Kitchen W8

Had a wonderful dinner at this like tuck-​away. I had appetizer (artichoke) and entrée (fish) there, which was both delicious. Really enjoyed the bread paste that was served in the beginning of the meal also — complementary on the house was definitely a plus!
My only complaint was that the food almost came a bit too fast for me to enjoy my dining experience. There was barely any gaps in time between when food was served. Sure, I appreciated the promptness, but as a solo diner, I almost felt like I was rushed out without properly enjoying my time there.

With just water to drink, my bill was less than £30 per person and I’ve got to say I was really impressed with the whole meal. I didn’t expect the food would be as good due to the low price but I was so wrong, most of the cooking was at a supreme standard and I was in and out in just just under an hour which makes this spot an excellent place for a quick but classy lunch choice. If I was to be picky then I think the food portion could be a little bigger, but I am seriously considering a quick return to try out its tasting menu as I am sure it could only be even better.

Nice little hidden gem near South Kensington. Stopped in during my layover and had an excellent meal with great service. Ordered the tartare, roasted pork, and strawberry dessert. Each dish was perfect. Lunch is a steal but even the dinner prices are very reasonable for this level of quality. Definitely coming back on my next trip.

Whenever somewhere serves me a meal which I feel necessitates a review that evening, their job is done. I think the wine’s wearing off enough for me to be able to type this coherently (as tempting as a stream of consciousness review would be), and I’m not going through enough of a food coma to be put out of action. Which is good, I am *perfectly* full right now. Couldn’t ask for anything more.
I won’t comment much on the environment here — it’s everything that I’d expect from a decent restaurant of this type. From entrance to exit, I found the staff to be extremely warm and definitely put a nice gloss on my whole experience. I find that a lot of places have polite-​but-​standoffish service which is fine — functional and pleasant, but I dunno. I felt that the atmosphere here was just that bit more personable.
We went for the tasting menu: 2 starters, 2 mains, 2 puddings. I’ll say it now before my dish-​by-​dish rundown: every dish was a delight — simple (in a manner of speaking), yet extremely well constructed — and I felt that the transition from course to course was perfect somehow. Like a well thought-​out mixtape. As such, it’s definitely been the most satisfying meal I’ve had in the last year, hands down. The time between courses was pretty short until dessert, oddly there was a pretty long gap between the two desserts, not that I minded too much.
Predinner: foccacia crisps with pea purée. Mm. very thin, crispy sheets of focaccia, a delicious pea purée. A good pea purée is wonderful and this one was absolutely spot on. Nom.
Course I: asparagus with toasted quinoa, egg yolk, and hazelnut. The asparagus itself was nice, if not the most flavourful in the world. Everything else? The toasted quinoa added a nice crunch and nuttiness, assisted by the hazelnut. The egg yolk? The egg yolk. So. Good. Both delicious and with a consistency I’ve never had before, more like butter than egg.
Course II: thin slices of veal rump with morels, parmesan, hazelnut, and peas. The texture of the veal was wonderful, and the morel-​parmesan combination was extremely good, balanced out with the sweet peas. Perfect combination of flavour. If I had to choose, this was probably the standout dish, but really, it’s not very relevant.
Course III: sea trout with pickled beetroot and watercress, and smoked eel on a new potato with vinegared shallots, topped with watercress and eel scratchings (!). I love sea trout when it’s done this way. So easy to cut and the texture and flavour were great. The eel scratchings were a great touch and provided a great crunch and a bit of fishiness, without being overpowering. The smoked eel bit of the dish was similar to herring potato salad that’s often found in Northern France. I loved the shallots (the acidity came a little bit close to overpowering the dish, but they were just right. And yummy), and the paper-​thin eel provided a touch of smokiness.
Course IV: 55-​day aged pork on celeriac, with a charred pear. I was sceptical about aged pork, but this was delicious, particularly the aged fat. Mm. Unfortunately my mum found a bit of gristle in hers (the only black mark of the evening) which shouldn’t really happen in a place like this. However, the texture of the pork (like all the meat here) was absolutely wonderful, a little bit of bite, but falling apart in the mouth. Om. And the crackling. Perfect crackling sitting at the perfect point between gooey and crunchy.
Course V: vanilla parfait topped with mango, white chocolate and lime. A light dessert, great balance of flavours. A really nice follow-​up to the pork.
Course VI: chocolate pave, salted caramel ice cream, hazelnut cream, lime zest. Mmmnom. This dish avoided being too heavy, and the hint of lime, whilst not adding much in terms of overall flavour, added just a little bit to cut through the chocolate. The salted caramel ice cream and hazelnut went perfectly too.
Memorable. The tasting menu was £60, so pretty much in line with what I’d expect, not cheap, but I would come here again in a heartbeat (if I had the cash…) — I often have tasting menus with the odd nice-​but-​not-​that-​memorable courses, but this one’s burned in my memory and I’m salivating a bit writing this. The accompanying wines were also good (not that that’s my forte, and I’m not keen to speculate over how much they were), and I particularly enjoyed the Languedoc Maury red dessert wine. Whilst each dish was excellent, the whole thing ended up being greater than the sum of its parts and it’s definitely one of the best meals I’ve had in recent memory and I’m wondering now when the next trip will be…

