Kensington Place
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our review
‘Oh it’ll be so noisy in KP,’ people warned me, people who hadn’t actually set foot in the place since the days when Princess Diana went there to bask in the adoring gaze of a certain tubby TV show host. ‘And the food’s not much good either,’ they added Well they were wrong on both counts.
The bright room is airy and sparkling on this early summer’s evening and despite the presence of a few families with worryingly small children, there is no sense of excess clatter or noise. ‘We soon fixed that problem,’ says the cheerful manager, ‘table clothes were all it took to deaden the sound.’ A simple example of how since D&D took over this former Conran outpost a lot of things have changed for the better. Staff no longer serve with a sneer and in the kitchen chef Henry Vigar ex La Noisette and The Greenhouse is turning out food to a far higher standard than before. There’s an emphasis on fish and seafood and while it’s not pure fine dining, it’s definitely upmarket easy brasserie dining with something for everyone, their kids and their grandparents. A neighbourhood place, in short.
The famous artist dining with me gazed about at the posh clientele with interest – he doesn’t get out from his Cornish studio much – and was amused to see Cornish fish and shellfish on the menu. ‘You have to come to London to get the good stuff, ‘he sighed. ‘They’re off the boat and straight into the lorries in Cornwall and so we never actually get any.’ I had the Cornish crab lasagne which came with foam, which was a little out dated to my cynical London eyes but which the artist found novel, and which also came with some rather annoying pieces of shell to crunch on. Apart from that it was really good, the crab seaside-sweet and fresh and well set off by piment d’Espelette, a mild chilli from the Basque country, and an almond and onion crust. The artist’s Warm Lobster salad with green apple, citrus dressing and ‘cresses’ was equally good, although he felt the sharp apple and the tart dressing did threaten to overpower the large nugget of lobster. With both came a crisp, lemony glass of Soave, to replace the glasses of Beaumont des Crayeres champagne we’d been cheerfully swigging earlier.
Mains had plenty I wanted to eat including a dish of little seen Beef Skirt steak, ironically enough this is the meat used to make Cornish pasties - although as a kid I rather imagined they used donkey or badger. This was cooked rare just as it needs to be to avoid toughness, but the wild asparagus with it didn’t really taste of anything much. The mushrooms and Jersey royals were sound accompaniments though and semi-seasonal; the spuds tender and melting in their earthy jackets the mushrooms rich and warming. Pork belly was cooked just as it should be, the fat crispy but not Kevlar-like and the meat falling away in juicy shreds that inevitably got a bit stuck in my teeth. Wild mushrooms and wild leeks were rather docile accompaniments, but if they really were wild, full marks to chef for proper sourcing. A decently priced Cote de Rhone washed it all down.
Ending with a Crème Brulee that had excellent crème and a properly crunchy top, we sat back and reckoned that this was just the sort of place to rely on for regular meals with a menu that never gets stagnant and can often surprise. Recommended.
N.H. - November 2008
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
Being based in one of my favourite streets I've often passed this restaurant and intended to pay a visit. So on a beautiful summer evening my girlfriend and I took the plunge. I've always found that when something goes wrong at a restaurant it's never just one thing, but a whole series of calamitie, and unfortunately our visit here was rather like that. We arrived and waited while a window table was made available, only to then be shown to it and have to wait what seemed about ten minutes for some menus. We weren't offered drinks, and when I finally got some water we were literally given two glasses, no ice or lemoin, no jug, and no one once came offering us any more drinks.
When a waitress finally took oour order, she said she couldn't tell me what some of the dishes were as she didn't know. What is the point of making your menu deliberately exclusive and unusual if the staff can't explain or upsell it?
We ordered some croquettes which never arrived. When our strarters arrived I questioned this and was told I hadn't otrdered them. Then they agreed I did and delivered them in the middle of our starters: not much good then. My girlfriend had soup which they expected her to eat with a fork. Twice we asked for a spoon,
The main course she had was without prawns which the menu had listed: apparently they'd run out but no one told us this. My trout came without smoked mashed potato but with sliced, flavourless new potatoes which the waitress tried to tell me were mash and then tgold me weren't but the menu didnt mention mash anyway which it did. What really put the tin lid on it was the manager offering to remove the 12 and a half per cent service charge as a way of saying sorry. That is my choice to pay anyway!!!!!
Horrible, snooty and up itself.
