Pied à Terre

I am a big fan of Andy’s cooking style when he was at L’ Autre Pied, so it was interesting to see how he had adapted at the more formal, upmarket Pied a Terre. The cooking on the night for me was less creative if I was to directly compare it to L’ Autre Pied, but without a doubt it was more elegant and refine. The service was faultless, also I really like how they have refurnished the restaurant since I last visited two years ago, it has a much more classy feel to it now without losing its cosiness. I would definitely return in 2016 to see how Andy progresses and fine-​tunes his cooking concept at Pied a Terre, and I am sure it will be something very special.

We came here for a celebration and enjoyed everything. Excellent service. Great wine list — we tried a bottle from Croatia. The veal cheek was our favorite. At first we were startled by the lack of background music but once we were seated and got to chatting, we barely noticed. We will be back.

I’m a little confused about all the 5 star reviews. The restaurant isn’t bad but it’s certainly not up there with other Michelin star restaurants out there.
To start the service was terrible. So slow. Our reservation was at 8 and we didn’t get our food menu until 9 when I had to ask for it myself!
When we finally ordered we decided to go a la carte. I ordered the quail to start which was delicious. I ordered the salmon for main course. It was cooked perfectly however my asparagus was way overlooked and I found a bone in my salmon. Not to mention the portion was tiny. Both courses were tasting menu size.
We all shared cheese plate for dessert.
I don’t mind paying for good food and service but I don’t think this place is worth the price tag.
Won’t be returning

My previous reviewed here was meant for their sister’s restaurant, L’AutrePied which I have rated 1 star !!
As for Pied a Terre, we had excellent experience n for sure deserved their usual 5 star rating …

Wow!
I was taken here for my birthday December last year. I think from the moment we stepped in it was clear that we were not the usual clientele. But that only made the servers more wonderful to us.
With every course the sommelier came over and spoke to us in terms we would understand explaining the wine to us and not making us feel uncomfortable at all.
We had seven amazing courses.
Truffle velouté to start. Only one mouthful but bursting with flavour. Then deep fried mussels with a little basil jelly inside.
Again bursting with flavour. Then pickled mackerel. Again just lovely, and I do not normally enjoy cold fish. But it was not overwhelming and the accompaniments worked so well. Then beef carpaccio with deep fried sweet breads. YUM! It had a rich BBQ sauce which brought the whole meal together. Next the Asian inspired seared duck breast. The fat was removed and the skin, crisp as anything, layed directly onto the meat. I could have eaten ten of these. Desert was a lemon posset with passion fruit gel. Perfect after all that we had eaten before. And lastly some sweets. Im not sure what they were but they were just amazing.
The dinner was not cheap and it was a once in a life time experience for me. But my gosh was it worth every single penny

Definitely a quintessential Michelin experience. Service and attention to detail was immaculate. We got the 10-​course tasting menu and the table was cleared and reset after every dish. Each dish was consistently high quality, delicious and beautifully presented. I was impressed by their epic wine selection (basically two huge book volumes).
While the staff were nothing but welcoming and accommodating I still felt a little bit intimidated being in such a high class place, just because every single detail in the restaurant was so precise. Certainly the most extravagant — and suitably expensive — dining experience I’ve had.
I only took one star rating off because I personally rate based on for value for money — this restaurant is appropriately expensive and is more of a special occasion-​type place.

We had the perfect time at Pied a Terre. We opted for the 7 course tasting menu and each course was excellent and full of amazing flavours and attention detail. The restaurant itself has a warm and inviting atmosphere. Staff were friendly and service was excellent. It was the perfect place for a special occasion. I would rank Pied à Terre up with L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon as the finest restaurants I’ve been to in London.

The welcome was warm and accommodating despite arriving well ahead of the booked time. This was followed by excellent perfectly judged service throughout.
The food was similarly excellent, surprisingly filling despite the magnificent presentation. The lunch menu is excellent value for the quality on offer.
The waiting staff had realised that this was a treat (a birthday card was in its envelope on the table), and as soon as they had opportunity enquired with me. The meal was then finished by presentation of a birthday platter with further Petits Fours. I forgot to mention, the Petit Fours were exquisite.
The only downside: it’s above my usual budget, but no regrets. A treat well worth indulging in.

