Bistrot Bruno Loubet

The Zetter, St John's Square, 86-88 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1M 5RJ - View on a map
Telephone: 020 7324 4444

Bistrot Bruno Loubet Restaurant In London
Details Image
Overall 9.0
Food 9.0
Service 9.0
Atmosphere 9.0
Value 9.0
Based on 1 reviews

what the critics say

Telegraph

Jasper Gerard - 8/10

Friday, June 04, 2010 - Even apparently straightforward dishes such as pan-fried pollock have been lifted. The addition of squid ink adds saltiness and celeriac puree bitterness. My confit lamb shoulder with nicely chargrilled red pepper and a really powerful preserved lemon puree sounds like a conventional Mediterranean dish, but the crunchiness of white bean and the spice of harissa turn it into an international hit. So many flavours are dancing here it could all end in a crumpled heap but Loubet has choreographed this perfectly.

Guardian

Jay Rayner

Sunday, April 18, 2010 - The fresh, spring-like stew of peas, ham and barley was rich and comforting and savoury. But what really made it was the boudin, the guinea fowl turned into the very lightest of mousses before being poached and caramelised. Bloody hell, but it was good. A disc of braised hare, the very darkest and densest of meats, came with a sauce so black it sucked the light out of the room...There's a strong wine list, with lots of choice under 30 quid, a smart front of house operation and a bill that doesn't make you feel you've been violated. It's what restaurants are meant to be like.

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Heaven...

I had an excellent meal at Bistrot Bruno Loubet on a wet Friday evening in April. Service is terrific, the room is interesting and buzzy, and the food just outstanding at prices that don't make the eyes water. I had the beef Indochine which was a beautiful, luscious piece of braised beef with an Asian inspired salad and it just hit all the right notes. Great choice on the menu, generous portion sizes, really hard to fault it. Service hit the right balance between unobtrusive and attentive yet relaxed. I will certainly be back.
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Overall rating 9 stars
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, April 16, 2012

9 of us ate there on Saturday night.

I had the mackerel for starters and it was fantastic.

The lamb was nice but didn't quite measure up.

Splendid cheeses to finish with.

The staff were a credit to the place and should be proud of themselves.
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Marty - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 9 stars
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, December 05, 2011

I have been to this restaurant many times now and the food and ambience has always been amazing.

The main problem is the service. Waiters don't really know what they are doing and there doesn't seem to be much organisation.

We had to call waiters to order, to take our dishes, to provide new glasses for wine etc. This is a shame. If the service was sorted it would be our favourite london haunt.

Also the front of house is a bit of a plonker.....shabbily dressed, couldn't care less arrogant attitude.
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Peter
Overall rating 8 stars
Food 10 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, October 21, 2011

We had lovely dinner at Bruno Loubet. The starter and mains were very tasty.

I had beetroot ravioli for starter and seabream with lovely squid ink sauce.

My husband's main, seafood cassoulet was original, with lots of beans which I love.

I liked the fact that dishes are light and not too heavy, including desserts, yet full of flavour and texture.

The weak side was the service, unfortunately. The waiter was too late to explain the day's special, at that point we had already decided the dishes from the main menu. After the main course, I asked the waitress to bring dessert with coffee, but only dessert was brought to the table. When I asked again, cold coffee was delivered, which was apparently the left over of somebody else's!

They were very apologetic and brought the hot fresh coffee. They do make an effort, but it was just not perfect service.

As the dishes were so good, I would love to come back again.
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Justine
Overall rating 7 stars
Food 9 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, September 20, 2011

We were excited to try Bistrot Bruno Loubet but we were sadly very disappointed by the food.

To start, I had the wood pigeon, foie gras & pot au Feu salad. It was a cold salad which was served far too cold. It was impossible to taste the ingredients for that reason. My husband had the Guinea fowl Boudin blanc which was nice although strangely presented (it resembled a heavy white German sausage) which for a light mousse seemed strange to us. My husband was full after the first course.

The main course for my husband was rabbit. I had chosen the fish special of the day,which was Sea Bass & Wild garlic. My dish arrived tepid. The waited swiftly removed the dish and brought back another hot version. By this time, my husbands meal was cold.

My husband's meal was a plate of food with far too much going on...it was over the top & not one element stood out. My fish was OK. The sauce was tasteless.

Desserts: the apple tart was nice. The creme brulee was Ok but nothing special...and not rich enough. & Why the shortbread biscuit on the side?

