Tom Aikens

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

i went here for dinner with several customers and found the food to be completely over the top.cucumber foam is what i may feed a 1 year old not someone who came for the culinary experiene that so called experts rave about.the service was good and the wine attempted to compliment the jumble of tastes thrown onto a saucer in the name of art by mr.aiken.after the second course of our taster menu i was having second thoughts about the meal and almost considered cutting my losses there and then.it didnt get a great deal better from this point onwards but i stuck with it.this restaurant reminded me of the story of the emperors new clothes, no one is brave enought to question an experts opinion of how things should be done and so they go on pretending they agree with them even if they dont deep down inside.at over £200 per head this has got to be without doubt the worst eating experience i have ever had. its about time food was made to please the paying customer not some pretentious chef who has forgotten why he became a chef in the first place.
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grip
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Very over rated. All tedious pomp and ceremony. The food is very disappointing, and well below the standard you would expect on many levels. I can't imagine Tom was there the day five of us went and spent £200 per head on lunch. A couple of the courses shouldn't have left the kitchen. Don't go.
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Thursday, April 26, 2007

I really dont understand the good reiews for this place. I came with my family for a 9pm table ( 5 of us). We were not seated until 10.20. When the food came it was very average . On a trip to the toilets I discovered the place was filthy , an there was trampled food all the way down the stairs ti the kitchen. The loos had definately not been checked either , as they were dirty too. #

I visit the Anchor and Hope and St Johns ( restaurants of a similar theme) and am always delighted. I think this restaurant is living of a reputation it does not deserve
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Becky
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Thursday, April 19, 2007

Went there for an anniversary meal after reading a very complimentary newpaper review. We were not disappointed. The food was exquisite, and the recommendations of the sommelier were faultless. One of the desserts we ordered was such a work of art it was a shame to disturb it, but we soon got over that and it tasted as good as it looked.

Some of the flavour combinations were simply stunning.

A perfect place for a special meal.
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Richard
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

went to tom aikens for lunch with my partner as a celebration for the birth of our baby boy, we decided to go for the more expensive alacarte menu at £65

i had been here before about 3 months after he opened and thought that it was nice and ok for a 1 star,i was very interested to see how the place had evolved. from start to finish the food was faultless, the flavours textures and obvious technical skill that the dishes possesed,in my opinion were in a different league to many many 1 stars i have dined in, if this place does not get 2 stars in the next couple of years i will be very suprised

the olny down side was the head waiter who was a little on the arrogant side and did not make me feel confortable although the rest of the staff including the manager were consumate proffesionals

expensive for lunch but worth every penny
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jon
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 09, 2007

The food was too complicated and over the top. It seems that Tom Aikens is cooking for himself. The man is talented but he needs to go back to the basics. A shame will not go back.
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Patrick Murray
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Friday, January 26, 2007

What a fabulous experience. Perfect food, great wines and attentive knowledgable staff. Bargain lunch menu too. Highly recommended.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Monday, July 24, 2006