Verdict: Can’t say anything but YES to still/​probably cheapest and most bang for the buck Michelin star lunch in London!
Pros:
— Cosy small, homely and intimate venue.
— Risotto among the items available at lunch set menu is impressive.
— The Parmesan Gnocchi with mushroom and garlic is lovely!
— Lunch Set menu/​Sunday lunch prices are pretty unbeatable when location, quality, variety and execution are factors considered!
— Excellent fish dishes.
Cons:
— The chips looks somewhat like the ones served at fast food joints!
— Less is more: maybe a little to eager to impress sometimes the plate could do with less tastes or ingredients.

I can’t believe that Kitchen W8 was not previously on my culinary radar. Shame on me.
I went here today for the set menu. 23 for 3 courses? A STEAL. Like, actually… I feel like I’d pulled one over on someone for the price against the quality of the meal. It was a perfect lunch in a perfect environment. See? 5 stars! 5 full, well-​deserved stars!
To start I had lamb sweetbreads, smoked eel and potato salad with tiny polka dots of nettle pesto adorning the plate. Sweetbreads and eel you say? YES. What culinary creative mastermind came up with that combination I don’t know to say but… THANK YOU. It was a treat, and the thin shaving of eel was the perfect foil to the creamy potato and indulgent sweetbreads.
/​/​pause to say: you’ll want to tuck into the breadbasket. It is *divine* bread, and I promise it won’t spoil your meal to indulge in it and the salt-​speckled butter/​/​
The second course featured THE MOST PILLOWY SOFT AND FLUFFY AND DELICIOUSEST (not a word, roll with it) gnocchi, served with roasted onion and garlic and amazingly flavoured, moist chicken (pot roast corn fed, apparently). Nary a peep of criticism from me. Ok, well…*tiny*…a piece of the chicken had a ball of joint/​gristle that ideally would have been caught before it left the kitchen but, oh oh, the flavour of the dish more than made up for that tiny oversight.
For dessert there was a cheese option and a sweet selection. I surprised myself and went for the latter — a lemon yogurt with a quenelle of divine raspberry ripple ice-​cream atop (sounds weird, but I swear you won’t question it if you have the opportunity to try it) and crunch provided care of sable crumbs.
Post-​meal coffee served with mini truffles.
Service SO ON POINT. Unobtrusive, attentive at the right times, hands-​off when appropriate… it complemented the meal perfectly.
I will be returning. Soon. Have been thinking of my lunch all afternoon.
Unilocal note: NO BUT ACTUALLY THAT GNOCCHI THO. Easy-​peasy reservation system online, and generally not a full dining room for lunch so a good time to go (secret’s out).

Wow very menu much delicious

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! everything in this restaurant is perfect. From the interior, cleaningness, quality of food, price etc, there is not one thing I did not like !
The restaurant looked so modern and the lighting was brilliant (not one of those dimmed ones that makes you fall asleep) the staff were very friendly from greeting and we were allocated to a quiet corner near the front window of the restaurant.
After careful consideration decided not to opt for the tasting menu. It actually works out cheaper and better to go a la Carte. This is because tasting menu applies to the whole table. We had three starters, two mains and two desserts, and we only had to pay £10~ extra. The portions are of course, bigger too.
I absolutely loved everything I ate, but my favourite has to be the scallops. Big, jjuicy, fresh, and compliments the cream source and mushrooms so well.
What a big surprise I’m definitely coming back here !

