Villandry

Auwful place.

Staff are friendly enough but service is far from perfect and why do they have such a long champaigne list and have not got half of it? Tried to order three different bottles but they were out of stock apparently.

Food is a joke. We only came to Villandry because we used to love this place when Martha Greene was in the charge and has not visited it since Jamie took over. Shame to see the shop empty, used to be such a great spot for real food - overall reminded me of Carluccio's - a boring chain for yuppies. We have realised, the old Villandry is over, welcome to a mediocracy... Nicholas and Karen
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Friday, August 24, 2007

Beautiful surroundings, reasonable food awful service!

Our visit started badly with no record of our internet booking - ah well everyone is allowed one mistake right?

The restaurant is about 30% full and so we're shown, sullenly, to a table...and left to stew for 10 minutes before we're asked if we'd like a drink without so much as a smile or greeting.

Our guests arrive and we settle into conversation, deciding to order starters to take the edge off our appetite while we talk and decide on our mains. Sound plan, except this is not allowed as the waiter has to take our full order in one go - I exaggerate not!

Once the food arrives it's served professionally but without any attempt to provide a warmth of service. Food was reasonable but not exceptional, sadly the service did not improve. Shame!
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, August 22, 2007

I have been here a couple of times, mainly for lunch. I highly recomend it, the food is fresh and the service is good. I have also been here in the evening and it was also good experience but because of the foodstore i prefere it for lunch. But al in al I love it and I just have to come here when I` m in London.
Comment on this reader review

Catrine
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Friday, August 17, 2007

Re:Villandry,Gt.Portland Street;24.05.07

I too was surprised to find that a jug of water was not served with the meal,however once asked for it was not a problem.

The starters were excellent,they were followed by duck.We all had the same and found it very dry,most certainly cooked to death and the vegetables very small portions.Had we enjoyed the meal we would have followed with desserts,which we all usually look forward to. When it came to paying the bill we had quite a long wait although the restaurant was not busy. On the whole,a very disappointing meal which ended our otherwise enjoyable day out on a rather low note.
Comment on this reader review

- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, May 30, 2007

For those who remember the original Villandry (in the 'back room'), the current incarnation is a shocking reminder of the awful things that can be done to both food and a great concept. One to miss, sadly.

We started by choosing a good bottle of wine which, we were informed by an over-friendly waitress, might not be available. It was (at a price) and was the highlight of the evening - apart, that is, from the company.

Artichoke with a hazelnut vinaigrette should not provide too much of a challenge to get right, but for Villandry it did: the artichoke was old, and the heart almost non-existent. This was followed by 'Steak' hachette; it was cold, not even lukewarm and the flavour extremely disappointing (beef?). Hand-cut chips tasted of cardboard. By the way, the steak hachette does not come with chips because it has an organic egg on top. Explain that bizarre logic.

It was no consolation that we did not pay for much of the food; even so, it was poor value. Moreover, I suspect that the somewhat lacklustre service results from the knowledge that it is not a good culinary experience. Villandry is a place seemingly with little self-respect.

Overall, a very disappointing experience. I would suggest to the head chef and his team that they take a night out to go to Arbutus. There, they will discover what really good things can be done with high-quality ingredients, and at reasonable prices for both food and wine.
View/Add comments (2)

RSJ
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Thursday, April 26, 2007

We had a pleasant night. The ambience was lovely, and we found the service to be extremely good indeed - a lovely girl from Rome.

The food though was extremely average. So-so foie gras was followed by pretty tasteless lamb. Desserts were all of good quality - sorbet was delicious.

In short, everything was reasonably fine - until we got the bill.This was average food at far too high a price. £170 for 4 people (excluding booze) was just too much for the food that we got. But we did have fun.
Comment on this reader review

stan
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Saturday, April 21, 2007

Shocking service,waitress in a dirty shirt who asked if I wanted my steak tartare,well done,medium or rare - I abandoned that idea after being told it left the kitchen pre - seasoned and went for the 1/2 lobster salad - a huge mistake-2 tiny pieces or rubbery lobster on a stack of freezing cold smashed potatoes with 6 tiny cubes(3 mm square) of beetroot-great value at £16.50-not.I wanted to write nice things because its a lovely room and all the stuff around is great but this place really does need to sort out its staffing issues-needless to say I wont be returning!Oh and the mains arrived 70 minutes after we ordered in a place that was only 1/3 full.Avoid.
Comment on this reader review

- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 0
Monday, March 12, 2007

My partner and I have been here twice recently, once for dinner and once for brunch. The dinner was nice enough, but not good enough quality for the price. The service was ok for the most part, though we practically have to call a waiter over for attention at one stage to take our order. I thought leaving the wholesale price tag on the wine bottle was poor form, giving us a stark reminder how much wine in restaurants is marked up!

Villandry was recently voted the top brunch place in London by a paper (Independent I think). I have no idea why - there were only 2 brunch choices on the menu: eggs benedict or scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. Big deal. My partner had the eggs benedict, which were nice enough, but once again over priced. I went for the lunch special, the roast rib of beef. This was ok, slightly undercooked for the quality of the meat, and, you guessed it, way over priced!

The atmosphere of the place is quite nice. The service is adequate, though could be better for the price level.

All in all it's another classic London restaurant with a bigger ego than its capabilities. With a little work it can be turned into a very nice place, as it has the potential, its just not there yet.

Still, it is very popular with the corporate lunch/business dinner crowd, and they'll pay for anything!
Comment on this reader review

PK - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, March 07, 2007

We had heard good things about this place but were all massively disappointed by the dreadful service. At least two dishes were ordered, then unavailable - including the roast beef and this was on Sunday afternoon! Same scenario for the wine. The food was tasty but for the price didn't represent good value for money. The maitre d' seemed nonplussed when we refused to pay the service charge and even came round with a calculator to explain the bill. Final nail in the coffin were the state of the toilets which were flooded and a disgrace.
Comment on this reader review

Barney
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Monday, October 16, 2006

We went there for a friends birthday on monday night and i feel compelled to tell the world how wonderful it is.

the service from the very beginning was extremely attentive and friendly and no task seemed to big or small for the waiting staff to take care of with a smile on their faces and with an efficiency that i think is becoming extinct in london.

on top of this the food was beautifully presented with an original Villandry touch to both the plate compilation and the the dilicious flavours.

the deco is also perfect and topped off with a great all round atmosphere i will definitely be going back!!!
Comment on this reader review

Laura Styles
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, October 11, 2006