Fera at Claridge’s

I had an absolutely fabulous meal here on a recent Sunday evening. I had the full tasting menu with wine pairings and was blown away by the inventiveness of the cuisine, wine pairings and staff.
I had just landed in London on a business trip from San Francisco and was dining alone. I enjoyed myself so much during the meal that I may need to dine alone more often in the future. The staff went out of their way to discuss the ingredients used in each course and wine pairings in detail.
I’ve attached the tasting menu as a photo to this review. I can’t say that I had a favorite but I did find the mackerel ceviche to be quite unique and delicious.
My colleagues in London told me that Fera is the place to dine in Mayfair if budget is not constrained, I concur with that opinion.

Creative, impressive, delicious food and the service was perfect. After reading other reviews I can’t imagine what people expect from food?!
Go! it’s worth it.

To sum it up, I had a good meal at Fera but I just find it lacked the sophistication and creativity in its cooking that I’ve encountered on my first visit. Personally I don’t think set lunch or even the ALC menu can really showcase what Simon Rogan is capable of. The tasting menu is the only way to go if you want to truly experience the undoubtedly unique style of Simon’s cooking.

Excellent restaurant, Michelin star or not, it gets 5 stars from me because of the dedication to the flavors of each dish I had. In particular, I am very impressed by the ingredients used by the chef. As the theme of the restaurant is «wild» (FERA), the chef’s dedication to using the best in season ingredients certainly can be tasted in every bite!

I dined at Fera the other night for a friend’s birthday, as he had previously been to the restaurant and declared it one of his favourites in London and Simon Rogan one of his favourite chefs. We booked through Bookatable on the Taste of Fera set menu, which features 5 courses for £65 (though the menu changes based on availability). When we arrived, the staff presented him with a handwritten card, which I thought was really sweet. We started with cocktails to celebrate, and I got the «pershore cox apple, anise hyssop, raspberry vodka» and he got the «herb bunch, sweet citrus, rum.» Mine ended up tasting quite herbal, kind of like liquorice, and by contrast I found the rum based drink much more pleasant, as it was the right balance of sweet but with a strong kick of alcohol. We were given the choice to go with the set menu or to order a la carte if it didn’t suit us, but it looked great so we ordered a bottle of Riesling for wine and went right ahead.
Our amuse bouche was a delicate wafer topped with blue cheese mousse and edible flowers. The cheese was very strong and the flowers didn’t add much to the taste, but it looked very pretty. The starter course was an interesting pea mousse that tasted exactly like it sounds, light and refreshing. It was served at the same time with one of their signature dishes, stewed rabbit that has been coated in batter and bread crumbs and fried like tempura. I would have never expected stewed rabbit to be served that way, but it was very unique and enjoyable. This was probably my favourite part of the meal. Next we had some bread as a separate course, which was dark, made with stout, and served with a delightfully light whipped butter that had fresh salt flakes on top.
Our first main course was a small cod fillet with a mussel on top and slightly charred gem lettuce, followed by a second main featuring a tasty cut of pork belly. They were well executed, with typical European menu fare, but lacking the superb creativity of some of the earlier dishes. Both of the dessert courses had a white «snow,» which has a delicate, light look to it, and the first time around I wasn’t even expecting it to be cold. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to get the same item featured twice, but it came with strawberries the first time and a cream the second time. We also got some petit fours at the end, consisting of a pumpkin seed coated square and a raspberry macaron.
All in all, I found Fera was well suited for a special occasion meal. The service was outstanding and the courses came out promptly, one after another, and were all announced with great enthusiasm. There was definitely a higher level of attentiveness that I have not seen at other recent Michelin star dining experiences. The set menu offers good value and a wide selection of notable dishes, and I was honestly full by the end of the main courses. It’s a decent price point, especially compared to the full tasting menu, though after the cocktails and the wine, the bill was still quite steep. Perhaps as a result, it was not very difficult to get a table, as I had only booked the week before. The restaurant was at least half empty when we started dining at 7 PM, and filled up gradually throughout the night. You never feel like it is too busy or hectic, and it is actually quite an elegant, relaxed dining experience.

