Le Gavroche

I don't think i can speak highly enough of Le Gavroche. It's expensive - but of course it is. The food's rich - but of course it is. It's Le Gavroche. How many other restaurants in the world are just as perfect for a business lunch as they are for a romantic dinner for two (or three, if you're into that kind of thing)? There isn't a better front of house team in London - nobody faffs, but everything is exemplary. On the rare occasion something goes awry (last time I was there i ordered an expensive Margaux and it was unfortunately corked) the staff are politely mortified and deal with it immediately and with grace.

I am lucky enough to eat out in London often, but never do I feel luckier than when it is at Le Gavroche.
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Archie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Thursday, May 15, 2008

Very disappointed would be my summary. Took my wife there for our anniversary and it was a letdown. Service was top class, room was slightly stuffy but the atmosphere was very good. I hate having to wear a jacket through dinner and they insisted. This is 2008, not 1928, customer comfort should take precedent over historically oriented pretense.

Now the food, we had the 8 course Menu Exceptionel, which we found to be lacking. Far below the standards of Per Se in NY or Ramsay's on Royal Hospital Road, not even as good as Manoir Quat Saisons which isn't rated nearly as highly. Summary below:

Scallops - superb, easily the best dish and possibly the best scallops I have ever eaten

Cheese souffle - souffle itself was bland, the cheese, cream and butter it was floating in was so rich it made you want to not touch a dairy product for 6 weeks

Seabass - good, particularly the roasted red pepper coulis, but the seabass itself would barely fill a tablespoon

Foie gras and duck - very rich, too rich. I'm not a fan of pan fried foie gras so this may just be personal taste, but I found this a very rich and uninteresting dish

Lamb - the lamb itself was the best I've ever eaten, like butter it was so tender and incredible flavour, but it was carved at the table and the whole presentation was amateurish. Two tbsps of boring, overcooked beans plus two small carrots slopped on the plate, an uninteresting sauce served. Shame as the lamb was superb but they should be able to do better

Cheese - very good selection

Pineapple, rum and a caramel doughnut dessert - awful dish, a stodgy horrible doughnut with some pineapple best sums it up, terrible

Chocolate coffee cake with choclate sorbet - probably OK but if you aren't a chocolate fan it offers nothing else.
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Brent Bottoms
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2
Monday, April 28, 2008

We went to Le Gavroche with very high expectations. In summary, I'm afraid that we were slightly disappointed with the experience.

You do feel as sense of excitement as you enter the restaurant. You will be met at the door and escorted either into the lounge for an apperitif or directly downstairs into the restaurant. The restaurant itself is a windowless basement although the decor is smart (perhaps a bit faded) but classically French.

I started with langoustines and snails in a creamy sauce, which was very tasty but incredibly rich. For mains, I chose belly of pork, served with dauphinois potatoes and crackling with a red wine sauce. This too was very tasty but again too rich and I stuggled to finish my meal. We were not tempted by a dessert for £25 and finished up with coffees which were served with cream which curdled and had to be changed twice.

Overall I would say that the food was good but perhaps not as delicious as I'd expect for a restaurant with this reputation and therefore the meal felt quite expensive (£100 per person) for what we got.

The service was good and attentive although a bit stuffy for my liking.

I guess I just don't enjoy the very classic French style as much as a more modern approach. Le Gavroche is more similar to Le Lion D'Or in Saulieu (good food but nothing sensational) whereas we would tend to prefer places like Le Manoir (which offers a full country house experience) or Gordon Ramsay for more creative flavours.
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Glassman - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I walk into a small entry hall and the hostess immediately takes my coat, as it has been raining outside.

She asks my name, and then a young man guides me downstairs into a large dark room with low ceilings. It is softly lit with recessed can and halogen lighting.

There are enormous arrangements of spring flowers in two wall niches, (gladiola, rubrum lillies, pussy willows and greens) and a large spray on white orchids graces the back of the room.

Upholstered chairs of red fabric trimmed with leather are gathered around round tables with 3/4 length tablecloths.

Everything carries the Le Gavroche logo, from the starter plate, to the silverware with a figure of a chef on the handles, to the black & gold paper that lines the plate of the amuse bouche.

A silver filigree holder keeps the bottled water cold. A cunning triple salt cellar holds regular salt, sea salt and wrapped toothpicks. There is also a small wooden pepper grinder.

A little 12" high golden oil lamp gleams on the table. A silver, three dimensional fish holds six knives, with decorated silver handles and blades.