Pied a Terre has become one of our favorite London restaurants. The atmosphere is intimate, and perfectly suited to romance or business discussions.
The food – especially the tasting menus – is as good as any from London’s other top rated restaurants. But the real difference at Pied a Terre is the wine service.
Rather than simply selecting and pouring wines with each course, it is the restaurant’s practice to offer a blind tasting, where the wine is poured first so you can taste it alone, then the course is served so you can see how it matches, and then you are asked to comment on the wine and (if you wish) guess what it is.
We find this to be tremendous fun. It forges a camaraderie with the sommelier that sets the experience apart from all other fine dining experiences.

Amazing dining adventure! I went there with 4 friends on a Saturday night and went for the 10 course tasting menu without wine pairings.
While looking at the menu we were offered with a tuna tartare with potato and garlic croquette as «amuse-​buche». Definitely a great start. The actual tasting experience started with quail poached egg served on a (really amazingl) asparagus cream. This first course made us understand we came to the right place.
It followed a tuna tartare served with mini fried squid tentacles and basil velloute’. Again, an extraordinary preparation. (Only flaw in the evening, we had already been served tuna tartare before, I wouldn’t expect such a repetition in a top notch restaurant like this).
After the tuna we’ve been served white asparagus with garlic jelly, crab mayo and iberico ham. While the quality of each ingredient was astonishingly good, I found the iberico ham better tasted alone.
The next course was poached and roasted sole with lemon grass mashed potatoes. The best course in the menu. Full stop.
The fish was followed by veal fillet with garlic cream and mashed potatoes — definitely not disappointing.
The cheese was French Comte’ and British Stilton — For the first time in my life a british cheese completely overcome France. It was followed by a «Tasting of lemon and blood orange» basically a layered dessert made with lemon sorbetto, orange jelly and lemon foam on top. Good stuff.
Finally for dessert, we were served a chocolate crème with caramel sauce, salted peanut ice cream and chocolate jelly — which despite the «complex» description, was nothing particularly interesting, even though very well done.
During the evening we were proposed with a broad selection of different breads, ranging from italian focaccia to a (superb) onion brioche.
We order two bottle of wine (one for the starters, one for the mains and the cheese) and while we picked the first one ourself from the very well supplied wine list, we asked the sommelier for advice on the second one. He proposed the Madrian Baste 2010 with very good structure and the right level of tannins (the wine was left breathing in a decanter, as any wine with good body should).
We finally asked for coffee, which was served with a selection of small pastry that I actually enjoyed more than the dessert.
My overall sensation about the place: astonishing. Despite being quite expensive (we paid about 150£ each with service) it was worth it every pence. I strongly recommend the pied-a’-terre to anyone looking for a fine dining experience in London.

Great restaurant with haute cuisine. I think nothing really stood out to be so amazing but it did everything you would expect from fine dinning — the setting is quite intimate so it is one if the nicer place to go as a couple. Go for tasting menu if you have space.

To appreciate this truly you really have to be of a foodie/​snob. I say this only because the subtleties of the food are going to escape the palates of some people. It’s impossible to recommend one dish as everything I have had has been outstanding. It’s expensive and time consuming but worth every penny and every minute. If you are a Londoner or visiting, this is one place for a really sublime experience. Don’t think about going on to the theatre afterwards as this is a complete evening in itself.

So, here I am, the day after, and I feel like I would’ve enjoyed sitting on the sidewalk and lighting the 250 pounds on fire instead of having dinner at this place.
See, I’m vegan. But, we called ahead and fessed up and asked them if this was OK. They said sure, no problem. Indeed, they even advertise a vegetarian menu. So, they at least appear to think outside of the box a bit. Can’t really lose, right?
No. Stop. This line of thinking is wrong. Here’s what actually happened.
I showed up and then proceeded to get served a tiresome and endless series of uninspired scraps they cobbled together from the edges of the kitchen. I can’t remember a single flavor, other than truffle oil somewhere. Oh maybe some of the canapes had an herb fried into it.
It was edible, but you don’t come here for simply edible, do you?
Indeed, this the lamest Michelin star dining experience I’ve ever had.
Come to think of it, I’ve enjoyed every single vegan meal I’ve ever had at any steak house over this place.
At some point someone in my party asked the waitress, after they served a course, «be honest, what we got is way better than what the vegan got, right?» She froze, looked around nervously, smiled sheepishly and backed away without answering.
Obviously, they were more than happy to charge the full price but phone in the work. So, let this serve as an example of their values. If they had any respect for their work they would’ve just been honest and said they couldn’t accommodate me. And I would’ve been more than happy to give this spot to someone else in my company and everybody would’ve won.

