Dabbous

I found the service to be very friendly and efficient. However, the food was extremely disappointing, definitely a case of style over substance. The hen's egg was delicious and would have been a lovely amuse bouche. The braised halibut was pretty bland, swimming in a cream sauce. The Iberian pork had been initially cooked in a water bath (sous vide) but was tough and it's only saving grace was the nice smokey taste. It was served with turnip tips which were very stringy and undercooked so difficult to chew, and flavoured with apple cider vinegar which I found to be slightly too acidic. The chocolate brioche was nice but served with a barley malt ice cream which was unpleasant. All in all, I did not feel I had one decent course and felt cheated having spent £119 for two with only one glass of wine. Dabbous reminded me of Hedone in Chiswick which also received rave reviews but fails to deliver a satisfying meal.
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londongal - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Friday, December 07, 2012

Interesting that the recent reviews for this restaurant are a lot worse than the original ones. We went this week and were incredibly disappointed. Booked a table for 4 for 8.30pm - finally seated at 9.50pm - can only assume that some VIP came in and wanted a table. Front of house service was inept, Somelier not great (recommended a "crisp" Sauternes that was anything but) and food a mixed bag. Haddock and Pork very good but desserts (my favourite bit) very disappointing.

We will not be going back and would strongly encourage others not to bother.
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4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Monday, November 12, 2012

really great food. tasting menu is very interesting and cleverly done

very disappointing service, waitstaff clearly not briefed on the content of dishes or how to serve wine correctly. poor cocktails

hostess chewing gum all night and playing with her hair looking bored

for the price charged it was very bad value for money

Even worse was the very poor follow up service when I emailed to give some feedback - not even as much as an acknowledgement of my email.

The owners obviously think being booked out forever will keep their reputation intact.

Sort it out please!
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S Brady
5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Monday, November 05, 2012

I found Dabbous to be a little disappointing. Maybe my expectations were too high but for a restaurant that is fully booked until Sep 2013 you do expect something a little more than an above average dinner.

We had the tasting menu with accompanying wine. The food was interesting and very well presented but the taste didn't match. Most of the times we were not told which wines we were drinking as some random waiter would just pour us a glass. Often the wine would come quicker than the food and we ended up with 4 different glasses of wine in front of us not knowing which went for which dish ...that was until the dessert where they forgot our dessert wine and we had to remind them.

On a positive note, the bar downstairs serves some of the best drinks i have ever tasted and i would be happy to come back for more of those but i wont be eating at Dabbous again.
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6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Sunday, September 23, 2012

not really a place that needs another good review but if you manage to get in it is quite obvious as to why there are no available reservations until spring 2013 .

it really is exceptional and sadly very small ( 40 covers i think ) .

The hens egg and BBQ iberico pork were stand out dishes for me , the service faultless and friendly ( from a very young team ) , the wine list reasonable and the bar is fantastically well stocked with premium spirits .

It isn't quite as cheap as it looks as you do end up ordering a few dishes but for the quality I haven't found anywhere better value in London .

AA Gill was right to give it 5 stars .
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shane
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Fabulous food served by very young, friendly knowledgeable staff. I particularly liked the sommelier, though I was concerned about how he kept up with all his schoolwork AND know so much about wine. At £49 for the tasting menu, sans frou-frou between course thingies, I thought it was good value for the standard of fare on offer. Wasn't too sure about the alliums course and the iced lovage I could take or leave, but the halibut, the iberico pork, the pea and mint - all so, so good.

They also very sweetly picked up on my birthday/Dabbous tweet and brought me Champagne and a birthday cream cake at the end of the meal.

Is it worth being booked up months and months ahead? Possibly not. But it is very, very good indeed.
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WalshyMK
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, May 14, 2012

How much you enjoy this restaurant will very much depend on what you expect from it before going in, and how much you're willing to spend. Let me explain...

I'd heard from a couple of people, and a few reviews that Dabbous was incredibly good value for money. Indeed from looking at the menus, you'd conclude this was probably the case with starters around £6 and mains around £14; however what isn't so obvious is that they generally recommend "4-7 dishes each" -That means 3 or 4 starters and 2 or 3 mains, or £100+ per person on food alone - For us, what was intended to be a nice night out with friends, turned in to a serious budget buster!. So that's the bad news - Set your budget expectations to high!

