Koffmann's

Emerged from the NOX enclave to cross the park and give Koffmann a try. I am always skeptical about on the Park locations, in hotels particularly because it tends to portend people flow at the expense of quality. And the portents were right. Koffmann is shockingly ordinary except for a terrific warm ambience and exceptional attentive service. You walk in and you immediately feel you are in a cozy and exceptionally high end venue with 2-3 tiers of well lit, warm interiors and a smiling very upbeat and well trained staff. But the fun stops there. The menu is terribly unimaginative with a heavy accent on ordinary meat dishes (lamb, steak, venison, chicken whatever - fill in the blank) and a very small selection of standard fish dishes (Dover sole, cod, blah blah blah). As a 'professional' reviewer pointed out you start with a delightful selection of unique breads - and you end up concentrating on the bread the rest of the meal because the meal is well, exceptionally dull and tasteless. Examples - no salads or greens to speak of for the entrees, so a mixed salad is ordered which arrives consisting of some leaves and carved shallots and radishes - gosh golly...; the venison dish consisted of 4 -5 small slices of tired looking and dried out venison accompanied by limp and oversalted steamed green beans which drove me to filching my wife's even more over-salted fries which accompanies her so so lamb. McDo's has better fries and less salty (or so it seems - this is an opinion mind you). That was about it. If the main dishes are so bland why go for the dessert menu ? The wine was ok - just ok. A shame really because the ambience is A+. I won't talk about the prices. In any event Mr. K has to take a hard look at what he is selling. The place was packed on a Friday night but God knows why - either location locaton location or Mr. K is riding on his laurels. Sometimes you have to kill the disease to save the patient. Let the surgery begin ...in the kicthen. Bonne chance as they say in Paris. They should and can do better.
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5 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 0
Saturday, March 17, 2012

Really enjoyed our meal here on Saturday - the stuffed pigs trotter and lamb with flageolet were both beautifully cooked, traditional (in a good way) dishes. We'd decided not to order starters as we'd heard that the main courses were large and very rich and this was definitely the case. We even only managed to share a cheeseboard but, with the huge selection of breads, a massive amuse bouche of pissaladiere, the chips that came with the mains and the madelaines that arrived with the bill, this was more than enough.

I also really liked that they do inexpensive carafes of wine so that we could each have our own choice with the meal.

Servcice was also spot on - we will definitely return xx
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Jane Lancaster
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, April 11, 2011

I've now been here about five or six times and some experiences have been better than others ,more to do with dish selection than anything else I feel,it may be down to the fact that some dishes such as the Cassolet D’Escargots,Daube du Boeuf/Mash ,Pigs Trotter/Mash,Fish Soup,Pistachio Souffle,Baba Au Rhum are so truly outstanding they put the others in the shade.In fact if you are strapped for cash just go there for a plate of the best Mash you will ever have and a jug of tap water,that still probably represents your calorific intake for an entire month.

I have found the service has improved since I first went in September and I get the feeling if you want it to be attentive then it will be and if you want a bit of privacy and to be left alone then they get the hint and just pop by to fill up glasses when needed rather than every two minutes which I find mildly annoying in some places.

On my last visit the Sommeliers recommend of Chateau Val Joanis Syrah 2006 to complement the Daube du Boeuf was a superb choice and a good £40 cheaper than the wine my guest chose and we were both blown away by the velvety texture to match that of the Beef .

Before Christmas six of us went and were dithering over the desert wine so they brought us a taste of each one they served by the glass ,followed by a huge discussion with about three or four staff members joining in about which was best for each dessert until we got it right,not bad in a busy restaurant.

Its a great place for food,ignore the set menus and go off piste ,you won't regret it.
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mal
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Sunday, February 13, 2011

I first tried Chef Koffmann's cuisine in 1995 and soon became a regular visitor to La Tante Claire; indeed, I was fortunate enough to be in attendance on the last night of the famous old restaurant, at the Berkeley Hotel.

The food remains stunning, even to this day. Fashions come and go, as Coco Chanel famously said, but true class remains. The food at Koffmann's is simply on a different level to anything else available in London, with only Le Gavroche coming close. Whether it be the timing of seared scallops or the depth of various sauces, the food at Koffmann's both enthrals and cossets; it is truly unique.

The downside is the service. Our table of five was delayed by forty-five minutes. Was any explanation proferred or apology made? No. Were our aperitifs comped? No. Were we offered any of the three tables which became available during out wait? No. Did our sommelier offer the right glasses to go with our wines? No. Were our empty glasses refilled? No.