What a great dining experience! The food and services are both top notch. My friend and I went for the 7 course tasting menu. We started with chestnut and juniper gnocchi with chestnut and truffle veloute. It was very tasty and I can just take a whole bowl of the veloute sauce as a soup course. Next we have a pan-​friend fillet of cod. For main, we had two types of lamb, slow cooked neck of lamb and nice piece of loin. I have to say the portion was quite generous. Another thing that is worth mentioning is the bread. The whole time when we were enjoying the differences courses, we were given several choices of tasty warm bread. My friend and I liked the bread so much, we totally ODed on it. So by the time we finished the main, we were ready to call it quit. However, we still have some more exciting surprises coming our way.
I love the cheese course. The two types of cheese were great, but the killer was how the crackers were presented to us. The restaurant cracker holders custom made from olive tree. So this course was like a cool piece of art work presented on our table. Then for dessert, we had white chocolate tart what was more like a slice of crème brûlée. Then there was petits fours, basically 4 little bites of chocolates and sweets. We thought we were done and our lovely waiter brought on several cute donut balls and some best tasting caneles.
Be prepared to spend a solid 3 hours there to enjoy your meal. And expect great food and exceptional services. Highly recommend it.

We had a fantastic meal here in June 2013 and we’re still talking about how it was probably the best meal of our lives (to date). The 10 course tasting menu was delicious, and when we exceeded our time slot for the table (which we knew about before-​hand), we took our drinks upstairs, where we enjoyed our dessert.

This Michelin one star, downgraded after a chef change from two stars, was eagerly anticipated on our one night in London, as we were returning home through London after Istanbul, Vienna, and Prague. A small restaurant, we were greeted by a somewhat confused hostess who had us walk around the two room restaurant to choose a table, unable to speak intelligibly in either English or French. We concluded later, when she brought a check to the table before we had even had our amuse bouche, that she may have been a bit handicapped and forgive her befuddlement.
We sat for about 20 minutes before being greeted and given a menu, then another 10 before the requested carte des vins was brought. We wondered if we were invisible, though we could see each other and those around us. The back of my chair was repeatedly bumped by the servers who did not note the frequent encounters, so perhaps we were hard to see.
The menu was not explained, the servers were too aloof and disinterested to convey any enthusiasm or information regarding the cuisine. The words they spoke were monotonous and the minimum needed to convey their message, robotic and disinterested rather than haughty or condescending. The first plates were introduced by a server who needs to learn how to enunciate; a brief course in elocution would have helped. It was not a language barrier, as I am conversant in English and French, but a service barrier.
The white wine, a 2006 V. Dauvissat Forest Chablis, obviously just pulled from a refrigerator, was served at near ice cold temperature and took an hour of swirling and cupping in one’s hands to warm to a temperature where it could be appreciated for the fine wine it was, and then it showed quite unevolved – as I suspect it had spent its entire post-​bottling life in that cold refrigerator. By contrast, the 1999 L’Arlot Suchots was served at the perfect cellar temperature and showed quite nicely, but is not a blockbuster wine, more a wine of finesse and breeding.
The food was quite good, presentation beautiful on lovely dinnerware/​china, inventive combinations – I loved the langoustine/​suckling pig combination, enjoyed the quail appetizer, and was quite taken with the partridge entrée, my first time eating that bird, served with a perfectly cooked small piece of foie. All courses were delicious, though dropped off as unceremoniously as if we were being served a quick breakfast at Denny’s or The House of Pancakes. Timing was erratic, with brief and then long pauses between courses. We were given dessert menus and then sat for at least 30 minutes before being asked for an order.
Service of 12.5% was added to the bill; I suspect most diners would not have been that generous given the option.
The saving grace – beside quite excellent food – was the charming sommelier who asked where we were from and actually engaged us regarding the wines and restaurant. He had a quick smile, a lot of kindness in his voice and actions, and was so out of place with his interest in this otherwise disinterested restaurant.
We won’t go back. There are too many fine restaurants that welcome their guests and make them feel comfortable. In fact, this experience motivates me to register on Unilocal and perhaps OpenTable to render my opinion to others. The fine cuisine of this restaurant is tarnished by the unmotivated, disinterested staff that should be summarily dismissed – with the exception of the kind sommelier.

