The Boundary

We are here late after a concert and although it was packed with pre-Christmas revellers we enjoyed a great meal with attentive service and could hear ourselves speak. The menu is a pleasing list of things we actually wanted to eat and what appeared on the plate was even nicer than we'd anticipated. We drank the cheaper wines which to the restaurant's credit were well-chosen and delicious.
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David Gardner
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, December 18, 2011

This is without doubt my new favorite place in London. The main dining room is well laid out with a good combo of booths and tables, a beautiful little bar and a wonderful open kitchen.

The food lives up to expectations, the charcuterie trolley is very good and plentiful, and both the loaghtan lamb and duck mains were also top notch. Desserts were the only slight dip with the chocolate millefeuille being the worst dish of the night.

Service was great, cool and calm and very knowledgable. Was great that the sommelier could remember the wine I had drunk on my first visit 3 months earlier.

Have been a few times now in the last few weeks and will continue.
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Sunday, March 06, 2011

Had a meal here last night and all told it was a great night. To start with this is a stunning restaurant to look at. After going down a few flights of concrete and rather unappealing looking stairs you then emerge into a beautiful looking bar. This then leads into the main room with a open kitchen and well spaced out tables. We were shown to a nice corner table, ordered a couple of drinks and looked through the very French old school menu. I cannot remember the last time I saw dishes such as choucroute, grand aioli and calfs brains.

Starters were okay to good, the fish soup being good were as my langoustine were just okay. For mains we choose to share the whole les landes rotisserie chicken, with some spinach, chips and some lovely garlic mayo. The chicken was really top notch and tasted like chicken used to. Next we had cheese which looked great but there was not a huge choice and they were a bit to cold. For dessert we also shared 6 straight out of the oven madeleines which came with creme fraiche. On ordering I remarked to the waiter how it was a shame they were not served with a warm chocolate sauce, so it was a nice touch when they arrived that we were given both.

The wine list was very good with a great range to choose from, we had a great bottle of white burgundy and a couple glasses of red with the cheese. Prices although not cheap were sensible and not over the top like many places.

Service however was the real highlight, from the receptionist to the charming manager. However it was the assistant manager/sommelier ( I think he was the assistant but he knew his wines and gave good advice) who was the standout. If I had to find fault with the service the waiter who went through the cheeses was very grumpy and it seemed like a chore for him to explain them to us.

Overall a great meal, after we got used to the side by side seating (not great for talking), and I will be back for sure. And at £200 for 2 pretty good value for all that we ate and drank.
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, November 25, 2010

What a splendid birthday treat! I arrived with high expectations on the basis of a friend's recommendation. You have two options: the roof terrace or the main restaurant inside. The roof terrace is supposed to be the main draw, but the summer had decided to take a couple of days off so we moved indoors. We weren't disappointed. Although set in the basement, the room feels open and spacious. Even the tables have generous proportions (don't you hate those places with cramped, mean little tables and no space to spread out?) . The atmosphere is smart but bustling, with none of that hushed reverence you are sometimes expected to show in other high end restaurants. The staff were friendly, abundant and attentive, but without being all over us. My partner had spent some time discussing wine options with the sommelier so I was pleased that when it arrived she was offered the first drop to taste. An obvious thing, perhaps, but most places automatically offer it to the bloke without thinking. And the food maintained the high standard. Beautifully cooked scallops (notice the plural. Too often you find scallops means a scallop), tender squid with gooey ink, meltingly soft lamb and a very happy making halibut. And the downside? Well, it's certainly a bit pricey. But you can't expect a treat this tasty to come cheap. So, all in all, a splendind recommendation. Thanks Lewis. And thanks for booking it too.
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Richard Marchant
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, August 06, 2010

I visited with a friend on a week night and was told on arrival that they had a problem in the kitchen and would not be able to serve the full menu. However, the menu they did offer was sufficiently extensive.

My foie gras terrine starter and rabbit mains were both delicious. My friend's oysters followed by ox tongue were also a hit, partly due to the relative cheapness of those choices (£8 and £14 respectively), but mainly because they were cooked well. Venturing further up the price scale on the menu showed some £25+ dishes, while the wine list was also overpriced, with very little under the £35 mark.

On the plus side, the atmosphere was lively without being overbearing, and the service was fine. Overall, the charge levelled at Boundary being 'all style and no substance' was in my experience unfair and untrue. Do give it a try, but make sure you're feeling quite wealthy when you go.
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Forth Bridge - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, April 06, 2010

I have just had one of the best and most comfortable meals of the past 12 months. Civilised surroundings, impeccable service and excellent food and wine made this a place to which I'd like to return often.
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Robert
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 12, 2010

Excellent Franco-English food, good service and amazing venue. I am looking forward to go back again!!
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, January 23, 2010

Too much fawning for my liking. Totally obtrusive when we were trying to have a conversation. I don't know how many times I politely said I could pour my own wine only for a new person to come up and do it all over again.

Having said that the food was pretty good and the place was quite cool.
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benjamin163 - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Over rated, over priced, and average. Baguette clumps with butter while waiting (not nice Italian bread from their shop downstairs which they could have coughed up for!), average starter, expensive maincourses (we settled on Chateaubriand for £46) and the meat was CHEWY, fancy that in such an expensive restaurant. Service mixed, the maitre d was lovely the waitress not so. Tap water offered which was a real plus. Ok decor, quite liked the open kitchen. But Boundary is in my opinion all style no substance, we wont be returning or recommending
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Vicky
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Sunday, October 04, 2009

What a place to find!!! the website states it's a 5 minute walk from Old Street - they lied!! what's more it's extremely difficult to locate as their website map is printed in pale ink and impossible to read. Anyway enough of the moaning!

We'd booked the rooftop restaurant but sadly closed due to rain..

The 2 of us were sat at a sort of banquette against the wall immediately behind where they keep the glasses. We should have asked to be moved as it's probably the worst table in the place. And why do restaurants think you can talk to someone where you're sitting side by side?! Very odd but quite common.

We chose the set menu which was SUBLIME - worth the walk, the aching feet and staring at rows of all those slightly smeary glasses.

If you want the loos, don't do as I did and walk up the stairs (the restaurant is in a sort of basement) cos you'll never find them!! If you go in the lift (so to speak!) it's easy peasy!

Off the beaten track, a bit gloomy, an uncomfortable mock art deco bar - but simply superb food which is what it's all about!!!
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Sally A - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 9
Friday, September 18, 2009