Small restaurant, centrally located, just few meters away from Tottenham Court Road tube station. The food is British with French twists in each course. I wasn’t impressed either from presentation or the taste of it. Overpriced/small portions. When visited on Saturday lunch time, it was completely empty — the atmoshere was somehow depressing as there is no sunlight entering the main room and use of so many lights during the day make it awkward.
Jay K.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Battersea, London, United Kingdom
I went here as part of a hen party,(no naughty hen paraphernalia or typical hen party behaviour in the restaurant), the food and staff were nice, not remarkable but nice. The interior is lovely and the service was speedy. I have an allergy to eggs and said the same to the staff while ordering which they were happy to accommodate. The salmon, as said, was nice. Then I asked for the cheese board, iterating that I had an allergy to egg. When ordering the cheese board they very nicely ask if there’s any cheese you would like excluded and they gladly adapt the selection accordingly. The cheese board arrived and we were very nicely talked through the plate. I took a bite and immediately knew that there was egg in the cracker, I left the restaurant to deal with it and didn’t mention on it on the evening as I didn’t want to upset the hen party. I later followed up with an email to the restaurant asking them to please take care of patrons with allergies and they didn’t even bother to acknowledge the email. It’s frustrating that they can ruin a customer’s evening like that and not have the courtesy to apologise but to go so far as to not even acknowledge the email speaks volumes about a restaurant. Perhaps it was because we were a large table c.14 and they should not have taken the booking. Overall the experience was fine but there is definitely better out there!
Adam L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Östermalm, Stockholm, Sweden
Piquet is unassuming from the outside, but once you walk through the front door you understand differently: the welcome is personal, & the professionalism sets the bar high. The restaurant is split between a bar upstairs(very nice, great barman), & the restaurant downstairs(lovely, very light). The layout of the restaurant ensures privacy of conversations, but open enough to allow for a nice vibe & liveliness. The menu was exciting, inventive, & presented a good selection of choices for starters, mains, and desserts. I had the crab raviolo to start — divine! For my main, the ribeye: seriously flavorful, & perfectly cooked. My only minor complaint, is that the chips weren’t crispy enough. The wine list was extensive, varied, & affordable. Excellent service, meal, & experience. Recommend!
Vi W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 London, United Kingdom
Piquet, Tottenham Court Road — when I heard Piquet’s head chef name, Chef Allan Pickett, I knew I had heard of it before. Somewhere. He then introduced himself and I picked up the last place that he worked for was at Plateau in Canary Wharf. Right, so that was where we first had his food. And, if he has expanded his cooking style in that sort of manner, I knew that I would be in for a good meal. Furthermore, I’ve seen all those pictures on social media of Piquet’s most famous dish, the pithivier of littlebourne snails, which looked so delicious I hoped they would serve it! Now, I was really looking forward to the evening. Piquet, is a play of words on Chef Alan’s last name, Pickett, that also lends a French intonation. The French influence stems from his love for French cooking. So, the fundamentals of cooking revolves strongly around the French style but sees a lot of British local ingredients and European style dishes. Inside, Piquet is separated into two levels. The main restaurant is downstairs where it is more formally dressed with table cloths, is brightly lit and where tables near the open kitchen are most popular. At ground level, the space is known as the Fir room. Here, is it furnished more to a pub style and is more casual. The two different levels serve two different types of menu. The prices of the dishes are not indicated in this instance because portions are customised to our group. The smaller dishes on the menu are about £7.00 with larger portions of meat and fish at about £12.00. Before, I go on too long about either the chef or Piquet, let’s talk about food. piquet charcuterie board consist of country style terrine with pistachios, Kent selection cured ham, cured salame, duck rillettes, sourdough toast and pickles. Having all my favourites spread out on a board just makes me smile. It looks so simple but each bit of food on the board has been prepared properly, nicely seasoned and thoughtfully plated. My favourite was the rillette which took me by surprise because I am not normally fond of duck meat. This had the right balance of cream, seasoning and texture. No stringy bits of meat. casserole of monkfish, baby squid, chorizo and haricot blanc colchester rock oysters, shallot vinegar and shallot bread — the freshness and sweetness of the oysters was so pure. Served nicely chilled on ice, I really enjoyed them. croquette of pigs head — amazing! le piggy burger — this requires proper justice and so, I had two of them! The meat patty was so moist and flavoursome. When served, the little burgers looked a little plain along with the other spreads but are a serious contender. Desserts were not anything more fanciful than the good old brownie with ice-cream and a slice of the non too sweet almond tart. Accompanied with a dessert cocktail, it was just a perfect end. I don’t know how to recommend on what to order because everything we had was just splendid and I would not not want to leave anything out. So, do go with a group of people so that you can share and order the whole thing. Flavours of the food were strong but left the palate quite clean so even without much carbohydrate, it does not felt a need for it. Piquet is in every way a winning restaurant for me! It will not be long before I return for that pithivier of littlebourne snails!
Ashka K.
Rating des Ortes: 5 London, United Kingdom
I had a chance to attend tester menu night there with Unilocal. The menu was maybe a little bit meat heavy but it was extremely tasty and well prepared. All dishes had contemporary twist to it and were beautifully served. My favourites were black pudding(best black pudding I have ever had), oysters, monk fish cheeks’ stew and creamy chocolate cocktail with dark chocolate on the side. I wasn’t to sure about the pork burger… personally I prefer beef. But that’s just one dish in many that I wasn’t too crazy about. Very elegant and classy décor adds an extra element to the overall dining experience.