We had a top-​class evening out at Pied a Terre. We ate from the a la carte menu and we were happy with all of our courses. We were delighted with the warm and personable service throughout the whole evening. It is a Michelin starred restaurant, so you expect to see a lot of bonus courses in the way of a bread selection, amuse bouches and petits fours at the end. They did each of these very well. The bill was a bit pricey, but for this experience I feel it was worth it.
My first impression was that the tables were rather close together, but as the evening progressed, this didn’t feel like an issue after all.
The table had a bowl of nocellara olives which we grazed on while we were browsing the menus. These are our favourite type of olives and when we had finished the bowl, they refilled it! We chose a bottle of Sancerre from the extensive wine menu.
The bread selection was very nice; a good variety. My favourite was the treacle brown bread which had a nice burnt caramel taste. I was careful to stop after three pieces because I didn’t want to fill myself before the later courses.
The amuse bouches were pea and fois gras parfait and mini croquettes. The parfait was beautifully presented in a sea urchin shell. The mini croquettes had an excellent crunchy coating.
Entrees:
Morteaux Sausage Boudin with sauteed lamb sweetbreads, broad beans, girolles and a lamb and mint consommé. This was very impressive. The consommé was intense. The sweetbreads were nuggets of joy and the small sausage was tender with a subtle flavour.
Lobster with suckling pig glazed in honey, gremolata, romain lettuce and red mizuna. This was good, with an Asian twist. The salad dressing was refreshing and appetizing.
Mains:
Fillet of Pork with braised shoulder, sweetcorn, potato and parmesan gnocchi and shallot jus. The pork was tender and each corn kernel was juicy. However, it did feel like a strange combination.
Roasted breast of pigeon with hummus, smoked sardines, piquollo peppers and rosemary jus. The pigeon was cooked to my wife’s liking, however it may have been better with crispy skin. The meat was tender, but not as strong as duck. It came with apricot which was a good pairing.
After our mains, were were easily persuaded to have the cheese course. This was one of the highlights of the evening. The waiter talked us through all of the cheeses and their characteristics. I wish I could remember all of their names! We chose three of them: a hard cheese, an Italian cheese (a blend of cow, sheep and goat milk) and a camembert from Burgundy (very soft). Our serving of cheese was presented with a «cracker tree»: an interesting wooden ornament with slots for the crackers.
We had a pre-​dessert of fromage frais sorbet with black cherries. A refreshing dish and an appropriate gear change from the cheese.
Desserts:
White chocolate tart with poached apricots, fresh almonds and lemon thyme ice cream. The white chocolate was not as strong as I expected. This was good because white chocolate can sometimes seem too sweet. We liked the crème brûlée style glazing on top and the ice cream pairing was good.
Mango Millefeuille with coconut mousse, lychee jelly and passionfruit icecream. This was simply awesome! It looked like a great deal of work had gone into constructing it: the delicate layering and the arrangement of the mini sliced mango in the middle layer.
To complete the evening, I had a Sauternes Pinard sweet wine and my wife had a pot of lapsing souchong tea. The tea had a very nice smoky aroma. The tea came with enough petits fours for both of us. Then, when we had finished those, we got a bonus round of petits fours! All different from the first batch. This was unexpected and, of course, appreciated.

Un bon plan pour déguster la cuisine Anglaise à un tarif soit un peu élevé, mais fraicheur assurée. La bière aussi est de la partie; c’est de vrais fêtards ces Anglais.

