Dabbous

Came to Dabbous after a business trip to London. I was staying in the area and the name popped up. I called the evening of for a table for 1 and was happily penciled in at 8pm that night. The restaurant is located in a quiet edge of a busy area. Upon walking in, the industrial look of concrete, exposed beams, steel, and remarkable shades of green you wouldn’t find in most restaurants stand out right away.
I opted for the full tasting and sunk in to enjoy an evening of indulgence and quite relaxation by myself.
My first experience of modern European food that I would describe as rural & Nordic in its flavor and presentation. The food was fantastic in its flavor and not heavy at all. I opted without the cheese course and it was the perfect amount of food and variety. There are some kitschy things such as bread in a bag and a bookending of olives and Japanese plums brined and assembled to resemble olives and egg in an eggshell, but everything was delicious and did not seem over the top.
A few dishes that stood out were definitely the coddled egg (it’s amazing how so many restaurants have their own version of this, yet they are all outstanding and unique), the iberico ham (which had fantastic texture and the cider vinegar really cut through the richness without taking away from the flavor), and the fennel yogurt dessert.
Overall, no compliants and plenty of praise for the style of the restaurant and unique and delicious food.

Been here twice as was great both times. At dinner choice of two menus tasting or dinner. Food is served in a rather industrial setting, resin floor and plenty of metal. However space is very well lt and has a great atmosphere. Back to food. Tasting menu is a bit too Heston for me — anyone for lard? Dont think my yeart would thank me for that. The dinner menu is always interesting and great. Often starts with a vagetable dish thats creative and interesting last time nuts an raisons soaked in tea. Tea wasnt overwhelming add made dish richer and smoother. Cod, an overrated fish if u ask me, was next and was v nicely done. Quail wac great. Cheese was fattening. Wine list ok, had better. Overall food experience as great.

You know when you hear about a restaurant and it gets super big and then you can’t get a booking for like two years because you and your friends can’t schedule your lives to co-​ordinate well and then you finally get to go try it out and then you’re super disappointed? That’s Dabbous (the S is silent in case you don’t know).
You know how you go to a try out the bar at a restaurant and you specifically ask about the sweetness of a drink you’ve ordered and they insist that the drink is not sweet or not TOO sweet and it turns out to be ridiculously sweet and not very nice?
That’s Dabbous.
You know when you’re trying a tasting menu and when every course comes out only you like the course and almost everyone else at the table isn’t a fan of the mix of food in it and they don’t like the fact that every course is set to challenge your palate when all you really want is a nice meal and enjoyable food?
That’s Dabbous.
You know when you get a wine pairings and the sommelier comes out and they don’t actually do anything to tell you about the wines except show you the bottles and tell you the region that it’s from and the type of wine and then they pour it and walk off and you try to look at the bottle while they’re pouring to find out anything interesting but they don’t actually give you time to look at it so you just sit there annoyed that they don’t actually tell you anything about the wines?
That’s Dabbous.
You know when you have to use the toilet during the meal and then you go to use it and it’s almost impossible to find and when you go in it’s super dark and then you go into one of the rooms and it pretty much just smells like someone had really terrible gas and there’s no ventilation in the bathrooms so it just is really unpleasant?
That’s Dabbous.
You know how you go to a Michelin star restaurant and expect great service but you just kind of get okay service?
That’s Dabbous.
You know how you have the pre-​dessert of iced lovage and you think it’s fun and interesting and no one else at the table eats it and then a server comes out and asks you in a really leading way, «How did you like it?» knowing full well that the majority of people don’t like it and it seems like it’s just on the menu in order to be weird and interesting?
That’s Dabbous.
You know that restaurant where dessert turns out to be what you would eat for breakfast consisting of yogurt, raspberry and pearl barley and all you can think of is «Why the hell am I eating breakfast for dessert?» when all you really want is some sort of amazing dessert to finish your meal?
That’s Dabbous.
You know that restaurant that it took ages for you to get into and you’re never going to go back to because they put creativity over good food and in the amount of time they’ve been open it seems like they’ve got really complacent about how they were the talk of London a few years ago and the only reason why they aren’t getting two stars from this review is that the person writing this review actually enjoyed most of the food while everyone else kind of sat through the meal wondering what they were eating?
That’s Dabbous.
You know that awesome restaurant that you love and really want to go back to because you love the food, service and booze and you have an amazing time?
That’s NOT Dabbous.

