Angela Hartnett at The Connaught

We went to this restaurant as a treat for my husbands birthday and we were not disappointed. From the moment we arrived we were made to feel special and the service although quite formal was excellent.

I am a real fan of Angela’s' food and whilst I am sure she was not in the Kitchen preparing every dish for me, there was definitely her stamp on the menu. The tasting menu was truly superb and although they did not do a wine menu to match we left it in the capable hands of the Sommelier, along with a budget so he did not get too carried away, and again we were not disappointed.

I was after a treat and this is what I got. We must have been sat down for at least 3 -4 hours with exceptional service and great food and wine. We were never rushed or left wanting, a meal at exactly the standard and pace I hoped for. Not fine dining so fine you feel you cannot relax but fine enough for you to feel indulged and treated. We were enjoying it so much we completely missed the tube home and finally rolled out after 7 superb courses with a glass of wine to match each, slightly worse for wear but definitely all the richer for the experience. Can’t wait for the renovations to be complete and of course another reason to celebrate to go back.
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Jax - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, July 23, 2007

I took my sister to lunch here a little while ago. I was always curious about this place, having eaten at hospital road and Claridges a few times, and was looking forward to eating there. We ordered from the set lunch menu and went with the recommendations on it. Needless to say we were very impressed with the food and the wine and we had a really good time. I may well go back there after the Connaught has been refurbished.
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Gordon Riby
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Friday, May 04, 2007

This is a restaurant I have eaten in twice. I have had good meals there twice. The taster menu is FANTASTIC and the lunch menu is a bargain. I had seen the “making” of the restaurant on TV and watched GR do his mentoring bit with Angela and even got to meet the lady herself!! The lamb I had on that occasion was one of the nicest things I have ever eaten.

The next time I went the number two man was in the kitchen. I am sorry I cannot remember his name. There was no drop in standard what-so-ever and I enjoyed every last bit of it. As a special occasion it is wonderful if a bit “grown-up” I would go again.
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Kevin
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Thursday, May 03, 2007

I will have to disagree with all the great reviews that have been written about this restaurant. My experience at Angela Hartnetts was pretty poor and by far the worst fine-dining experience that I've had. We had a party of six and we all ordered the tasting menu. For 70 pounds a head, we had high expectations and were left unsatisfied. I remember each and every course not because they were good but because they were either very poor or as someone put it 'amatuerish'. The scallops were overcooked, the fish salty, the meat and duck were so undercooked and stringy that we had trouble cutting them up. The only half-decent course was dessert but serving chocolate mousse and then chocolate gelato just didn't seem right. Aside from the food, the lack of service was noticable. Throughout our entire meal, not one waiter asked us if things were ok or if we required anything.

The connaught is definitely on my 'never to visit' list. A huge disappointment.
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Anon
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Friday, April 20, 2007

We had lunch today at Angela Harnett's. Service was welcoming and friendly and reasonably professional. The room is certainly nice and atmosperic, with the tables located at a civilized distance from each other. The food however, did not exactly match the surroundings. Despite all ingredients, ranging for the lamb and the parpadelle I had as a started to the breaded halibut I enjoyed as a main dish, were definitely good quality, the dishes lacked "sophistication". It was a nice meal, the type you would expect in a good neighbourhood osteria, but somehow of a different league of the meals you could sample for the same prices at the likes of Tom Aikens or good old Gordon Ramsay. Desserts was nothing special and the petits fours, largely unremarkable.

Will Angela soon lose her M-star? I would say so....
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Hannah
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Saturday, March 10, 2007

Went there on my birthday with my girlfriend.

Overall - food was very good; the champagne coctails and the wine were brilliant; and the service by the waiters was outstanding.

BUT - the staff at the restaurant reception were extremely rude. We had to wait for 50 mins after our reservation time for them to prepare our table. When I politely reminded them that we have been waiting for quite a bit the woman at the reception snapped at me.

