Galvin Bistrot de Luxe

The food is consistently wonderful and the wine list excellent. This is one of my favourite restaurants in London and it is as fabulous on a lazy weekend afternoon as over a big client dinner.

The service in the evening however, consistently lets it down and last time I visited it was so bad that I was actually quite embarrassed in front of my friends to whom I had reccomended we visit. Otherwise it is extremely good and suprisingly excellent value for money.
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LG
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, July 04, 2008

I had dinner here last night as a birthday celebration with my family and overall had a spectacular meal but with mixed service.

The staff are very friendly and accommodating - when my brother-in-law asked for a main as a starter, it was absolutely no problem. And at the beginning of dinner, whilst I waited for my other diners, the manageress checked to make sure I was okay and even offered me a paper to read whilst I waited. It was in general a nice welcoming atmosphere however it was let down when our waiter forgot to let the kitchen know he'd cleared our starters and so after a half hour wait for our mains, we called the manageress who dealt with it promptly and offered us complimentary drinks.

Other than the long wait for our mains, the food was amazing - I had the smoked salmon which was tasty and my sister had the endives, roquefort and walnut salad which was well presented and had the right combination of strengths of flavour. For mains, my duck breast, savoy cabbage and red wine was crisp, succulent and flavoursome all at once and the beef bourguignonne was melt in the mouth tender.

All in all, we all want to return tomorrow and will even forgive the mistakes in the service considering how good the rest of the experience turned out to be.
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Gaby de Pace
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Once again, I had a wonderful meal at Galvin's. The food is always excellent and very good value for money. I particularly like their slow-cooked dishes such as the daube of venison. I just wish they would bring back the hot starters such as the fantastic crab lasagne. The desserts are always delicious, especially the tarte tatin. It is one of the few restaurants where they have a good selection of wines by the glass, all excellent. I am surprised by the reviews which have criticised the service which I have always found to be very professional and friendly. It is one of the few 'formal' restaurants where I feel totally relaxed and comfortable without having my water glass topped up after every sip! It is one of my favourite restaurants in London and better than their Galvin at Windows.
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Majella
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, February 10, 2008

I took my other half to dinner at Bistrot de Luxe shortly before Christmas. I called on the night to try my luck at moving the booking forward an hour, and they were more than happy to accommodate. The staff were very very friendly, both on the phone and once we were there.

The meal was wonderful:

I had, and,can highly reccommend the fish soup (perfect in every way- but perhaps too large a portion for me!). My partner had the snails (which he ensures me were delicious, and although i dipped my bread in the copious garlic butter it came with, I resisted the snails themselves)

I chose duck for my main, which I felt was a bit "busy". With the confit and pan fried duck (both of which tasted rich and delicious), came beans (fine) and chorizo chunks which clashed the flavours a bit. Boyf's veal kidney was amazing, the sauce was creamy, garlicky and just amazing.

We shared the blueberry souffle for dessert, which boyf declared to be the BEST dessert he has ever had - and he has eaten at all the best restaurants in town through work.

A few points: expect rich french food and large portions...you definitely get your moneys worth, but it might be worth leaving room for dessert, which i failed to do!

There are not many half bottles of wine to choose from, and if there are 2 of you, and want a white with starter and red with main don't worry...the half bottles they do have are absolutely fine (we went for pouilly fuisse and a pomerol I think)

In summary: the best French food I have had in London, and without the surly service you get at Bleeding Heart and Boudin Blanc.
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Sonia
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, December 31, 2007

I have been here a couple of times and it never disappoints. Great choice of food, from the simple but exquisite French to a good selection of more adventurous offal dishes. Service is passable and the interior is extremely Fench bistro, but it is all about the quality of the food at reasonable prices. And a great wine list.
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Michael
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, December 30, 2007