L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

went to L'Atelier last nite for the first time took advantage of the set menu.Great salmon rillette as a starter and interesting steak tartar for main.Selection of mini tarts for dessert.The food is full of flavours.Good value for money and most of all I found service friendly and professional.Would recommend it.
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gourmet - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Disappointing. For a restaurant of this supposed calibre the service was too informal with one hyperactive waiter coming across as smug and condescending. Even asking us if we knew that steak tartar was raw. Food wasn't much better. The broccoli soup was average and too creamy. Have had far better steak tartar elsewhere. Here it lacked bite and sharpness. The only plus points was a stylish interior and desert. Go for the ambience but don't expect too much from the food if you're on the offer menu.
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gambarre - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Monday, June 08, 2009

Went fto La Cuisine for my birthday last night and just loved it.

The stars of the night were an amuse bouche - a shot of foie gras with a port reduction and parmesan foam. The little free pre-pudding of honey panna cotta with yogurt ice cream, raspberry and lime coulis and a little ground 'granola' was a really brilliant combination and the flavour of the raspberries lasted such a long time. Best of all was a sugar glass bauble filled with sorbets in a sauce of red fruits and some anise in there. This gave us HUGE pleasure - baubles and prettiness aside, the flavour combination again was perfect.

Service was informal and very attentive. Knowing it was my birthday, the put together a little slice of chocolate tart with a candle on a 'happy birthday' iced plate - completely charmed by that.

Next time we'll go to the ground floor, as I like the idea of trying lots of dishes.
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june - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, April 03, 2009

I went to L'Atelier last night and agree with some of the previous reviews. The food is rather good though by no means of the standard one would necessarily expect of a restaurant vying in this bracket. The real problem, however, is the service. It is quite simply second rate, amateur and comes pretty close to ruining the whole experience.
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Ed
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I was disappointed by this restaurant. It is overpriced, and I use that term with care having happily paid far more for a meal elsewhere. I am happy to pay a lot of money for an excellent experience, but this just wasn't. This was mainly down to the service, which was indifferent at best - I'd've been unimpressed being served this way at a chain restaurant. It wasn't 'informal' - it was disinterested, cold and not even competent.

The food was excellent. But I've had far better meals for less money in places which - crucially - had a far better atmosphere.
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Janet
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Monday, March 23, 2009

Came here for lunch on Saturday, taking advantage of the £19 for two courses/£25 for three offer to check out this otherwise distinctly expensive restaurant. Actually got a table rather than sitting at the bar (as a twosome I think a table is preferable). My friend was horrendously late, but the staff at no point made me feel awkward about the fact, and simply checked I was ok from time to time while I sipped on what tasted like a triple vodka & single tonic.

The set menu is limited - just two choices per course. I had rabbit terrine for a starter, which was excellent. Certainly not canapé size. Much softer than many I've had before - presumably the result of adding things that aren't very good for my waistline - but still allowing the strong rabbit flavour to come through. My friend had a variation on French Onion soup, which I didn't think looked that great, but she enjoyed it.

We both had the pollock for main course (the alternative being steak tartare, which is an odd choice to have on a two-option set menu in London in my view). Except the pollock had become a whiting we were told. It was very good, presented beautifully as a whole fish, head on, with the centre of the fish split open to resemble a boat (no doubt there's a French word for this). The accompanying mash was sadly the pomme puree variety rather than proper English mash, and seemed to lack seasoning. But the fish itself was excellent.

My friend was feeling virtuous after a trip to the gym the day before so dived into the rather vague dessert of the day: "a selection of tarts", which turned out to be a good choice - five small slices of different tartes and gateaux from classic tarte aux pommes to some sort of cream and lime concoction.

The wine list is extensive, and those on a budget have to hunt down the cheaper bottles. We had a Corsican white for I think £36, which I'd not tried before and deemed a success.

Our particular experience was hard to fault - good food, good service and, for what we had, good value. .
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Jonathan - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Sunday, March 08, 2009

We went to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon with my french husband and two french friends, all big fans of French cuisine, and were left hungry and very out of pocket. La Cuisine on the first floor is stark and univiting, the seating is poor and we were left facing a glass cabinet full of Monsieur Robuchon's cookery books!! The service is good but slightly pretentious and the french waiters refused to speak french with the french members of our party. The menu was fixed, had no appeal and it was difficult to make any choice from all three sections. However the real disapointment came when the starters arrived. Quite frankly having eaten all over the world these were the smallest portions we have ever seen. They were canape size! No wonder the waiter kept trying to offer us more bread, not a good sign that we might ruin our appetite. We rather wished we had had more bread by the time we got to the main courses which were served without any vegetables and which were bland and very very small. This type of dining is very simply a rip off of the highest order and no number of Michelin stars should allow this chef to fleece his clientelle in this way. For £125 per head we needed our heads examining.

We nearly walked into the Ivy afterwards for an all day breakfast!!
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martha - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Sunday, February 22, 2009

We ate in La Cuisine upstairs on the £69 for 3 courses meal on Saturday night. Our final bill worked out at just under double that per head including wine and water.

Having eaten at other restaurants like Petrus, Ramsays, Gavroche, I was expecting superior service from L'Atelier considering all the hype, but I was rather disappointed in the service. On several occasions we had to ask for our wine glasses to be filled and it took a while to order the bill at the end. Main course portions were small, particularly the quail, but I have to say, it did taste wonderful for the few mouthfuls it lasted.

I chose the passion fruit souffle for dessert and it was superb, but far larger than my main course, and I couldn't finish it all as it was quite sweet. My husband had the truffle ice cream and the portion was measly (he'd also had the quail), so he finished my souffle for me.

The atmosphere is rather cold as the decor is mainly black granite surfaces and rather old fashioned. The toilets had black serviettes which don't work well for drying hands and there was no hand cream.

Overall, the reality didn't match my expectations and the bill was far too high for the level of service we received. La Trompette in Chiswick is half the price, the food is better and more plentiful and the service superb.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Monday, January 19, 2009

After being advised to go to L'Atelier i am now advising everyone else to go.

Myself and my boyfriend had a superb evening. It was expensive but worth every penny.

We started off in the bar upstairs and enjoyed two very nice cocktails, service was a little slow but it was very busy.

The food was fantastic!! Spot on service; all the waiters were friendly. The speed of the service from the kitchen was fantastic. It wasn't so quick that you felt like you were being rushed it was just right.

Great open plan restaurant, loved being able to watch the chefs cooking. The fois gras burger and scallops were amazing! Cooked to perfection. I couldn't give one reason not to return. Great food and great service.
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Anna Spooner
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 19, 2009

I had a lunch yesterday at the "Atelier". The food is absolutely fantastic, the decor is nice, and the staff efficient and friendly.

The only downside is the price. 122 pounds, is too much for a lunch, even a very good one.

Despite this, I will most certainly, go back to the "Atelier" , but only for a special occasion !
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, January 14, 2009