It is mostly an older crowd in their 50's and 60's, and the assistant manager, Emmanuel tells me that half of them are regulars. By 7:15 p.m. the room is half-full, and the noise level is beginning to be high.

Waiters all have french accents, and are formally dressed in black. Before the restaurant gets busy, they tend to bustle around uselessly, or hover together in small groups, talking amongst themselves.

Salted and unsalted butter accompany the bread basket. I choose a wheat baguette from the five offerings. I only have one bite, as it is lukewarm and somewhat tough. The waiter never asks if I would like to try something different.

The sommelier is a woman, Celia, and she poorly conceals a sniff of disdain when I decline any wines with the meal.

An enormous silver bowl filled with iced varieties of white and pink champagne is brought to the table next to me, where the flower arrangement in the wall niche is so low it hits the gentleman in the head. Given the amount of money it costs here to have dinner, they should not have a table in that location.

Enrico is my waiter, and he explains each dish.

There is a four piece amuse bouche. Two artichoke hearts are hot and mouth-wateringly good, lightly battered and deep fried. Two cold quail eggs rest on a bed of celeriac remoulade and are garnished with paprika.

The first course is a warm spring green salad that consists of artichoke hearts, carrots, sweet onions, mushrooms, chestnuts, and the tinest of crispy croutons, dressed in a raspberry vinaigrette. It is excellent.

The second course is their signature dish. A twice baked cheese souffle in fresh cream is airy and delicious, very light in taste.

The third course is a soft polenta, whixh serves as a bed for a tempura of baby artichokes, red pepper coulis and herb olive oil. Wafer thin bread with a puree of black olives on one side and a mayonnaise of garlic & saffron on the other is sharp and unpleasant.

The fourth course is a vegetable cannelloni filled with ratatouille on a bed of good couscous, resting in butter sauce with a watercress coulis. (It is improved with a little lemon juice.)

This is followed by vegetables stuffed with vegetables, in an overly salty potato-truffle sauce. A baked tomato holds a julienned green vegetable. The spinach mousse with carrots is mushy. There are potatoes with sweet onions. Aubergine is somehow tough on the outside and too soft on the inside.

Overall, the presentation is pretty, but the vegetables themselves are tasteless.

The cheese board has 40 different varieties on it. I choose an incredibly creamy Conte from the french Pyrenees mountains, and a hard Cheran Mont D'Or. They are served with a crispy, thin, walnut-raisin bread, plum chutney, celery and quince jelly.

The first dessert is a fresh pineapple carpaccio with basil mint garnish and a touch of white rum underneath a creme de caramel donut. It is somehow heavy and overly sweet.

Tea of fresh mint leaves is fragrant and boiling hot, served in a delicate white china cup with the ever present chef logo on the side/ White sugar cubes and brown sugar cubes are brought in silver holders with a small silver spoon on a silver, doily-lined tray.

The last dessert is a petite bitter chocolate cake garnished with gold leaf, and a bitter chocolate sorbet. They are pure in flavor, and taste delicious when combined.

Different petite fours are brought as the final touch to complete the meal, an almond cake with rum that is nice, coconut macaroon, candied gooseberries and lace cookies.

Presentation on everything throughout the meal is dramatic and lovely, but tastes are all a little off, seeming to rely on an excess of ingredients. Only the first two courses, the cheese board and the second dessert are flawless; the remaining half of the dishes disappoint a little.

Le Gavroche may have been a London institution, but now it seems to be coasting on its former reputation. Unfortunately and despite having 2 michelin stars, Le Gavroche is merely a slightly better than adequate meal, and not worth the money
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Loving Annie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Thursday, April 03, 2008

I thought this was the tastiest food I have ever had, it was beautifully presented and tasted delicious.

The wine we got with each course went perfectly with the food. People who slate the restaurant are obviously extremely snobby and just want to moan for the hell of it.

Michel le Roux came over to our table and spoke to us and that made the evening even more special!
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Katy
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, March 20, 2008

We have had the special set lunch at Le Gavroche about 10 times over the years (usually on our wedding anniversary) and have been delighted, but having just been again recently, I have to say that on the last two occasions (last month and last summer, so not just a blip I feel) it hasn't felt quite as special as in the past.

There is no doubting that eating here is a great experience and the set lunch is exceptional value at just under £50 per person including wine, water and coffee. The menu although short offers just enough for most tastes (except vegetarian). My monkfish main course in a saffron cream with wild rice was fabulous.