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Overall rating 
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, June 22, 2009
We visited early yesterday evening i.e. 7.30pm, table for 3 without booking. Having heard great things about this restaurant we were expecting a superb experience. First impression was that the decor looked a bit tired. Having ordered our food it took a full 10 minutes for 2 of us to be told that the roast beef sirloin was not available. We found this a little strange so early on in the evening. When a complaint was made to the manager he blamed a lack of communication between kitchen and waiting staff. Now to the food that we did have. The sardine starter was definately 'A' sardine. More like a large whitebait being only about 3" long, very thin and split in half to make it look more substantial. One mouthful and it was gone. Other starters were OK. The pork with polenta was very salty and as it consisted of 3 very thin small round slices, not very satisfying. The osso bucco was OK but the gratin on the rattatouille was almost non existant. Finally the deserts. There is not much you can do wrong with a chocolate tart but the cheese was sweaty and loked as if it had been plated up and left out a while. The best part of the meal was the bread basket. Very nice selection. I do not agree with previous comments about lack lustre waiting staff. Our waitress was courteous and pleasant from the start but extremely embarrased about the situation with the sirloin being off the menu. A dissapointing visit. I will not return and I will not reccomend.
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Edward FULLER
Overall rating 
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Monday, June 22, 2009
This is the second time my partner and I ate at Kensington Place, and I can't wait to return! The set menu offered good selections, I will never forget my broad bean and mint risotto, and the asparagus and egg starter was excellent as well. I thought not to take the dessert, then ate much of my partner's (passion fruit something or other with coconut and mango creams)! The 2 white wines were excellent. All the food was very fresh and well-prepared. Seems to be young and inspired chefs. Only complaint is the young and uninspired staff, a bit too casual (though not in a good way). They should be more proud of the food they're serving!
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Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, June 15, 2009
Way back in the dark ages, Kensington Place was my wife's favourite restaurant. It had been a while, so for our wedding anniversary we cautiously ventured back, knowing that there had been changes afoot and not knowing what to expect.
Let me tell you what not to expect. Don't expect the same buzz of its star-gazing gloried past . Don't expect pristine service. The staff follow the socialist model (no private ownership of clients) and so meandered backwards and forwards and required a lot of coaxing for both the basic (bread. water) and the absolutely necessary (wine). Don't expect to have to say : "haven't they redone the decor nicely!" They may have, but it is more or less a case of same old same old and indistinguishable from my memory of the place.
But the food. Ah the food. Isn't that what you really come to a restaurant for? It is rare that I pigeonhole a waitress and ask the chef's name, but I did, and I will tell you why. Two of the three dishes I ordered were quite simply very memorable, and for the right reasons. Braised Pig's Cheeks on a bed of sour cabbage (not to be confused with sauerkraut), piping hot and succulent as a starter. A dessert I shared with my wife, called a crunchie, which comes as a mousse mountain which fills the plate with little surprises hidden inside (a hot chocolate fondant, honeycomb crunchies, ice cream.) Definitely off-piste, both in presentation and taste. The confit de canard with cassoulet was correct, as the french say, with crispy breadcrumbs an unusual touch, but not in the same class. Henry Vigar. That was his name. Give him a chance. The guy is 27 years old, and has already been around the block a time or two. Buck up the service a bit, Henry but keep up the good work back there in the kitchen. You were certainly on your game the night I came, that is for sure. And that was in the depths of January, when a little post-Noel dip in form could be expected.
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Eric Pettigrew - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, January 22, 2009
I took advantage of the london eating offer and took my wife to Kensington Place last night. I have long been intrigued by this huge eatery and as it is a saunter away from home I thought we should give it a go. My wije had last been there in it's Meejah hayday and the interior certainly fits the bill. Lot's of clean lines, no frippery which I had to say left me a little cold. It's the sort of room that needs to be packed to have an atmosphere and last night it was 2/3 full at most. Now having said that the food was very nice. We both started with a warm squid salad followed by venison hot pot. The squid was a bit tough but the dressing lovely. The hotpot was first class, just the sort of peppery dish to keep the cold out. My wife enjoyed her house wine, I was less impressed. We both loved our deserts, the crunchie was lovely and light and my tarte fine was much better than the one at Bibendum. The bill including the offer came to £67 fot two which wasn't bad but the other items on the menu looked very expensive. I think we willl go back as it is so close to home and I like the look of the weekend brunch. Hopefully we can bring a bit of fun to the place as some of the clientele last night were taking themselves far too seriously.
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david ginsberg - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Friday, December 12, 2008
This place has, sadly, lost the plot. Since the new management took over it has been downhill all the way. I have been coming here regularly for eight years and have spent several thousand pounds in this establishment but, sadly, will probably not be back.
Why? The food, in a nutshell, and the service also. Just as an example, at lunch today my poussin was not only laughably tiny but borderline-raw; the potatoes WERE raw. I sent this rubbish back and it returned, heated-through with some (marginally better) potatoes. Service amateurish verging on shambolic. Our white wine was whisked away to be placed in a bucket (fair enough) but we had a devil of a job getting it back again. Every time I asked for 'our wine' the waiter misunderstood and brought us the wine list. Not a big thing but trying after awhile. Basic problem, as ever, is simple lack of English, but there seems to be a big training issue here as well. For the last few times I have been here it has never been clear who my waiter is, who is basically in charge, what anyone is doing. Some of the staff actually run away when you beckon them. It is a case of headless chickens all round. Never like this in the old days.
