Emilé Y.

Phenomenal tasting menu. Cozy spot, you enter into a lounge space for the starters and drinks then you get seated in this square arrangement. You watch the kitchen staff prepare and plate everything in front of you. Service was top notch and everything was beyond delicious. Even the butter was sooo good. High quality ingredients everywhere. Highly, highly recommend!!!

Erick T.

I had high expectations, and Kitchen Table greatly exceeded them. The food here was fantastic - fresh, creative, and delicious. Chef James Knappett worked magic right before our very eyes. I loved the open kitchen concept and the theater-style seating. The service was also impeccable. Every staff member was incredibly gracious and welcoming. Best of all, the restaurant didn't feel stuffy at all. Contrary to what you might normally expect from a two Michelin starred restaurant, Chef Knappett playfully chastised me after I stirred one of my sauces two times after he had instructed us to stir just once. He then pointed to a tiny flower petal that was still on my plate and said "that's edible." I loved the playfulness and irreverence. The entire meal took 5 hours. So, prepare yourself for a marathon. But it's well worth it and I would highly recommend grabbing a seat at the Kitchen Table.

Jason O.

My favourite restaurant in London. James deserves his third michelin star and I can unquestionably confirm the best somellier in London. Cheap at twice the price, worth a special visit

Everything was amazing from the moment I walked in the door to the moment I finished my dessert. The food was traditionally British and thus a bit plain, but they managed to make basic dishes truly amazing. Unfortunately, everything after the meal left a lot to be desired. The real gem of the Kitchen Table is the friendliness of the staff and their expert social skills. They managed to get the whole table having conversations with each other. I expected to have a quiet dinner on my own, reading a good book. Much to my surprise, I left having had fascinating conversations with the fellow diners and staff. I have such mixed feelings about the food. British cuisine is not one of my favorites. However, the execution and preparation was masterful. My favorite dishes were the pasta and the duck. There was also an excellent marigold dessert. I think it says a lot that many of the other diners had been there multiple times. There truly does seem to be something special about the atmosphere. I loved getting to watch the food being prepared. They run a very efficient and sanitary operation. I know working in a kitchen can be stressful, so seeing the way the staff treated each other with kindness and respect was probably one of my favorite parts of the meal. I went in early September during a heat wave. The restaurant has no air conditioning whatsoever. They did their best to keep the restaurant a reasonable temperature. I've lived in London for 2 years now and I know air conditioning cannot be expected. I just expect a little more thought from such an esteemed establishment, especially since the climate is changing and the lack of climate control is only going to become a bigger issue. I got my check last as a woman dining alone. It was 2 hours of the wait staff trying to calculate everyone's bill by hand. The whole night they had been very quick and efficient serving everyone, who suddenly drop the effort during the home stretch? It was quite unpleasant to get the bill. (Especially after the whole calculating-each-bill-by-hand fiasco). I opted to get the truffles earlier, and to their credit they did tell us the truffles would be extra. I've been to many a restaurant that offers truffles for extra, but typically only from slightly-upscale Italian restaurants. Coming from the Kitchen table it came off as stingy. From my experience in London restaurants, the price of a set menu usually has the service charge included. The Food (without truffle) was £200 and the surprise service charge was £50. I wish they would be more up front and when you booking say the price is £250. This is 100% something I would expect in NYC, not London. By the time I left at 11.45pm my transit options were severely limited. I asked if the wait staff could call a taxi to the restaurant and they looked at me like I had three heads. Again, this seems like a pretty basic service I generally expect from upscale hotels and restaurants. I doubt I'll be back. There are simply too many restaurants in the world to revisit one that provided such a mixed experience.

J X.

im not going to write too much. I had high expectations for this 2 Michelin restaurant and Kitchen Table did not disappoint. 4 hours of amazing food, drinks, and atmosphere. yes, it's very pricey. but this is one of those meals I will continue to think about as I grow older.

Mindy W.