The staff are brilliant, great wine list and my mother loved her pigeon but the rest of us thought the food did not justify the cost and the veggie main option was very average. It was £400 for 6 of us and none of us thought it was worth that, at that level you expect Ledbury style brilliance. Apparently the lunch prix fix is great value though.

Looking for a quiet /​romantic place with amazing food in London? Look no more. This place is simply amazing.
In my opinion their food and service beats other places with more michelin starts in London (I think w8 has 1 star)!

After having lunch at Pollen Street Social it was almost unfair to eat at another renowned restaurant for supper — how could a neighbourhood joint in Kensington compete?
Honestly, the food was easily as good (and in my main’s case, even better). They brought over some salt cod and potato croquettes as an amuse bouche which were crispy and so savoury — even my wife-​loathing wife tried and admitted it was good (and then quickly recanted, probably to keep up her fish-​hating credentials).
My crispy hens egg with parmesan polenta was incredible, and my haunch of venison main was stunning.
My wife had a braised lamb main which was excellent, but i forget her starter! WINE!
The room can’t compare with central London restaurants really as its more of a fancy place for a supper than a real dinner destination, but the service was good and the food was excellent.
Not sure I’d rush back rather than trying other michelin starred places, but if im lazy and want a great meal (i live nearish) I’d certainly give it another go.

Overall good experience. Ambiance is okay but nothing to be wow’ed by. It is pleasant with calming colors. Service was fast and efficient and we did not feel rushed at all. I was a bit disappointed that after we ordered I heard the waiter at the table next to us tell the guests the specials of the day which we were not told.
We loved all of the dishes we tried. Velouté of Cornish Mussels with Mussel Beignets was heavenly. Super rich and creamy velouté with a side of perfectly fried mussels YUM. The poached cod was so flavorful and moist! I want to say it was one of the better fish dishes I have had. The venison was cooked just right and was super tender. Although we liked both of the desserts, my favorite of the two desserts we tried was the salt caramel parfait.
Deep fried Salt Cod Balls as an amuse
Velouté of Cornish Mussels with Mussel Beignets, Garlic and Parsley Cream
Crispy Hen’s Egg with Parmesan Polenta, Wilted Chanterelles, Bacon and Truffle
Beurre Noisette Poached Cod with Brown Shrimps, Pickled Cauliflower, Lightly Spiced
Haunch of Venison with Jerusalem Artichokes, Roast Onion, Port Soaked Raisins and Bulgur Wheat
Blackberry Poached Pear with Hazelnut Pain Perdu and Vanilla Rice Pudding Mousse
Salt caramel parfait with Roasted Peanut Ice Cream, Chocolate Milk Purée and Lime

Advertising isn’t much fun right now. Budgets are down. Working hours are up. Times are hard. But I’m off to lunch on a Monday Arvo at Kitchen W8. And I’m not paying. I tell you what. It’s better than working for a living. I always loved the Square, and this place is by Philip Howard who runs that gaff. Good reviews, my end of town, why not?
I had a starter that I would put in the ‘memorable’ bracket. Smoked eel implausibly thinly sliced into perfect oblongs with blobs of wonderful sauce and perfectly sliced bits of leek laying on it. Pretty as a picture and sublime taste. Hard to imagine how to improve on that dish in either looks or taste. Stunning.
My other two diners enjoyed wonderful starters too. Foie gras with sourdough toast and scallops with celeriac and stuff were received equally enthusiastically.
I had the pot roast chicken for my main and expected something rough and hearty but again got something perfectly cooked and expertly considered. The gravy had been reduced to a glossy delight. The chicken was pot roasted to perfection. The cabbage bed was lovely. It was served beautifully. Not the rustic plate I was expecting but actually far far better. Food out of the top drawer and I wouldn’t be surprised if they build on the one Michelin star they already have.
So why not 5 stars? well the place itself is pretty unimaginative. A ubiquitous very nice place. Neutral everything. Right down to the paint on the walls. The heart simply doesn’t sing when you come out of there. A place built not to offend the super rich of west london when they come in. Safe. Nice. Shame. The food is great. The service is professional and the place is adequate. I guess it just doesn’t grab the heart. Compare it to to La trompette a mile or two down the road. Both serve similar fare (kitchen w8 is a notch above in terms of the food no doubt) but la trompette just has something more about it. A warmth to the dining room and a confidence front of house that this place lacks. And you pay a good deal more at kitchen w8 too.
All in all, some wonderful food. But in forgettable surroundings. I’d add that I went on a Monday lunchtime and would imagine the buzz was at it’s lowest. But if they could work on something it would be the ‘feel’ of the place. I don’t buy the argument that you need a neutral environment to appreciate the food better. You pay a fair amount of money here and it would be nice to feel like you had been somewhere special and I didn’t quite get that from here, despite excellent food.