They have been getting away with this for some time now. But in the face of a recession I fear that if this place does not raise its game, and fast, London will lose one of its nicest dining houses. A shame.
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Mike
Overall rating 
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, October 24, 2008
Kensington Place does the essentials - food , service and ambience - with such ease that it has made itself a reliable cornerstone for dining in an area that boasts a number of expensive retaurants. That its competitors seem to justify their prices more on the ease with which locals will handover their platinum card than the cooking or attentive service is another issue.
The crab lasange tasted great but was only blighted by the presence of foam that on first inpsection looked like the chef had suffered a particularly bad runny nose. Rabbit terrine was spot on and the mains of sole and mullet highly recommended.
The large windows not only provided much welcome natural light into the dining area, but also for a bedraggled looking passing friend who'd obviously been working far too late an insight into the pleasures that can be had by others with more reasonable employment conditions - reminiscent from the train carraige scene in Stardust Memories.
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Mark P
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, July 07, 2008
The food here is excellent. No complaints about the service - it's always been fine when I've eaten here. It's a bit noisy, but has a good atmosphere.
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E J Moore - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
A really good standby in the area. The food is consistently good, particularly the fish dishes, which comes as no surprise as they also run an attached fishmongers. Can get very noisy if you go at a busy time because everything echoes off all the glass, concrete and high ceilings.
The best time to go is around 2.30pm, where it's quite quiet and you can take advantage of the lunch menu, which at £20 for three courses is excellent value. Things can really get a bit too expensive a la carte.
The staff are at best uninterested, at worst a bit surly. I will never understand why people like this work in the service industry if they clearly hate it so much (I have had lots of waitressing and bar jobs, and was never once rude or unfriendly to customers unless they were rude to me. Even then, it would have to be something really exceptionally horrible for me to give that kind of treatment.). Staff turnover is probably high though, so hopefully they will get lucky next time.
A good place, just pick your moment to go carefully.
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Claire Thompson
Overall rating 
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Sunday, July 08, 2007
We ate here recently with frineds on the spur of the moment one Friday evening. It was around half 9 and we did not have a booking, but despite this, the staff were more than happy to seat us at the bar, and offer us the next available table. Given this is the time several tables were finishing their meal, this showed a welcome pragmatism from the staff that is often sadly lacking - waiting staff seemingly wanting to punish potential paying customers for failing to plan ahead.
From the start the experience was delightful. While waiting at the bar, we enjoyed the complimentary excellent olives and smoked almonds, and once shown to our table with our drinks, we were immediately offered several types of bread. Being a bit of a carb fiend, I could have happily sustained myself on this, as it was offered repeatedly during the meal, and its quality was outstanding; however, I decided this would be slightly poor form, and agreed to peruse the menu. I have to note at this point, that, unlike here, too many restaurants try to extract vast amounts of extra cash out of clientele for things like bread and side dishes - I always wish they would incorporate this into the price of their dishes, rather than leaving you with an unpleasant surprise when the bill arrives.
The menu, as has been noted in previous reviews, is quite wide ranging, and the set menu showed a degree of imagination and creativity often missing from these, which forces diners to the more expensive a la carte options. Again, an example of the generosity of spirit evident here. One of the four of us chose from this menu, so we got the chance to sample both.
The food, to be honest, was a bit hit and miss. The hits were absolutely outstanding, most noticeably in two superb fish dishes - a starter of sea bream and a main of salmon. An excellent lamb loin was also beautifully cooked and presented. Less successful, and chosen by three of us, was a spicy squid soup which sounded amazing, but appeared as a small bowl of tomato gloop tasting strongly of seafood, but with its components unidentifiable. It wasn't bad, just disappointing, and did not fit the description that had set our mouths watering. Desserts were similarly mixed, with a rhubarb creme brulee having shades of a school pudding, but tasting pleasant enough, so presentation was partly forgiven.
The wine list is excellent, with a range of new and old world offerings, many from older vintages, in a good spread of price brackets. A true surprise was a superb bottle (their last) of the Mt Horrocks 1998 shiraz, selected with knowledgeable advice from an enthusastic and unpretentious sommelier.
The meal wasn't cheap, at £60/head for two courses each (with shared dessert) and one and a half bottles of wine, but it was, on the whole good value, for a very enjoyable experience, made top notch by excellent service, and the sense of inherent generosity that came from the complimentary bread and nibbles.
We'll definitely be back....though we might even have the good manners to book next time ;)
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Kate - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