Wendy L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 London, United Kingdom
I was so excited to be at Piquet, a new restaurant that had gained much attention in 2015⁄2016 and has been on the top trending places to eat for a while. It’s ingredients are said to be sourced locally but turned into French classics. It is separated into two floors, downstairs being the more formal dining which is reflected on the price and upstairs, the Fir room, essentially a bar that is renowned for their drinks menu and also their small plates for a more casual dining. We were at the latter. We never hot to explore downstairs but it was unusually quiet on a Sunday night at the bar. Being seated at the back we saw a whole row of empty tables on our right but luckily the impeccable and friendly service from the waitress kept us busy and entertained throughout or dinner, maybe a bit too intrusive at times but she meant well. She even gave us a complimentary shot of gin which was nice and warming. Duck rilettes. One of the best rilettes I’ve had. The duck was rich and full of flavour, shredded into a deliciously smooth, thick and creamy paste perfect to accompany the toast, baby gherkins and pickled onions. It was delicious and a very generous portion. Chicory and pear salad, walnut dressing This is a fine example of a good salad, very refreshing. Simple ingredients coming together to create amazing bursts of flavours and texture. It was salted by the blue cheese, crunchiness from the walnuts and chicory which also added moisture and finished with a nice all rounded sweetness from the pear. Casserole of monkfish, baby squid, chorizo and butter beans A lovely and original fish dish with very creative and balanced flavours. The tomato sauce was fresh and light allowing the delicate flavours of the monkfish to shine through which in itself was very tender and buttery in texture. The addition of the fried squid added a nice opposing texture being fried. Fillet of Sea bream with spiced aubergine. Personally I found the sea bream seared too much for my liking taking away the beautiful flakiness and tenderness of the fish. The aubergine was a nice addition, simple flavours although not very spiced as it was described. They were cooked till soft that complimented the fish well. Overall the dish wasn’t very memorable and I wouldn’t order again as there are many better dishes Croquette of pig’s head This was definitely the highlight dish of the evening. Lovely thin crisp batter to start making way to a filling of tender and juicy pulled pork. It was packed full of flavour. The gribiche sauce made of boiled egg mayonnaise added that lovely moreish creaminess to the dish that I couldn’t get enough of. Pork crackling filled with pickled crab and Espelette peppers This was recommended to us. Sadly this was the most let down dish. The pork crackling was far too crunchy and hard to enjoy. My teeth were in pain after eating them being quite sharp after finally breaking. The effort in getting through the crackling meant that the flavour and the texture of the beautiful light crab filling were lost to the pork. Le Piggy burger It was a real shame the burger bun came burnt on the top. That ruined a lot of the flavour sending a burnt bitterness throughout the whole burger. I did dismantle the burger to appreciate the pork patty instead and I’m glad I did as it was well composed being thick and juicy filled with flavour. The different textures from the pulled pork to the bacon added different levels of flavour. The filling was a winner but sadly the bun was not. Fries were good and crispy but nothing more to add. It was a very enjoyable meal overall as empty as the atmosphere was. What stood out the most were the quality of ingredients and the varied of ingredients in dish to give flavour rather than just using salt and pepper. A very creative kitchen and very much looking forward to dining downstairs in the main restaurant one day.
Tom M.
Rating des Ortes: 3 London, United Kingdom
I was extremely impressed with the quality of the food from Piquet’s bar menu(so good that I went there three times in a week), even without the offer, it was still extremely great value for money. For example, the piggy burger cost only £10 and it comes with chips, that is already a lot cheaper than all the trendy premium London burger joints and the quality was easily the next level.
J G.
Rating des Ortes: 2 New York, NY
First things first: the lighting in the restaurant is extremely bright. It gives the place the feel of a school cafeteria. It might be fine for lunch, but for dinner it’s nice to have more mood. Here, the mood is «bright light». After a couple glasses of wine it becomes painful. And do you really want to see every little line or blotch on your dates face? And examine each eye on the elephant broach on the grandmother at the table next door? Second: the wine list is limited, which would be fine if they offered some simple classic bottles. Our server recommended a Spanish Rioja. I took her recommendation but when it arrived and I smelled it in the glass, I knew I didn’t need to taste it before I sent it back. It smelled awful, like rotting fruit. I handed the glass to my dinner guest, he took one smell, and the same response. The waiter took it back. I can’t say she was apologetic but she also wasn’t rude. Just neutral. We ordered a different wine and it was fine. Well, the wine was not bad but to be honest the temperature of the wine was way too warm, as if it had been kept next to a heater. Not great for a big bold red. Another one of my guests ordered a glass of white. At this point I was feeling guilty as I had chosen the restaurant so I asked about his white. Also a nice wine, he said, but freezing cold. I felt the glass, absolutely bone-chilling cold. Conclusion: they need to get their wine program sorted. The food that arrived was good. We enjoyed it. Overall I would give the food 3⁄5 stars. In summary, a relatively unpleasant experience given the eye-searing brightness and the unsatisfactory wines. And of course it’s not cheap. Will not return.
Be B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Altadena, CA
Superb meals, well prepared. Excellent, attentive service. We are visiting from across the Atlantic and heard that this new restaurant had just opened 3 days ago. We ordered the 5 course Chefs Market Menu, and the chef did not disappoint. We will be back.