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Kettners
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By Charmaine Mok
From flailing pizza-parlour prototype, beautifully baroque Kettner’s has gone under the Ilse Crawford knife to re-emerge as the properly seductive Soho brasserie it always had been, under all that quattro formaggio and tomato sauce. Now, the pizza pie has gone, replaced by somewhat retro French elegance – ie Kettner’s original style.
Indeed, the swaggering Soho execs couldn’t help but take a second look as they passed; designer Crawford has successfully brought Parisian glamour to the Big Smoke. The marble-topped tables, soft lighting and twee bell jars on the long ‘pudding bar’ are presumably her way of making Kettner’s more ‘female-friendly’, one of Crawford’s aims. The effect is something of a ‘Sex and the City’-style townhouse cocktail party, complete with plush carpeting.
Foodwise, things didn’t begin well. Monkfish ceviche with pea shoots and ribbons of pickled cucumber was mouth-puckeringly sour – it needed something, anything, to play off, such as chilli heat or salt. Conversely, salt was the predominant flavour in our French onion soup with comté cheese-covered croûte. We were, however, bowled over by the main courses – seared diver scallops were nicely caramelised yet very lightly cooked, resting on a bed of creamy Champagne risotto which adhered perfectly to what a risotto should be. A fricassee of rabbit with own-made papardelle and pungent morels was almost carnal in its earthiness – the kind of dish where once you start on a mouthful, you can’t stop shovelling more in.
Despite its plush decor, Kettner’s has warmth and a sense of bonhomie that only the best brasseries possess. Amiable staff kept the tap water flowing, yet were never intrusive; this is a place where you can spend hours, whether it be over brunch, lunch or afternoon tea/coffee. In short, Kettner’s has taken the simplest of ideas, and unlike many other places, has executed it (almost) flawlessly.Time Out issue 1999
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Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.
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Details
- 29 Romilly Street, Soho, W1D 5HP
- Area: Soho
- Tel: 020 7734 6112
- www.kettners.com
- Book online
- Category: French
- Travel: Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus tube
- Times: 8am-1am Mon-Sat, 9am-midnight Sun.
- Price: Meal for two with wine and service: around £70.
- Credit cards: AmEx, MC, V
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If you wish to go to an overpriced champagne bar to meet London’s aspiring WAGs then Kettners is for you. If you require excellent food, or a sophisticated atmosphere ,then there are many London restaurants that will provide both at a reasonable price, but this place is not among them.
In short, we were a large pre-booked party given the Kettners minute, and mildly disappointing £30 menu (fish cakes, pasta etc..), who arrived at 8.00 p.m. , were seated fifteen minutes later and served their main course at 11 p.m., 2 ½ hours after the order had been placed. The food was either stone cold , boiling or tepid and soggy. The waitresses, although unfailingly polite, failed to distribute the wine menus, take drinks orders and had to be called back, more than once, because they had forgotten the accompaniments .
The management were extremely unapologetic, choosing to blame our ‘late’ arrival at the table (due to our party’s misdirection , by their own staff, into the overcrowded bar ) as the reason for our poor experience, not their obvious staffing problems.
To be fair they did reluctantly provide a small amount of complimentary wine, to our few drinkers, but this was grudgingly done , and inadequate compensation for a ruined , expensive, evening. By the time the food arrived the atmosphere had soured , our host was very embarrassed, and the majority of our party had to bolt their substandard food and miss their dessert in order to catch their last train or get to the next event on time.
We went for lunch and stayed all day.
What a great place, the food was so good, I asked the staff who were really nice what they thought.
I was told they had a new chef and that the food was getting better,...maybe that was what all the bad reviews were about!
Anyway I liked it, and will go again.
Love it or hate it? It appears that some of those who loved the old Kettners have a touch of amnesia - it was cheese and tomato pizza for £12 in a room that looked like an old peoples home. I love the new Kettners. Great food (we had a set menu of 2 courses for £13) in a room full of glamour. Its still a really fun place with a great champagne bar, pianist and a menu that will keep you coming back - unless you want pizza that is.
Is this reviewer on crack? Or on the payroll of Kettners? Seriously, this review is astonishingly cock-eyed because, as everyone who was remotely acquainted with the old restaurant knows, the refurb of Kettners must count as one of the greatest acts of vandalism ever perpetuated on the London restaurant scene.
I went there last night and cried when I saw what had been done to it. Gone was the bustling, vibrant, happy pizzeria known and beloved by all (no matter the size of your wallet) - replaced by a soulless, charmless, pretentious 'bistro' indistinguishable from all the other soulless, charmless, pretentious bistros that have failed over the years.
The ghastly menu is over-priced (and badly cooked), the decor would have looked dated on the first series of Sex And The City, and the atmosphere was borderline mausoleum.
It's jaw-dropping that somebody came up with this idea, even more staggering that this moron, whoever he/she is, was allowed to get away with it.
One of the most depressing evenings I ever spent. Horrible, horrible, horrible.
They have destroyed an old friend.
They have turned a warm friend into a souless overpriced escort!
The refurb is awful, the service poor!
It used to be the best
After reading this review I decided I had to check out the new Kettners for myself - and what a great decision that was. After being greeted at the door by the delightfully freindly hostess we started with a champagne cocktail in the cosy area at the back of the bar (which has some really interesting pieces of furniture by the way) before heading through to the bresserie for dinner. I couldnt resist trying the french onion soup for starter, despite the review saying it was too salty, as it is an all time skiing holiday favourite of mine - and i was not disappointed. My main of lamb was delicious and cooked to perfection and my side order of carrots arrived in a cute little heart shaped dish. Making a decision from the pudding bar was possibly the most taxing part of the evening as they all looked great, but thankfully the pastry chef popped out to offer some words of wisdom and let me have half and half of two puds....just what you want to hear when you are as indecisive as i am!! Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for something a little more special than your average london meal.
Sadly, couldn't agree less with this review. The night we went, it took 20 minutes to catch the eye of the waiter so that we could order, then the food took over 30 minutes to arrive (it was only a tartlet and a measly sized main course salad). Whatsmore, with just a carafe of red and a bottle of still water, this came to a jawdropping £30 per head!! Sorry but nice decor isn't enough.......