This dining experience was a gift to my husband and I from my sister and brother in law to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. What a wonderful way to celebrate! Dinner at this restaurant was a four hour occasion that thrilled and entertained us without being too pretentious or uncomfortable. The courses came in perfect timing and watching the kitchen staff and chef in the kitchen was such an added treat. We were able to see the care that went into each detail. My favorite two courses were the lobster and pumpkin dishes, least favorite mylor shrimp. The wine pairings complimented the dishes well and were explained with detail. The chef was delightful and interacted with us the guests very comfortably. The staff was attentive, friendly, and accommodating. I loved the way we were eased into dinner and eased toward the finish both in the lounge, never feeling rushed or unwelcome. This experience was one of the highlights of my trip to Europe. Highly recommend!!

Varun M.

http://www.varunmurali.com/blog/kitchen-table Favorite dishes: Oyster, Bread, Lobster, Sweetcorn, Blackberry Dishes We started with a tiny glass of "tomato juice". The tomatoes were crushed, frozen, and slowly thawed. The drips were collected through a muslin cloth. The result was a golden, tomato-flavored liquid. It was topped with a few carrot flowers. Oysters! They were awesome! One of my top 3 courses for sure. They were creamy, juicy oysters topped with a macedoine of apples and shaved, frozen radish, finished with a drizzle of dill oil. Simply amazing! The seaweed cracker was interesting. I'm not a huge fan of strongly flavored seaweed. This wasn't too bad though. On top of the cracker was kohlrabi, "overcooked rice", and toasted nori. Next up was chicken skin. It was a really interesting concept but I think the execution could have been a bit better. I've never actually been served chicken skin as the star of its own course, so I didn't really know what to expect. It had a bacon jam topping along with a spread of mascarpone. I think the jam was OK. The bacon brunoise neither crispy nor tender. Just a bit chewy. The flavor was decent though. The sweetness of the jam along with the saltiness of the skin and bacon played nicely. The Quail egg straight up tasted like chaat (a type of Bombay street food) to me. I actually liked it a lot. The textures were the main thing here. A super crispy potato rosti at the bottom. A soft and tender quail egg on top. The rosti was literally like sev and the black garlic ketchup tasted a lot like tamarind chutney, mostly because of the sweet and sour flavors. A bit of black truffle lay on top of the whole thing. It would definitely be interesting to serve this as some sort of pretentious street food fusion. BREAD! SO GOOD. BREAD. BUTTER. YUM. Parker house baked bread served with a super complex butter. Beef fat roasted onions, pickled wild garlic capers, salted lemon pickle. All of this in the whipped butter. Oh and topped with burnt onion ash. Wtf right? Who thinks of putting all this shit in butter? But my god it was awesome. I asked for another serving after the entire meal, even willingly to pay more for it, but they were out since they plan for exactly 20 people. Sad. Following the fabulous bread was the torched mackerel. It was served in a bed of raw peas, pickled cucumbers, seaweed, and a sorrel sauce. Apart from the fact that I hate peas and think all farmers should stop growing them immediately, the dish was nice. The fish was cooked to extreme tenderness, and the sauce was decent. A piece of plaice brushed with chicken fat was up next. One of my friends thought this was his favorite course. Served with gem lettuce, elder berry capers (which are elder berries picked before they become sweet and fruity), buttery broad beans, roasted capers, green strawberries in a sauce of roasted chicken sauce with a ton of butter incorporated into it. This was definitely the butteriest dish. It was pretty awesome. The Cornish lobster was sooo goooood. Literally mind blaaaaasting. It was cooked over English charcoal (not sure what the difference in charcoal is here), so it had this smokiness to it. The lobster and abundant black truffle was served on a bed of godly scrambled eggs. Creamy and soft. That scramble was insane. As if all this wasn't enough, we had a foamy and airy black truffle lobster sauce to slurp up. Ugh, what a dish. I love sweetcorn. Remind me to tell you about a dish called corn curd that I've only seen in Indian-Chinese restaurants. Anyway, this dish was amazing! There was sweetcorn in so many different ways on the plate. The second round of duck featured duck breast served alongside an arrangement of six-hour onion confit, juniper, sweet blueberries, and house made yogurt. A reduction from the bones completed the dish with a drizzle of thyme oil. The final round of savory dishes was duck liver parfait and shiitake mushrooms on a cracker. Textures were great with the crunchy cracker and umami, soft parfait. We started dessert with a sweetened carrot pastry with carrot jus and Berkswell cheese on top along with herb oils. I love carrot desserts (gajar halwa being one my favorites) and this did not disappoint. The pastry was crunchy and light, the carrots were just lightly sweetened so the natural sweetness and taste of the carrots pulled through. Pineapple weed is a flower that's related to camomile in terms of scent. This was a jello type dessert that had strawberries and raspberries that were set in a pineapple weed flavored milk, double cream and strawberry juice. Very unique dessert that I haven't come across before. The blackberry was my favorite dessert hands down. A meringue made from corn husks seared with a hot stone, sweet corn ice cream, blackberry sauce, and of course, blackberries. Outstanding dish! Every single element tasted amazing!

