Whyte & Brown

Excellent shakshuka for breakfast. You got a huge dish of eggs but only 2 halves of toasts. The environment and the view are perfect. Would love to comeback another time

Un vrai coup de cœur pour la cuisine, le dynamisme du personnel et l’emplacement dans le quartier de Carnaby Street .
Généralement les plats sont accompagnés de poulet, il possible de commander de plats végétariens

I believe for some people the food or service has been either a hit or miss but I’ve been here twice on different occasions but both on Saturday nights AND everything was great.
First — the menu is chicken based. If you do not like chicken, your options are bread, olives, falafel and green salad (pretty limited). If you like chicken, there’re some pretty great choices so you are golden.
All in all, if you’re in Oxford Circus area and looking for some nice food and drinks, Whyte and Brown is a solid option.

Managed to get a table for three with no booking on a Thursday evening. Cute little joint, lovely décor inside and there’s also outdoor seating in the courtyard at Kingly Court. Service was friendly and efficient. Food was good aside from my friend chipping a tooth on a random stone found in the quinoa lentil salad… That was unpleasant so dropping a star. Still, would come back.

Chicken souvlaki suitable for the gods! Quite a happening joint on the weekend, with outdoor seating in the square. Friendly staff, prompt service, and a robust menu of chicken favorites. Also, the beer and cider list is worth mentioning — some tasty liquid treats available!

Had the chicken cesar salad… had wayyyy too much dressing. The fiancé’s chicken souvlaki though was very good.

Now I almost really loved this place, with a 5 out of 5 but what annoyed me was how pretentious things in food is getting ridiculous now, where if something looks nice versus actually getting food. I went here for dinner with my girlfriend and some friends, my friend ordered the croquette balls and it came in a steel cup. Inside the cup was a napkin filling up the cup more than halfway to make it seem it was full of either balls or salad instead of neither. Now this was probably the only part of the meal that wasn’t up to scratch but if they do this practice then what else do they do?
The rest of the review of this place would have been, that is is a really fun quirky place with good décor and friendly staff, the toilets are shared but pretty amazing. You know when you are in a fancy place when you get hand moisturiser.
I ordered the pâté but as with most nouvelle cuisine, you never get enough bread, but easy to order some more and it was really tasty.
The main meal ordered was the marrakech burger which was very tasty, a bit small for £11 but you are next to Carnaby street so you’d expect it, the only downside was the fries, I would have much prefered some proper oven chips to go with it.
The menu recommended having some Willy’s Wonky Barn Cider with my starters and it really did work well, I like this as an idea instead of being recommended wine, beer or cider recommendations are needed.
Like I said if they hadn’t «faked» the starter, I would have given this place a ⁵⁄₅ but I’m not a fan of going to eat food and finding it stuffed with paper.

Nice Restaurant! Good Food and wine! Not happy about the service! We he had to wait for our table. At the bar. The barkeeper send us away cause we were in his way just seconds after we left a old couple arrived stand in our spot at the bar and wasn’t… That’s really not ok!

I would have given this location a better review for the food, but the hostess was terribly rude. I was there for an hour and 10 minutes TOTAL starting at 17:15, and after having spent nearly 65 pounds on an early dinner for two people pre-​theater, was finishing the last sip of my wine before getting up to leave and head to the theatre when I was hurriedly asked to leave by a hostess who said she needed the table. It was spectacularly offensive and I will not be back.

