Launceston Place

As expected, another wonderful dinner at Launceston Place, the dishes were completely different to my last visit but the essence and spirit of Tim’s creative style remains the same. Some very refreshing flavours and strange uses of ingredient arrangements but they worked wonders in most cases. It is always good to see a restaurant that continues to push forward and seek perfection. Places like Dinner by Heston Blumenthal still cook pretty much the same dishes since it was opened and I just can’t see what is the appeal to go back if you always get the same thing over and over again. But pushing the boundaries always carries a risk but in Tim’s case, I definitely see plenty of progression compared to my very first visit. Tim and his team have indeed got a bright future ahead if they carry on like this.

We experienced a fairly formal atmosphere, not as «warm» as other reviewers have stated but was fine with us and would be perfect for special occasion dining. Fairly quiet, hushed tones, somewhat older and more reserved clientèle, male customers in suits for the most part.
My wife and I got the market menu and, while not looking for value, it was a tremendous value for the quality of food. Wine is not cheap but if we had drank more of it we maybe would have noticed that.
Food was spectacular. Delicious, interesting flavours and textures, and some of the best presentation I have ever seen, and we’ve eaten at many Michelin star restaurants. I would probably rate this 2 Michelin stars, definitely a cut above the other 1 star places we’ve eaten at in London.
It was somewhat shocking to us (having moved to London from NYC recently) that some prime tables remained empty the whole evening. I think this quality of food deserves better patronage!

One of the more interesting 1* michelin restaurants in London. Every course is prepared like a piece of art, and more interesting as the tasting menu progresses. Topping it off with one of the best deserts I’ve had in London (raspberry and caramelised white chocolate). Impressive cheese and wine selection too.

We went here for a valentine’s day dinner. The reception was welcoming and we were seating very quickly. The atmosphere of the restaurant was relaxed especially on this eventful evening. I loved the décor too! The duck egg dish was delicious! We also had a scallop dish that honestly can’t go wrong because it’s one of my favourite ingredients. The dessert was death by chocolate and bananas so a wonderful way to finish off a lovely meal. I also ordered a cocktail (something I rarely do) and would recommend the cosmopolitan. Overall, for £90 per person plus drink it was a nice experience with lovely food and delicious drinks. I would recommend coming here for a date as it has a nice vibe and side conversations but is not too loud.

A few points prior to the meal — this is fine dining. Reservation times should be respected. Service is excellent: attentive, friendly and not intrusive. Our servers were professional and helpful. The food was exceptional and beautifully presented.
Menu had 3 and 5 course menus providing choices for various courses and came with amuse bouche and palate cleansers. There menu is changed seasonally to bring the best of the season’s offerings in elegant ways. Having had the three course offering I was elated with the delicate balance of tastes and textures. I found every course to be seasoned perfectly, plated with expert consideration to providing delight to the guests. The tomato consume amuse bouche brought your taste buds to attention. I enjoyed the quail (hay smoked egg was wonderful!), veal with raviolis (delicious!) and pineapple to share for dessert. Ice cream was amazing! With so much taste in the dessert the only thing I could possibly wish different was that the accompanying cheesecake was a bit lost as it was a more subtle flavour. On its own it would probably have been perfect. Light and fresh tasting.
Wines we had were perfect. Overall an experience I will not soon forget!

