Pearl Restaurant & Bar

This is a very expensive restaurant, if you are not on the special offer. We were a la carte, so 3 courses are in excess of £50 pp plus service charge which basically brings it closer to £70pp. At these prices it is natural to expect top quality food, perfect execution and high standards of service. We obtained none of these at a recent dinner.

The amuse-gueles were frankly stale - they had been prepared a long time in advance and re-heated. The service was lacking in attention - had to ask for bread, pour own wine etc.

The starter had something very wrong with the chicken liver parfait which tasted bitter and medicinal. My veal main course was dry, and again obviously prepared in advance and kept warm. None of the food was served hot, it was all lukewarm. Maybe the service again? The best dish was a small cup of clear tomato soup - intensely flavoured and served with a cucumber sorbet on a spoon. This small mouthful was very good but hardly compensated for the £70 disappointment.

In spite of a bill over £330 we were offered no petits fours or chocolates as we did not take the coffee. I felt this was mean spirited. The restaurant was about half full at dinner mid-week. All in all a disappointment at this price. Won't go back.
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C.Elder
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Friday, June 20, 2008

Excellant restaurant, very good value with the 3 courses for £30. The pork belly main was one of best main courses I have had. Very well done!!
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Anthony
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, June 04, 2008

The food at Pearl is quite simply brilliant. The combinations of flavours in Jun Tanaka's dishes are outstanding. He does pair meat with fish a lot (veal/monkfish, pork/scallops) but the way he executes everyting is off the charts. Presentation also is A+.

Can't say anything bad about the service either. Never felt the staff was in the way, but we never had to wait for anything, they were attentive and they were very friendly. They smiled the entire evening and that's hard to come by these days in the so-called high end restaurants in London where the staff is mainly French and/or grumpy. Special shout out to the German sommelier who was brilliant.

Only two things that did not impress me :

1. the wine list. Brilliant wines on the list but the mark-up is outrageous

2. the atmosphere.You can tell you're in a hotel restaurant. The room is massive and not intimate at all. I guess if Jun Tanaka would have his own (not in hotel that is) place it would look different (lower ceiling!). Also a lot of the people in there last Friday were obviously hotel guests, dressed in shorts, flipflops, short sleeve shirts etc. You're in London on a Friday night in an expensive, chic restaurant - please make an effort!!!

Oh and what's up with the tacky piano player and singer? My God! Made me feel I was on the Love Boat!
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RJD2 - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

We went to Pearl after being impressed by the head chef Jun Tanaka on several TV appearances. The bar itself is quite a dire place - it feels too cold, the drinks are too expensive, and the only redeeming quality was a very stylish pearl 'separation' between tables. Also, the wine cruvinet system (dispensers that allow for small tastes, whilst keeping fresh) looked to be completely empty. The prices of the drinks here are obscene - I've never looked through a 'by the glass' list to see so many wines that were around the £20 mark. I'm all for fine wine, but there really wasn't a good selection in different price points.

The restaurant was a nice surprise after the quite shocking experience of the bar - beautifully decorated, well set out with nice spacing and with the grandeur you would expect in such a building. Some tasty hors d'oeuvres whet the appetite - especially the venison carpaccio. The soup that followed - basically an amuse - was served in a proper bowl and was absolutely perfect - jerusalem artichoke soup with almond foam (and almond slivers that gave it great texture).

Entrees were mixed - the salmon was too big a portion and lacked some finesse and presentation in comparison to other dishes. The scallops with frogs legs was tasty, with stunning presentation, but the legs were dry and had way too many herbs crusting the outside. For a main, the pork belly with scallops was absolutely spot-on. The unusual addition of little cubes of pineapple made this dish sing and it was definitely the highlight of the night. Surprisingly we were so full after this that there was no room for dessert, but I wished there had of been after seeing an intricate chocolate creation come past.

The wine list was fairly extensive, but yet again the mark-up on prices was nothing short of extortionate. Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was £56 (retail around £13-14), Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc a shocking £77 (retail around £20), and Ata Rangi Pinot Noir a cool £99 (usually under £30). Plus service, of course.