I have to say, having now been back 2 – 3 times, this is quickly becoming one of my favorite «spontaneous meet up for dinner» locations in Soho.
I’ve been with a large group, I’ve been with just a few other people, and each time the service is prompt and friendly. If you don’t book ahead you might have to wait just a bit, but they are surrounded by some cool shops in Kingly Court, so you won’t struggle to kill time.
Whyte and Brown do, as they say, «really lovely chicken». It’s usually a pretty good sign when a place chooses to do just a few things. This place does chicken — souvlaki, paillard, roasted beer can… I’ve tried them all and I’m impressed! Chicken isn’t the most exciting main, but these guys prepare a perfectly moist and unfussy chicken. And, it doesn’t break the bank.
It’s the sort of place you can bring anyone to — there’s just enough things on the menu, and they offer wine, beer and cocktails. It’s a great «choose your own adventure» dinner option!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG! Yes I’ll say it, and I’ll probably jinx it, but the big yellow ball in the sky appears to have returned (at least for this week). And what better way to celebrate the incipient UK springtime than to go somewhere you can pretend you’re not in the UK at all.
The location is this place’s biggest draw, with tables spilling out into the open-​aired courtyard of that cute little Soho treasure trove, Kingly Court. My sis and I sat at one of the outdoor wooden tables amidst a hubbub of tourists and the slowly-​building after work drinks crowd.
It was perfect for a couple of drinks with the sun out, and felt a lot like we were on holiday somewhere. It may not have fitted the season but I loved my simple bubbly Winter Fizz, whilst my sister made my day by revealing that she likes whisky (this was big and happy news to my ears), and got the Ginger Warmer. These were soon followed by some very reasonably priced rose wine, which better fit the springtime theme. The service was friendly (and cute) though a little slow, but we were in a leisurely mood anyway.
The only food we tried was a side of the sweet potato fries which came with, wait for it, feta and chorizo. I can’t put into words how perfect this was. I’m aware I’ve now used the word perfect twice in the same review. I must have mild heatstroke already. But if I’d been wearing socks they’d have been knocked off. Note to self: return to try the food more extensively!

Went here for a girls dinner on a Tuesday night and the place was buzzing. We shared delicious starters of croquettes and Pimientos de Padron before sharing a fish and chicken Souvlaki.
These were deliciously cooked and tasty, not a lot of food for sharing between 4 but we weren’t particularly hungry, and we ordered a little side salad to top up.
Service was great, the environment was lovely and clean and vibrant.
Whilst we aren’t beer drinkers (and i know this is something that brings some people) we were happy with the wine choice.
I am not claiming to be a top dog food /​restaurant critique but I would say that this is certainly a great choice for dinner with friends.

Great food, awful service. At first we could not figure out where this place is located on the map. If you are standing on Kingly Street coming from Regent Street, it’s confusing. We walked all the way around to Carnaby Street only to pass a sign for Kingly Court and Whyte & Brown. There are almost two dozen places inside this mall like area and Whyte & Brown looks like it’s one of the largest establishments. Two floors with additional seating outside, this place was crowded on a Saturday night. They asked if we had reservations and even though we didn’t, we were seated right away around 7:30 PM. I ordered the half chicken which was a lot of food. Unfortunately nothing else comes with the meal so you half to order side dishes. The chicken Breast, thigh and drumstick were really good thanks to the fabulous gravy and tender meat with a spring of thyme. I ordered a side of smokey mashed potatoes which was also fantastic. The beer selection was also nice and the atmosphere was certain lively. Two complaints. First, the waitress, Greta, is a) pushy and b) clueless. She asked if we wanted water and gave us two options, still or sparkling. The third choice she forgot to mention was tap water. And I’ll get to why she was so pushy at the end. She was not happy that we asked for tap water and when we ordered our food, she tried pushing more side dishes. She asked if I wanted another beer at least two or three more times although I made it clear I did not want one. Now, at the beginning of the meal, I wanted to order a beer but I am not familiar with many British beers. Usually the waiter or waitress know their beers at this type of restaurant, but I had no confidence in ours, so I gave her a test. I asked where Goose Island is from and at first she said she wasn’t sure. Then, with utmost confidence she said England. Yes, it’s from England. Wrong answer as Goose Island is from Chicago. After our meal she tried pushing desserts, but we were full. So we wait more than minutes 15 minutes for the bill and when it arrives 12.5% gratuity was already added. The waitress wanted us to spend more so she automatically would get a larger tip. For a party of two gratuity is already added? And that’s why she was in no hurry to bring the bill. No longer a fan of this restaurant.

I’ve only actually eaten here once, but as far as that trip was concerned I’d go again. I ordered the chicken-​leek burger and it was really good (just a bit messy to eat — but that’s fine!), so I’d recommend that. The coffee was good too!
The only thing that was a bit weird was that we got there at 11.50 so my friend ordered from the brunch menu (after a bit of negotiating that she could still order as brunch was till midday), then I was going to order off the main menu, but was then told that it wasn’t midday yet (when the man menu starts apparently) so I had to wait till the clock past 12pm so I could order.
Weirdness aside, the burger and sweet potato fries (which come with feta and chorizo) were really yum so I’d definitely go back, albeit not so close to the midday mark as it seemed to throw them off.

