Petrichor at The Cavendish London

Such a lovely restaurant. We always stay at The Cavendish when we visit London. We eat in the restaurant as the food and service are amazing and they serve pre theatre suppers.

Location: St James
Style: Upmarket
Food: Good
Wine: Good
Ambience: None

Made to feel very welcome here for our Friday night meal.
They were prompt with bring the menus and explaining what was on offer. Shortly after, bread tray was brought round with the explanation of the different types of bread on offer along with a plate of three types of butter.
Wine chosen — a tad on the expensive side. Ours cost £42 and that was kinda middle of the range.
Felt that the starters took a while to come. Flagged down bread lady to selected another roll. This time it was nicely warm. The staff all seem to have their tasks and these don’t mix. Bread lady was not going to be seen pouring wine! Given the luxury of designated tasks, service continued to be slow which was surprising as the restaurant was not that busy. After some waiting time starters appeared. I had ordered the scallops with pork belly which was yummy. The pork was wonderful and accompanied the scallops perfectly. I’d definitely eat that again. It came nicely presented so what the eyes saw matched what the mouth tasted for sure.
Starters done, another long wait for mains. Given this was an order of steak and fish, I don’t understand what they were cooking for so long!!!
Once arrived, again nicely cooked. Skin on fish done well and covering the flaky cod flesh.
Of course I opted for dessert. The grandly names chocolate Avalanche. This, again came nicely presented. A ball of chocolate or do it seems. Had I known about the ‘show’ about to take place, I would have Unilocal videoed. They poor the hot sauce over it melting the chocolate coating the ice cream to crest the Avalanche. However, once done you are rather left with a kind of ‘soup’ of melted chocolate and ice cream. Needless to say, it is very sweet even for me.
They finished the night off with a selection of little Florentines. I was too full so hot them to go. Eaten later, they were very nice also.
The restaurant itself is a nice eating establishment. Staff very friendly. Only thing really letting it down was speed of service. Our meal took 3 hrs without much of that delay being on our side.

To sum it up — Fabulous. We dined at Petrichor last night and from the bubbles to begin to the desserts (and dessert wine!) the experience was top notch. Upon arrival we were seated and menus presented, champagne was poured and a trio of butters with fresh baked (warm) breads offered to wet the appetite. I asked to try 2 wines (being indecisive!) there were poured promptly and allowed me to choose a lovely bottle to complement our menu choices. I can highly recommend to Baron Syrah, the wine menu is manageable and well chosen. Just enough variation. Starters of Smoked duck and roast quail were both sublime. Served perfectly cooked and the presentation was stunning (this was a running theme). The slivers of duck with the poached egg won my vote — well seasoned and delicious. Mains we opted for the Suffolk chicken which was served ballotine style stuffed with a truffle mix. Very well balanced as the truffle was not over powering and the subtle chicken flavours still came through. Not an easy feat! Irish beef was served medium rare (as ordered) and the knife slipped through the cut. Served on a bed of creamy mash — this is any meat lovers dream dish. Highly recommended. We ordered sides of hand cut chips and steamed veg. The vegetables had to be sent back as it was overcooked, limp and luke warm. I’m not going to dwell on this as it did not effect my overall opinion of the quality and cooking we experienced. Everyone makes mistakes. It was removed, apologies made and we were not charged. To finish the baked Alaska was well executed with a crisp meringue however the chocolate avalanche stole the show — I wont spoil the surprise but any chocoholic will die happy after this dish. Stunning! Thank you to the staff and compliments to the chef — last night was one to remember.

Just had a pre-​theatre set menu meal here. The service was fabulous, as was the setting and style of the restaurant. We were there with my 5 month old baby and the staff were incredibly attentive and went out
of their way to accommodate us. It’s a lovely restaurant, smart, clean with a good ambience. The food is decent portions and a decent variety and of a high standard. We had a smoked duck dish to start, delicious! I had a salmon dish as a main which was a good sized portion but didn’t float my boat, I don’t think salmon and orange segments should be put together and it didn’t work! My sister had the chicken roulade which was lovely.
Only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is the salmon/​orange combo as mentioned above and the fact that the service could have been a tad quicker-​only mention as for a pre-​theatre booking we were then 1hr and 45min– wasn’t the fastest service ever. Would recommend to friends and I would eat there again. The pre-​theatre menu is incredibly good value at 16.50 for 2 courses and the house wine was 24 pounds a bottle, not cheap but not bad for a hotel.

I booked this table a while back using another website. I chose this restaurant, site unseen because:
A) I could book a table online
B) They offered a special for those going to see a show
C) They had decent ratings on the booking site.
I have several allergies (including wheat). Most places have something I can eat, so I have stopped inquiring in advance. When we arrived, I asked about which of their selections would be options for me. Almost everything on their menu was gluten-​free.
They brought out bread for my husband (who is not allergic to anything) and I glanced longingly at it. A few minutes later they brought out bread for me. Yep. They have gluten-​free bread. It was warm and lightly toasted, and completely made my night.
My husband and I both had the mushrooms with goat cheese as a starter, which was incredible. Warm and buttery and full of flavor. We both loved it. The cheese was perfectly broiled over the mushrooms.
We then had the pork belly main course with a side of mash. The potatoes were sweet, which didn’t suit my husband, but I loved them. The pork belly was incredibly tender and flavorful. The pureed yam and spinach on the plate were excellent accompaniments.
The services was perfect. We loved everything about our meal here. If we ever come back to London, we will likely return to this restaurant.

great place — best service and good price