The £50 for entree/main/dessert (including the little starters/soup) is pretty good value for the high quality of food - but the wine prices definitely leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
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NB - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Monday, March 03, 2008

My favourite restaurant! The food is always beautifully presented and incredibly delicious. The staff are very friendly, efficient, and helpful, and it is obvious that they too love the food at Pearl. It isn't cheap, but it's definitely great value for money. Highly recommended.
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Hazel Tay
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, November 08, 2007

We had a fantastic lunch. Excellent value for money. Most certainly an experience and staff were friendly. The food was divine. Every course was better than the last. Most certainly go back. All credit to the chef and staff.
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Mrs Nicholas
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, July 09, 2007

Fantastic, and one of my favourite restaurants that I have been to.

The dinning room is absolutely beautiful and would be perfect for a special occasion or romantic dinner. We actually went on a business dinner for I think around 8/10 of us, and it was still appropriate.

The food was equisite and the amouse bouches made a welcome addition, everything was v thoughtful, from the delicious pesto bread to start with to the deliicous petit fours which were more like homemade sweets and biscuits and chocolates.

One thing I will say if you go, is order the cheese board. It really is fantastic and the sweets and chocolates afterwards more than compensate a sweet desire.

It was quite expensive though, £50 for a set 3 courses, with several amouse bouches. However I have seen a deal on here which would be well worth it.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, June 07, 2007

Went here for a special occasion with 4 friends after hearing some great things about the chef and his food. We had cocktails in the bar first which were amazing, then went through to the restaurant for dinner. After much deliberation from the menu, we all went for the 5 course tasting menus with wine.

The waiters were all very professional and friendly and knew the menu & food by heart. Professional and attentive, but not intrusive. The Sommeliers also did a great job explaining the wines and why they match each dish.

Lots of canapes and nibbles between courses means that the 5 course menu ends up being more like 7!

The pianist was fabulous, and the music fits the scene well.

Food was quite amazing and why the chef has not received a Michelin Star I will never know. The food is imaginative and the menu well thought out.

There were small delays between courses, but it was well paced and we left feeling perfectly satisfied without feeling stuffed. Will have to go back there again to try out the a-la-carte menu and their huge cheese trolley.
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Randall - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, March 13, 2007

March 2007

After reading the reviews on this website and checking out the menus on their own website I decided Pearl would be an ideal location for a celebration dinner for 8 people

First impressions were good - the bar is impressive, décor luxurious and the bartenders attentive. As we were early and 2 of our party had not yet arrived, we were shown to a lovely seating area that gave the impression of being private although still open. My group included two vegetarians and someone with food allergies.

Things went a bit awry from there. Once they realised we were dining the waiters brought the canapes over even though I had explained we were still waiting for other members of our party, so by the time they did arrive they had missed out on the food -no more was offered to them. The canapes were delicious, but no -one explained what each contained so we had to guess.

The restaurant staff were keen to usher us into the restaurant quickly and once seated gave us the a la carte menus which had a good variety of dishes. These menus were then briskly taken away from us and we were told that as we were a table of 8 we were only allowed the taster menu (and only if the entire table ordered it at £120 per head) or the set menu which gave a choice of 3 starters, mains and desserts. As two of us were vegetarians and one had food allergies this left them with very little choice on the menu.

I am annoyed because at the time of booking I checked with the restaurant, which menus were available to us and was told of no restrictions. After some complaining the food allergy sufferer was allowed a reprieve and able to pick a different starter ( BIG DEAL!!) but everyone else had to like it or lump it.

When the vegetarian option arrived it was stone cold and had to be sent back to the kitchen. Our friend was left to twiddle her thumbs while we all ate our mains. When it came back they had simply reheated the same plate of food. Arent Head Chefs of this calibre supposed to check every plate of food leaving the pass??

The rest of the meal was fairly uneventful. The waiting staff were enthusiastic and friendly although when we tried to split the bill evenly on our cards managed to completely mess that up which meant we waited a good 25 minutes to pay the bill. This coupled with my friends then having to frantically search the cloakroom themselves for their belongings as the vague coat check was unable to locate them, meant we left with a pretty dim view of the place.

The food was good but at these prices I expect everything to be good. Last year I went to Gordon Ramsey and spent less money on an exceptional eating experience than we did at Pearl. A bit too hit and miss for a special occasion. The bar is the best feature.
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divinedining - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Great glam surroundings, nicely paced service and good choice of champagnes/wines.Pricey but god for a treat!
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Monday, February 12, 2007