All reader reviews by martha

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

We went to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon with my french husband and two french friends, all big fans of French cuisine, and were left hungry and very out of pocket. La Cuisine on the first floor is stark and univiting, the seating is poor and we were left facing a glass cabinet full of Monsieur Robuchon's cookery books!! The service is good but slightly pretentious and the french waiters refused to speak french with the french members of our party. The menu was fixed, had no appeal and it was difficult to make any choice from all three sections. However the real disapointment came when the starters arrived. Quite frankly having eaten all over the world these were the smallest portions we have ever seen. They were canape size! No wonder the waiter kept trying to offer us more bread, not a good sign that we might ruin our appetite. We rather wished we had had more bread by the time we got to the main courses which were served without any vegetables and which were bland and very very small. This type of dining is very simply a rip off of the highest order and no number of Michelin stars should allow this chef to fleece his clientelle in this way. For £125 per head we needed our heads examining.

We nearly walked into the Ivy afterwards for an all day breakfast!!

Sunday, February 22, 2009
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1