Gah. Whyte & Brown is the tempestuous kid in the Kingly Court class who should be aceing his grades, but instead is flirting with mediocrity due to inconsistent effort and occasional stroppiness. All promise, but without the delivery.
Let’s focus on that promise. I’ve been here a few times now and the food has always been impressive. I welcome the new wave of chicken outlets in London and I applaud the invention shown by Whyte & Brown in creating tasty and original takes on what is not the most exciting of meat. The desserts are similarly superlative and the service has mostly been okay.
Like their on-​trend chicken offerings they also profess to love craft beer, going out of their way to suggest matches between their beer and food. Unfortunately this is where their promise starts to diverge from reality. The beer list is shockingly short and mostly conservative, in complete contrast to the experimental spirit that characterises the craft beer revolution. Sure, there’s a saison, which is fairly bold, but the likes of Brooklyn Lager, Goose Island 312 and Freedom Pilsner are exceedingly mainstream. Much of the rest of the list is promising but ultimately disappointing: the Bad Seed Espresso stout and Urban Rebel IPAs for example were unexciting. If Whyte & Brown were a pub that made no claim to its craft beer credentials I might welcome their slight deviations from the usual ale and lager, but given how strongly they claim to embrace craft beer, I think they should be judged accordingly, and the shortfalls duly noted.
Indeed, it’s not just the beer list that disappoints. The staff have been consistently ignorant about the beers they sell, despite being the obvious ambassadors for Whyte and Brown’s supposed love of craft beer. Likewise their ‘Crafternoon Tea’, a concept that caused me many a knowing guffaw and one I couldn’t wait to try. Sadly it was the same old story: fantastic food, terrible beer. I mean, the clear novelty of ‘Crafternoon Tea’ is the fact that beer — craft beer no less — is included instead of tea. So it’s hardly unfair to expect a reasonable quantity (a pint, say) and quality (a decent pale ale from a recognised London brewery say) of beer. Instead, just half a pint is included, and mediocre it is too. So disappointing.
Slightly miffed that the food in our Crafternoon Tea we had been given did not match that advertised, we spoke to the manager. Rather than acknowledging the clear mistake and offering to remedy it, she was defensive and defiant. An incredible approach to customer service. Later she returned with vouchers offering a free bacon butty and coffee. A nice gesture, but one that should have been produced far sooner, along with contrition rather than confrontation.
By smartening up their beer act and being quicker to remedy their faults when they’re pointed out, Whyte & Brown could be cruising to 5 stars. Instead, it’s only their excellent food that stops them from sinking below 3. Much room for improvement.

Chicken and beer! Chicken and beer! Chicken and beer!
They are good together.

A very cute place inside Kingly court. The place is quite large, with 2 floors and a bar area downstairs.
I loved their endive salad, but other than that, very few options for vegetarians.
Ice cream was a bit gritty, which was a bit disappointing.

Whyte & Brown at Kingly Court in Soho have great food, but a really annoying wifi policy. And ran out of the dessert I ordered. Overall, in parts a bit of a disappointment. Nonetheless, the southern fried chicken goujons are absolutely delicious.
Celebrating London Wine Week, I ventured from the pop-​up wine bar in Kingly Court over to Whyte & Brown.
Their offer this evening was an Albariño — a good choice and a pleasant wine. Having eaten something earlier I decided to just get one or two starters. When I looked through the menu, I spotted the chicken crisps. As it sounded interesting, I ordered some. They were nice and crispy, but actually, not all that special.
My first real starter were very tasty chicken and pancetta croquette balls with a beautiful tomato sauce. The dish looked great and it tasted even better.
As second starter, I selected southern fried chicken goujons. They came with a slice of lemon, and were coated in fluffy breadcrumbs. This starter definitely is worth coming back. The large chicken pieces were succulent, with the bread crumbs and the lemon it was an excellent dish. I did not need the dip that came with it, I think the goujons were much better without it.
So much to the food, it’s quite good. But what I did not like was how they set up their wifi. You could join and use it, and suddenly after a few minutes, they force you to «check in on Facebook». Come on, please state your terms at the beginning, the I would simply decline to check in and happily use my 3G. I checked in and deleted the check-​in immediately after. It is s little detail, but a really annoying one, I think.
The misery continued when they did not have the dessert I had ordered. And because I was not too fond of the other dessert, I had to leave without finishing off with something sweet. Not quite what I expected from Whyte & Brown.
So, while the food is delicous, if you get what you order, avoid their wifi. Whyte & Brown is a bit ofa mixed bag, not sure if I will be back soon…

