Wild Honey

I know Valentine's dining in London is always a minefield, so we tend to pick what we udnerstand to be a top quality restaurants that won't do a substandard set meal or anything like that. We were told in advance that there would be a set menu of sorts, but as this was still a choice of 5 dishes for each course and the fixed price was fine, we said this was OK. It was therefore disappointing that on the day the choices were similar to or in many cases the same as the usual menu but the fixed price meant you were paying substantially more than you would have done on any other day. There were no "freebies" such as amuse, petit fours, some form of valentine's treat, that justified this so the overall feeling was of being ripped off (particularly in regard to the wild honey ice cream - I assumed this would be some sort of speciality but it was two scoops of icecream on some broken crumbs of honeycomb in a silver dish that looked like something from a school meal). We are very lucky to eat at many two and three Michelin star restaurants so maybe we have lost sight of what it takes to get one star. We were also basically sitting in a corridor between the door and the bar so constantly surrounded by staff bustling around and the cold chill every time the door opened. Service was not warm, not friendly, mostly charmless and far too quick so we felt rushed (ie had one sip of champagne and one bite of bread before wine was poured and starters brought) - definitely not a place to linger. Maybe they had a later sitting. Food overall was fine but don't expect an special evening.
Comment on this reader review

4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Monday, February 18, 2013

Gorgeous restaurant, quite nice for a treat. Food was amazing, especially the lamb on the set lunch. Desserts were like works of art. Front of house staff lovely. Our waitress was sweet as cherry pie. If I had one grumble, it would be the control freak manager type person, and whats with the guy that paces up and down continuously? Stop already!
Comment on this reader review

8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, September 25, 2012

This is the 3rd time I have eaten here, and I’m afraid it has gone off the boil completely. The service was slow and rather charmless. We ordered at 1945 and after 15 minutes they told us that they had run out of the starters we ordered. The table either side of us had similar problems, which made for a very uncomfortable evening as the tables are very close together. Prices still very high for ho-hum cooking and inefficient delivery. Go to Pollen St Social or Hibiscus in future.
Comment on this reader review

Crossbill
3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Friday, September 16, 2011

I went for lunch on Friday with my best friend. The food was nice, the staff were friendly and attentive. Was a great lunch, will be back again!
Comment on this reader review

Sarah
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, August 12, 2011

We ate here two Friday's ago for my fiance's birthday. The food was delicious, very summery. Interesting combinations and fairly gourmet portions to start. I had the crab with an asparagus mousse followed by the bouillabaisse. The bouillabaisse was deconstructed and came in lovely copper bowls with cruidittes and aioli. We had cheese to follow (there were a selection of about 6) and then shared the chocolate soup with milk sorbet which was just delicious; not too rich at all. The service started off well but as it got busier we noticed the attention wained but we weren't in a rush we didn't mind. In summary, it's the sort of place you can go and have three very good quality, perfectly prepared courses and walk out feeling just right. The bill came in at around £85 per head with a cocktail each and bottle of wine to share. My only criticisim was that of the continuity of service but also that they didn't have crackers to go with the cheese (!) - only hunks of bread which seemed very out of place compared with the delicate style of the other courses.
Comment on this reader review

Abbie Azar
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Thursday, June 02, 2011

TOO BAD. Unreasonably expensive bad wine, bad service, expensive bill.
View/Add comments (2)

1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Friday, May 27, 2011

House Champagne not up to par but the food was good, in particular the grouse was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC and imaginative. We ate at the bar and found the staff very charming, two interesting and delicious wine recommendations from a good wine list. Charming atmosphere and decor. Very much looking forward to next visit!
Comment on this reader review

- View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Tiny portions, lukewarm food and dreadful service. Next door table's scallops had to be sent back.

We sat in front of our menus for 15 minutes each time, as waiters came and went ignoring us, eventually we gave up on ordering a pudding. Complaints were met with a gallic shrug.

Complete rip off.
Comment on this reader review

1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Friday, February 11, 2011

I'm really sorry, but i think it is the worst michelin stared restaurant in London, the service is absolutely terrible, no one smiles , i had the smoked eel to start it was very average ,as a chef ,,,. the smoked eel looks like it was frozen, and the sweet corn puree was very strange ! for mains i had the cod with white beans my wife can do better ??it looks like they run out of plates, small tiny plate for both courses...let talk about the desserts i ordered the chocolate soup, what a surprise you should go and try it ,, basically it a ganache with a bit of flour mix,and cooked,, i think that a joke...

- If this restaurant was in France it will be on the front page on every news paper.

but in the end of the day i don't blame wild honey i think michelin inspectors should be trained properly ..i mean as ex chef to judge .. that why in France were i come from we think michelin guide is a joke now ... we love a good food cooked with passion and love not what I've seen at wild honey ..just money money
Comment on this reader review

alexandre Moyeux
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Thursday, January 20, 2011

Went here last night with a friend, before 7pm, to take advantage of the pre-theatre menu which is good value and although only 2 choices per course, is interesting. We both kicked off with the very delicious chicken and eel terrine, which sounded like a strange combo but was marvellous, with a large slice of crisp toast to go with it. Unfortunately the waiters TWICE tried to remove my plate while I was still eating despite my protests!. They had taken my friend's plate despite my still eating, which is a minus in my book. No vegetables are included with the mains so we had to order a dish (no problem) which included delicious braised lettuce. However these greens were drenched in butter; both of us found it too rich, especially with the braised hare we both chose. It is a pity restaurants don't leave most of the butter sauce on the side, for diners to add if they want to. The other complaint is that the hare was extremely salty. I drank several glasses of water in the night because of that. The pudding, floating island, was superb. But overall we both felt it was too salty, rich and buttery (and I love salty food) and would not return for this reason.
Comment on this reader review

suzerne - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Friday, December 10, 2010