Tom AikensIt didn't wow, but I'd try againWe really wanted and expected to enjoy this, it was high up on our tour of the "celeb" chefs. Unfortunately it failed to impress. Seemed to be a masterclass in taking a great dish and adding more and more elements until it just didn't work anymore. We both had the taster menu and while some of the dishes were good others failed to impress. the wow factor sadly just wasn't there. The restaurant itself is elegant, the staff friendly and knowledgeable and the service was perfect.17/05/2013 00:00:00Fantastic, imaginative foodWe really, really enjoyed our meal here. The food is so good, really imaginative both with flavours and with the visuals.
I had Eggs and Bacon to start, followed by the Beef Short Rib and tailed by the Wild Strawberries. My partner went for the Foie Gras to start, with the Lamb Loin as main and a Pistachio dessert.
Each dish was a joy to behold and devour, really, really clever stuff. The amuse bouche, bread and petits-fours were all to die for, as well.
Service was friendly if a little disorganised. It's not great when the bussing staff are stood by your table nodding at the relevant person with the waiter to get your plate down. Just a little bit of polish needed, to go with the flair of the food.16/05/2013 00:00:00oh so gooddon't get the opportunity to eat such amazing food very often (birthdays (as this was) and anniversaries usually) This was divine. The presentation was just gorgeous, the tastes too wonderful for words. Worth the journey from Devon to London. The staff were attentive without being in your face, the decor simple and stylish. Did I mention the food!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all of it superb and the extra touches, the bread and butter, the medley of petit fours, all so scrummy ( except perhaps the whiskey jellies . yuk! but that is very personal to me, I hate whisky, but just had to try one)15/05/2013 00:00:00ThankyouBooked meal for my daughters 21st birthday,food excellent, as was the ambience,service was excellent all meals served
were explained in entirety.
Made to feel special which was good,will be making another visit very soon.10/05/2013 00:00:00Perfect attention to detailPerfect attention to detail in a relaxed setting; a delight from start to finish!08/05/2013 00:00:00Great British Menu lunchWe had been very impressed by Tom Aikens menu on GBM this year, so we booked ourselves a lunchtime appointment to experience it for ourselves. It was a delightfully light, balanced and complex menu, all beautifully executed and presented. This main meal was bookended by some wonderful extras, including the best brioche (bacon & onion) I have ever eaten, and a generous selection of petit fours. As we were an early sitting for lunch, it was quite quiet when we started, but we really liked the dining rooms warm relaxed feel. Service was friendly and knowledgeable. I would certainly recommend the restaurant, and in particular the set lunch looked excellent value.26/04/2013 00:00:00Simply top class.The exterior of the restaurant is a little austere, and the inside is similarly spartan, but it makes for an intimate atmosphere without any unnecessary distractions.
The food was very very good, and we liked the way the meals came as full dishes - you don't have to order extra veg on the side, which is nice, and avoids that 'do we need extra veg' question. The only dish that was even remotely disappointing was the 'Milk' pudding, as it was quite samey throughout.
Price wise, it cost £250 for two of us, that's with a glass of champagne each, 3 courses, wine and coffee. That's not afull value, as it was a special occasion and we were there for the best part of 2 1/2 hours.
Highly recommended.23/04/2013 00:00:00Worth taking a day off work for!If you eat at restaurants regularly but always thought that a Michelin starred experience was beyond your means then look again. You may need to take a day off work to get the lunch deal but it is absolutely worth it! Our family group of 4 had the seasonal set lunch; three courses (all superb), drinks, coffee and service all for under £60 per head. I shall not try to describe the food as I cannot do it justice but it was quite simply exceptional in every detail. The wines were also excellent so, with a good selection available by the glass, everybody can get what they enjoy. The service was informative and attentive without being oppressive and a special thanks to the reception team who rearranged our booking because of travel problems.18/04/2013 00:00:00Brlliant!Food, service and ambience were fantastic! Couldn't fault it. We enjoyed the GB Menu - incredible!13/04/2013 00:00:00Tom Aiken's Restaurant specialI took the wife to Tom Aiken's in Chelsea to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The restaurant was excellent with friendly, knowledgable and efficient staff. The food was outstanding, though I could have eaten more of the pork main. I wouldn't hesitate to book again for a special occasion.12/04/2013 00:00:00Inventive and deliciousThe best food I have eaten this year (I'm a frequent diner). Inventive cooking which distills and accentuates the flavour of wonderful ingredients, beautifully presented.11/04/2013 00:00:00Food was perfectionGreat dining experience, superb food, good service. Only down bit was, I opted to pay the service charge, which I thought was optional,but was pulled up for paying £1.41 short on a bill of £200+. Thought that a little petty in a quality restaurant, especially as I paid cash and they had no credit card fee to pay.11/04/2013 00:00:00ExquisiteWhat else do you expect from an establishment like this? We spent almost four thoroughly enjoyable hours over dinner last night: time flew by.