I think what has changed is the service. It used to be incredibly polished, every need anticipated without being annoying, professional and discreet. The staff now seem to be younger and in some cases quite inexperienced and nervous. There was a lot of overzealous topping up of drinks, in some cases before you had even got round to taking a sip ! I notice that the older Maitre d' is no longer there and I bet that has something to do with it. There were 4 of us this time and our table in the middle of the room was quite dingy, as it's a basement restaurant and we weren't near any of the lights.

We still had a good time but we used to come out feeling we had been treated like royalty, which is fun when you are an ordinary person, and it seems to have lost that special touch.
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IC
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Saturday, March 15, 2008

A true classic. Over the last 20 years that I have been dining hre, the dishes have changed, but the restaurant remain a superb example of cooking at its finest. A MUST TRY experience.
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John Szepietowski
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A veritable French Haven in a foreign land which transports one to the sublime and delicate flavours of a French cuisine "comme il faut" - matching odours and flavours - accompanied by an unparalleled wine list in elegant surroundings!

Le Gavroche is a very special journey one should make at least once in a lifetime for its gastronomic delights and excellent service......and more !
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

On Saturday 1st March 2008 my husband and I along with two other couples went along to Le Gavroche, we were very excited and couldn't wait to sample, the food, atmosphere and wine!

Apon arrival we decided to head straight downstairs to our table, once seated we were then asked if we would like an apperitif, the men at our table ordered first, and then one of my girlfriends asked if she could see the champagne menu for us girls, there seemed to be some confusion about this, but eventually a wine menu was brought out for her. She tried to ask the sommelier for advice on what would be a nice choice, but he said he was sorry but he couldn't speak english!

Anyway we chose and enjoyed a lovely pink champagne.

All bar one of us wanted to order the Menu Exceptionnel, thankfully this wasn't too much of a problem as the Manager said he would make an exception on this occasion, ordinarily the whole table would order this menu.

I have to say as the courses started coming out, the food was delicious, perfectly cooked and presented beautifully.

We had the wine chosen for us for each course by the sommelier, it was somewhat frustrating that he couldn't speak english, we wanted to ask about the wine but he just either misunderstood us or looked very flustered and kept reminding us he didn't speak english.

We are very easy going people, and we were all gracious and smiling and trying to put the servers at ease, but they were so stoneyfaced and unfriendly, they hardly ever smiled back.

I expected at a restaurant of this standard we would be introduced to each wine before it was poured, as the server did with each dish that was served.

When the spectacular cheese board was brought round, again we were just left to chose our own cheese, and no introduction to what we were picking was given, I ended up just pointing at cheeses that I recognised, when I would of really liked to try something different.

All in all the food was amazing but severely let down by the service we received, the waiters attending to us just seemed nervous and flustered.

We were the youngest people in the restaurant, whether they just thought we wouldn't care about what wine we were served I don't know, but all of us know our food and wines and the reason we booked into Le Gavroche was to sample the best of french wine and food, sadly I have no idea what wine we drank! It felt like they weren't taking us seriously, and trust me when you are willing to spend that much money on food, you have to be serious about food!

I loved the attention to detail, the ensurance that all the ladies had their chair pulled in and out when getting up to or sitting down at the table, escorting us to the toilet! Which was a little strange at first but we got used to it!

I have been to michelin star restaurants before and sadly I don't think I would revisit Le Gavroche, it felt very uncomfortable at some points, and I really feel that Michel Roux Jr was let down by the people serving us.

When you are paying that much for food you really want to get the most out of the experience and I feel we didn't.

I hope that perhaps we were just unlucky that night and this is not commonplace at Le Gavroche.

If you are thinking on booking into Le Gavroche, you will need to pay a £60 deposit each, which is taken from your final bill on the night.

For six people it all came to £980 minus the £360 deposit we paid a couple of months earlier, so on the night we paid roughtly £620, also our service charge for the table was £108!! Which we somewhat grudgingly paid. Perhaps we are crazy! You decide!!!
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Clare Humanski
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Monday, March 03, 2008

Outstanding meal, although a little pricey........

I visited Le Gavroche on the 25th Jan 2008 with my wife and had a great evening. Service was first class as was the food. There is quite a pleasant atmosphere in the place, not too stuffy or poncey.

I had probably the best steak I have ever eaten, it really was melt in the mouth stuff. This was followed by the most expensive desert I have eaten.......£28 for a slice of chocolate cake........granted a devine piece of cake, but come on how can you justify the price? Oh...it was decorated with gold leaf...!

As a special occasion (or if you're loaded or frivolous with cash) I'd hearlty reccommend a visit. A great evening!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Monday, January 28, 2008