Cocoon

Had an early dinner at Cocoon several days ago and was very impressed with the food. All the dishes were prepared thoughtfully and were all very delicious. I must say the wagyu onglet is one of the best steaks I've had in recent time. The service was also attentive and friendly.

However, the restaurant is in dire need of a refurb. It was never a very handsome restaurant (much too cheesy really) but things are looking very old and very tired now. The toilets especially, are shocking. For such a high-end-ish restaurant, this is really quite disturbing. I just hope the kitchen is in a better nick.
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Stefan
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Friday, June 17, 2011

Thank goodness for the 50% discount, otherwise I would probably never go back. I had the fish while my colleagues had the curry. The fish was small and not marinated. If I wanted to have fish like that, I should have just gone to Waitrose and steamed it. The style and decor of the restaurant was quite nice, but the sofa chairs were cumbersome and the other tables where just nestled a bit too close to each other. The staff hovered around our table initially then became gradually inconspicuous during the main course when we actually required service (more wine / water / etc.) The clientele is also different - more groups of people - appeared to be less of a to be seen place, though that could have been reserved for the bar area.
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Christianne - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Sunday, April 24, 2011

Some context: last December we went to Cocoon for our work Christmas do, and they did us a brilliant cocktail making class - couldn't fault it. Today we returned for lunch as our office manager received a 50% off voucher as she's on their mailing list.

First off I should say that the food was delicious. Fresh ingredients, interesting menu. However, the portions are small and it's easy to spend a lot as you're encouraged to purchase a selection of different 'plates'. e.g. £7 for two pieces of nigiri, £9 for about 10 scraps of tempura squid.

Unfortunately, as we all know, the food is only part of the restaurant experience and Cocoon fell down badly on service. I don't know whether it was because we weren't dressed the right way, or because we were using a voucher (sent to us by Cocoon) but we instantly got the impression we weren't very welcome.

Our waiter read us the specials in a VERY bored tone, then proceeded to take our drinks order (a bottle of sparkling water - perhaps we weren't ordering pricey enough drinks, but it was only lunchtime). He turned up a few minutes later with a bottle of still water and when I corrected him he rolled his eyes, huffed and walked off. I assumed he was just going to ignore us, but he returned with a new bottle of still (which we hadn't asked for) and a bottle of sparkling... we decided not to confuse matters further by asking him to change it again (and of course we paid for it later).

After taking our orders our man tried to upsell us one of the specials by saying did we want the whatever-it-was to share between us to start? No thanks, because if we did we'd have asked for it. This is a modern restaurant trend I despise, and it seems to happen everywhere from your local Zizzis to the best restaurants in the capital. Admittedly, our waiter had probably been instructed to do this by the restaurant manager, but it just riles me.

More issues ensued: two of us asked for our starters to come with dressing on the side, something I was assured was totally possible. Guess what, all 4 salads came with dressing on. Also, we instructed everything should come at once, but the salads were brought as starters.

Our waiter also hovered. He hovered when he gave us the menus, he hovered when we asked a question (we actually had to ask him to go away - politely of course), and he hovered waiting to fill up glasses as soon as they'd had a sip taken out of them. The only time he didn't hover was when we needed him to clear our plates and bring us the bill. Oddly then he was conspicuous in his absence.

When the bill came we were asked to pay £10 service (lunch for 4 came to £90, £45 with the voucher). We paid, because it's so hard to dispute service charges these days, even when they're totally undeserved. We should have really as our waiter did not merit that £10 service charge by a long chalk.