We opted for the 7 course tasting menu (as it was our first time), and weren't disappointed. The piglet main, clam starter and white chocolate & olive pudding were real highlights, and we found no fault with any dish or the service.09/04/2013 00:00:00Wonderful lunch. Amazing flavoursWonderful lunch. Amazing flavours and combinations. Very friendly, great location, relaxed atmosphere, we can't recommend it more. We will certainly be going again.29/03/2013 00:00:00WowVery special dining experience, where every course is a taste explosion. Service was out if this world. Well done to all at Tom Aikens!27/03/2013 00:00:00Once in a lifetimeOutstanding cuisine, beautiful creations, intimate atmosphere, just a never to forget experience!23/03/2013 00:00:00Exceptional attention to detail...Exceptional! I took my girlfriend for a special dinner and i must say that the British menu is without a doubt, the best tasting menu I’ve ever had, simply a joy. Not fussy, balanced, well timed, with complex flavours without being pretentious. Best meal I have ever had in all my travels in through Michelin and fine dining restaurants.20/03/2013 00:00:00AmazingAbsolutely delicious food served by friendly, unfussy staff in a really well designed restaurant. Definitely recommend.14/03/2013 00:00:00Stunning..All details that you could think about a fine-dining restaurant are excellent in Tom Alkens.. The service, the presentation, the ambiance etc.. We were like experiencing a dream and we were happy about everything..09/03/2013 00:00:00Great British Menu delightWhile watching Tom's heat in the Great British Menu we were inspired to book a table to try it for ourselves. We had to wait a few weeks until we were free to make the trip to London but it was well worth the wait. The staff were friendly when greeting us and nothing was too much trouble throughout the whole evening. The food was excellent and did not disappoint. Fingers crossed Tom does well in the final, the food deserves it. We are already considering when a revisit is possible to try some of his other dishes.09/03/2013 00:00:00Went for lunch to celebrateWent for lunch to celebrate my sister's birthday and we had an excellent meal. Service was friendly and efficient. The only criticisms we can make are that the main courses are still very nouvelle cuisine in size and would benefit from some carbohydrate to make you feel satisfied. The breads are very good as are the petit fours but the restaurant doesn't cater for parties of three - the table next to us (a party of two) received identical portions of bread and the petit fours. For the prices charged that could be easily rectified. Drinks are good but expensive - £3 for a tonic!01/03/2013 00:00:00My birthday dinner at Tom AikensThe very best dinner I had in all my life, and I've been travelling around the globe for many years. This is the place to go and the right venue for a great birthday.28/02/2013 00:00:00Great dinner, great service!Loved the ambiance of the restaurant. No table cloths, earthy tones - very relaxed and very natural. The staff was attentive but not overbearing, and their service was in line with the style of the place. The food was incredible as to be expected. We did a tasting menu and asked for it to be served at an accelerated pace which they accommodated nicely. Each dish had its unique personality and the tastes were just a melody on the palate. A thoroughly enjoyable meal. One of the best of the starred places we enjoyed most - the lack of pretentiousness and relaxed service made this a uniquely enjoyable meal.23/02/2013 00:00:00Each course was a magical adventureI took my husband to Tom Aiken's for a birthday treat and we had the tasting menu with matched wine. Each course, including the secret courses that are not on the menu (but appear at the table), was like a magical adventure. They are designed like pieces of art, and taste so unusual and wonderful, but not in a pretentious way. Also the staff are very welcoming, and explain each course and wine in a very nice down-to-earth manner. The settting is lovely - quite simple, but incredibly classy. I wanted to take the furniture and decorations home with me - I didn't obviously. It is quite a treat, price-wise, but definitely worth it and very memorable.23/02/2013 00:00:00Lunch at Tom AikensWe had a two o'clock booking and a little surprised to find the restaurant half empty. We had the set lunch which had many of the features we remembered about Tom Aikens when we visited it shortly after it opened. The matching of ingredients not usually eaten together was unexpectantly brilliant and all our courses and amuse bouches before and after the meal were delightful.
