Axis

We went to Axis for my boyfriend’s birthday with his parents on a Friday night. They’ve recently re-​done the restaurant (and are currently re-​doing its sister restaurant, Indigo). The décor is lovely, high ceilings with unusual art and lighting.
The food is very pricey for what it is. Beautifully presented, but quite a restrictive menu which is very much a choice between obvious meat or fish dishes. The pheasant was a little over-​cooked and the food in general reminded me of mass-​produced Christmas dinner parties (albeit to a much higher standard than mass catering would usually reach).
However, the staff are lovely, very attentive and when they realised we were there for a birthday they brought out a free dessert with a candle in which was a lovely touch given that we otherwise did not order any pudding.

We did the theatre meal deal which was excellent value for money. I had the duck starter which was delicious and the steak for my main which was just so/​so. Our server was a young Asian girl that was so sweet and incredibly accommodating. Really nice atmosphere too.

You ever have a brunch that’s so good, and so filled with booze, that you can’t really remember what happened because you are in a delirious food and drink coma where everything is made of rainbows and happy feelings and then you nap so hard right after that you kind of forget who you are when you wake up?
If the answer is no, it’s time to go to the Axis. Not kidding.
This beautiful restaurant in the basement of the One Aldwych Hotel does, without a doubt, one of the best brunches I’ve had in all of London. Handsdown, it earned every one of those five stars.
We came with a bunch of Unilocalers and my god. My god. To begin with, it’s not cheap, but it is worth it. It was £30 for a three course meal (that’s actually not so bad) and the courses are good ones. Quality, freshly made food and large portions. I started with an Eggs Royale for my starter (who does that as a starter) and then a monster thing of pancakes for the main course. This was all followed by dessert which was a buffet of treats.
However, for £15 more, you can add unlimited Prosecco. And I’m not kidding about it being unlimited. Most places with give you a few glasses and get back around to ordering more when they can. Not here, every time we were halfway done with a glass, they were refilling. I’ve never seen service like this anywhere in London. Anywhere. They were so on it.
Technically the drinks were supposed to end about halfway through dessert but they have no rush. We sat there for five hours eating and drinking and enjoying. I thought brunch would take an hour. I was wrong.
Amazing food, amazing service, amazing spot, maybe my new favourite spot to be with friends on a Sunday afternoon.

Some Unilocalers and I went for their boozy brunch — 3 course meal with unlimited prosecco. Axis did not disappoint.
First, the food was solid good. I thought that they’d be more focused on alcohol and finger foods, but on the contrary, their 3 course meal was as good as any other at a food-​focused restaurant. I ordered the salmon and scrambled eggs on brioche as starter, then the pork belly for my main. I particularly like the pork belly — the meat came in healthy portions with the most exquisite sauce that kept me scraping my plate for more.
Second, they really fill up your glass diligently! No trying to be cheap — they come by every time your glass is about half empty and generously top up your champagne to the rims. Worth the £50 bill for sure. Do note, though, that they would top up only so long as you’re still on your course; when you’re done eating, the drinks stop too, so eat as slowly as possible!
All around a great experience!

Excellent tasting menu with very good wine pairings reasonably priced. (6 course tasting menu £55, paired wines an additional £35.)
Service was attentive and friendly. Sommelier knows his stuff.
I was somewhat rushed as this was a pre– theater dinner but they got me out on time as promised. I plan on coming back when I can enjoy the food in a more leisurely manner.
I highly recommend eating here.