Sigh, ok. When I was living in London previously (2012 – 2013), Dabbous was like the IT spot. You couldn’t get reservations, and if you could it was for months in advance. So imagine my surprise at how easy it was to book for the weekend of my birthday with not too much advance notice. But I think I see why.
What may have once been an awesome, cutting edge, creative dining experience was, for me, totally meh. And equally meh for two of my other dining companions. One liked it. But a 25% approval rate isn’t super enthralling.
The food, eh. First course of fennel and some sort of cream was only tolerable because of the cream. The second course with the pistachio paste at the bottom was lackluster. Third course, don’t even get me started about a slice of tomato on toast. It was like a caprese salad without the fun mozzarella bit. A crap-​ese salad if you will.
The meat courses were equally disappointing. We had what was essentially miso soup with eel thrown in instead of tofu. The veal was aiiiiiiiiiight, I guess?
The dessert was basically overnight oats but with pearl barley instead of oats, and just a big bowl of wtf.
What happened? Why is Dabbous literally the most disappointing Michelin star experience I’ve ever had? Why is the bathroom a shade off of pitch black?
Giant pile of meh.

Can it be worth the hype?
Oh yes it can.
I would leave the review there, but I’ve got to add 86 more characters. 14 now.
It was the beginning of a heatwave and there was a heady excitement in the air all across the city. You could feel it; you could breathe it. This was apt, for it matched the anticipation my significant other and I had to dine at this new titan of the London restaurant scene.
Five stars from Maschler, top marks from AA Gill — they all loved it. It was so hot it’d leave a professional fire-​eater off work for a week.
We got there and we liked the vibe. No white tablecloths here, no fussy waiters. In fact, they didn’t even set our cutlery correctly. I felt alive. More alive than I’ve ever been in a Michelin starred restaurant.
We ordered from the cocktail menu; inventive beer and cider concoctions from Oskar’s Bar in the connecting basement. The waiter served up my ‘Beer Grylls’ with a flourish. «Thank you,» I said. And I meant it. It was heavenly.
The rest of the sitting came in a delightful blur. Freshly baked bread served in a faux paper bag? You got it. Puréed pea and mint sorbet combining to create an explosion of flavour you didn’t know could happen? Tick. And oh for the dessert — a strawberry tart that didn’t just smell of summer, it REEKED of the season.
Yeah, I’ve been to a fair few Michelin graded spots. What of it? But Dabbous comes out top for me. And the XFM-​lite playlist that came on as service drew to a close? The perfect symphony.

From the second you walk in this inconspicuous restaurant good things just start to happen. I call that «Good Karma»!
We were late for our 8:00 reservation. The London Tube went on strike hours before and the streets were a mess. No problem for these nice people at Dabbous. Go downstairs and have a drink until the rest of your party gets here — and we did. I don’t know where their mixologist came from but holy molely did he concoct some amazing drinks. Some of the best cocktails I have ever tasted. Honest! I’m not blowing smoke here.
Our party arrives and we all choose the tasting menu #2 with wine pairings.
OK, without writing on and on for 30 more minutes, let me say that EVERYTHING was spectacular. Salads that weren’t salads, soups that weren’t soups and entrees that were so outside the box it defied imagination.
This chef /​owner is young, smart, creative and has an unbelievable sense of style and taste. I loved him and this place.
Oh yes, the cheese plate was to die for. Even the damn hand dryers in the restrooms were the best I’ve ever used.
So a «Good Karma» evening spent at Dabbous, yes you could say that.

I have to say I can’t agree with the critics’ review of this place. I commend the chef for his creativity and courage to bring clean flavors to the table. But personally the dishes just didn’t work for me. While the dishes were certainly inventive, the flavours just didn’t work. The mushroom dish with bacon and summer truffles was lacking punch and earthiness of the mushroom, the beef was tough and came with an asparagus like veg which was really grainy. The only saving grace was the turbot. Beautifully smoked with a lemon creamy sauce which blended so harmoniously with the fish and has just the right amount of zest. But otherwise, the remaining dishes were quite disappointing

Dabbous exemplifies the best of top tier dining. Impeccable service, enjoyable ambience, exquisite plates on a chef’s tasting menu, nice wine offerings, and a creative cocktail list all combine for a wonderful dining experience.
The décor is modern with an industrial edge, right at home in its gentrified urban environment. The modest size of the establishment gave a sense of coziness, the thought of a tradesman’s workshop, rather than a post-​industrial factory, played on my subconscious.
The smallish environs also allowed a very attentive staff to meet every need. More importantly, it felt personal.
I went for the Tasting Menu (1 of 2 options though presumably vegetarians are given substitutes). An onslaught began of delicate creations across a spectrum of flavors – from alium soup (consisting of a number of members of genus Alium: onion, leek, etc.) to a delicate haddock, to pulled veal belly. I did opt for the English cheese dish with 4 different tastes and would recommend it. I felt that the chef was playing with my mind a little bit with an approach that had elements of molecular gastronomy – that is the appearance of a dish may evoke an idea of flavor, but once it hits the palate those expectations are pleasingly shattered.
The wine pairing was great, especially for the patrons in smaller groups. I probably would have dabbled with the bottle list if our table had 6 folks – the range of flavors in the food demanded a wide range of accompanying wines.
5-​stars all the way.

