture. My wife had the baby squid which was inventinve, light and had a lovely sweet, tangy sauce.

For main I had the trio of pork which was gorgeous, succulent and varied (cheek, loin and sausage) and my wife had the Halibut. The Halibut was perfectly cooked and well-matched with the artichoke puree and gnocchi.

The sommelier was extremely helpful and although we went what looked like the cheapest white wine ( A Chilean sauvignon blanc) it certainly didn't taste the cheapest. Beautifully crisp and fruity and as perfect a temperature than i could have aksed for.

The red dessert wine was also delicious, recommended to me to compliemtn the goats cheeses and the crumble.

Although we could barely manage pudding, my wife squeezed in the blackberry and apple crumble and i went for the cheesboard.

I was confused with one of the reviews below commenting on the majority of mild and medium cheese, because there were some exceptional strong goats cheeses and a gorgeous stilton. The quince was a little sweet, however

I can't wait to go back, just need to find a special enough occassion. Perhaps if we win the world cup for a second time, hey?
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Charles Clarke
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 15, 2007