Tom Aikens

I eat out alot with work and regularly go to top rated restaurants. I have to say this is the biggest disappointment I have ever experienced. It is pretentious and over the top and the food leaves you feeling bloated and ill. Each course is preceded by some form of bizarre foam or test tube of ingredients that should not go together - ie. the lemon sorbet which my boyfriend wolfed down too late to hear my friend and I wonder whether the waiter really had said "with sea bass" .The high point of the meal was the look on his face when he realised there was indeed a piece of wet seabass at the bottom of his very sweet lemon sorbet. It did not work. The scallops were good but the flavours were overpowered by the balsamic vinegar which was seemingly exact same vinegar that appeared on the lamb (the world's smallest cutlet) I have never seen my unfussy food friendly boyfriend leave food before. The sommelier was inspired and unquestionably brilliant but with water at £8 a bottle the wonderful experience of having a knowledgeable and decisive sommelier was sadly overshadowed. Pre dessert...a bottle of bright purple gloop. When my boyfriend protested that he was feeling quite full the waitress gave him a rather pathetic look and said "it is only foam".... Don't think your torture is over when you have made it through dessert...oh no, then they bring out a rack of testtubes with straws and a tray of shot glasses and a tray of more conventional petit fours. I did get the giggles at this point. It is like something out of Harry Potter. Your tastebuds have been so needlessly assaulted by this stage that if they served you a liquidised door mat with brown sauce you really wouldn't know the difference. I agree with my fellow reviewer below about emperors new clothes. Feeling obliged to continue natural openmindedness I can tell you the contents of the testtubes were just weird. I am sure the waiters get the last laugh here watching their poor rich customers struggle bravely on.
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Bonny
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Thursday, February 07, 2008

went to tom aiken for lunch yesterday and have to say overall quite disappointing. the Food was hit and miss, occasional flashes of brilliance which were precedeed by flashes of ill judged, poorly executed and at times even bland food.

we had the tasting menu, gewurztraminer jelly with sea bass tartare and lemon foam was stunning, equally so the scallops with parsnip puree and oxtail, both well presented and brilliantly executed in terms of composition, taste and texture. After that unfortunately the wheels came off. the pheasant was bland, stone cold and poorly executed, too many flavours all fighting each other and temperature was fridge cold!1 john dory with cauliflower and mint was next, fish was bland and not as fresh as it should have been, mint did not come through and the presentattion was cluttered. Lamb next was similar, just too mant flavours, textures and overworked, in terms of layering the dish was neverending but this led to claustrophobia on the plate, the tongue and sweetbread were lost and the lamb cutlet was miniscule. we declined cheese and moved on to the pistachio and pomegranite dessert, which worked well and temporarily got us back on track, good flavours, unusual presentation but it worked and was well executed, the lemon to finish was dissapointing though, but petit fours were stunning, really fantastic madelines, a berry ompote with cider foam and some lovely spoons with mousses.

service was, i have to say indifferent, no warmth or feel to it, they definitely lack a personality to carry the room and it all felt a bit forced and impersonal. clinical but uncaring best sums it up.

overall a genuine let down and with five rosettes, one star rising and numerous other accolades bestowed upon it i really struggle to work out how the critics judge these restauraunts. as expected not cheap but i would not return and would not recommend it either.
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David Campbell
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, February 05, 2008

This was my second visit and both times have been fantastic, the food is just amazing we had the set lunch both times which at £30 is very good value, the choices for each course were varied and seasonal, I had braised hare leg with pappardell for starter, roast breast of mallard with braised root vegetables for main and a prune dessert.

I long for the day I can afford the tasting menu,

The staff are very attentive without being over powering , and when they misheard mullet for mallard and brought out the wrong main course, they very promptly rectified the mistake and upgraded our desserts so we were able to chose from the a la carte menu and brought us a very interesting pre dessert drink, which more than made up for it.

This is every bit as good as Gordon Ramsey's royal hospital road restaurant, and I am looking forward to my next visit, hopefully very soon.
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kym
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, January 31, 2008

I have been here for dinner twice and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. I am fortunate to dine out with work on regular occasions at London's top restaurants and this remains my favorite place.

Service is impeccable and (I have always found) friendly and very helpful.

Every one of my guests has enjoyed every course they have eaten.

Yes, it is expensive but its a price worth paying for food and service of this standard. I would happily go back again and again.
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charlie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, January 13, 2008

Best ever!!!

Being invited, as a surprise by my boyfriend, for my birthday....such a lovely evening. Unforgettable.