Quite a good experience, though pretty pricey for what it is. The food was all very solid and expertly, but nothing stood out as extraordinary. In particular, the kitchen seems to have an expert handle on cooking fish — both the scallops and halibut were perfectly cooked.
We had the 10 course tasting with wine, and it definitely cost a pretty penny. It was a celebration of some good news at work, so I didn’t mind splurging, but I think there are a lot of places where one can find better value in the city.
One major plus was the service, who were really quite friendly for a French establishment! With our wine service, the Sommelier had us play «guess the wine». It was fun & not intimidating, and I think I learned more about wine and focused more on it than if I had been just told «this is X from Y, next is A from B, etc»

This Place has 2 Michelin stars? Really?
i could see 1, but 2?!
let me explain…
I went for lunch last week with a friend. I’m normally the one who is always 10 minutes late, but this time i was the first to arrive. i was greeted warmly and they offered me either in the front part of the back. I picked a seat in the main part of the restaurant. It was a beautiful restaurant. Small, cosy, refined, beautiful. As i waited, i looked around at the other clientele and how the staff were with them. There was a table opposite me with a small child, who (at that point) was very well behaved. Their waiter, however was speaking so loudly and forcibly that I could understand every word he said. It felt so brass and out of place, but I shrugged and let it go.
My friend arrived, and this snooty, i suppose she was a Manager? came over to take our order… literally 2 minutes after my friend had sat down. «We havent even looked,» we say. For the next… 20 minutes… she ignores us. Finally we get her attention. We order off the lunch menu:
«I’ll have the Chicken -» me
«The Poussin,» she cuts me off, correcting me.
«Yes,» I say, «The Poussin. Followed by the Lamb.»
Ok, i can understand if the menu is in French and you’re checking to make sure i understand which dish I’m ordered, but the menu is in English, in an English speaking country.
My friend had Char followed by Cod.
My dishes were better.
In fact, The Poussin and the Lamb were outstanding. which both of the fish choices were alright, but nothing to write home about. The dessert, a pumpkin panne cotta, was light and delicious.
Our other server, in contrast to the loud one i had seen with the other table, was so quiet and mumbled his words so we frequently had to ask him to repeat himself.
One amazing thing: The Bread. AMAZING. Treacle Bread with butter… yum…
So, the moral of this story: it was good, but the service was lack luster and the food wasnt outstanding. Maybe i’m becoming a snob. Maybe they were just having an off day.

I celebrated my birthday here just before it gained its Michelin status and had an outstanding meal as did my fellow diners. Highlights included a rabbit dish which truly showed what varied flavours can be gained from the succulent and versatile meat, and a crisp skinned, perfectly executed sea bass dish.
The atmosphere is chic, elegant, but without being unwelcoming. Prices have risen slightly since the Michelin status was awarded, but this is to be expected and standards have not slipped since my first visit.

To celebrate the launch of Unilocal in London, I’m opening my London account with Pied a Terre, where my sister brought me to celebrate my 40^th birthday recently.
The restaurant is in a area buzzing with nightlife, bars and restaurant and there is a world of comfort hidden behind the unassuming front door. Service on the phone was prompt and efficient and this was carried through to the restaurant. The atmosphere was refined but friendly and not stuffy despite the restaurant being only 1 of a few in the capital to hold 2 coveted Michelin stars. We even felt able to asak one of the waiters whether anyone ever told him that he looked like Thierry Henry (French soccer player) to whhich the answer was «Not today!»
As is our habit with new restaurants, we went for the tasting menu, whicih allows us to sample more courses and the kitchen to showcase what it thinks are its best dishes.
It was one of the best meals I had last year. I think chef Osborn’s style can best be described as modern European with very European ingredients but given his own Pacific Rim twist. The flavours are clearly defined with a few surprises breaking through some classic flavour combinations.
My favourite dishes were the scallop «ceviche» and the cumin crusted rump of salt marsh lamb. The scallops were so sweet and the kitchen didn’t drown this important taste with too much acidity. The lamb was cooked to medium rare perfection, retaining its tenderness and moistness and was given a hint of Middle Eastern exoticism with the spicing.
I had a lovely glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and my sister was very happy with her glass of white. The wine list looked impressive.
I would be very happy to return for my 50^th birthday!