Simon Rogen’s newest offering Fara (Latin for ‘wild’) is thoroughly deserved of its 2015 inclusion in Michelin’s guide. The Fara /​wild theme is a subtle theme throughout with edible flowers, micro-​leaves and tastes throughout.
Experienced the well balanced lunch menu (Velouté, Roasted Cabbage and Apple Cake) and as expected was blown away by the complex layers of flavours and textures of each and every course.
I shan’t wax lyrical about each dish as I will be here for hours however will say that each was as attractive as it tasted!
The surroundings of the restaurant are beautifully Art Deco with an unobtrusive modern twist, as is the delivery by the discreet yet engaging waiting staff.
The set-​lunch menu is tremendously good value for such a culinary amble though a forest glade.
Thoroughly worth a visit, need to get booked onto that tasting menu soonish!

Couldn’t be happier about a dining experience. The venue was beautiful, service impeccable. We had the lunch set menu, which was IMO a huge bargain. The food was something special — was a mix a great flavors — bold but very balanced. Would highly recommend it to anyone!

Situated in luxurious surroundings of Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair, Fera’s environment felt relaxed and not that formal. Lots of friendly staff looking after you. A window right to the kitchen allows you to glance at an army of chefs hard at work.
It was a very pleasant surprise to have chef Simon Rogan himself introducing a couple of his dishes at the table from a delicious 12-​course set menu of actually non-​sophisticated down-​to-​earth food.
Despite a dozen courses and a variety of ingredients, it didn’t feel like being too much at the end of the meal and was all well-​balanced. Stewed rabbit with lovage, mackerel with caviar and seawater cream, iced beech leaf with nitro sweet cheese, chamomile milkshake — to name a few dishes that will excite your taste buds.
Overall, really enjoyed the new restaurant. Being open for just 4 months it has already received its first Michelin star. It’s definitely worth it for a special treat.
Would visit again? Only after visiting L’Enclume.

The real hype about Simon Rogan’s Fera at Claridges may have passed as we had no real issues snagging a table for lunch despite poor planning (it may have helped to have a concierge service arrange it but I did get the distinct impression it was not really difficult). We opted for lunch as we were already doing some other full tasting menus the same week so the lunch seemed a good way to sample Fera’s offering before going for an evening tasting menu.
The design of the place is fairly nice, it somehow brings out a calm and tranquil feel and design fits well with the focus on seasonal produce.
The set lunch deal is great value at £30 for three courses. There is a choice of two starters, two mains and two desserts. We made sure to order different dishes to be able to try all of it.
Before the starter a beautiful amuse bouche was served, flowers and herbs and a cheese. Flavor wise it was however a tad disappointing. The bread with the caramelized butter was however great.
The starters offered was a lovely smoked bantam yolk with kohlrabi and a great dish with beets. Both were as almost as beautiful as the amuse but these were also great to eat. Well-​balanced and felt fresh and if not innovative at least not boring. The focus on seasonal produce was clear.
The mains were plaice and hen. Both lovely dishes as well and at this point we started filling up a bit but dessert still to come. The apple crumble/​cake was great while the chocolate dessert was a bit boring (as chocolate desserts often are, sometimes it feels as if they are on there out of a sense of obligation to have something with chocolate).
Service was good but slight hick-​up on bill, resulting in a wait and the addition of contribution to a charity (just hate when they add that with asking and then add service charge on top of it…) brings down the marks a bit. Food was great but still room for improvement but good enough for me to consider it for an evening visit.

We came here for a special lunch event during the London Restaurant festival. I was excited to give it a try, as I had heard a lot of good things about Simon Rogan’s food. When we were seated, because it was during the festival, we were seated at a shared table with another couple (which is fine I get it).
First off the room itself is gorgeous. And it’s massive. Which is a bit of a problem to be honest. As the room slowly filled up, the noise level just kept increasing to where it was just a bunch of noise and it was hard to talk to my partner at a normal conversational level. That got really frustrating. And also the service. It was just a bit subpar for such a high quality restaurant. I don’t know if it was because they just couldn’t handle the number of people who came to the event, but I just expected better.
The food, however, was terrific. We had a couple of small dishes to start. The smoked venison was incredibly tasty and the mackerel was some of the best I’ve had. The brown butter they served with the bread was heavenly. The beetroot was tasty, but my partner’s dish had a snail in it. Apparently they don’t check the fresh picked greens that well. It was cute, and they brought another one out, but it seems a bit odd that it would have even happened. Pretty much all the courses were good, and the desserts were really spectacular. There was a rapeseed jam (or a sweet mayonnaise) with one of the desserts that I had to ask how it was made.
We also got a tour of the kitchen when we were done. So that was pretty cool. But the service and the noise level kind of brought the whole experience down for me, and in all honesty, it’s made it unlikely that we’ll head back.