It is not only a rumor this place is really good, for all the foodies. Service was exceptional, and paticularly the sommeliere: I really enjoyed her palate, spot on with all tom's cuisine.

We went for the truffle menu, but we won't hesitate to come back for the a la carte.

To be recommended more than once, and again many thanks to the entire team

stephanie

& hadrien
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stephanie
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, December 14, 2007

Just how utterly snooty can a place be?? Turned up for a reservation, in best bib and tucker. ( or so I thought, nice suit, cufflinks etc)I was then told, oh so partronizingly, by a very crass restaurant manger, that I simply could be allowed to dine, in this holy grail of a restaurant, as I was wearing sports shoes!! No I bloody wasn't. Sports shoes I ask you. This moron wouldn't have know the difference between a sandal and a work boot. Just beggars believe that restaurants in this day and age are allowed to get away with such an appaulling piss poor attitude towards their customers. Really who do they think they are, apart from offensive and down right rude. Totally up themselves
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rich - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, November 25, 2007

Had a very disappointing experience here before, but I was invited for lunch so went back, hoping I had been unlucky previously and that it had been the chef's day off.

No such luck. obviously we all have different expectations, and our experiences can vary hugely from one day, even table to the next.

But I don't understand why this place has received (amongst a good deal of bad ones) the good reviews that it has.

The food is unexceptional. I had Foie Gras (as part 0f the tasting menu) coated in ginger crumbs that were so burnt it totally drowned out the other delicate and delicious flavours in the dish. This was clearly a mistake, but not one that should happen in a restaurant like this.

And I agree with a previous review about the puddings, they seemed to have come from another restaurant, more likely a school dinner. So out of place, clumsy, huge, dull, and there were TWO courses of them to endure!!

The service is impersonal and humourless silver platter nonsense too. I know what they're trying to do, if they had got it right (as at Le Gavroche) it would be unoriginal but enjoyable and attentive in an old school French sort of way, but in my opinion they've got it all wrong. Their manner is starched, complacent and indifferent.

If you haven't been here before and want to have a special meal at one of London's best restaurants I wouldn't recommend going here. The are so many other great ones to choose from.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, October 17, 2007

This restaurant serves the best set lunch in london without question. It is great value and the food is always stunning. His food can certainly be over the top but that is part of the fun. Starters and mains were brilliant as usual on a recent visit but then everything went terribly wrong. The desserts look like they came from another kitchen - the dishes didn't have the same personality and flair of the savouries. It wasn't that they weren't as good as the rest of the food, they were just simply awful. Had we have opted for cheese it would have been an amazing lunch - at least I will know for next time.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

A further visit today confirms the rest - a reataurant to be reckoned with. The food was imaginative and tasty, service impeccable. At £29.50 the set lunch - three courses plus coffee plus extensive petits fours plus an appetiser, must be one of the bargains of the year.

If you're prepared to be a little experimental (though hardly wildly so) and want interesting, beautifully prepared and served food then go. If you want duck a l'orange, huge portions and a casual atmosphere for a laugh with your mates, you won't like it.
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David Henderson
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, June 26, 2007

I absolutely disagree with the previous few reviews (Becky must have eaten at a different restaurant as there are no stairs in Tom Aikens).

For me, Tom Aikens is a chef who offers a genuinely experimental and adventurous dining experience for those who can appreciate it. (This is in contrast to the "molecular gastronomy" school of cooking which for me is often gimicky for the sake of fashion & publicity e.g. The Fat Duck's parsnip breakfast cereal or being asked to listen to an ipod while eating)

This is my second visit to Tom Aikens. On the first I enjoyed the interesting ideas on the plate which made me want to visit again.

The second time was even better and we enjoyed a truly exceptional meal. We had the tasting menu (£80 per head). Highlights included a scallop starter, milk fed lamb and a yummy lemon desert (lemon parfait with lemon pannacotta and lemon tapioca).

It was the best lamb dish I've ever had (normally when I see lamb on a tasting menu it bores me to death as you get a few perfectly cooked pieces of lamb with a jus - time and time again).

The only course I didn't like was a Cucumber and Cod pre-appetiser as I don't particularly like cucumber.

Tom Aikens doesn't follow Gordon Ramsay's philosophy of keeping the number of flavours and textures on the plate to a minimum and I like that. While I found dinner at Gordon Ramsay (Hospital Road) technically perfect, I much prefer to visit Tom Aikens for an inspiring and stimulating meal.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, June 23, 2007