Alyn Williams at The Westbury

The Westbury Mayfair Hotel, Conduit Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 2YF - View on a map
Telephone: 020 7078 9579

Overall 9.3
Food 9.7
Service 9.3
Atmosphere 8.7
Value 9.7
Based on 3 reviews

our review

The restaurant formerly known as Artisan has been relaunched as Alyn Williams at The Westbury, a 45-seater fine dining restaurant. It is the first solo venture for Williams who joins the hotel after many years working with Gordon Ramsay and more recently heading up the kitchen for Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley Hotel.

November 2011

what the critics say

John Lanchester

Friday, March 16, 2012 - The cooking has subtlety as well as power. Cauliflower panna cotta is light and fresh and delicate, and comes with crisp wafers of cream cheese, for texture and sharpness, and with slivers of acorn. I'm not sure the acorn added much, but it was fun to try. A single fat scallop comes with a Mersea oyster on top and is dressed with a beautifully light apple and cucumber broth. This 'tasted of the sea' in the sense of being delicate, faintly salty and appetite-sharpening. In a richer vein, but also very impressive, was a tiny dollop of onion soup with a miniature wafer of gruyere and finished with the inspired addition of crabmeat. It was everything you want from an onion soup packed into one small flavour-bomb.

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Andy Lynes

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - Williams's version of French onion soup is like no other I've ever tried. In a martini glass, brown crab meat puree flavoured with paprika is topped with white crab meat, mixed with slow-cooked onion, which in turn is capped by a disc of jellied beef and onion consomme and a small lump of braised beef cheek. The waiter completes the dish at the table by pouring over a tiny jug of the soup. On the side are baked potato and Gruyere squares sandwiched with cream cheese...You could entertain a business client, your aged aunt or maybe even impress a first date. However, whether there is anything to tempt you back a second time is questionable.

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We've been to the Westbury before and the restaurant "Artisan" as it was known and had found it very good value and seriously under-rated, offering excellent food and service so were interested to try the reopening with the new chef Alyn Williams. It was a special occasion, my wife's 50th, so hoped it would live up to the promising initial reviews and the chef's reputation gained under Marcus Wareing and Gordon Ramsey. We were not to be disappointed and were impressed with the flexibility shown between selecting items from the 5 course taster menu and the a la carte menu - in fact the chef gladly suggested ad hoc variations to the menus in response to some of our party's individual preferences. All in all, we had a fantastic night with some truly original dishes to satisfy a wide range of tastes!
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Simon
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, May 06, 2012

My friend and I had previously enjoyed Alyn Williams's cooking on several occasions at Marcus Wareing's restaurant and were keen to visit his personal venture. We had lunch there yesterday. The tasting menus (we ordered one standard and one vegetarian) were imaginative and everything was delicious - couldn't fault it. I was delighted to get gluten-free bread and it was flavour-some and had a bread-like texture - a rare find! The service was excellent - attentive but not intrusive. The delightful waitress showed us round the private dining room and wine room both of which would be lovely for a party. She also spoke enthusiastically about the restaurant and working there. The dining room was pleasant though I'm not sure about the sparkly carpet. It was quiet when we visited with only one other table occupied. Consequently it was somewhat lacking in atmosphere and that is the only reason why I mark it down. We both decided that we will visit again and will recommend the restaurant to friends. Both the lunch and the tasting menu are excellent value - far too good to miss!
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, March 14, 2012

My friends and I had the most amazing meal at Alyn Williams at The Westbury.
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Maureen
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, December 03, 2011

what the bloggers say

A Rather Unusual Chinaman

Friday, April 13, 2012 - A foie gras set mousse starter with sand carrot was a way of preparing foie gras I had never experienced before, whilst chicken, leeks, spinach and mushrooms was a brave course to put on a menu, using a smoked egg yolk as a sauce. The dessert was the real star turn, offering a deconstructed cream tea. Apple came in a very clever green and red apple sorbet, apple puree and roasted apple...Alyn Williams is a classically trained chef unshackled. The quality of the cooking and traditional French techniques are still evident, but in charge of his own kitchen, he has the ability to go a little more left field and add his own personality to his menu.

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Alyn Williams at The Westbury

our review

what the critics say

John Lanchester

Andy Lynes

City AM

your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne

what the bloggers say

A Rather Unusual Chinaman

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