Marianne

Great service, loved all courses and the ambiance is special being such a small place with only 6 tables.

one of the best kept secrets: Expensive but worth every penny. The blending of aromas was exeptionally perfect. Sservice was wonderful. What an evening!

I tasted the best nougat I’ve had in my life here. Maybe this is what nougat is suppose to taste like. I could write pages about it.
The restaurant size is intimate and cosy, proper for a date ot lunch meeting.
The service was very attentive and welcoming wich always makes a good impression.
Reminder: book your dinner weeks ahead since they have like fourteen seats!

Exceptional from start to finish.
Given that it’s such a small venue (there were 12 people seated during the night we went) the ambiance is quite cosy and familiar, almost like you’re at a dinner party rather than a restaurant. The two fellas serving as hosts/​waiters/​sommeliers/​etc. were great — very friendly, knowledgeable, efficient.
The food itself is wonderful. Each dish was delicious. All well constructed and nicely presented, none overwrought. Every course was a highlight in its own right, but standouts included:
Spring white truffle linguini
Fillet & pressed featherblade of rose veal with jersey royals, early English asparagus & wild garlic
Soufflé of vanilla & wild strawberries with gariguette sorbet
The three-​round dessert finale (pre dessert, dessert and petits fours) was a fantastic finish to the meal. If you weren’t full by the time you got to dessert, the amply proportioned soufflé made sure you were.
The wine list is not outrageous but certainly adequate. I think there was probably less than 100 bottles on offer — which is obviously a lot, but not like some top class restaurants. The wine list is well curated, though, and covers all the bases. Instead of having a different wine with each course, my partner and I opted for an Argentinian blend — the producer escapes me — that was delicious. The vintage was 2010, the vineyard in Mendoza.
It is a fairly expensive meal at Marianne, but certainly more reasonable than some other restaurants of this caliber. The total for our meal, which included two tasting menus, a GBP 58 bottle of wine, two bottles of water and one espresso, came to GBP 270. (That figure includes service charge.)
Overall, I was extremely satisfied with my experience at Marianne. I would happily go again and will definitely recommend the place to others. I can see this place becoming even more popular, so I’m glad I got to visit while it is, having opened in late 2013, still relatively young.

Simply excellent. WIth seating for only 14, Marianne’s books up months in advance. It is worth the wait. There were four of us, and we managed to try just about everything on the menu. Every dish was just perfect… beautiful on the plate, and the palate. This is a foody’s restaurant, not to be rushed, and not for everyone. We loved it.

Just amazing, a tiny restaurant with simply wonderful food; dinner is booked out for months ahead, as they only have fourteen seats, but we got in relatively easily for lunch. It shows a great understanding of food to create a short menu with a choice of only three dishes in each course, every single one of which I guarantee you will want to eat, we actually found it difficult to choose between them. My wife’s turbot she said was simply the best that she had ever eaten, on a bed of white asparagus with a whole langoustine on the top, whilst I can assure you that my pigeon had not died in vain, served with morels and lentils. We loved it and will return as soon as possible.

There are several things you should know about this 14-​seat bolthole in north Notting Hill. First, there are only 14 seats (not to be redundant or anything; it’s just that small), which means it books out weeks in advance for a weeknight table and months ahead for a weekend spot. Next, the eponymous place is headed by Marianne Lumb, a MasterChef finalist in 2009, and her merry band of restaurant ninjas: a sous, a dishwasher, and a front-​of-​house consisting of two whole people, who are always a delight. That’s it.
Other things you should know:
— The space was obviously someone’s front parlor until recently, which makes it amazingly cozy.
— Prices are beyond reasonable (3 courses at £48, with cheese it’s £60) and menus change weekly and seasonally.
— The wine list is substantial.
— There is a waiting list for neighborhood locals. They use it to fill out late cancellations. I’ve gotten the nod twice in about four months.
— The truffle brie is divine. Ask for some honey and oatcakes to accompany it.
All things considered, it’s one of the best new restaurants in London. If I had written this after the first time I went in December, I would’ve said it was the best new opening of the year. However, having been twice since then, the dishes have waned a bit, but this could be attributed to the lack of variety this time of year. Hopefully it picks up again in the coming weeks.
Last, I waited a few months to post this review, because I haven’t wanted any additional competition. But since we’re upping sticks and heading down south before long, I’ll just say: have at it, kids! It’s a great local spot, and Marianne and her team deserve all the support they can get.