We chose Georgian Orange wine, which tasted awful initially but progressively less awful with hearty aeration in the caraf. The sediment in the bottle makes decanting essential. I do not recommend it to anyone who is not a Georgian.22/02/2013 00:00:00A Master at workMy third visit to the restaurant and quite simply outstanding from beginning to end. Love the new design, much softer and relaxed. The food was faultless and service top notch. I could have just eaten the amazing bread and butter course alone and been happy! Will definitely be going back.22/02/2013 00:00:00SuperbOne of the best restaurants I've visited; relaxed environment with excellent cuisine, and not a hint of pretense.19/02/2013 00:00:00Great Expectations - ExceededExpectations greatly exceeded. Amuse bouche - crab, dill, crispy wafer thin bread. Bread and butter - best I've ever had, lots of warm different breads fresh out of the oven with 3 different butters - all left on the table for us to enjoy throughout the whole meal. Set lunch menu for 2 - sampled all 6 dishes (2 per course) - amazing. Somelier - excellent - gave us lots of exciting experiences! Petit fours - unexpected and very generous heavenly creations. Walked out VERY happy and very full! Service - warm, friendly, professional but not pretentious.15/02/2013 00:00:00It gets betterThis is the first time we had eaten here in over 2 years and were delighted by the total experience from friendly, informative waiting staff to the outstanding food! This place has always been good but has now elevated to a new level. Looking for an excuse to come back and as soon as possible!08/02/2013 00:00:00Lunch 3-course set menu wasLunch 3-course set menu was delicious and the presentation exquisite but the extra touches eg canapes, basket of bread and petit fours made the dining experience a very special treat for us. Well done, we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch.08/02/2013 00:00:00Faultless FoodTom Aitkens proved a wionderful dinning experience. The laid back restaurant interior was a good foil for the complexity and flavour busting dishes served up. The scallop and veal starter was amazing and the dark chocloate dessert was simply to die for. As for the petite fours - speechless. So much work clearly goes into each and every dish. A foodies heaven.08/02/2013 00:00:00Great food,great wine, great timeMy husband & I intended to have the Comic Relief menu on offer as the food Tom cooked looked delicious on TV but we couldn't resist the 7 course menu. We were really glad to go with this option as the food was great - the only dish my husband wasn't blown away with was the vegetarian course but I loved it so each to their own. The staff were really attentive without being intrusive & the Somelier was fantastic and spot on with his suggestions. A perfect place to have a fabulous meal minus the stuffiness. We'll be back to try the other menu!08/02/2013 00:00:00Lunch MenuThe starter I had - Poached Clarence Court Egg, was a slight disappointment otherwise the rest of the dishes were well prepared and very unique in taste. Nonetheless, Tom Aikens restaurant is a must-try.06/02/2013 00:00:00Wonderful ExperienceWonderful restaurant with phenomenal food and service to match. We had the taster menu and every dish was incredible. The service was attentive but not in your face and the waiters were willing to help and discuss the food/wine if and when required. Brilliant all round food experience.25/01/2013 16:00:00Simply amazingFrom the first moment to step in until the last second, this restaurant is a pleasure for the senses and everything was simply perfect, the welcome, the service, the ambience, the food of course, the drinks, the style, the light, the colours. It is quite seldom that you find a place where all is in such a harmony. The dishes were incredible, never had fish such perfectly made and the beet root desert was simply amazing. We recommend it for everyone who really loves food and wants to get inspired by it. It We have been inspired a lot (our friends will have to test a lot now:-) and we would like to say "thank you" to everyone, who made this happen and was part of this wonderful experience.18/01/2013 00:00:00creative and outstanding foodcreative and outstanding food with very professionnal service in a more down to earth atmosphere than before!11/01/2013 16:00:00Superb 5th anniversary dinnerMy girlfriend and I went to celebrate our anniversary and had the tasting menu with matched wines. I'm not a fan of seafood and they very graciously swapped my fish courses for alternatives. The food was outstanding, with quite a few of the courses making us exclaim "wow!" - particular highlights were the Venison tartar and the frozen aero dessert. The wine matching was also excellent, with all wines really complementing the dishes; the sommelier was also very enthusiastic. Service was also absolutely top notch, as was the ambience and lighting which created a very intimate feel. Highly recommended.10/01/2013 16:00:00A must goTom Aikens has been a great chef for many years and the food is amazing and above my expectations. The matradee was really attentive. A must go