What makes it worse is that we were treated like criminals when we refused to pay the service charge. I explained the restaurant's failings to our interrogator in chief and he actually had the temerity to say, and I quote, that "We're not trying to reproduce "La Tante Claire". So you're not aiming for outstanding cuisine and flawless service?

I really want to love Koffmann's. However, the service just doesn't do the food justice.

It's like drinking 1921 Yquem from a polystyrene cup.
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Ajay Ramgoolam
5 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Thursday, November 04, 2010

Atmosphere - Warm, friendly and comfortable

Service - Professional, friendly and swift

Food - Excellent. Wonderful snails, the best pied de cochon ever, and the most amazing oeufs a la neige.

Value for money - 10/10 extraordinarily reasonably priced.

One of the best restaurant in the UK.
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Ivan Daniel
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, October 21, 2010

We had the pleasure of dining at the "Pop Up" restaurant at Selfridges last year..so when we heard that Pierre Koffmann was opening up on the former site of the Boxwood Cafe in Knightsbridge we were looking foward to dining here.

The restaurant is in the basement...not a great start...BUT I have to say they did a good job with the decor...although neutral in decor...it worked. The music was light jazz or French so again this was a good choice...

We were the first table to arrive so the service was excellent. However ,this also continued throughout the evening.

We enjoyed starters of leeks and eel (portion size on the eel could have been more), black pudding with apples (excellent dish), and the wild salmon tartar with cumcumber.

I loved my main dish pan-freis sea bass with lemon juice. Excellent!!! My partner had the well known Koffmann dish of pig's trotter stuffed with sweetbreads and morels.

We waited the 15 minutes and had the pistachio souffle...which was very good.In addition we had the custard cream with meringue(very good) and the Gascon apple pie....which was also very good.

We enjoyed a good bottle of voigner and a bottle of Coteaux De Layon for dessert(one galss next time...)

Overall an excellent meal with top service...and not that expensive...well within reason...
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8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, August 30, 2010

Faultless meal,excellent service ,great wine.

Fish soup,Pigs trotter and Apple tarte being the highlights .Slightly corporate hotel like decor but then its a windowless basement,a great night out for 4 quite a lot of wine drunk and it still didn't break the bank,will be back there soon hopefully.
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mal - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Saturday, August 21, 2010

I am a big fan of Pierre Kauffmann,but I found the meal disappointing.

I ordered from the price-fixed lunch -- hangar steak. This is a tougher cut of beef, but I found it like shoe leather. Perhaps if it had been sliced paper-thin it would have been easier to digest, but as a lump of beef, it was really hard to chew.

The foie gras salad to start was delicious but the price-fixed menu should be a less costly example of what you could order a la carte..I don't think i'll go back.
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8 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Thursday, August 12, 2010

I have been a fan of Pierre Koffmann's cooking since his early days at La Tante Claire. So when I heard that he will open again his own with Eric Garnier helming the Front of the House it could only be a winning formula.

We went the other night with my wife to sample his "terroire" cooking.

The décor is missing a "je ne sais quoi". but it must be difficult to make such an awkward basement a nice looking place.

The staff were nice and welcoming but did not advise us on two main points (dishes that were no longer in the menu (We wanted to share the Sea Brim)

and that the famous Souffle takes 20 minutes to cook and could be ordered while taking the main course's order. Beside this points, the service was to the high standard set by Eric Garnier.

As the food is concerned, my scallops in black ink had a taste of "not enough".(it seems the portion was too small for such a great dish).

I also took the "Tete de Veau" which is so difficult to find these days as I already had the Pied de Cochon (when Pierre Koffmann was cooking on the roof the Selfridges).

I waited the 25 minutes it took to bake the Soufflé, but i did not regret any second of it.

Welcome back Pierre and Eric a great asset to London eating.
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Nicolas - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, August 06, 2010

I was a fan of the previous restaurant at the Berkeley (Boxwood) and, when it closed, I assumed that an expensive and fancy offering would take it's place. Then I heard that Pierre Koffmann was to take over the site and considered my suspicions confirmed. I was wrong on all counts.

Koffmann's is a gem in the middle of Knightsbridge: the restaurant itself looks fantastic, very bright and spacious, which considering that it is almost a basement is quite an achievement. The staff, headed by Eric Garnier, are smart and chick and efficient and friendly. And the food, oh the food, real food instead of little dishes of next to nothing. Delicious French food as you would have it in France. Not pretencious but honest, in big portions and for a very reasonable price. You can have a 3 course meal for under £50.

Try the pig's trotters (koffmann's signature dish, or the scallop with ink, or the skate and leave room for dessert (I didn't. Big mistake, I am told)

Koffmann is back in town and is goooood!
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 16, 2010