The service was excellent & the wine (a Chablis) was excellent too.

It was a very pricey evening for a very average experience.

We wont be heading back.
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Overall rating 5 stars
Food 4 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Sunday, March 27, 2011

i did order badly but overall just wasn't impressed service was ok , wine list expensive and while some of the dishes in our large group were good for the money there are just much better places in london
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shaneyp
Overall rating 6 stars
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Friday, March 18, 2011

This restaurant lives up to the hype. It had excellent reviews from the food critics when it opened last year, and, on our visit , we felt all the positive comments were justified.

The service was excellent ; friendly, attentive, professional, unobtrusive and knowledgeable about each dish.

The food was memorable ; certainly french bistro food with a "twist" -the flavours were outstanding and lingered after each mouthful. Well constructed, imaginative, memorable, nicely presented.

Nice open kitchen with Bruno at the helm

Good value for money and extensive wine list which didn't seem particularly over priced.

Would definitely go back.
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liz
Overall rating 10 stars
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, March 12, 2011

Our second visit, and similarly good, fairly simple bistro/brasserie fare done with extra flair. Our dishes (starters of snails, guinea fowl boudin blanc, salmon, and mains (lamb and the special of partridge) were all well executed and pretty well flavoured. Only the salmon starter didn't seem to quite work - the salmon on a kind of borscht jelly didn't quite do it. Prices are similar or just a little more to main gastro pubs, but the quality is superior to many of the quite mediocre offerings you sometimes get elsewhere.

Service was knowledgable, friendly and professional.

I would come again.
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Dom
Overall rating 8 stars
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Friday, October 08, 2010

There's been some significant buzz around the return of Bruno Loubet to London, and consequently I was looking forward to a great bistro experience. Unfortunately I left rather disappointed.

The menu reads beautifully, stuffed slow roasted quail, brawn terrine, and wonderful sounding seafood boudin blanc. The whole meal was very pleasant, but that's as far as it went. None of the dishes delivered on flavour, it was all just short of great. Technically perfect, but the chef at the pass forgot to taste as he was so delicately reconstructing the quail or the trotter, probably getting a little too carried away with the presentation and forgetting to check the flavour.

Did we pick a bad day, perhaps the chef covering Saturday lunch had chugged a couple too many beers the night before.
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Justin Robinson
Overall rating 5 stars
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Monday, October 04, 2010

I was a little hesitant to visit this restaurant after some of the reviews that mentioned rude or unfriendly service. In the end we experienced none of that. The Maitre'd was extremely charming and the service was excellent, a nice blend of friendly and prompt.

The food was also excellent. I had the delicious Dodin and the lady had a lovely Thai inspired beef. The desserts were slightly less inspired but good nonetheless. Would definitely go back.
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Stephen - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 9 stars
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, September 25, 2010


what the bloggers say

Londonelicious

Londonelicious

Thursday, July 08, 2010 - I have the pea soup to start. It's very pleasant. And then I have the lamb ball. They must have confused themselves momentarily with Giant Robot across the road, which serves a lot of ball-shaped food. Seriously. Sorry, sorry, someone is probably reading this and hating me right now. I believe this was confit lamb shoulder. It was dry. I became confused. And depressed. The Verdict: Sometimes, I feel like I live in an alternate universe. How can everyone love a place so much that I, alas, found just okay?

An American In London

An American In London

Sunday, June 27, 2010 - Guinea fowl boudin blanc (white sausage) was both impossibly light and heavy. The texture was memorably fluffy, but halfway through, the salt got to me, and I had trouble finishing the boudin...Things being what they are, though, it'd take a lot to get me to return to Bistrot Bruno Loubet. Bar Boulud, where I've also been twice, delivers better service than BBL does; prices are similar, and Bar Boulud's chop chop salad with lobster is still calling out to me.

Gourmet Chick

Gourmet Chick - 8/10

Friday, June 25, 2010 - The menu features lots of French bistro classics with a twist, like the 'revised' Lyonnaise salad which included deep fried pressed pigs ears and trotters alongside the standard fricasse lettuce leaves, crispy bacon bits and soft boiled egg. It was a meal in itself really and I was delighted with the added piggy products...The wood pigeon was a stonking dish. Two almost rare pigeon breasts sat on a bead of quinoa and thinly sliced cauliflower. The delicately flavoured accompaniments let the earthiness of the pigeon shine and this was one of the best dishes I have had all year.

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