Before you come here, you have to realise that there’s no way that any establishment — restaurant, bar or otherwise — can live up to the crushing expectation that a five-​star Faye review can bestow. Plus, of course, the hype of a million breathy reviews from delirious bloggers and mentions in the Standard magazine.
The press surrounding a place like Dabbous is essentially symbolic of London media’s self-​congratulatory attitude towards its restaurants and food culture. Never mind that London’s budget restaurants wither in comparison to their New York or Paris counterparts (i.e. we should be judging based on how well the median and below eat), we have a guy here who’s putting scrambled egg back in eggshells! Because the London media does not know who Alain Passard is.
The food here is good, but not worth a months-​long wait for. Yes, it’s creative, but as far as I’m aware Jason Atherton and Nuno Mendes are still cooking in London. It’s not exactly going to change how you see food and restaurants. The plaudits also seem to come for the seemingly stripped-​down experience, but unlike somewhere like Chateaubriand, the interior is very deliberate and service is very conscientious — it is still a fine dining experience.
Dabbous and his team are obviously a very talented bunch. The coddled egg is delicious, and I wish there had been more of it. The alliums (onions) were a beautiful dish, but flavour wise pretty underwhelming. The Iberico pork was a highlight, but my favourite part was actually the radish tops — I can still remember the acidity and brightness. And the bread rivals Hedone’s as some of the best in London. If it were a restaurant with less hype, I think more people would legitimately be enamoured with it. But as its reservation book and reputation now somehow stands on a par with places similarly groaning under the weight of their multiple Michelin stars, the experience by comparison loses some of its lustre.

Amazing modern european cuisine, following the motto «less is more». A relaxed and alert staff. Too top it all up there’s a bar downstairs to match. Tables are quite hard to come by so make sure to call in advance.

This place is wonderful, a real treat, we try to go twice a year as a treat. Also, i think the bar downstairs is one of London’s hidden gems — you can always get a seat, the atmosphere and music is great and the cocktails are breathtaking. I’ve worked my way through the menu over the last year and my favourite is the basil fawltey — gin, elderflower and basil — delicious.
The food usually lives up to the standards of the drinks but i do wonder if it’s gone off the boil recently. We had the set menu overt he weekend and there wasn’t the memorable stand out dish you usually get. The food is well executed and beautifully presented but not WOW.
One the plus side though, they do take food allergies very seriously.

This place does not live up to the hype. Please cancel your reservations if you got any.
We had reservations for two at 1pm, and we arrived at about 1240pm, to a half-​empty restaurant. They told us our table wasn’t ready and told us to go down to the bar at the basement for drinks.
After 30 minutes (you need that long to set up an empty table?!), we were told it was ready. I was slightly miffed because that table was empty when I came in, and this was probably their way of getting us to spend on drinks. Very annoying. Shows no respect for their diners’ time.
We had the lunch set for £28 and chose the supplement for an extra £5.
We each had the peas & mint, tomato on toast, coddled egg, grilled skate, barbequed beef, and then supplement = burrata with wild strawberries and fennel pollen.
The peas and mint were very interesting — looks almost like a garden in a bowl, with fresh peas, pea purée, a mint granita (I think). Tomato on toast was well, tomato on toast. Bread was served after this course and before the coddled egg. Wow! The bread was amazing. Freshly baked and served with a soft butter. If only the butter had more flavor, but I have no complaints about the bread.
The coddled egg was good, with mushrooms and smoked butter. It was served in an egg shell in a «nest» of sorts. My friend found it salty, but I have a high tolerance for salty food and this was pushing it, very very slightly.
My beef was mediocre, melt in my mouth yes, but soso, with some buttermilk that ruined the dish and some bitter leaves that were exceedingly bitter. Nom, NOT!
The burrata was the best bit of the meal, with freshly made burrata, strawberries, and pollen (more like honey, really). I found service here very snooty but prompt. I didn’t feel very welcome and it felt like they had their noses in the air most of the time (not literally).
Would I come back? Most probably not. Save your money, eat elsewhere. I don’t know why the service was so snooty. The restaurant isn’t even serving haute cuisine for goodness’ sake!

