Viajante

Ate here last week with friends and we had a marvellous time. Food was extraordinarily good, so imaginative and very well executed. We had the wine pairing option with six courses. It was a treat to sit back and wait to see what the next dish would be and what lovely wine would come to the table. With four amuse-bouches, a pre-dessert course, and petits fours to finish, six courses was actually more like twelve. Can't wait to go back on my birthday and try the nine course menu. It would help if I were to win the lottery before then...
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dglambeth - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, June 18, 2012

We ate here on Saturday evening for the first time and can honestly say I thought it was wonderful. Not only was the food great but we had excellent attention from the waiting staff. One of our diners is vegan and there was no problem with altering their meal to suit.

Would highly recommend and will definitely be back!
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Hazel Brand
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 07, 2011

I've eaten at Viajante twice; once when it had just opened and again in June this year. Eating here is a wonderful experience; the service is excellent and the room perfect.

I'm generally a fussy eater who tends towards simple meat dishes when ordering in restaurants, but I have the confidence in the chefs here, to accept that I will be given things to eat that I would never have chosen for myself. They won't always work (the carrot dessert the first time around was not a success) but when they do they are extraordinary (the lamb poached in coffee with macadamia puree on my second visit).

It's challenging, unusual, risky food that becomes the centre of your evening - when I want a burger and a beer and a chat with my companions I'll go to Byron, but when I want to wonder at what can be done with inventiveness, great ingredients and skillful cooking I'll go to Viajante.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, August 01, 2011

Viajante appears to polarise opinion and having been several times myself with various groups of friends, I can only conclude that I must be getting special treatment! Seriously though, having eaten at Hospital Road, The Ledbury, Hibiscus, Marcus Wareing, Heston's Dinner and Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester this year, the 9 course meal I had at Viajante last month simply blew all of the others away. I wont deconstruct every dish we had, suffice to say, I consider it to be one of the finest meals I've ever had. As did, the three people I was with.

Clearly its not the type of place you visit every month, but if you do want to try some wonderfully fun, experimental and delicious food (and yes, some of the courses can be a challenge to the palate but that is half the experience!) then you need to try it for yourself.

As for AA Gills comments, I really can’t reconcile them with my experience at all. Then again, when a reviewer spends the first 75% of his review talking about utter nonsense, I guess it’s not a surprise.
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Charlie - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, July 29, 2011

I ate or rather I picked at the unappetising tiny morsels of food at Viajante last night. We had nine courses and the wine selection that went with it to complement the dishes but I can honestly say none of it was worth the £335 for two people we were charged (or robbed) for what I can only explain as rubbish!! I felt like we were the chefs guinea pigs and he was trying out a weird experiment at our cost. On a more positive note the service from the waiting staff was attentive and they were more than aware of our disappointment but they were loyal to the chef and just smiled as they removed my uneaten food.

I have to totally agree with A A Gill and all his comments.

Don't waste your time or money here there are far better restaurants out there that should be enjoyed.
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Greciangirl
2 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Thursday, June 30, 2011

We had 6 course tasting menu at Viajante last Sunday. And it was an experience.

The service was great, the food astonishing, some uneatable for the normal English palette while some of the simpler dishes were great. My main complaint is that when you aim as high as this cook does you should at least do the basics well. The potatoes was not properly boiled and the lamb was chewy. But as experiences of unusual tastes go it is unrivalled in London.
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Einar - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Awful!! Snob for the sake of being Snob!! a waste of time,, don´t even try! very dissapointed with that stupid and tasteless food.... Minimal portion but we even left food on the dish since it was AWFUL!!

Next time I will repeat Ledbury and the likes ,,,,
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Daniel Garcia-Bernalt
3 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Sunday, March 20, 2011

Loved this place and will be going back. My husband and I regularly try out all the highly rated restaurants across town.

On this occasion, we had a 6 course tasting menu with the wine pairing. Apart from one slightly under-seasoned course of red meat, the presentation was impeccable and the food itself gorgeous and (a rarity) felt healthy, delicate and light. We left after 6 courses, 2 amouse bouche, one pre dessert and one petit fours and 6 glasses of wine without feeling heavy and tired, and in need of a good lie down.

The restaurant had a very welcoming, warm and informal feel, and we enjoyed watching the cooks as they went about their business. There was a no shouting or aggression, everyone was studiously preparing the food, with Nuno Mendes watching over everyone.

An added bonus was meeting the main man himself at the end of the meal, who seemed to be charming and quietly spoken. He would say goodbye personally to every customer.