Went here for a pre-​theater dinner and was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of both the restaurant and its food. I ordered the duck with extra vegetables and it was perfectly cooked. In addition the sommelier pair the perfect wine and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Altogether, it was so-​so.
As a side note: I have this theory that subterranean chambers used to be used as dining rooms by the rich, so they didn’t have to leave their dinners when the air raid signals went off during WW2. This is probably just my fanciful imagination though.
The place is stylish and modern, but any hope of creating any sort of ambiance was destroyed by a large noisy group of youngsters guzzling alcohol. SO LOUD. I’m assuming their tab was considerable, and so instead of appeasing the rest of their customers they let the group carry on.
Starters were too salty, the rarebit was a small circle of cheese on toast, the soup tasted overwhelmingly like it had a very salty artificial stock base, and truffled egg was okay. But for 9 pounds each I’d expect an awful lot more… e.g. why not use a poached duck egg instead? An egg in the basket is a bit nursery and not in a kitsch way.
The mains… this is where they redeemed themselves. The ribeye steak was AMAZING and melt in the mouth. Frying chips in beef drippings was a touch of (unhealthy but delicious) genius.
Desserts were okay, but in retrospect not good enough to bother with.
The wait staff were generally good. We got the feeling the waiter didn’t really relax until all our wine was gone, so he wouldn’t have to run over to keep checking. There was a suspected fly in the freshmint tea, and we had a bizzare conversation with the waiter. He said (1) It isn’t a fly. (2) Flies are common and even if you get another pot, flies will be in there. Eventually he deducted it off the bill, as most went untouched. This required prompting though.

What a great experience, the design and ambience are top notch. The food, drink, and service were all five star. It sounds basic by title, but try the crab cocktail, multi layered delight. Truly best food experience in my two trips to London so far. I really disagree with the 4 pound price rating, I think this place is a 3 pound price rating, much cheaper than I expected.

I came here for my company’s Christmas lunch. The atmosphere is quite nice and is really what you would expect from a posh resturant. I had oysters for my starter, a tradition christmas dinner for my main and a crème brûlée for dessert. Everything was beautifully presented and tasted amazing. The staff were all very courteous and helpful. While this place is a bit too expensive for me to eat here regularly, I’d recommend it if you’re looking to splash out.

I completely was not expecting this restaurant to be so good!
Went here with a friend to try their a la carte menu As it’s located in the lower ground of the One Aldwych hotel, it’s not easily seen from the street, which is a shame as they do amazing set lunch and dinner menus for super cheap prices (£16 2 courses — £20 3 courses)
Let’s see — first I tried a starter of seared curried scallops on a smear of cauliflower purée with tiny cauliflower bhajis and a thin slice of cauliflower to decorate. The scallops were perfect — tender and subtle with the creamy cauliflower.
Next I had lavender braised shoulder of lamb that fell into succulent strips served in a bolied potato, with four lean slices of rump of lamb with freshminted peas. Sublime — I dont know what else to say. If I could have licked that braised lamb off the plate without shaming my friend, I would have.
Desserts were interesting — he got a tasting plate of chocolate fondant, summer berries in elderflower jelly and marscapone ice cream. I got a massive portion of caramelised apple tart with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. It was huge and so good — topped with a slice of apple and a vanilla pod.
Added to the mix we had attentive service and sommelier help to choose some amazing wines. God I wish I’d written that New Zealand red down, but suffice it to say, champagne to start, a chardonnay with my starter, NZ red with my lamb, Ice wine with my dessert and a port for digestion and I as in heaven.
I hope beyond hope that I get to go here again, the food was great, service excellent and atmosphere refined without being too stuffy. And it’s on the doorstep of Covent Garden.

one of my favourite places in London to eat, it might have something to do with Movies on the Menu (more later). Axis is wonderfully stylish, from the moment you descend down the staircase and are escorted to the bar. Martinis as good as they get, nice friendly but not overwhelming service. The 3 times we have dined here have been for the Movies on the Menu deal, which is c40 pounds per person for three courses, a free cocktail and then a screening of a popular movie in their private screening room. Heavenly! The set menu for this deal has always been first class and with enough choice for most tastes. The service is very, VERY good and the ambience of the restaurant itself is understated style, love it. For me (my husband jokes about this) the highlight of the night is when a waiter places my glass on a silver tray and escorts us to our seat in the movie theatre — love it! We’ve seen Love Actually, Goodfellas and Moulin Rouge so far and its worth signing up for email updates on the films as they show a wide range. I could eat and watch a film here every week.

