Back To Basics

Such a wonderful place for fish dishes! I took my fish eating friend and both of us enjoyed everything - atmosphere, service, and fresh fish! The restaurant locates in convenient location - near from Goodge Street or Great Portland Street tubes, but in very quiet area. The restaurant is casual, and had a great mix of people simply enjoying the evening over good meal. I didnt expect so many choices on fish - and had a wolf fish for the first time and it was so delicious!!! Many good dessert choices are an additional surprise to me. Overall, wonderful and warm atmosphere - restaurant staffs are so friendly and fun and we got out of restaurant as very happy people. Definitely one of the most favorite fish restaurants for me.
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Kika
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, July 17, 2012

This restaurant has never disappointed!! Really great seafood and excellent value. In summer it's fantastic sitting outside in the sunshine. The service has always been friendly and staff accommodating.

Highly recommend this restaurant for lunches or dinners.

Have literally tried most of the dishes (between husband & me) and it's always been great. I love the European vibe and the fact it's not a chain too.
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Les M - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Saturday, July 07, 2012

Ok right......I only came here to find the telephone number and then i saw the ridiculously poor reviews from people that....well I don't know them, but "small man syndrome" springs to mind. I have never reviewed any of the many restaurants I have selected through this site, but the reviews against B2B were just nuts!

I live and work in the area (and used to be in the business) and have recommended umpteen friends, family and business associates to try it out (more than 30) and not a single one has complained.

The fish - fresh as a daisy, I have been there in the morning at 8am when the delivery van arrives, been there as the first lunch customer when they only had 2 portions of tuna and nothing else on the whole menu as the delivery was late and have been there to see them striking off the dishes as they run out. To think that you're honestly going to taste "unfresh fish" per the reviewer below.....well, you probably deserved the short shrift you got from the waitress.

Value for money - well, ok, it's not cheap. But in my eyes (and also in the eyes of a few chef friends, 2 of which work in Michelin starred restaurants) you would REALLY struggle to get the quality for cheaper.....you're in central London not Croydon.

Service - hmmmm, the ladies ARE very nice, they know their job, but they aren't a la American i.e. effusive and over the top to get a good tip. Think competent with a small smile.

Atmosphere - for me this is a big bonus here. Ignore the view through the windows and you could be in a Mediterranean fishing village. There is a fair sized room downstairs. Can get very loud at lunch.

Finally, the chef owns the place and really puts the hours in to make this what it is.....what does this really mean? He is passionate about what he does, he is in their for the long term (over 10 years now) and he honestly cares about what people think. It is NOT often you get that kind of dedication from small restaurants in Central London and for that I applaud him.

My ratings are honest - it's not the best restaurant in the world (perhaps one of the best fish rstaurants in London), certainly not the worst, but definitely very above average and run by people I am happy to see receive my money.

Well there you are. Rant over. Now I can get on with booking my table for lunch and trust me, we WILL enjoy it :)
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8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Don't choose this restaurant if you have a Times £5 for 2 courses offer or any other promotion. I went the other night with my friend and the dishes on this menu were fourth rate compared with what we saw on the plates of other diners. The size of my trout was insulting - it was about an inch wide and 3 inches long and the rest of the dish was made up of mountains of couscous. What there was of it was nice enough but there were no veggies in sight so if you wanted a nutritionally balanced meal you had to order that separately adding another fiver to the bill.

Presumably the idea of this was not to make money (obviously) but to find new customers. However treating people like 2nd class citizens isn't a good way to get people to come back for seconds.

This offer was clearly undertaken begrudgingly. The surly, unfriendly attitude of the manager (no eye contact policy) didn't help either. The waitress was nice but her English was so poor she couldn't understand 'side salad'.
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Madeleine
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Saturday, January 29, 2011

Just read very bad comments about the best fish place in London and that is true that people love to say bad words then good. If you don't believe me check on tv. There is more war, racism, fights, dying, terrorism etc.

I've eaten at back to basics many times. Always enjoyed and every time having new experience. The service is wonderful, ladies friendly and chaty.

I love BTB!!! And if I could I would give you a million on each position but I can only 10. You deserve it XXX
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Karolina
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 01, 2010

We were passing by this restaurant on our way to Oxford Street and haven't even planned on going to eat anywhere but there was a couple sitting outside enjoying their meal when I noticed a plate of beautiful oysters served on ice on their table and that was it for me, simply had to try them. We were welcomed with a smile as soon as we entered the restaurant (the staff is very friendly) The choices on the menu are fabulous!!!!! I never knew fish could be done in sooo many different ways, it took us ages to decide what we would have. In the end we opted for the oysters to start with (12 to share between the 2 of us) and they were exceptional.

For our mains I ordered the sea bass with stir fried veg in a wonderfully flavoured sauce with soy and chilli, the combination of it all was amazing, my husband had fillets of mullet in a shellfish curry which he also enjoyed very much being a curry lover. After the oysters and the mains we could not find any room left for dessert (the portions are very generous) which was a shame as I would have loved to try the chocolate fondants. All in all we were very pleased with ourselves for having to discovered this gem of a restaurant. We will definitely go back for more and anyone who likes fish or want's to try something different should also go there. Fantastic!!!!

P.S. Having read some of the reviews below makes me wonder if only people who are dissatisfied in some way are bothered to write reviews, there should definitely be more of the complimentary for this place.
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Claudia
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, September 20, 2010

A friend of ours had recommended this restaurant to us and im so happy she did. We went to Back to Basics on a Friday evening and it was busy, noisy and full of caracter, the food was amazing. I had the wing of skate which was cooked to perfection along with glazed carrots. Its such a nice change to find an independently owned restaurant in central London that hasn't given up its core value of providing fresh fish in favour of becoming part of a large chain. The waitress were friendly and we ended up have a long conversation about this and that. Since my first visit i have returned with colleagues and they all loved it. Two bits of advice, firstly i recommend you make a reservation as this is a small restaurant and does get full and secondly dont be surprised if some of the menu options are crossed out towards the end of the evening as this fish is only ordered daily.
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Daniel
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, September 18, 2010