Napket

Came here this week at around 1pm and there was virtually nothing on the shelves! Really fancied a nice salad but the salad bar was also on low supplies. Had a horrid dry wrap and it really ruined my lunch break. Supposedly caesar salad with all the trimmings inside but there was virtually no dressing YUK! Friend’s salad was disappointing too. Won’t be coming back here anytime soon.

convenient, quick, fresh, and easy on the wallet.
all the above are tough to find in London, so this was much welcome when I was travelling for business.
risk: still doesn’t top a NY salad
reward: efficiency in an inefficient town

I’ve just finished a salad from Napket and to describe the feeling I have only one word seems fitting: Hungry. Now this isn’t totally Napket’s fault. They did have options for more salad bases and toppings but with the salads from Larder (More London Place Hilton restaurant/​salad bar) in mind, I thought the 1+1 (1 salad base plus 1 meat) would be enough. Sadly, I report that it wasn’t nearly enough and could perhaps rather be a side salad at dinner than a full lunch.
The salad itself was quite tasty with a mix of crunchy greens, tender butternut squash, creamy goat’s cheese, and roasted pumpkin seeds. The BBQ chicken was a bit dry but you can get a variety of dressings to combat that issue. My friend had a baguette and found that quite satisfying so there is another point in it’s favour.
Overall, like the décor and design of the place, appreciate the taste and quality of the ingredients, but for £5 the quantity is lacking. Give me more food and I’ll be a happy camper! For now… toast will have to do.

Napket is one of the best places to go for lunch around Mayfair. The made to order salads are good but I think what is really best are the ready-​made pastas and sandwiches. The portions on the pastas are very good and they are good value. This particular store, off Regent Street, is cheaper than the one on Piccadilly for exactly the same things. The cookies are great too!

I walked by several times when I was staying by Green Park and always thought it had a good crowd and looked attractive. I decided to have some tea and snack there with a friend one afternoon after looking forward to trying to place for a while. We first walked into the self-​serve area and was told that we couldn’t sit there if we want any sweets and pastries with our drinks and was told to move to the service area where we would be charged a 12.5% of service fee.
We moved, unwillingly, and was greeted by our waiter after 10 minutes (without even a menu in hand), although we were one of the only two tables of customers in the whole place. The bad service didn’t end there, I ordered strawberry/​white chocolate muffin and was told after 5 minutes that they didn’t have any. I then switched to ordering chocolate brioche slice, and was told after another 5 minutes that they did not have that either. I then asked for a piece of brownie and they didn’t have that either. At that point I couldn’t help but wonder why they would put these options on their menu if they don’t carry these foods?
I was eventually recommended a pie/​tart looking pastry because I said I wanted something fruity. But the selection was dry and over-​powered by cinnamon and sugar. I could not eat more than half a piece of that disaster because it was just hard to swallow and I was charged 5 pounds for it, although was told that those pastries were around 2 to 3 pounds.
I think this place is pretentious, over-​priced and simply no good. I would never visit again despite the gorgeous décor.

Strange how this happens. I was a huge fan of this place until:
1) I realized I’d eaten the same salad for 2 weeks in a row.
2) They raised prices on their salad from 4.90 to 5.15.
Variety is key. This place could be great if you just put it in the rotation.
The 5.15 isn’t a real issue of cost but rather convenience. I HATE having to bring anything more than a fiver. I used to just hand over a fiver and leave the change. Now I’m forced to bring a fiver and change or hassle with copious amounts of change. This may sound off-​base, but it’s a deal-​breaker for me.

Wow, this place is bizarre! A friend and I stumbled upon it when looking for a quick coffee and trying to avoid the usual chains, and there it was, just off Regent Street.
I’m not sure who designed it but it’s as though they couldn’t quite decide what to go for — classy in a wholefood sort of way, with rustic wood, exposed brickwork and good solid design, or «classy» in a shiny over-​the-​top tacky way — so they decided to go for both. There are chandeliers and black velvet and gold baroque chairs, against black walls and wooden flooring. For me, it didn’t work, and seemed like a over self-​conscious design experiment gone wrong.
I was, however, impressed by the cakes and cookies, especially the bakewell slice.
What really let the place down was the service, which was awful– the man behind the counter simply acted as though he wished we weren’t there. It was as though it was beneath him to serve us, and I know the tagline for the place is «snob food» but I don’t think the staff should embody it!
An interesting point was a little bar with iPods where you can listen to a selection of albums from the US charts.
When we entered Napket it was a Sunday and we were the only ones in there. Perhaps with a crowd the décor would somehow relax into itself. I imagine it is busy on weekdays when local workers would likely take advantage of the sandwich and coffee menu, which despite the odd décor, was very good and comes in two ranges — gourmet, and a cheaper diffusion line.

Having been a sworn devotee of the Kings Road Napket, I was very excited about the opening of this branch near my office. However, I keep being disappointed. The one thing I would recommend is their salad bar, which has everything from tuna tempura to goat’s cheese and they mix all the ingredients up for you while you wait. However, this is so popular that the queue each day usually goes outside the door regularly between 12 – 2 and it’s a bit of a nightmare waiting in the rain to get a salad. They do also have a tendency to run out of popular ingredients, although this has improved since they first opened, so I would recommend going early (12 – 1 rather than 2ish). The salad bar closes at 3. Aside from that they serve an array of sandwiches and ready-​made salads with a gourmet twist on a range of breads and it is nice for a change. At £ 4.95 it’s fairly honestly priced for a salad, as the portions are huge and they cram a lot (maybe often too much) in. Definitely worth a try though.

Maybe it’s because I wasn’t that hungry when I went hereor maybe it’s because it was a Sunday and my stomach was ready for a roast dinner but instead it got a healthy salad. This place caters for the salad connoisseurs — a bit like Villandry salad bar does, with various options for you to create a bespoke salad, plus they really are generous on the portion size, I couldn’t finish my bowl and I am one healthy eater. On the downside there is never anywhere to sit. I waited 5 mins and got a seat at the music baryes the music bar. They have the latest ipods docked at each stool and a set of comfy earphones to boot. Nice touch. They offer loads of Sunday papers to get lost in too, so I was happy. Only 3 stars because it’s fairly pricey — £6 a salad is a lot in my book!