La Brasserie

An agreeable meal but the wine was a disgrace. £28 and it was vinegary and tasted like cheap French plonk. Didn't complain as celebrating an occasion with a friend. Meal for four cost £240 and was certainly not the best meal we'd ever had.

Ridiculously over priced.
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5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Sunday, October 09, 2011

My son treated me to a meal at this restaurant on Tuesday evening (8.45pm). He chose this one as it is near where he lives and he has dined here many times. I found the French waiter extremely pleasant and obliging, even amusing. We were shown to a table straight away because we had booked in adavance. The restauarnt was not quite full, but brimming with chattering customers who appeared to be enjoying their meals. The waiter immediately took our order for drinks and soon appeared again when we had decided what to eat. We had a three course meal. My son had crab, followed by steak and poached pears in wine. I had soup, bourgignon and chocolate profiteroles. The whole meal was very nice and I had no complaints. I had a thoroughly enjoyable meal in pleasant surroundings. All the staff I noticed were pleasant. i even noticed one talking to two small children and shaking their hands on the way out, treating them like mini adults. What a pleasant touch! I would certainly go again the next time I visit my son and I am sure he will still continue to eat there.
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Stephanie Lewis
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

This used to be a bustling neighbourhood restaurant and a reliable mainstay of the Chelsea and South Ken restaurant scene. I used to love it. Drawn by my sense of nostalgia and choosing to give the place a second chance after a previous poor experience, I visited La Brasserie yesterday for a family lunch. For bistro food, the prices are hefty. We accepted this before arriving.

The service was generally slow and charmless, notwithstanding that the restaurant was not at anywhere near full capacity. We would have accepted this.

Two of our party ordered the same first course from the "menu du jour", a filet of trout with tzatsiki sauce. One serving was cooked but the second was raw and smelled, by the consensus of our table, like it had been stored at the bottom of an overheated dustbin.We very politely (and discreetly) pointed out the problem and asked for the dish to be changed. Rather than simply follow the golden rule of all good establishments that the customer (however irritating) must necessarily be correct, the manager put on a display worthy of Basil Fawlty himself. He stomped, blustered and railed that we were wrong to complain. He insisted that the trout filet was intended to be raw and that it was perfectly fresh : interesting since the companion trout filet was perfectly cooked and, moreover, since the odour from this one could have been used to clear the room.

In short, the manager's reaction was unprofessional, embarrassing and completely unacceptable. He was, in fact, so surreally rude that we had little option but to interrupt our lunch and leave straight away.

Amusingly, despite the shenanigans, our bill still came with service charge added as the optional but automatic extra.
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James, London E1.
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Monday, June 15, 2009

Simply unacceptable!

Last night we went to la Brasserie for the second time. We wanted to give a second chance after a bad experience. Unfortunately, it was desappointing as last time!

One of us had a portion of "Moules Marinières", the dish arrived after 25 miniutes, and the food was cold. When we called the waiter and said to him the food was cold, he said "It's how it's supposed to be, did you try the mussels on the bottom ? They must be warm, only the one on the top might be cold".

His answer was just surreal. Finally after dealing with him for over 5 minutes, he took the dish back to warm it up. Again 15 minutes delay.

During that time, we had some kir. Along our aperitif, the waiter gave us olives and bread with butter. I was thinking at least there is some kindness in this guy.

When we asked for the check, how surprised we were to find olives and bread billed.

We asked the waiter why we were charged for, he answered "Did you had it?" We said Yes we had, he answered "Then you must pay for!". We said we certainly not going to pay for something we didn't order. The waiter answered "Then you should have send it back before you consume it!" We said if someone bring us something we didn't order, ie olives and bread, we assume it's on the house. Otherwise, if it's intended to be charged, the waiter should at least ask us if we would like some before bring it to our table! It's not a matter of £3 on a bill of £100, it's just extortion.

The way they treat customers, is just unacceptable for this area and the price paid.

Never Back Again and we'll let know as many poeple as possible about your rudeness and bad service!
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Dianna Voitane - View all reviews by this user
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Sunday, April 26, 2009