what the critics say

Jay Rayner

TimeOut - 4/5
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
Lunch on a drizzly Thursday for 2 of us.
Restaurant is small and cramped?cozy?-your choice.
Bistro syle French cuisine which all looked attractive on the menu.
The starters of chipirons(calamari) was served nice and hot ,tender, and delicious;the other had the cheese puff and chicken livers-the puff was burned and dry.
For mains we opted for a signature dish for 2 -the chicken with foie gras even though it required a 45 minute wait.
The chicken was not successful at all. The bird had been cut up(maybe to cook faster) and the leg parts were not cooked properly,while the breast etc was too dry-this meant they had cooked it at too high tempertaure to rush it, hence the breast being overcooked as it cooks quickly and the leg parts being undercooked as they need time and lower heat to cook.
The foie gras was equally disappointing with 2 thick slabs of very gristly foie that need lower heat and longer cooking as well.
We picked expensive things, but skipped dessert ending up with a bill of over £130 for 2 for 2 courses and an inexpensive bottle of wine.
If the food had been great and perfectly executed this would have been fine. But as it was mediocre, it was not very acceptable.
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C.Elder
Overall rating ![]()
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
I went to Chabrot Bistrot d'Amis for the first time last night with my boyfriend's family. I had booked the table and was nervous because of all the conflicting reviews on here. In fact, we had a brilliant evening.
The manager was busy but friendly. The service was relaxed but very sweet and attentive. The specials were explained to us in detail, with prices, and the wine was served correctly. The restaurant is informal and was a little noisy, yes, but this all added to the fun.
As for the food and wine... I was with a group of people who are experienced eaters and drinkers, and we loved everything we ordered. A broad bean salad with young cheese was simple but fresh and delicious, the raw beef with truffle had real depth of flavour. The cote de boeuf was generous and perfectly cooked; the veal chop for two (a special) was similarly excellently prepared. Roast foie gras was just stunning, and could be easily shared amongst three (though we greedily scoffed it between two).
The bill for 7 people, with two courses each including oysters and the 'big' dishes like the foie gras, and 6 bottles of extremely good wine, came to £580 with service. In my very humble opinion that is great value.
I eat out a lot and will be returning to this restaurant.
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crutherford
Overall rating ![]()
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Chabrot... I was there last night and had a very good experience. The food was fresh and simple (this is what I expect from a bistrot...)the wine list is simply "grandiose" and all ranges of prices. We had a milk fed leg of lamb for our main and a "special" starter Asparagus with quail egg, ham and foie gras terrine, selection of cheeses and they've got an incredible Bas-Armagnac and Marc
(kind of digestif from Burgundy) list .
Had a fab evening and already booked another table.
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mickey
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Overall rating ![]()
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, March 29, 2012
What happened??? went there at the beginning, the food service and wines were great! everything seems to go downhill. The service is slack, the food okish and the wine list poor? Have they changed management?
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Georges Tompson
Overall rating ![]()
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Saturday, February 18, 2012
3 of us ate recently and after reading so many good reviews we expected something special. I am afraid we did not get it. One of the starters chicory salad was excellent but the squid and pate were very mediocre. Our Beef for 3 was cold and we sent it back . It came with tomatoes in Basil and chips. The desserts were ok and we drank a bottle of Margaux for £60 from the special selection.
We all felt that a trip to brussels to experience the many fine french bistros would not go amiss. The Service was very good very attentive and pleasant. They need to take more attention to detail on whats on the plate.
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eoin ryan
Overall rating ![]()
Food 5 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Monday, February 13, 2012
I have been a regular at Chabrot for the last year, and still absolutely love it! Despite their success they've managed to maintain a great level of service, and the food is just superb. I actually have Chabrot envy now, the deliciously juicy Choux Farcis remain my special treat.
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Aurelie
Overall rating ![]()
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, February 09, 2012
i am very surprised to read good reviews...i am French and am ashamed that Chabrot is supposedly representative of good French food and hospitality, we had a very naff meal there, cramped atmosphere upstairs,staff not trained, my starter boeuf tranche was just ok and main course was really awful pates a la truffe, urgh, as a bistrot it wouldn't survive in France..quel navet !
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Overall rating ![]()
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Saturday, January 28, 2012
I have been to Chabrot last night invited by a friend of mine. Thanks god we were invited... I have to say the food is absolutely great, the bad side is that the front of house is letting the kitchen down, especially the manager. I have rarely seen someone that arrogant and condescending. Go there for the food and interesting wine list but forget about the service!!!
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Georges Kaplan
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Overall rating ![]()
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Sunday, August 14, 2011
One of the great finds in London for me this year. The food is all wonderful, really beautifully presented. The staff are terrific. Philippe Messy is incredibly knowledgeable about his wine list, particularly his burgundies ( and he has some genuinely interesting bottles that you dont usually see on London lists). The waiter and waitress are charming and very helpful.
The only down side is the size of the place. Its really quite small and can feel very crowded when the place is busy.
Don't believe the negative reviews. I have been here 10 times or so since it opened and have never had anything but great food and a good time.
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Yorkch
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Overall rating ![]()
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, July 25, 2011
I have read with thorough amazement the experience of the diners at Chabrot obviously something was very wrong with our service. They pushed so called specials which we duly agreed to, langoustines and turbot, only for the bill to arrive and find out that it was twice as expensive as anything else on the menu and twice as small. However the food tasted - it certainly left a decidedly raw taste on my palate - a very raw deal. Trading Standards has been involved for misselling. A very BAD experience.
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Adrian
Overall rating ![]()
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Saturday, July 16, 2011
what the bloggers say
Cheese and Biscuits - 8/10



