Wild Honey

Visited Arbutus last year so we thought we'd try this place as it's the sister restaurant. It just doesn't compare well with Arbutus.

Arbutus has such a nice atmosphere and that's what Wild Honey lacks. The wood paneling on the walls reminds me of an old school dorm or barristers' chambers. In fact, Derry Irvine was in that night which probably explains my comparison above. It generally feels a bit stuffy and 'old money'.

The menu is good but hardly revolutionary. Having said that, the grilled rib of beef arrived warm and the Bearnaise was almost room temperature - almost like butter. Such a rich dish needs to be hot and some vegetables to lighten the richness would not have been missed; however our request for vegetables was met with a look of incredulity by the waiter.

Still, Lord Irvine looked like he enjoyed himself.
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Nick Cresswell
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Saturday, September 25, 2010

Had a meal here with close friends. The food was superb and divine but the service was far from perfect. having to top up our own water and wine all night as well as constantly having to try to get the waiters attention, it is clear the staff needs training on customer service. i will return but only if they trained their staff better. reasonably priced.
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6 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, August 24, 2010

A very nice restaurant. Our party of 4 chose a variety of mains, and all were well presented and full of flavour. The service was attentive without being overbearing, and there was a pleasant atmosphere in which to enjoy our food. The wine list was comprehensive, and very reasonably priced, and we were not left wanting more from the portion sizes!

We do not eat at pricier restaurants all that often, but would definitely consider returning here.
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Joe
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Sunday, August 15, 2010

A couple of weeks ago we had a lovely dinner at Wild Honey. We were seated at the marble bar and so we could enjoy our view over the whole restaurant.

The food was very good and so was the service.

What made our evening were the two lovely receptionist next to us.

After asking were we could go for another drink the young German gentleman and lovely French girl recommended us a few nice bars just around the corner.

We will definitely be back.

Thanks very much for a wonderful evening.
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peter
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 09, 2010

Brasserie; not a restaurant. The starters were lovely, but wine waiters admitted no real knowledge of their offer. The cod was so bland it was sent back, and the rose veal lacked any distinction. Combined with a general lack of staff attentiveness, and an effort to include a 25% service charge, this was NOT AN EXPERIENCE WE WILL EVER REPEAT.‎
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phil
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Saturday, July 03, 2010

The experience and food were terrible - we had the a la carte menu, which cost a fortune per person, but the food was disgusting and tasteless. My starter stated pheasant and foie gras boudin blanc which turned out to be some indistiguishable foam rolled into a sausage. The mushrooms on the side were oversalted or undersalted depending on which one you took. My main was veal which was cooked OK but was so bland I could not taste anything at all! The cheese board was shocking - you pay £10 for one small piece of cheese (and I mean REALLY small). The service was equally disappointing - the waiter rushed us, then brushed us off when we tried explaining that we did not order two tarte tatins saying "they are getting cold, I don't have time". I cannot believe they have a Michelin star! Their other restaurant Arbutus, I heard, is of the same quality. Avoid at all costs!!!!
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2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Visited this restaurant last night to celebrate a friend's birthday. Because I am disabled I sit very low at the table so asked for a cushion, I was very impressed as they went to another restaurant to borrow a couple for me, that deserves 10 points on it's own. I wasn't too sure about the menu as nothing jumped out at me, so plumped for pork belly with hertfordshire snails which was delicious, pork was so moist and tasty. I then had cod with gnocci. It looked very white on the plate so not sure I had picked correctly, but the flavour of the seafood vinigrette came through, and I did enjoy it, not sure i would have again. dessert was custard tart with persimon which is a tangy orange jelly. Overall a lovely restaurant and would certainly go again
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Jean - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, December 06, 2009

Service was excellent. Food unfortunately didn't match. Crab salad - crab was good but the dressing had been hanging around on the plate and this showed. Salmon trout was tasteless and suffered from the same problem with the sauce (of i'm not sure what) of being plated too early.
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ecr - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, September 20, 2009

Booked ahead and mentioned that the reservatiuon was for an anniversary and was assured that a booth coud be possible (I realise that London restaurants don't do guarantees anymore). It was written in the book on the night, but for unexplained reasons we weren't.

Not a great start, but upon hearing my request, they bent over backwards to sort it out. Within 40 mins we were in - hurrah! The staff are very, very good here and they made the night.

The food is also executed to a high standard. This is what we had: White bread and butter - excellent. Boudin blanc with little girolles - amazing. Crab and nectarine curls - super fresh. Cod and gnocchi - delicious. Deconstructed bouillabaise - too rich for me, overpoweringly dense and rich. Cheese - superb. Unadvertised custard tart - the best I've ever tasted.

Drank 6 carafe's and some champagne at the start. Got comp'd two glasses of dessert wine for the table mix up. £184 for two.

Marvellous - really, really special.
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Coops
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, September 11, 2009

My lovely wife and i decided to try "Wild Honey" for one of our occasional date nights. We have tried just about everywhere in Notting Hill so it made a nice change to dress up a little and go out for an up scale meal. The restaurant was very quiet when i first entered at 7PM but by the time we left it was absolutly packed. I had a highly competent martini whilst I waited for my wife to arrive.

The menu was looked good though I was more struck by the mains than the starters. My wife had a lovely unctuous veloute whilst I went for a bean and morel mushroom salad. It was tasty but I probably could have managed with just my main. To follow my wife had lovely Label Anglais roast chicken whilst I went for the signature Boullabaise. This came deconstructed style so you sort of assemble it yourself. The fish was absolutely beautiful, matched with a lovely soup. My one observation would be that it is quite a large dish to eat and by the time I got down to finishing my little saucepan of soup it had gone tepid. A cover for the dished would really have helped keep it all warm. It came with plentiful croutons and rouille.

We felt it silly to skip desert and my wife had a plum panacota whilst I went for the wild honey ice cream. Both were delicious and a great way to finish off a lovely meal. One great point of difference with this restaurant is they do nearly all there wines by the 250ml carafe. This is a real bonus and meant I could try some more unusual wines and match wines to each course. They even did 50ml taster measures of desert wine. Service was friendly and relatively informal which makes a nice difference to a lot of Mayfair restaurants which can be stuffy.

We had a really nice time and though the place isn't cheap I thought for the standard of food we had it was excellent value. We will definitely go back and I am now keen to try "Arbutus"
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david ginsberg - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, August 24, 2009