The food is simply divine. The dining room is a bit plain though. It lacks charm but once the food is served, it’s a different ball game. Go for the plate. The chef is simply excellent.

I went to this Kensington establishment largely expecting to be disappointed — with good online reviews and a recent 1 Michelin Star there’s always a risk of resting on laurels.
But I needn’t have worried :-)
The food was very good (well presented, great tasting and reasonable sized portions), and the service exemplary.
So this gets the full 5* rating from me.

Great food. Great value. Great service.
Tried 5 of their dishes on the menu, and everyone of them came out to be a great dish. There were not a huge menu selection, but we managed to find quite a few dishes we liked.
The service was great, and our waitress was very friendly and unpretentious.
We overhead the guy at the table next door, had allergy with onion and he told the waitress when ordering, but they sent him his dish with onion, so he was pissed and left in the middle of dinner. So if you are allergic to something, make sure you ask twice!

Stopped here for dinner last night, and was really pleased we did.
I’d read really good reviews and found out that they do a three course dinner for £24.50 from 6−7pm. For a place with one Michelin star already, that’s not too bad at all :)
So we went, were the first ones in the place at 6.30 and ended up having a lovely time. Little deep fried balls of salt cod started things off, and were really tasty. Excellent bread and one of the most punchy Malbecs I’ve ever had made it even better.
My other half had a beetroot and goats cheese salad that he said was one of the best things he’s ever eaten, while I had a chicken/​mushroom ravioli to start (with char-​grilled lettuce, really unusual but very tasty).
We both then had the steak, with smoke potato (not to my taste), spinach (a wee bit salty) and broccoli (divine).
For dessert we went off peak and ordered from the a la carte, I had chocolate pave with salted caramel ice cream and honeycomb, which was heavenly — the boy had some nice cheese.
With a great atmosphere and great food, it was a great evening. One for a treat though, as even with a special menu the bill came to £100. Well worth it though.
Sad to hear that Julia suffered from a ‘snooty’ attitude, as our experience couldn’t haven’t been further than that. Our waiter was fantastic, one of the best I’ve encountered actually.