well above one michelin star09/01/2013 16:00:00Highlight of LondonExcellent, very creative food, clearly worth more than 1 Michelin star. Degustation great as were the wine matches with it.The ricotta dish was extraordinary. Although the food was inventive and modern, the chef has clearly used the latest molecular gastronomy techniques in a way that shows understanding and a fusion of them with more traditional cooking instead of trying to use them to shock. Hard surfaces, so very noisy because of a very loud diner 3 tables away. Too dark, so it was difficult to appreciate the food properly on our table; others had more light. Staff were young, enthusiastic and polished. Would definitely go again and recommend it very highly to others.03/01/2013 16:00:00Exceptional!My girlfriends and I make a point of meeting regularly for lunch. We have enjoyed excellent meals at Maze, Pollen Street Social, Petrus, Murano and The Connaught to name but a few of our favourites. But it has to be said that the meal last Thursday at this restaurant was one of the highlights of my eating year! Such imaginative use of ingredients, beautifully presented (pan fried Clarence Court egg in turnip milk with chestnuts! Has to be tried to be believed) made this an outstanding experience. I'm looking forward to returning, this time with my husband and teenage children who are now quite fed up with me rattling on about how fantastic it was. The set lunch is superb value and places it within the means of many. Go and enjoy.12/12/2012 16:00:00Food as TheatreWow what a place. The staff are exceptionally friendly and attentive without being insincere. The interior is restrained with lots of what appear to be vintage chairs and tables. The food was fantastic, very theatrical with lots of ideas in every course of a refreshingly unusual menu. Portions were small though, so not a place to pig out. It's much more about flavours. On the face of it it could be considered a bit pretentious, however the staff carried it off very well and the whole experience was great. Not cheap but for a business lunch that lasted 4 hours (rare these days I know) it was good value.04/12/2012 16:00:00its about the foodThe decor is simple, lots of natural wood, no starched white table cloths, no waiting staff in black suits looking down their noses at you, its all about the food. A very refeshing approach and worked for me as I am becoming so fed up of retaurants all being the same. The food was clever in presentation and there were excellent canapes and petit fois on the house. Service very good and friendly. My only negative was the noise, since everything is hard the noise made a quite conversation tricky. I will go back again.04/12/2012 16:00:00World class diningOne of my favourite restaurants in London. Always a treat.03/12/2012 00:00:00Outstanding, all round!Nothing could have been bettered at Tom Aikens - service, food, wine, ambience, value for money - all were outstanding & we will definitely recommend this restaurant to others! It's a pity we didn't go earlier during our stay in London, as we would definitely have returned. Next time for sure!28/11/2012 16:00:00I almost cried, it was that good.I've had some great meals in my life but this stood out, and when my chocolate fantasy pudding arrived, I almost cried out of sheer amazement. Everything was really good but that pudding was incredible.
The service was fab too, especially the lovely Fergus aka the human drinks list.
An expensive lunch but worth it, and the set lunch menu looked really reasonable, so if I was paying I'd go for that.28/11/2012 16:00:00First time for all of us atFirst time for all of us at Tom Aikens but certainly not the last! Throughout the meal we enjoyed interesting, superbly cooked and beautifully presented food. The coconut and mango desert was wonderful. Wheat sensitivity was very efficiently coped with and the service was friendly and seamless. A most pleasant experience.27/11/2012 16:00:00still maintaining the standard.Went for dinner on tuesday 20/11/12, having been to luch several times before, and it is as good at diiner as it is at lunch! We had the tasting menu of 7 courses, each one a delight to the eye and palate. the canapes and amuse were excellent, so were the staff, not intrusive or pushy, a real professional bunch.
Only one small issue, one of the components of the chocolate dessert had an odd tang to it, other than that very enjoyable. Nice compact wine list. Well worth visiting seasonally to taste through Tom's ideas!20/11/2012 00:00:00Thank youGreetings from Finland. It was great to visit your restaurant.16/11/2012 16:00:00Great food and a great setting.
IGreat food and a great setting.
I would say perfect for a long lazy weekend lunch in particular.
Very enjoyable.
Want to go back and try the tasting menu.05/10/2012 00:00:00For us, top of the pile.........in West London. Great food, incredible service and nice, roomy, relaxing atmosphere. Preferred the summer menu to the current autumn one and not at all sure the Venison tartar works. But great!!!18/09/2012 00:00:00