Set in the beautiful Kingly Court the resultant boasts 2 levels. It’s décor is simple but rustic, a great place to go for after work drinks or a bite to eat.
The staff were very attentive, ensured that we had what we needed and if we required anything else.
The selection of food is great, it varies from free range chicken dishes with a bread (wrap) to die for. I personally got the chicken skew with an accompaniment of sauces and salad. The bread was warm and beautifully seasoned too, I had no complaints.
My friend ordered the fish in a bag dish, it smelt and tasted beautiful. It had an array of seafood inside it from mussels to prawns :-) beautiful dish and amazingly presented. Only downside is the size, we could have done with more. But the juices left over should not be wasted, ask for extra bed and dip it in, yummy…

Low key, restful lighting, rustic DIY style contemporary wooden décor all widely spread out in a clean spacious setting. It is indeed a very beautiful restaurant. Sadly food was not as impressive and did not make much of an impact compared to the décor.
During the tube strike Whyte and Brown was offering a very good 50% off food deal for those who came in with the secret code «Keep calm». Somehow we also offered a free drink so it was a very good value evening for us.
The moment we stepped in we knew it was the place to be the during the chaotic tube strike out there. It was a good few hours of calmness with excellent service from the staff who were very accommodating and patience with us and we slowly went through the menu.
I do like the wacky concept of specialising in chicken or egg, each dish made with egg or chicken or both. The menu became very global with dishes from Vietnamese like the Hanoi Chicken Noodle Soup and Mediterranean dishes like the Two Way Chicken Souvlaki. However I always find with such a wide variety of dishes on a menu and all so different, quality and flavours drops a little as there isn’t a focus. And that was the problem with Whyte and Brown. Most of the dishes but the basic of flavours but lacked the depth.
We started with the Marinated Olives and Caperberries. Personally I found the green olives a bit too salty whilst the black were fine but too soft and squidgy for my liking. The caperberries were a nice unusual addition to the dish and they tasted fine in the garlicky marinade they came in.
We also ordered the ‘Croquettes balls with smoky tomato sauce’. Although it said smoky the tomato sauce was not smoky at all instead we preferred the lightness and rawness of it as it came thick and chunky with bits. Sadly the croquettes tasted slightly over cooked, either that or it was re-​fried and ended up too dry on the outside as crispy as they were. The filling was fine, a nice thick creamy inside of shredded chicken and pancetta but once again it lacked that oomph. Luckily the sauce filled some of that dryness and gave it some of that flavour it needed.
The Parmigiana was more successfully, beautifully baked aubergine with a good layer of stringy mozzarella cheese. The tomato sauce it was cooked in was seasoned well, light to allow the aubergine and mozzarella to shine. The richness of the cheese was nicely contrasted by the sliced egg in between especially the egg whites and also added a different layer of texture. i wished the dish was ruined by the overly salted side salad of rocket and lettuce leaves though which didn’t do the dish any favour. Eating this made my mouthful bitter and drowned in olive oil. In the end I ended up scraping the plate clean without the salad.
The chicken was a bit of a mix, some more succulent than others, breast a bit dry but saved by the nicely homemade gravy. However the dish somewhat became forgettable. It tasted like a good chicken but sadly that is all I can say. Better though was the awesome mash we ordered as a side. I’m guessing the secret ingredient was mayonnaise as it was that extra creamy smooth texture that got me scooping up for more after each bite of chicken. It also helped the dryness of the chicken and provided the dish a nice coating. It’s a shame these weren’t included in the main but I think it’s hoping to be viewed up a upmarket dining located in Carnaby Street, the West End area.
My boyfriend ordered the pulled chicken bap which I wasn’t keen on the moment I saw ‘bap’ and not ‘brioche bun’ like the burger selection they had, But he was intrigued what pulled chicken taste like compared to the usual pulled pork. I only took a bite out of this and glad it was just a bite as i already felt the failure of the bun being too doughy and dense for the heavier filling of pulled chicken The pulled chicken lost all its flavour to the overwhelmingly sweet BBQ sauce that tasted too synthetic and strong for my liking. Our opposite table ordered their actual burger and I must say, it looked more appetising and interesting that my boyfriend’s bap.
So I think we’ve established that the food wasn’t all fantastic but everything else was. Its another place with potential and as it is relatively new I believe with a bit more experimenting with each dish I’m sure it can get better. With so much competition in the area like Polpo it definitely needs to step a mark if they want to stay in the game.