Super stylish and modern place. It’s a beautiful space with incredible food. I had the aged cheddar soufflé to start which was ridiculously amazing and tasty and light — i ate it all up. Then I got the salmon fishcakes which were pretty damn good but there were too many weird green pea things in it — would have been better with just salmon and some spices but it was delicious.
It was quite expensive but it was our first night out in london and it was a beautiful dinner and great time. Also conveniently next to the theater we were going to.

I was invited to a networking lunch by a supplier recently, and thought this place was excellent. We had a room on a mezzanine above the main restaurant which was nice and buzzy — and enjoyed a lovely three-​course fixed price menu with excellent service.
I had a beautifully presented smoked salmon starter; a divine butternut squash and goat’s cheese risotto; and fresh fruit with passion fruit ice cream. The latter was pretty restrained for me, as the chocolate pudding and cheese board were also worthy contenders.
I checked the website, out of interest for future visits, and the fixed price menu is quoted at £20 per head. If it really was that price, it represents extremely good value for a delicious business lunch with great service. A la carte is pricier, as you would expect.

Went to Axis to take advantage of their London Restaurant Festival menu. It’s one of the restaurants in One Aldwych Hotel (which seems to be one of the most expensive in London!!) it’s a downstairs restaurant but set in a big cavernous space which is really nicely decorated. Extremely attentive and informed service (We even had a very efficient and funny sommelier!!!) and the food was amazing. Top class food for such a reasonable price. They also have fixed price menus on a regular basis — and a really cool meal, champagne and movie deal. Definitely worth a visit!

Stayed at One Aldwych this past week and had clients come over to dinner at Axis. One step outside of the hotel’s Austin Powers inspired neon pink elevators (that reek of Axe deodorant spray and euro-​trash cologne) into the restaurant and you can immediately tell you are in for a typically hyped up but bland british eating experience.
The 11 year old tired and trendy randiness that One Aldwych is still trying to exude in Axis cannot compensate for rubber carrots, cold french green beans and a steak dish full of fat and grizzle. This place used to be scene and trendy maybe 7 years ago, but now it is just annoying. The lobby bar however is a good place to meet for a drink to start the night. Plenty of other better food experiences in London. Service was mediocre at best despite ordering some pretty expensive french wine to kill the taste buds before the food did (GBP/​USD 1.6470). Will not eat here again.

This stylish restaurant is located in the One Aldwych Hotel, near several West End theatres. It’s situated on two levels, with the bar area overlooking the dining room below.
The cuisine is best described as New British, with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. The aged ribeye of beef, served with non-​traditional sides of glazed mushrooms and sautéed snails, is superb.
The a la carte menu is pricey and easily will cost £50 per person without beverages. A three-​course fixed price menu is only £19.75. It’s available from 12 noon until 2.30pm Monday — Friday, 5.30pm — 7.00pm and 10.00pm — 10.45pm Monday — Friday, and 5.30pm — 7.00pm and 10.00pm — 11.30pm on Saturday.

Fantastic food at an upscale but not uncomfortable eatery. Combining modern art with formal seating and yet creating a relaxed environment, Axis immediately puts people at ease while still offering high quality.
Situated in an area seemingly populared with push hotels, Axis is a place to set aside a few hours for and relax as the staff help make your meal perfect.
I had the smoked salmon starter and rack of lamb, cooked to perfection. The wine suggestion made by our sommalier was perfect and this made it the perfect lunch out.
I would highly recommend this place for a business lunch meeting

This is a great restaurant for business lunches or dinners; the décor is impressive, very contemporary and slick, service is good and the food is very decent.
On the expensive side but I did not feel it was unjustified.
Not the right place for an intimate or romantic meal but will score with clients or business colleagues.
Take people who appreciate interior design and modern European cuisine.