Kristy B.

I've eaten at some pretty spectacular restaurants. It's something that I truly enjoy, and I'm willing to invest the money in exchange for an experience that knocks my socks off. If you're looking for that, Kitchen Table is definitely a place you should check out. Enter through the champagne bar, but you'll be escorted behind the curtain in the back and seated at a u-shaped bar surrounding the kitchen and prep area. I won't review each course because the menu changes daily. Several courses persist from day to day, but what Chef James Knappett does each night depends entirely on the ingredients and products he is able to get each day. The true delight, though, is not in any one course, but the care and consideration that goes into the meal as a whole. Each course is expertly crafted, leaving you more impressed than the first. It's amazing to sit and eat your meal while chatting with the guys who are putting it on the table for you. They're all friendly and willing to explain how and why they are doing what they're doing. Kitchen Table has two seatings, and I'd have to recommend the first to customers who are looking to have the full chef's table experience. In the second seating, you get to see a lot of the take down and clean up, but if you're looking to watch mostly cooking and prep, the early seating is where it's at. Splurge on the wine pairing, the sommelier does a fantastic job of explaining how and why she chose each pour as well as the history of the producer. Just writing this review makes me want to go back and eat there again, but I guess I'll have to wait until my next trip to London.

Yee Gan O.

Dear Michelin inspectors I hope you're impressed and excited by the plethora of new restaurants opening in London this year. The food scene has never been more vibrant However, as you sit to consider Michelin stars for next year, I hope that you look behind the gloss and really concentrate on the food. I think by now, a lot of corporations have worked out the 'Michelin formula' and restaurants like HKK and Ametsa are clearly 'made for Michelin' establishments. However, I must say that I was disappointed when I dined at these 2 restaurants and Ametsa especially failed to deliver on the food and flavour side I am however much more impressed by the restaurants opened by fresh new faces like Tom Sellers at Restaurant Story and last Friday, I was lucky enough to eat the best meal I've had this year so far at the Kitchen Table, the brainchild of couple James Knappett (who has cooked at Noma, Per Se and The Ledbury) and Sandia Chang, who runs front of house I had met Sandia, while was running front of house at Roganic when I dined there and I am so pleased to see that she and James have finally got their own place. Accessed via the same entrance as Bubbledogs, their champagne and hot dogs front portion of the establishment, you step through the leather curtain which separates the Kitchen Table from Bubbledogs into the show kitchen, around which the 18 guests are seated. Seatings are staggered so that half the covers are fed together at staggered star times Their wish was to create an ambiance and surroundings as if they are entertaining guests in their own home. However, the service is still top notch and professional but it's so nice to be able to interact easily with James, Sandia and their kitchen and serving staff. Unlike some other kitchen counter restaurants that I've eaten in, they are super friendly and you are encouraged to interact at Kitchen Table. It was a lovely, relaxed and fun evening They serve a 12 course tasting menu, listed on the wall merely by the main ingredient in each course, all sourced within the UK and the provenance of the food is announced as each course is introduced. At £68, it is an absolute steal for cooking of this standard. There truly wasn't a weak dish in the whole line up. All were well balanced, packed with flavour and brought repeated smiles to my face 1. Oyster emulsion, beef heart tartare, sorrel on rye cracker The beef and oyster has rich deep depths punctuated by the sharpness of sorrel 2. Crispy chicken skin, rosemary mascarpone, bacon jam Deservedly a signature dish. I could eat a tub of that chicken skin 3. Asparagus, heirloom tomatoes, black olive crumb, black olive oil, sour cream Fresh salad flavours 4. Steamed sole, grapes, cucumber, scallop sauce, shavings of smoked dehydrated scallop coral The sauce was heavenly and the scallop coral was amazing 5. Poached white skin onion containing yoghurt, mint oil, pea shoots Lovely single bites 6. Hen of the woods, girolles pear, peanuts, celery cress, whipped brown butter The meaty Hen of the woods mushroom found good companions in the rest of this dish 7. Truffle atop tagliatelle, crab & mackarel sauce Flavours of the sea beautifully orchestrated to match the truffle 8. Duck 3 ways - roasted breast, liver parfait, confit in tempura heart of fennel, orange Each of the 3 preparations shone but I think the parfait won for me 9. Goat curd, wild garlic, homemade bread toasted in brown butter The yummiest garlic bread you will taste! 10. Raspberry, beetroot foam, sorrel granite, beetroot meringue Excellent palate cleanser 11. Strawberry, toasted brioche, verbena, vanilla ice cream Soft, sweet, fruity decadence 12. Caramel, ice cream, chocolate coating, buts A lovely end to the meal If you don't feel my championing of Kitchen Table carries enough weight as an amateur foodie, please read the messages on the blackboard in the kitchen to find good wishes from culinary luminaries such as Thomas Keller no less If there is any natural justice in the world, I implore you to recognise the quality of cooking here at Kitchen Table and award them a star for next year. Kitchen Table deserve to be the 'Dabbous of 2013' Yours humbly Yee Gan O