We booked Launceston Place for a pre-​show meal due to its proximity to the Royal Albert Hall.
The dining room was beautiful. Too bad about a leaking roof.
(note: the manager contacted me after this review to explain it was not a leaking roof but air conditioner condensation — regardless, there were drops of water gathering and falling from the roof).
As for the food. We definitely enjoyed elements of our meal. If a diner has issues with butter or cream, then this probably isn’t the restaurant for them. This is also not a restaurant if you are interested in «simple» food — each dish is complex, using foams, mousses, and jellies.
We knew the meal was fixed price three courses but on the booking had noted our time limit due to the show we were attending. We told the wait staff we would take two of the three courses. Indeed one of our crowd only took one.
At the end of the meal — on limited time — we asked to please have the water and £5 supplement for a main course removed from our bill. We felt this appropriate because we were not able to enjoy the full meal, and equally it was not a «big ask» of the staff. The chef agreed to comp the water, but not the $ 5 supplement.
In my opinion, perhaps our request was too much, driven by high expectations of customer service one would hope to expect from a restaurant with a reputation such as the Launceston. But our request was handled clumsily, and the general impression when the chef refused to remove the £5 supplement was that Launceston Place may be beautiful but it is stingy.
In my opinion a restaurant only has one chance to make a good first impression — it is the job of front of house to operate seamlessly, to ensure this impression is made. And it is the role of the chef to set the tone, to create an atmosphere for excellence. Unfortunately in this case Launceston Place blew their chance to create that great first impression.
I hope the next diner has a better experience than us. Especially as the room is truly beautiful.

1A Launceston Place London W8 5RL — my second favorite side street in London besides Cheval Place — posh restaurant and fine dining
Emily Rose Reeder

Truly epic meal; first day of trip we slid in here still half asleep straight from the New York red eye; tho we had no rez, they fit us in: the food all sublime (an intermezzo of cauliflower cream with lentils so good one could weep and the famous duck egg may be the richest most extraordinary dish ever); lovely wine gracious (but not officious) service all in an elegant but not pretentious setting; truly special

We came here for a special birthday dinner. It has a warm neighbourhood restaurant feel, almost hidden among the houses in the area. We both had the tasting menu with a celebratory glass of champagne to commence and a bottle of Californian red wine to enjoy for the rest of the evening.
We were originally seated close to a pair of loud women. It was going to be too annoying so we asked to be moved to a different table, and they were happy to do this for us. I noticed that another couple also came in shortly after us and it seemed that they had had the same issue with the same loud people. Obviously, this isn’t something the restaurant can do much to avoid, but I appreciated their response to help us.
The overall service was amiable and helpful, but sometimes you felt like you needed to look for them if you stood up to, say, look for the bathroom. It is one-​Michelin star service, not three-​Michelin star service.
The amuse bouches were nice and simple. Two of them, really, which came out separately. Light pastry puffs with a blue cheese filling and mini croquettes, followed by a small glass of cauliflower soup.
The bread selection was not too special. They had white and brown choices, but they both seemed like breads you would get in the supermarket.
The tasting menu proper:
* Cornish Mackerel. Cold smoked and grilled, rose gooseberries and tartare, charred cucumber and iced grain mustard. Mackerel seems to be the «in» thing at the moment, and when it is prepared like this, it is easy to see why. This was one of the highlights. Tender and delicious.
* Warm Allenheads Grouse. Cobnuts, crumbed frozen fois gras, iberico lardo and peaches. The combination was good, but for me the peaches were not quite ripe enough.
* West Coast Scallop and Iberian pig’s cheek. Carrot and star anise, romanesco cauliflower, sesame and five spice. It must have been a big scallop to begin with, because mine came out cut into a square shape. It was well cooked, though: nice colouring on the outside but not overcooked in the middle.
For the main course, we had an option. I decided on the plaice and my wife had the veal fillet.
* Hand speared plaice, english crayfish and seashore herbs. The plaice was well-​prepared, but for me it doesn’t have much flavour. I think it is more about the texture and what accompanies it on the plate. It came with a mini «sausage» made of crayfish which looked like it would take a lot of effort to prepare. Except for that, it looked like a very simple dish.
* English veal fillet, porcini mash, girolles and madeira sauce. In retrospect, I think this was the better main. The veal was cooked to the right point of rareness and the porcini mash was delicious.
* Selection of English and French cheeses. While we were asked what types of cheeses we preferred, it would have been better if we were shown the cheese trolley and could choose some directly from there.
* Lemon. A simple name, but a very refreshing cleanser of lemon done many ways: icecream, granita and mousse. All three parts were equally good and this was one of my favourite courses.
* Apricot soufflé, apricot brandy sauce and its own sorbet. This was the top highlight for me. I am a fan of desserts, but even allowing for that, this was the course that I would still remember months down the line. The waiter presented the souffles in front of us, as if he were delivering a prize for inspection. It’s great when the soufflé rises perfectly, as these ones did. To our false cries of objection, he punctured the top and poured in the apricot brandy sauce. So delicious! I savoured every spoonful.
We rounded off the meal with coffee and tea and petits fours. We were so full and content that we ordered a minicab to take us home, rather than negotiate the tube system.