I am sorry, but for a sexy £350 bill for 2, the service was an absolute disgrace!!Next time will probably try another place!
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George
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Saturday, January 06, 2007

My wife and I had our anniversary dinner here and found the entire experience quite satisfactory. Awesome food, decent (not great) wine and a very attentive discreet service. The ambient is a bit bare but it worked for a quiet heart-to-heart evening. Nice throughout.
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M. Grimaldi
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Petrus was full so we tried this place for our Xmas dinner. Party of 4 @ 9.30.

We sat down at 9.30 but our starters didn't get to us before 10.30. We ordered some wine, 1999 but realised they had given us the 1990 version, twice as expensive, half way through...The set menu is £60. There was some scrambled egg with an extravagant white truffle for £30 mor, as a starter...One of us ordered it to find out that it was just simple scrambled eggs, looking no better than the ones I make on a Sunday morning, with shavings of an ordinary white truffle - there was a lot of it and not that much flavour. Food is OK but you would expect something a bit better for the price. Service an absolute disgrace. We left right after dessert, just before midnight... I liked the decor, very Xmassy. Not so much the bill, just shy of £600.

My opinion: I do enjoy Ramsay's kitchen nightmares, but perhaps should he concentrate on making the restaurants of his own group less of a nightmare for their customers
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Rimmer - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Oh Dear. I am going to have to disagree on this one. I dined there on Friday and I have to say the whole experience was a massive disappointment. We had drinks in the bar on the left as you walk in and were very suprised at the state of the decor. the tables were dirty and the edges of the sofas were threadbare. I dont mind a bit of shabby chic and the country club look but i am afraid this was just plain dirty and past its best. We have to move bars as the both the atmosphere and a group of foul mouthed guests rather spoiled the ambulance. all in all the initial 15 mins was on a par with having a beer in the waiting lounge at Victoria Station. We moved to the american bar which was much nicer and ordered another drink. My beer had to go back as it was warm, but hey ho not a big problem. our other guests arrived and we ordered some champagne. all these had to be sent back because they were warm. At £12.50 a minute glass not what we had expected. We orderd from the set menu. I had the risotto which was frankly amateurish, my wife had the salmon ravioli which was much more successful. For a main I orderd the venison which again resembled an effort from recent catering college graduate or someone who had watched too many episodes of Master Chef. Very Very ordinary. the other problem with all the food we were served was that it was JUST warm enough. If I hadnt been with other people I would have sent everything back. With a bit more investigation the reason behind the tepid fare became clear. The kitchen is situated down a steep set of stairs and everything has to transported a fair distance to the table. This would be ok if the restaurant was set up as a carvery it simply isnt ideal for the quality of experience the owners are aiming (and missing) for. At least the desserts would be easier and I opted for the ice cream creation. at least this had a godd chance of being served at the right temperature. It was! but what a creation. A tiny portion of something Fanny Craddock might have dreamt of after a bad night on the gin. What a throwback. Either I have missed the irony of retro food but this was the horrible clash of fanny craddock meets nouvelle cusine. to cap it all it ws served on a leaf shaped plate. Please, there is trying and there is trying too hard. I wont even bother to comment in too much depth at the lamentable service and attitude. Believe me guys your product is nowhere near good enough for you to have that air. Price was it was expensive but no more so than going to any top notch eatery. My review is not based on a value for money score. The product shortcomings are so great that any price comparison is rendered useless. In my opinion the cooking by the apprentice is not in the same league as her mentor, Mr Ramsay. A grotesque caracature he may be buy boy can he cook. book a restaurant where he is in the kitchen not one of his franchises. If you have been to a number of good restuarants then you will be very disappointed. If you want to take your granny who has never been outside of Norfolk for her first and last taste of some "posh food from that woman off the telly" then go and have a laugh at what happens when believing your own hype meets reality.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Monday, December 04, 2006

Good, but not exceptional. You could get much better food elsewhere for the same price
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Gabriella
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Thursday, November 30, 2006