Mathias H.

Kitchen Table is the venture from James Knappett and his wife Sandia Chang, the couple who own the place. They have an impressive resume with work at the Ledbury and Noma before opening Bubbledogs last year (the lovely lace with hot dogs and champagne). Kitchen Table is however a whole different thing than the also excellent Bubbledogs. Here is it is limited to 18 seats (the night I was there it was split in one seating of 8 and one of 10) seated around a bar with the kitchen inside. The set menu is £68 and is great value for money, 12 courses that are prepared in front of you. The staff are great, always making sure that you have what you need without hoovering around you. WIne was carefully selected, for example the excellent Francois Bedel champagne. Staff were also happy to share where to buy the wine and also some of the plates that we were eying. Will not go through every single dish but the highlights were (in addition to the great wine) the chicken (skin oven roasted) with bacon jam - I could have eaten tons of that so the only thing that was bad was that it ran out to quickly. Other highlights was the pasta with truffles, it was just divine and made to perfection. The adrakan cheese with honey was also great as well as some the desserts (the pear and the mandarin). In total a 12 dish meal with plenty of wine (four glasses for one of us, 3 and a beer for the other) and coffee after-wards sets you back £220 including service and that is actually great value. Can definitely compete with many of the other fine dining places in London that charge substantially more for this. The best thing apart from the food and the wine is also that it is so relaxed, the staff all have time to talk to you, the same goes for the chefs so it is a great experience. If you have not been there is no excuse - just make a reservation.

Mark T.

I really wanted to like this place based on the premise and what I'd read about it beforehand but sadly I found it all just a bit of a letdown. The premise is that the Kitchen Table is based around where the chefs are working and when I've been to this kind of thing before there is a bit of interaction. That's not the case here with the dish just being announced to your half of the room. I attended the first sitting and was faced with 10 empty seats and wondered whether it just wasn't fully booked but my questions were soon answered. The next sitting joined when we were just over halfway through and to see the dishes being announced exactly the same as they were to us made it lose a little bit of the magic and spectacle. Food wise the ethos is definitely on not wasting anything which led to me trying quite a few things. Parsons Nose, duck heart, fatty trout and a spread made from rendered bacon fat where all part of the menu and while the menu is incredibly clever and all of the dishes looked very nice most of it just wasn't for me. Some of the food was incredibly tasty and there was a bit of a mix up with the additional dish (lobster) on offer which was dealt with very well which gets them a big thumbs up. For the price we paid for the food just doesn't stand up against other comparable places which was a big disappointment. For me the big thing about somewhere is would I recommend or go back and I'm afraid to say that the answer would be no for the Kitchen Table

Charlene L.