This was the first Michelin starred restaurant of our trip, and also the first we’d ever tried. We had a good experience — it is located in a charming, quiet neighborhood and is bright and minimalistic inside.
The set lunch menu is a pretty good deal; we happened to be there for Sunday lunch. We were served 2 amuses — choux pastries with bechamel inside and a tomato slush of sorts that somehow captured the best flavors a tomato can offer.
I got the duck egg to start and hubby tried the grouse. Both dishes were light and well made. I loved the baby peas on mine. Then I had the plaice with homemade linguini that was smothered in a butter sauce. Sinfully rich, yet somehow still light. I did find a couple bones in my fish, which isn’t a big deal to me but apparently is a no-​no for a nice place. To their credit, at a 3 star place in Paris I also found a few bones. A European thing? Anyhow, hubby’s pork ‘presa’ was delicious, an elevated take on classic comfort food.
We finished with the chocolate mousse and baked English custard. If I had to only pick one I’d go with the custard, not that the mousse wasn’t great but I have had similar elsewhere.
Looking back now that our trip is over, this is a very good restaurant but maybe not as creative as the other one star places we tried.

Launceston Place is probably the best budget up scale dinning experience I’ve ever had in London. Which is the reason why I visit it at least once when ever in London.
Price-​wise I think this is the place to beat in terms of quality and creativity among the one star Michelin places in London. One might find the lunch set menu somewhat limited but for the price asked I’ll still believe it offers a great variety. Considering the fact you are spoiled with Amuse-​bouche in between your set lunch courses it is plenty of food and variety one might desire especially if one prefers the lunch to be a somewhat lighter meal of the day.
Still for those who prefer a bigger variety LP offers a market menu that is utterly satisfying and still a good bang for the buck. This intricate menu is where I for instance found my favourite starter of all time; The Cornish Mackerel.
The attentive, but never in your face, staff offer great service and friendly accommodation that together with the food and the cool ambiance of the restaurant makes me believe this is a place hungry and striving for another Michelin star. And I for one think they should and deserve to get it.

I decided on my last [leisure/​non-​work] trip to London to go to a top-​notch restaurant. I’m a bit spoiled by NYC restaurants so I wanted to see what London had to offer. It did not disappoint!
I believe I found Launceston Place on a travel blog or in an online version of a London mag/​newspaper. The reviews looked enticing and the pre fixe menu (the Market Menu) at £48 wasn’t too bad on my wallet. I got to the restaurant about 20 minutes early and they were able to accommodate me. Granted, the place looked a bit sparse of diners.
The entire wait staff was ready to go and pounced on me when I got in. I think I had at least 4 people walk by in the first 5 minutes I was sitting there: host/​Maître d’, server, sommelier, and a water server. It was a bit much considering it was just me but they weren’t overbearing and pushing me to make some choices. That’s pretty much how service progressed throughout the meal — plenty of people ready, willing and able.
First course: spring vegetable salad (truffle cream cheese, pickled carrots, salt baked vegetables, grain mustard and honey) rocked. It was the highlight of the meal. Very well flash-​cooked veggies dressed in a nice vinaigrette with truffle shavings and the truffle cheese. I LOVE truffles. End of story.
Unfortunately the main course left a little to be desired. I ordered the Rhug Estate organic chicken. Wonderful in theory — executed with a lot too much salt. I think I made it through ²⁄₃ of the course and put my fork down. I did tell the server but there wasn’t much they could do at that point. My mistake in continuing to eat it.
Dessert course (for me cheese course) was nothing spectacular though the server nailed it with her descriptions of the local cheese selection. Just enough to round out my meal with a few sweet notes.
The sommelier made some excellent suggestions in apertifs as well as wine to accompany my meal.