The newest restaurant to the Soho /​Carnaby Street food fest is an independent outfit who’s tagline is all about the Free Range Egg and Chicken. They state that they don’t care which came first because it doesn’t matter. Located in the already crowded quadrangle of Kingly Court, the restaurant boasts outdoor/​indoor seating with a Scandinavian furniture meets New York industrial loft chic (except for our little kids table apparently that had metal surfaces and antique school chairs). There’s plenty of room for everyone, and the staff are über friendly and attentive.
My swimming /​noodle evening friend and I have graduated from noodle nights to a little more upmarket food — granted it was my birthday yesterday and we were celebrating.
Anyway, food — since it’s what Unilocal’s about right?
We started off with a Bangkok Scotch Egg, made with free range chicken, lemongrass and coriander. I’d have to say that the presentation of food in this place is absolutely stunning and spot on for a top notch establishment. The egg was done perfectly, with the yolk just a little runny and the crust of the meat crispy and delightful. Where it did let down a little was in the flavoring of the meat. The Bangkok aspect was very subtle, so subtle that the vinegar from the pickled cucumber salad that the scotch egg rested on overpowered the genteel flavors of the egg. Also, the two slices of chili added nothing but a dash of color (not flavor which I was expecting) to the egg. Good, but not an amazing start.
We then received our mains — which were the Light Chicken and Langoustine pie, and the Brick Chicken. The chicken and langoustine pie came with the langoustine poking it’s cute (or ugly — depending on what your views are on the aesthetics of a crustacean) head through the puff pastry of the pie. The pie itself was lovely, and again very subtle in flavoring and delicate on the tastebuds. The puff pastry was dense and well done, but could have been a little more flaky (or French) which IMHO how I like puff pastry. I guess to each their own.
The Brick Chicken is a dish of a half chicken done three ways, grilled, confit and roasted. The roasted and confit were absolutely delightful, though the plate was a bit wet from the jus of the chicken, thus requiring some work to ensure the grilled and roasted chicken didn’t mix too much with the confit juice. It does get served with a lemon and gravy as well. Seems a bit too much liquid along side and the rookie eater might just over-​dowse the chicken. They were all very flavorful, and the roast did well with thyme. A side of double cooked chips (or french fries) accompanied the meal.
All in all, it was a very good experience, with prices a little higher than the scene in the area. Value for money isn’t really there at the restaurant, since the half chicken and the pie each come in at about £12 — £13 without any sides included. Be ready, with drinks to be forking out about £25 per head at least. What most certainly redeem this place (since they opened only 3 weeks ago) is their willingness to listen to the customer, with comment cards. I filled mine in and got a personal visit from the manager about my suggestions with the scotch egg. She seemed to take the suggestions well and upon our departure was seen having a chat with the kitchen staff to perhaps discuss and try out adding more spice and flavor to the meat of the scotch egg. So kudos to the staff there and I certainly hope to be hearing about (or trying) the new recipe of the scotch egg if my suggestions were taken to heart.
All in all, 4*s, It’s a great place, and a novel concept, with décor and food quality to match, but it’s higher than average price and overly subtle food do let it down just a little. I would likely come back, but it might be a while.
UPDATE: I still haven’t heard back from them regarding the Scotch Egg, it seems like they haven’t taken my suggestion into account. Considering the manager was so intent on making sure her guests make suggestions, guess they’re not willing to implement them. Knocking them down to 3*s considering.