Overall a fantastic evening, and, oh did we mention value for money? Yes. It is good value for money.
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Lisa
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, November 23, 2010

We had the 3 course lunch for my boyfriend's b'day and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. The food was so interesting and as a veggie, I rarely get to eat out like this. I think the portions were maybe slightly small for my boyfriend but I reminded him that it was really a tasting menu and you do get an amuse, lovely bread and butter (amazing butter!), a pre-dessert and petit fours for £25. I thought that was a bargain considering the quality and inventiveness.

- Amuse was the much talked about Thai Explosion - delicious and completely more-ish. Perhaps they could offer as bar snacks?!

- Starter was roasted beetroot, ash goat's curd, white asparagus and pumpkin seeds. Boyfriend had crab instead of asparagus. I could have eaten this all day and the different textures gave the mouth something to have a think about. Boyfriend thought the crab meat was excellent.

- Main was cod, confit egg, courgette ribbons and sofrito. Boyfriend blanched slightly at the egg yolk but he's not a fan. I loved it and felt that it really pulled the dish together together with the sofrito. Gave it a more savoury feel along with the sweetish sofrito and the grilled veg, if that makes any sense.

- Pre-dessert was kind of crazy in a good way - green tea and purple shiso granita. Two things I have never tasted in a dessert before and I hate green tea. Works in a granita though and certainly cleansed the palate, slightly sweet and slightly salty.

- Dessert was pannacotta ice cream, yoghurt, crumbled oats, hazelnuts, Thai basil and apple. Along with the starter, this was definitely my favourite. Lots of my favourite tastes in one bowl. Sweet, crunchy hazelnuts and apple balanced with smooth and creamy yoghurt and ice cream - all tastes working well together. Plus the Thai basil was in liquid form and added another level to the party going on in my mouth. I'd have eaten the dish without it but with it, it was brilliant.

- Petits fours were unexpected and very welcome. We had a choc/chilli truffle, not my favourite so got it out of the way first. I was pleasantly surprised though as again the balance of flavour worked - sometimes I find it's too much of one or the other. This was just fine. A tiny lemon meringue was next, soft and lemony as you'd expect then a small glass of crema catalana.

Dishes were beautifully presented and I wanted all the crockery! Each one was explained to us.

We chose the wine flight, a citrusy Alsace, a delicious Verdelho from Victoria and a dessert wine that I actually liked for once. I noted that there weren't many bottles under £30 though which would make me think twice about ordering wine if we went again.

The space is open and light and you don't feel crowded in like in many restaurants I could mention. There was a feeling of overall calm in the kitchen, everything was very precise and the chefs seemed to be in deep concentration. This extended a little to the general atmosphere I think - a bit hushed. Even the staff spoke in hushed tones. We went on a Sunday lunchtime so I'd be interested to see what it's like on a Friday night.

As we were leaving, the chef asked us if we had had a nice lunch and thanked us very much for coming. The hostess gave us a print out of our menu and helped us out with our numerous bags, which was really helpful.

If I had to pick holes, the cons were probably more on the service side than anything. The service was quite formal but friendly and they all wished my boyfriend a happy birthday which was very nice of them. However, they really need to speak up! Neither of us are hard of hearing but we found ourselves having to lean in to hear their explanations, which in an already quiet room was quite something.

We arrived just before our booking at 12pm to find no-one there to greet us until a waiter came out to go into the main restaurant. That said, when the hostess did appear she couldn't have been nicer.

We were then seated in the bar. I asked for a fino sherry and was asked if I'd just like it neat. Bit odd. Then they had to hunt down some tomato juice for a Bloody Mary, wouldn't you have this already stocked on a Sunday? Maybe just me?

By the time we got our drinks, our table was ready and the hostess let us stand there for a few mins whilst the barman printed off the bill. I probably would have seated us first then sorted out the bill with him privately.

Anyway, they're slight oddities that certainly didn't ruin our experience. We'll go again to try the 9 or 12 course at Christmas I think but I'd go back and have the 3 course sooner for sure, especially as I work fairly locally.
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Aligs
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A complete wate of time and money. The courses were pretentiuos to a point of being ridiculous. Vegetables dominated and the balance was lost. Senior staff were snooty and pompous with "customer service" an after thought - which was when the bill arrived. Not worth the money and will run out of gullible ( me and 3 friends ) who turn up to experience a gastronomic wonder and are left underwhelmed and being overcharged for somebodies food fantasy - only go if you want ( at £60 ) to have a good after dinner conversation piece. AVOID.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, August 31, 2010