The Commander Bar

47 Hereford Road, Notting Hill, London, W2 5AH - View on a map
Telephone: 020 7229 1503

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The Commander Bar Restaurant In London
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Overall 6.0
Food 6.5
Service 7.0
Atmosphere 7.0
Value 3.5
Based on 2 reviews

what the critics say

Metro

Marina O'Loughlin - 2/5

Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - The idea is to reference vintage American steak-n-seafood houses (it styles itself a 'Porterhouse and Oyster Bar'); there's loads of dark, pubby wood panelling including an odd central island, and waitstaff are tricked out in full steakhouse longwhite-apron drag…Perhaps they might do better to streamline and simplify; using a quote which our fellow diners will no doubt recognise, to 'get back to basics'. If The Commander were anywhere else but W2 it might be called something like Brannigan's or Woody's and cost about half as much as here. Smugness entirely unjustified.
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The Independent

Terry Durack - 11/20

Sunday, February 22, 2009 - The whole place is lively, loud and young. With the bare shoulders, oyster platters and flickering candles, it presents a very pretty picture; but behind it, the offerings don’t really rise much above food-court level. Some ideas are just plain silly, such as having a separate meat and fish “market” menu that itemises the market price and the cost of preparation for the diner to add together at the table. It all gives me a strange sense of being in some expatriate manifestation of a gastropub/chophouse in an Abu Dhabi shopping mall; something rigorously copied and in working order but not quite the real thing.
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We went to the Commander with good hope for it to become our new weekend favorite spot as we have a 2y old and they offer a free nursery service upstairs.

When we got there the place was so hot that we started feeling unwell. Not a pleasant experience, then I decided to give a try to the creche as soon my dish arrived in our table. Anyone with kids knows how hard it is to have peaceful meal in a restaurant.

When I opened the creche's door, I saw 2 girls in their mid 20's seating and really concentrated in their IPhones. They just look at us and said HI then continued with their IPhone.. Hey c'mon who will care for my son? Do you think a 2 years old boy will stay alone in a room with a few toys where the average temperature was like 30 degrees celsius? I stayed with my son up for 15min and none of the 2 girls even stood up to play. I was really sad because I had invited friends with a 1.5 years little girl to this place.

All in all: The place looks nice. The food was fine. The restaurant service was really nice. But the creche was a complete let down and they need to understand they are not running a sauna.
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Clara
Overall rating 5 stars
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Monday, April 08, 2013

Nice place, nice atmosphere, and nice food though not so exceptional and memorable, however seriously overpriced. Its pricing policy shows why its usually 80% empty and Cote round the corner is always full.
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Matt
Overall rating 7 stars
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Amazing - Amazing, I have to say it again because it was so good. The food was done to prefection. We went with a party of nine, and everyone really enjoyed what they ordered. I had the oysters which were just great, then I had the portorhouse steak - too much for one, but somehow I managed to pack it all in.

Best of all, was the waitering staff who were a delight, attentive but not intrusive. Go here if you want good food and exceptional service.

10 out of 10
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Joe - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 9 stars
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, July 02, 2010

what the bloggers say

Bellaphon

Bellaphon

Monday, March 09, 2009 - Although heavy on the wood detailing side of things the British pub-ness of it all is missing, it’s more of bar of indeterminate intention... The Commander is obviously impervious to the current climes, the prices that they charge for such average (or below) tasting tuck is outrageous. Tom Pemberton on the same road has no worries whatsoever.
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Gourmet Chick

Gourmet Chick - 7/10

Monday, February 02, 2009 - The Commander has been transformed through the renovations to an elegant looking dining room with dark parquetry floors and an oyster bar with beautiful lead lighting. There is also a gourmet deli tucked away to the side of the dining room which gives a hint of what is to come - alongside the standard menu there is a "Market Menu" that offers fish from John Norris or grilled meats from the Ginger Pig at "market price" (for an 8 ounce rib eye steak this was £6.06 which seemed about right).
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