Set lunch is fabulous value. Beautiful food and restaurant. Staff are a particular highlight. Service was friendly and impeccable. All dishes we had were flawless but of exception were the tomatoes and garlic custard appetiser and the raspberry and buttermilk pudding. Skate was also wonderful. But its pointless me highlighting particular dishes for you as blink and they are gone. One of the most appealing thing about this restaurant and Simon rogan is that he changes his dishes with the weather and seasons and dishes are based around short lived and often foraged ingredients just know everything is delicious.
Especially the bread and do try the coffee. It’s proper. They know their stuff. Go be pampered.

I went for dinner — in summary, I am not so sure if this deserves even three star… Everything about thus place is just mediocre and for the level it tries to operate in, frankly it is not good enough… It is a much hyped new restaurant in this prestigious hotel — Food good but not great, service is very well staffed but not elegant, setting is nice Art Deco but really too big and too crowded for the level it operates in.
The food is very produce forward and well crafted and definitely tasty… But it is not great — there is no click moment where you go wow! It just lacks that extra depth in flavour… And attention to details on produce cooking that is expected in this level is simply not there. For example, there was carrot on my plate — the carrot did not have much flavour… It was slightly undercooked… It is hard to say whether it was intensional but for sure, it did not allow the maximum potential of the carrot flavour to come out…
Service is another element — all the staffs are young and friendly but not professional… It lacks seamless operations. Everything is a bit clumsy… For example, the lady poured wine and when she put down the bottle, she made noise and the bottle rattled… And she did not even make a note of it. Very small thing but the details are what differentiate ordinary to world class and simply, this restaurant lacks it.
Try once but do not have too high of expectations.

Delicious and amazing atmosphere. Live music provided a great dinner atmosphere and food was over the top amazing! We had the oysters and the chefs dozen. Fresh and fabulous. Chicken pot pie had very flaky crust and was rich and delicious, served with mashed potatoes on the side.

Similar to L’enclume and Roganic, Simon Rogan’s new restaurant Fera at Claridge’s whisks you away on a trip to the forest in the middle of a city, edible flowers and greenery galore. The restaurant is elegant with a high ceiling and a view of the bustling kitchen. It’s one of the few fine dining restaurants that makes you feel at ease instead of on show.
As soon as reservations went up last month, I immediately called the reservation line and made a reservation for opening week. Service and food were impeccable, with Simon and his line chefs coming out to serve some of the dishes. Despite Simon’s comment about the last two weeks’ frenzy to put everything in place, the whole operation was flawless.
Once seated, we were given three options: £85 for a choice of appetizer, main, and dessert from an a la carte menu, £95 for a 10 course, £125 for a 21 course. We went for the 10 course and left satisfied. The experience was similar to the other two Rogan restaurants in that the food and even the dinnerware feel like they’ve been inspired by nature. We loved everything but asterisks were our faves.
Pea flour wafers, salt cod mousse,
Marinated Sturgeon, sea water cream
Tunworth cheese and duck hearts
Oyster, cabbage, Black saison
Raw beef and smoked broccoli cream,
scallop roe and acidic apple juice
*Prawns from Gairloch, parsnips with meadowsweet
chard leaves and violet flowers (BF said he usually dislikes prawns but this was the best prawn he’s ever eaten)
Brill braised in whey flavoured with alexander seeds,
blewitts, whelks, sea asters
*Middle White Pork jowl, warm herb sabayon,
white purple sprouting, mead reduction (so delicate and soft)
*Baked yoghurt, pear poached in verjus,
mountain mint and muscovado
Iced Beech leaf, nitro sweet cheese and apples,
syrup of sweet bracken
Chamomile milkshake and malt chocolate
We thought the macarons encased in smoke were delicious and a perfect finale to the dinner, but then we were taken into the kitchen and given a tour. Best night ever!

Food magical, location beautiful, staff enormously attentive .
OK it is the opening week … Eat here now before the food gets worse, the staff to customers decreases or the price goes up …
It is in the current spring version beautiful English styled food, The lamb and turnip dish was fabulous (and I personally dislike both turnips and lamb).
Much like the previous Simon Organ restaurant in London there is a little more roast dried leaves than necessary …
But my basic advice remains… Eat here now …