Menu looks impressive, but I don’t think the full experience is worthy of a Michelin star
I’ve been fortunate enough to experience many Michelin star dishes, and I would have to say that this one was my least favorite, but that isn’t to say it was bad, in fact, it was very good. This is where reviewing gets tough. Next to other places I’ve reviewed, this is clearly 5 star material, but what group to I judge it against? Other Michelin restaurants? In London? Of a similar cuisine? Or in the overall cost/​benefit sense? It’s tough to rank the stars, but take what you will out of this:
I had not heard of Kitchen W8, though it is very close to my home, and we was invited by friends who only dine at establishment with white linen table cloths (if you know what I mean). My first impression on a Saturday night was that is was only half full, taking away from the ‘exclusive’ factor that many Michelin’s should aim to live up to. That’s fine, we were happy to get a good table and move devoted service.
We started with Kir Royals and Nigronis which were all very nice, and the complimentary cod and potato croquets whetted our appetites.
The menu offerings were very impressive, but it was slightly confusing as there is only one menu with a dedicated section to lunch specials and items which are not available for dinner. I wish there was just a separate menu for lunch and dinner without being teased and fluttered over options.
I opted for the terrine of parfait of foie gras with camomile jelly, apricot chutney and sourdough toast. It was very good with a liberal serving of fois gras in a preservative jar. It was well presented, but that didn’t make up for the overly toasted bread, which I ditched immediately and headed for the far more appetizing bread basket. We also tired the breaded duck egg with truffle, which was very good, if not too unique.
As a main, I had breaded plaice medallions with purple sprouting broccoli and new potatoes. I initially didn’t like the sound of breaded anything, but I had sea bream for lunch and I don’t eat red meat, so my option are always limited. Sadly, my first instinct was correct and the dish was disappointing. There was no playful flavors, and because the plaice was breaded, you could not taste the quality of the fish, and therefore the dish didn’t do justice for the freshness and the flavors were muttled and lost. I also tried the fricassee of sweetcorn and girolles with sauté artichoke, parmesan gnocchi and summer truffle, which was lovely and a much better choice.
I do think that I ordered wrong, which is my own fault, but even though, each dish should hold it’s own.
I also found the waitress a tad intrusive (I was speaking to the table, in the middle of a story, when she approached from behind me and ask if we have any questions … hello, I was speaking, you can wait for one moment until someone give you the go ahead look, haha, I mean, you don’t just come up from behind and speak over someone… rude!)
All in all, I’m glad I went and the menu is trying to do something special, but it’s just not my style and I will not be going back, at least until the day where I only dine a white linen restaurants.

I had the good fortune to dine here yesterday evening, courtesy of my friend Tom’s birthday — his girlfriend Rebecca sorted a meal at this Michelin starred restaurant to celebrate.
It has been an impressively fast elevation to Michelin star status for Mark Kempson, who worked in Philip Howard’s 2 star kitchen at The Square before being installed here in 2009.
The restaurant is located in a pretty unprepossessing part of Kensington and being of the slightly older generation, I was also a bit worried that W8 may be teenage text slang for ‘Wait’!
Fortunately, as soon as I walked in the door, all such worries were dispelled and Kitchen W8 have got the Michelin formula, both in the quality of the food and the service. There is a definite standard and way Michelin like things done and this place has understood that.
We had some pretty good food through the evening. The lightest deep fried salt cod balls were served as canapes as we perused the menu. It’s always a pleasure to have the conundrum of what to order from a tempting menu.
My starter of sauté of chicken wings with hand rolled linguine, broad beans, mousseron mushrooms and parmesan was packed with umami flavour, offset nicely by the sweet broad beans, which were a nice seasonal touch to the dish. Tom and Rebecca pronounced themselves equally satisfied with their choices of crispy hen’s egg with asparagus & truffle soldiers and ravioli of ham hock with Hispi cabbage & veloute of peas.
For mains, Tom and I opted for the pressed pork belly with a purée of violet artichokes, broad beans, Parmesan and preserved lemon. The pork belly had been properly rendered to turn the thick layer of fat into flavoursome unctuous gooeyness which sat atop moist tender meat and below the skin, which had just enough crunch. Rebecca enjoyed her slow poached pollock with a sourdough crust, fennel purée, golden beetroot & citrus vinaigrette.
We managed to find just enough room for dessert — the vanilla panna cota, salt chocolate parfait and Sicilian lemon tart proved food ends to the meal.
Francesca, our Sicilian waitress for the evening, was attentive but happy to have a laugh.
Rebecca chose a little gem and Tom certainly enjoyed his birthday dinner here. It just sneaks into 5 stars but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with an evening out here.

I would have given this place 5 stars if it wasn’t for their uppity and snooty attitude towards my boyfriend and I. Let me explain…
We were originally looking for a French restaurant called Whitis, and we decided not to get dressed up because I had read that the restaurant was casual. Unfortunately, Whitis was closed so we walked into W8 because it was right next door. From the moment we walked in the hostess talked to us in a condescending tone and asked us if we had reservations when the restaurant was clearly empty! She then rolled her eyes and seated us. We ordered the foie gras to start off with and it was excellent! My boyfriend then got the pork chop while I got the fish with mussel risotto. My dish was cooked to perfection and my boyfriend had told me that this was the best pork he’s ever had in his life (and I have to add in that we have pretty expensive taste).
Overall, this place was great and I would go there again. I guess next time I would make a reservation and dress up though so they’ll treat me as equal as everyone else.