This was the best dining experience I’ve had since moving to London 9 months ago.
To start, and the most important to me, the food is excellent. We had the Market Menu which is 48 pounds/​person and was plenty of food. Also keep in mind that the kitchen sends small inter-​dishes throughout the meal so don’t be afraid of only having three small plates.
Together for appetizers we had sweetbreads and the duck egg and the duck egg was the winner. That doesn’t mean the sweetbreads were bad, but the duck egg was very very good. I am a sweetbreads fan and it was great to see them well cooked as opposed to simply deep fried. For mains we had the Iberico pork and hake, both of which were again great. The plating is creative and everything was well cooked and worked with the dish. For dessert we had their listed soufflé and convinced them to include their special soufflé on the tasting menu — both were flawlessly executed.
Additionally, the service is attentive and but very friendly. I typically don’t complain/​rave about service unless it’s terrible but the staff was noticeably great. Others may disagree but I found the muted scenery to be fine and worked well with the non-​oppressive staff. It almost allowed the food to really be the star of the evening.
With pre-​dinner cocktails and a bottle of wine the meal is on the expensive side (~200 pounds) but we were both very satisfied. I will make a return trip for a special occasion

Funnily enough I was drafting this review starting out with «A restaurant that is Michelin worthy» to find out that it has finally earned one a few months ago. It’s been over a year since I last been but glad to see this place gets the recognition it deserves.
I’ve been to LP for both lunch and dinner and both very amazing but different experiences. My first impression of LP was over a weekend lunch. The set menu has limited choices but really good value. I was lucky enough (and worked bloody damn hard!) to get treated to dinner as a work event. This was the first time I’ve experienced a wine pairing tasting menu and up until this point — I had no idea you can enjoy food so much.
It’s definitely one of my favorite restaurants in London. Go on, spoil yourself rotten!

An upmarket bistro in elegant Kensington feels like a little bit of Paris. On a quiet residential street which also incidentally looks a bit like the Parisian Left Bank, the warm velvet interior lit by candlelight is very bijoux and intimate. This is a grown up restaurant that had it been in Mayfair could ask for double the menu price, so it is quite a fine find both in quality of food and refined surroundings.
The staff were friendly and the food was first rate. There is really nothing negative to deter one from going there, especially for an anniversary or to impress a serious date. Its just that for me nothing really stood out as exciting or different which is why I only gave it 3 stars. It really is more 3 ½ stars in my mind as everything was exactly as it should be, tasted lovely, it was just nothing I hadn’t seen or eaten before. And there is nothing wrong with that. If you want a cozy place to have a relaxing meal and quiet conversation this is a perfect spot.

I have to say this had to be one of the most expensive restaurant I have ever been to in London. My flat mate’s birthday was on a Good Friday and his parents were in town. As a big group we decided to go to Launceston Place for dinner.
five fix menu by the birthday boy:
–Amuse Bouche
–Roasted Scallop
glazed pork belly, texture of apple and celeariac
— Angus and Charolais aged beef fillet
glazed forerib, truffle marrow bone and beef red wine sauce
–Pre Dessert
–Caramel Chocolate mousse
carpaccio of poached pear with cumin caramel, Breton
pastry and pear sorbet
The dinner was absolutely the best dinner I have ever in my life. I can’t describe anymore into detail about my food experience, but I can say that the staff experience was very professional and top notch.
I didn’t have to pay for the dinner, but what I heard from a quest of mine that had seen the bill. I was quite shock to how much the dinner for 8 people would cost. Are you ready… it was 650.00pounds plus the service charge.