£28 for a 4 course lunch and a carafe of perfectly drinkable wine for less than £20? Win!
This was a truly exceptional meal. I don’t know which was my favourite course– the coddled egg, or the crispy fengruke chicken or the scallops or the buratta. They were all excellent. To the point where my mother, who is oft not impressed and doesn’t talk about food a lot still talks about it. She wants me to bring my sib, but you know, tables are kinda hard to come by for this place.*
Our only complaint will be the tables are set super close here (and I was having lunch with a super tiny size 0 person, who thought there was not enough space), but no tighter than restaurants of the same stature. Hey, hey, we just don’t like people, ok?
I’ll definitely loved to be back, but with the planning involved in getting a table to dine at this super delicious, super reasonable restaurant, I fear that my super disorganization is running against me.
*Actually it’s not too bad getting a lunch table. I only booked 1 month in advance.

London truly is at the gastronomic cutting edge at the moment with many fine dining establishments opening, clearly aiming for a Michelin star with their style of food presentation, décor and service. Recession? What recession?
All of which serves to remind me about one of the restaurant successes of last year, which was almost the exact opposite. Dabbous is the eponymous restaurant of Ollie Dabbous, whose CV includes stints at leading restaurants such as Mugaritz, Hibiscus and Texture
At the time I dined, the restaurant had been open for 3 months and they already had a waiting list of 6 months. The success of Ollie’s flavour-​centered food rested on the universally fantastic reviews he received from all the food critics. I have never seen such a collection of praise for any one establishment and happily, Michelin blessed him with a well deserved star in their 2013 edition
On the evening I dined there with a friend, the front of house dealt well with my reservation, which was missing from their computer on my arrival. They seated me and my friend in their cavernous bar downstairs while they sorted us out a table by juggling. Very classy
As we knew it would be a very long time before we would be able to dine there again, we asked the waited to supplement the tasting menu with other dishes from the a la carte
Our meal ran as follows
1. Peas and mint
2. Mixed alliums in a pine nut infusion
3. Fennel salad
4. Coddled hen egg with woodland mushrooms and smoked butter
5. Halibut with lemon verbena sauce
6. Squid with seaweed, radishes & toasted buckwheat
7. Barbecued Iberico pork, savoury acorn praline, turnip tops & homemade apple vinegar
8. Lamb shoulder, runner beans & lesser calamint
9. Artisanal British cheeses, baked apple & toasted sourdough
10. Iced lovage
11. Custard cream pie
12. Chocolate & virgin olive oil ganache, basil moss, sheep’s milk ice cream
13. Caneles
The style of cooking and presentation was modern but never over-​fussy and the number priority in all the dishes was the flavour. The food was always designed to maybe put a smile on your face when you saw it but to definitely leave a smile on your face when you put it in your mouth
My favourite dishes were the coddled egg, which was a byword for umami flavour and the Iberico pork, which was cleverly paired with the foodstuffs which make up the diet of the Iberico pig
Compared to quite a few of the new openings like Awai and HKK where perhaps style has been elevated over substance, Dabbous remains true to its flavour roots. My tip is to book now for whenever you can get a table and wait patiently — it will be worth it

This was our second visit to Dabbous. We were so impressed with our first visit that we had made a reservation to visit again, on the spot. It is fair to say that expectations were high for the second time around. Unfortunately, I found it a bit average. There were interesting and unusual flavour combinations, but only one or two of them hit the spot for me.
* Fennel salad, pickled rose petals and lemon balm. They really like their fennel here. The rose petals made for an interesting contrast. I ate a few of them separately because I couldn’t believe what I was tasting.
* Muscat grapes, lovage and almond milk. This was a weird one, not so much a meal but a random combination of ingredients which worked well. I enjoyed the texture and flavour of each spoonful of almond milk with grapes.
* Carrot in oxtail gravy. This was underwhelming. It was literally a carrot lying down in a pool of gravy, next to a dollop of white sauce. Nice flavours, but really not much to the dish.
* Monkfish with warm water shrimps. Plain fish which was offset by the strong flavour of the accompaniments.
* Mackerel. My wife had this course, instead of the monkfish. Mackerel appears to be the trendy dish at the moment. It looked somewhat alone on the side of a large plate, but I am told that it tasted very nice.
* Veal, late summer vegetables, chrysanthemums and light cheese broth. This threw both of us, because when the dish was presented, we both heard «lychees broth» when we were told the description! This doesn’t taste like lychee, we said to each other… it’s more cheese than fruit… ah, maybe he said «light cheese»!
* Burrata with tamarillo & fennel pollen. This was an optional course, and I regretted it. But, it is probably more because I haven’t acquired the taste for this cheese. It had the texture of mozzarella, but not the flavour. Somewhat bitter.
* Chilled lemon verbena infusion with cucumber & perilla. This was the smallest dish of the night by far. Literally a small bowl of sweet liquid with very thin batons of cucumber. This was disappointing.
* Orange blossom beignet. This one was pretty cool. A doughnut, almost as big as a tennis ball, wrapped in paper. It was generously filled with an orange vanilla cream. Very nice, but hard to eat without bursting the cream out of the side.