The French Kitchen (Holborn)

This is without doubt the worst restaurant I have ever eaten in. I ate here last night with a chum and left feeling angry. First up was the sulky waitress (who turned out to be the manager). If you're going to work in the service industry I would think an ability to engage with people - paying customers - is a must have? Second was a very bad roquefort and walnut which had the apperance of being 'dumped' on the plate with little or no attempt at prsentation. Mid way through my friend heard a loud crack which was my tooth coming down on a large piece of walnut shell. The waitress said she would take it off the bill but did not offer an apology. Third was the beefburger I had (not very French in my understaning of French dining) I bit down this time on not one but two pieces of bone. The waitress/manager explanation - 'well, we don't make then ourselves, we buy them in' In the event all of my food was removed from the bill but I still left feeling angry and dissapointed with this excuse of a restaurant. You have been warned.
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Richard Cunningham
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, September 16, 2011

I came to the French Kitchen for breakfast with a girl friend a year ago and we loved it! The farmhouse breakfast came out in sizzling old cast iron frying pan and all the ingredients were to die for so I spent a year trying to convince my husband to join me there for breakfast. He had been once before for a bacon baguette and was disappointed with the rock hard bread and little bacon so refused to go with expectations of a disappointing full 'English' (French) breakfast. This morning we finally went, 'I promise, you will love it'.

We sat outside in the sun, lovely. First coffee was cold. Farmhouse breakfast came out fairly quickly. (they were not busy) no longer served in frying pans (Husband points this out). Chef had forgotten to grill the tomato! (husband noticed) Piece of sourdough toast- even too small for me. (husband points out) I asked for an extra egg instead of the mushroom, glad I didnt take the offer of the extra tomato but had egg overload with three of the buggers. No offer of Ketchup just black pepper. Ketchup eventually came out (after I had gone inside and asked for it again) with the second coffee which was hotter (as requested). Staff were ok, apologised for the uncooked tomatoes and didnt charge me for the second coffee. But on a whole wasnt particluarly great and my husband didnt love it, we were both disappointed and we wont be going back. Such a shame! I really wanted to like it.
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6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Sunday, July 31, 2011

My partner and I recently shared dinner here early one Thursday evening. I had high hopes for the meal and whilst overall it was a perfectly pleasant experience it was let down to some degree by the service and, surprisingly, the food.

We were seated promptly and chose a simple but very tasty sharing starter before she followed with moules and I chose the 'special' which was pork belly. The chips that were served with the moules were good but the moules on top of the pot she said were cool if not cold suggesting they had been waiting a while before being delivered to the table. My pork belly, served with mash and spinach, was also cool and generally an altogether disappointing experience. The two pork cuts whilst well cooked sat awash in a textureless sea and the distinct flavours I hoped to detect were completely lost. Let’s call it forgettable.

We didn't have time for desserts or coffee so nothing to add on that front. Our bill was presented promtly on request though.

Whilst the restaurant was quiet when we arrived, it soon filled and it there was a corresponding deterioration in the attentiveness of the service, which had started well. I suspect the three floor staff at work where simply too stretched and I that the same problem applied to the kitchen given (a) the temperature of our mains when they reached the table and (b) the inordinate wait between our two courses.

Did it represent value for money? Just. It was not expensive by London standards and I would like to think we were unlucky with our selection of dishes. Reading the reviews below it would appear that service remains an ongoing issue.

I would go back since I believe it offers something different to the ubiquitous chain restaurants in the area but if this were a school report card, overall it would read "could do better".
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Bootsy
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Friday, April 15, 2011

I was in a party of twelve or thirteen on a week night, and even with us the place was barely half full. The food was good. The French onion soup had a lovely piece of crusty bread with toasted cheese plonked on top, and the soup was authentically French in style. The main course of confit of duck was superb: well seasoned and tender on a bed of Puy lentils. However, the service was slow and unapologetic. It took an hour for our starters to be served, and after that another hour before we got our main courses. Friends who ordered the steak frites were told after a good wait that there were no chips left. No apology was made for the slow service, and at no point was bread offered. The staff could not have cared less and they failed to appreciate that once an order is taken a contract is made between restaurant and customer such that the restaurant will endeavour to fulfil the customer’s order in a reasonable time. Waiting for an hour for a bowl of warm soup is not reasonable.

I won’t be going back, which is a pity because the food was perfectly acceptable.
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Colin Dunn
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

She who must be obeyed and myself went for lunch at this excellent restuarant yesterday in the pouring rain. Inside the atmosphere was buzzing. It was warm and comfortable and we were shown to a table right away even thought we had not booked. We had the shared charcutrie, which was excellent. I had the moules and her ladyship the seafood special, all washed down with a carafe of nice white wine. All the waiting staff were very nice and because there was a slight delay, we were given complimentary bread and olives. An all round good experience and we will return when next in the capital.
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Phil Ellis
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Very mediocre. Went here on a spur of the moment on a Tuesday evening. The waitress didn't write down our order - why do restaurants still do this ? - and as a result my steak arrived like shoe-leather rather than rare.

Waitress did apologise and i had a pizza instead with their 110 year old sour dough apparently. It was ok, a bit dry and truth be told i didn't think it was too much better than pizza express next door.

So not awful not brilliant but ok.
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Alex Kaye
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

I was very impressed with this restaurant. We had an excellent meal with great service too. I highly recommend the charcuterie board and the pizza/pasta, which were all good value. The portions are generous and I left feeling pleasantly full. As a regular diner in this area I thought Villandry Kitchen provided something a bit different to the usual run-of-the mill Pizza Express, Strada offering, without being OTT on price. It is suitable for business lunches, but also for a quick bite to eat if you need to be in and out in an hour. I will certainly be going back!
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 10, 2009