The number of dishes also reflects the size of them - Make no mistake, this is designer cuisine - Now I wasn't being entirely naive food-wise, and have been to places like Viajante, and knew of Texture, but was expecting something a little more like North Road than either of these (ok, maybe that was naive). The food was for the most part really very good - The asparagus was firm and tender, the beef tartar succulent, and the hen's egg absolutely incredible. Likewise the potatoes were superb - For me what was less good was the Squid, the sauce for which was a tad too fishy for my tastes, and lamb main, which was a thin rubbery sliver of lamb belly; the texture of which (ironically) was entirely unappetising. The other main of Iberico Pork was really very good, and was the one i'd been most looking forward to - It's rare to eat pork pink, but apparently it's perfectly OK,and this was superb! My partner's Halibut was apparently also very good. As for the desserts, i'm not sure we should have bothered - Iced Loveage tastes like Celery sorbet (yuck!), and chocolate with basil and Dill is really quite vile.

Finally, I guess service and ambience - Well it's a bit like being in a concrete bunker above ground, in Shoreditch - Extend the metaphor to the service and you're there.. Nice, friendly, and efficient, but somewhat affected..

Apparently they're booked for dinner now till August - Personally it's style above substance at a price point that's hard to justify in this economy, and i'd be surprised if they see out the end of the year - I don't wish failure upon any business, but I can't this is sustainable - still, the London market is remarkably resilient, especially when it comes to pretentious, expensive food!
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Digitalgoldfish
5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Monday, March 26, 2012

It was my wife's birthday treat. Originally we were going to have the set lunch at Texture restaurant - (it got very positive reviews various websites - and the food sounded intriguing)

However, after reading recent rave reviews about Dabbous in the Evening Standard - we changed our reservation. Add to this, the fact that the main man, Oli Dabbous, used to work at Texture - it all seemed to fit into place perfectly.

The most important factor however was the set lunch had a more interesting mix of dishes.

Dabbous is very understated, chilled out and relaxed - bare pipes, bare walls, lots of metal on show. However - it is still cozy in a stylish, “industrial “way. ALL the staff were very amiable, helpful and charming. The dining area is small enough to feel personal too. Service was friendly and never overbearing. There’s also a good basement bar too serving some unusual cocktails. Add to this a reasonably priced wine list. Fitzrovia is a interesting part of London. Its easily accessible by car, and you can park there for free after 6.30pm. - Sorted.

At £24 each - the four course set lunch is good value. No amuse bouche or pre-desserts – just four courses.

First up - warm tasty, sourdough bread with hazelnuts and homemade butter, olives – unusually served in a dated-stamped paper bag. Great! It got our tastebuds going.

You get a choice of 2 dishes per course. My wife and I ordered all eight - and shared everything.

Course One – Fennel salad with picked rose petals OR Beef Tartare – Both great. (the tartare is infused with cigar oil )

Course Two – Monkfish Cheeks (love the artichokes served with this) OR Veal Cheeks with Spelt in a broth – both fantastic.

Course Three – Poached Salmon in buttermilk broth (one of the best salmon dishes I’ve had) OR Pork Belly on a bed of

savoury acorn praline with turnip tops and apple vinegar. (Best dish of the meal – absolutely loved it – the acorns tasted like peanuts – the dish just melted in your mouth.) I could eat two of these.

Course Four – Barley flour sponge soaked in red tea with vanilla cream or a selection of four cheeses served with baked apple and walnut toast. (Again – thumbs up all round)

The portions aren’t huge – but they never are at these sort of restaurants.

My only criticism would be, shame about the £5 supplement on the cheese course – if in doubt, incorporate another dessert without the additional payment. Anyhow – all 4 cheeses were very good – so we were happy enough.

We’ve been to lots of Michelin star restaurants for a set lunches – this was as good - and in many cases BETTER than most. At this rate it’s only a question of time before Dabbous gets its own Michelin star.

Whether or not Dabbous want’s the extra pressure that comes with a Michelin star - I don’t know, they might have to learn to deal with it – its only been open 2 weeks and so far, its thumbs all round.

Before we left, we booked-up another meal for my birthday in May – next time round we’ll be having the evening Tasting Menu. We don’t consider ourselves experts, just enthusiastic foodies who enjoy a good meal out.

We think Dabbous ROCKS and really liked it . Can’t wait to return.
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Keith and Alejandra Young
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, February 13, 2012

Great space. Great service. Great food. This place is perfect! A great addition to the London restaurant scene.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Sunday, February 12, 2012