Emiles

I wrote quite a harsh review of this restaurant a year or so ago. I have been back and had a very good meal. Emile's can, and does, cook trademark dishes with consistent excellence- the cheese souffle and beef wellington are delicious. The restaurant gets crowded on weekends and service does sometimes slow as a result, but this is testament to the loyalty of its patrons. It is one of the culinary highlights of Putney. And, at a time when chain restaurants are infecting all our high streets I hope this restaurant continues to flourish.
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James Read
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, February 06, 2012

Took a party of 17 to Emile's for my wife's 50th. Basically we had a brilliant time. Emil had asked me to reduce the menu to a choice of three starters, main course and pudding. When everyone was seated he explained what was in each dish so that anyone who had any allergies etc could adjust their choice. Even though we changed seats between courses, Emil and his staff, remembered what each one of us had ordered (just as well as we couldn't). Emil frequently checked with us to make sure everything was okay. The wine also complemented the meal a treat. The people who chose the beef wellington said it was the best they had had. We arrived before 8 pm and left after midnight - and even then our guests showed a reluctance to leave.

One huge advantage is that the two and three course meal's have a fixed price (with a few additions for the steak and other items). So there is little need to start choosing between choices based on the cost.

On last night's experience I have no hesitation in recommending Emiles.
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Jonathan Lawlor
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, July 12, 2011

I went to Emile's last night, and have to say I was actually quite disappointed. However, let's start on a positive note- the service was excellent. The Maître d' was his usual jovial self: kind, welcoming and charming. The food however failed to meet my expectations, perhaps I just chose the wrong dishes on the menu, but one would hope that there would be no "wrong dishes". Alas, there were. The foie gras was honestly the worst I have ever tasted. Having spent the summer in Paris I was blessed to try some really excellent Foie Gras, this, by comparison, was sloppy in texture, and unimaginatively presented on a piece of burnt toast with an uninteresting accompaniment of rocket and sliced grapes. It seemed rather amateur. In fairness to the restaurant, my friend ordered the Soufflé which was cooked perfectly and tasted delicious. Onto the main course, again it was disappointing. I ordered braised pork. The pork had been overcooked, which is such a pity, as there are few things more unpleasant than tough pork. Again, my friend chose better than me- her fish was very fresh and well cooked. Pudding was a white chocolate mousse, not bad, but certainly not good enough to redeem the previous two courses. I was disheartened because I had such fond memories of Emile's as an adolescent. I was genuinely excited to go back, as I haven't been there for years. Perhaps my palate has matured and become somewhat more refined as I've grown older. I was left with the impression that Emile's, for all its charm, is a tired restaurant, lacking in inspiration, resting on its laurels- insipid.
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James Read
6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Monday, April 19, 2010

Excellent restaurant, dare I say the best in Putney? Enjoyed a fabulous meal there tonight with my husband for our anniversary - we live on the street parallel to the Felsham road, where Emile's is situated (just 2 minutes from the high street) and have walked by it several times with keen interest. Well we weren't disappointed!

I am originally from Montreal, a great French city in Canada with amazing, and good-value restaurants (it has the highest restaurant per capita ratio in North America, save for NYC. We take food very seriously).

Emile's is the closest I've come to feeling right back at home. The decor is simple, it;s not pretending to be anything its not. But the food is divine and the service is attentive and knowledgeable. I had the quail breast to start and then the signature beef wellington to finish. I'm not usually a huge fan of such classic british dishes but the beef was cooked to perfection and I devoured every last bite. My husband had the cheese souffle and pork escalope which he thoroughly enjoyed. We enjoyed a lovely, reasonably priced bottle of Sancerre to accompany the meal and finished it off with an elegant British cheese board.

The menu is changed monthly (save for the perennial Beef Wellington) so you can always try something different. I was tempted by several dishes on the menu so I am already looking forward to our next meal at Emile's. I am confident we will not be disappointed
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Elissa (& Richard)
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, February 15, 2010

My Husband and I went to Emiles for my birthday dinner celebration, unfortunately that is an evening I can not get back and do again. To say I was left dissatisfied is an understatement.

The establishment was nice and cosy, and we did recieve a warm welcome, we were taken down to the basement to our table. I honestly believe that this was the first problem, due to the small size of the room the acoustics were terrible, as the room filled with people, my husband and I found it very hard to hear eachother talk. Also I found the waiter who was tending to the basement area unhelpful and quite frankly rude, but I will get to that.

I ordered the duck to start, I love duck, but found this dish hard to swallow, litterally. I chewed, and chewed and chewed on the meat. With certain mouthfulls I had to spit out the meat as it just wasn't breaking down in my mouth. The dish left me with a film of fat inside my mouth.

I had the beef wellington for the main, the beef was cooked to perfection, but the pastry was so undercooked it was stodge. The beans that came with the dish were hard and undercooked. This is apparently a signature dish??

Now I don't like to complain so I just put the food down to them having a busy night, but what the waiter did just made me want to get the hell out of there. When it came to the dessert I asked what cheese they had. He replied that they had a blue cheese a cheddar and goats cheese, he said they had a variety. But I wanted to know the names of the cheese because if I didn't like the cheese they had I did not want to order the dish. He just replied with the first statement, that they had a blue cheese, cheddar, a goats cheese etc... so I decided to go without. A few moments later my husband called the waiter over to the table and asked him if it was possible to know the names of the cheeses. The waiter then leant over the table to me, and what seemed to be in an aggressive manner stated what he had said previously. It left me feeling very intimidated and upset, I just wanted to get out of there. A very lovely lady came over later with a disscription of the cheese, and I am sure if I had sat somewhere else with a different waiter the whole experince would not have been half as bad. Even an apology from the waiter would have been nice.

Now I have been a chef for 13 years now, and enjoy eating out. But I would not expect this level of rudeness from a member of front of house staff.
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Sandra Eldridge
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Sunday, December 20, 2009