How does this place not have a Michelin star? Read the review for details, or just make your reservation now.. either way, you are in for a treat! Enter Bubbledogs.. a champagne and hot dog joint that has a line out the door, even in the pouring rain. The concept is trendy, the food looks lackluster, and the prices for champange are stiff. Why come here? Well, it's not the hot dogs you're looking for.. step inside, look around and search for the floor to ceiling curtain to enter the main destination, Kitchen Table. A restaurant situated inside a restaurant, Kitchen table is exactly what it sounds like... it is a table that surrounds the open kitchen, for a diner's feel of dining. Contrary to seeing a greasy grill, coffee pots, and a waitress that looks like she has had her third pack of cigarettes for the day, the counter is the ONLY thing that resembles anything close to a typical diner's image. Kitchen Table displays a pristine and organized playground for the chefs. The menu is set, and lacks descriptions- 10 courses is what you will get. Only one word is to describe your course: Butternut squash; Steak, Goat Cheese. As you watch the team in the kitchen create, plate, and deliver course after course, you also get to ask questions on preparation, dishes, and ingredients. I was extremely fond of this process as it was a great way to interact with the guests, and understand the chef's ideas and concepts. I won't go into detail of all the dishes, but I will highlight my top dishes I had this night. Steak- This was chef's play on steak tartare. Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE steak tartare! Like all tartares, the beef was raw, however what stood out was that the meat was infused with smoke! Great smokey flavor, without the cooked feeling! Light leafy greens were distributed on the dish, but were cooked in vinegar, creating a great acidic combination when paired with the beef. Tiny drops of a savory cream topped 3 points of the dish, adding in a smooth blend of flavors, while a light sprinkling of crisp toasted rye crumbles finished the dish as a garnish. Beetroot- A small dessert that blew me away. Simple, yet a great way to highlight the ingredient in a new light. Bite sized beetroot cake, with a licorice flavored ice cream, topped with beetroot chips. Sounds simple but this dessert blew me away! Pineapple- A pineapple cream base topped with a shaved ice. However, the ice itself was impeccable! How can shaved frozen water be that great, you ask? When a whole pineapple is roasted, and the skin is charred, then soaked in water, frozen, then shaved, THAT's HOW! Such a simple, clean, palette-cleansing bite! The fact that 2 of the 3 dishes highlighted were desserts, by a savory person that rarely leaves room for sweets, should go to show you how great this place is. Great dishes from beginning to end! Extremely affordable when considering you get not only delicious food, but also a foodie's experience of being in a professional kitchen! Loved the overall experience and will be back when it town!

Ally W.

Easily my favorite restaurant in London. It is a true dining experience in that you interact with the chef, the crew and other diners next to you whilst enjoying exquisitely prepared courses. The dining room is also the plating kitchen: 19 dinners sit around the bar and inside is a huge table where Chef James Knappet and his crew complete plating of each course and serve it directly to you. I love seeing all the actions in the kitchen and having the opportunity to talk about the dishes with other diners. However, the best part is that the Chef will explain the inspiration and the ingredients of each dish. It was a true culinary treat for those who love food! The evening started with some light bites and the first highlight came when we each got half of a gull's egg. This was quite a delicacy. Then there was the heirloom tomatoes. The Chef poured the soup in my plate himself! The main meat courses were good, but not too memorable. My favorite course was the elderflower tempura! I have been a big fan of the delicate flavor of elderflower since I moved to London, but I have always been enjoying it in syrup form in my drinks, but today, the Chef created an amazing dessert dish with the flower itself! I loved every bit of it. 14 courses and 3 hours later. I was happily stuffed. Each course was perfectly executed from the flow, the taste and plating. It was indeed a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. I highly recommend Kitchen Table. However, make sure you book your seats early enough, because there are only 19 seats per night. Oh and, make sure you show up, because you get charged for no show. A friend bailed on the last minute, and my other friend and I had to pay and eat her portion.