So my overall impression of Cocoon is this - if you have money to burn, you could eat here but frankly you'd get better value elsewhere. If you have a voucher, give them a try, but don't expect a warm welcome.
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Peterkin
4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Thursday, February 17, 2011

I recently went here for a friends birthday. I found that there were too many people to hold the restaurant. Even when sitting down for your meal there were people standing everywhere around you waiting for their table and the tables are very close to each other, Unfortunately we had some very loud people next to us so myself and my friend could not hear each other when talking as our chairs were placed very far apart around a huge table (note, we booked a table for 2). Also they have security men on the front doors with people hanging round the stairs and doors....its not a good atmosphere for a restaurant. I found the portions very small for the price, i had thai green curry which was ok-ish but came in a small bowl with 2 small cubes of chicken in and a few leaves in it with milk. I wouldnt go back.
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Hardy84 - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Friday, September 10, 2010

Myself and 6 friends went to Cocoon on a Saturday night. The decor and seating is very nice to look at, but other than that there is nothing beyond this other than poor food, a rude manager and an extremely over priced menu.

I ordered a starter which I felt for £10 was not adequate. It took 20 minutes and a long chat with the manager for them to take it back. The manager was extremely rude, I have never encountered this before especially when we had ordered champagne and were spending close to £200. Then when my main arrived which was a green curry, all I could taste was milk. It had no taste whatsoever and was an extremely small portion for £15.

I will never go back there then and would not advise anyone else to.

As I said, poor food, rude staff and EXTREMELY overpriced!
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Kate
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, August 18, 2010

i had dinner with my wife at Cocoon on a busy friday night. very friendly staff and nearly too attentive, however, good service. we chose the tasting menu which was very good value for money as well a bottle of sancerre. all the food was of good quality and the desserts were excellent. only slight letdown was the highly rated cocktails which were too sweet.

overall very good food and ambience although the music was very loud slightly annoying that the toilets are located two floors below in the basement.
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, May 17, 2010

An evening at Cocoon with five friends last night was enjoyable, but I can't say I'd rush back.

Two of us, being the first to arrive a little before half seven, easily found a seat at the bar and enjoyed a novel cocktail based on Japanese spirits, and a passable gin martini. However, service was slow as the barmen were more preoccupied with chatting amongst themselves, as is common in places where being cool and relaxed seems to be the prime consideration for staff.

Our table was booked for 8pm, and we had been told we'd have to leave by 10. It was obviously a quiet night, as we stayed seated until after 11, which obviously suited us! The food was pretty good in its execution, although the portions of edamame were ridiculously small, and therefore overpriced. I find it annoying where there is an obviously grossly inflated mark-up on the simplest of items. Likewise when a waitress decides to recommend as a good choice a wine at the expensive end of the list, for no good reason. Service from the waiting staff was patient and attentive, as expected, although the well-prepared food had obviously been sitting out for a little too long - it did not come to the table as hot as I would have liked. My wasabi lamb was very tasty and cooked well, but lukewarm, and I've never sent back an espresso before, but can't bear cold coffee.

The place was fun, very stylish and comfortable, and had some very entertaining clientele, but I have to say that my evening was made by the company I keep, not the venue. We all found it annoying that the volume of the music seemed to increase throughout the evening. If my ears are ringing afterward, that should come from a nightclub, not a restaurant.

Overall, I felt a little dissatisfied by the venue, and wouldn't now choose to take people there. The quality of the food and drink was unfortunately undermined by a lack of consideration for what customers may actually want in a venue.
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DVS
5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Sunday, April 18, 2010

I visited this restaurant on a Saturday evening and had the most fantastic night. The food was excellent and the service was of the highest standard. It had a great vibe with a funky cocktail bar too. I definitely recommend this restaurant whether you are dining as a couple or group. Such a cool place, go there!
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10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, January 30, 2010

I went to Cocoon recently and had a bento box which was absolutely delicious. At the time the service was very good and the staff were very attentive. I went back with a colleague for lunch to take advantage of the 50% off food voucher and the staff were quick to point out that this offer excludes bento boxes which is not stated on the voucher and the waiter simply said that it was "common sense" that this was not included. I was deeply horrified to be spoken to in this way and we got up and left - never again!
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Beverley Millar
3 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Thursday, January 28, 2010

Went to Cocoon with old friends this weekend. Had a fantastic time, cocktail masterclass followed by dinner in the private dining room. Food was great, service was great and the staff were very helpful. Would definitely go again, woth the money.....Will definitely go back
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Brinthi
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, December 07, 2009