Chez Bruce

Ate lunch here on Sunday 21st december, excellent all round but the highlight was a sublime bramley apple crumble, possibly the best i have ever eaten, just perfect.
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G dalton
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, December 22, 2008

had a meal for four on the 29th November which was extremely disappointing. Ordered 2 pork belly's which consisted of a strip of pork 12cm long x5cm wide and 1cm thick!! No I never complained at the time as I had some important guests with me. Their meal of duck was fine but this did not warrant £70 per head. I have had better meals in good class village pubs. There is no way would a qualified chef would serve up Pork Belly in this fashion .
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barry fitzgerald
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

We visited Chez Bruce this week for a late dinner. First visit after hearing lots of good things. We were really impressed with nearly everything. Started badly as there was a long wait for someone to take our order. However, the service was charming and attentive once that was done.

We had two carafes of wine, one each of red and white. Loved the fact that we could have both without having to buy two bottles or two expensive half bottles.

Food was fantastic. We had hare and spatzle gratin and foie gras and chicken liver terrine to start both of which were great (only criticism being that the portions were perhaps a little overly generous for rich starters). Moved on to a seafood stew which my boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed and mushroom and truffle arrancini which were very good again. A fantastic cheeseboard followed, and then two great desserts. We practically rolled out the door!

Main criticism would be how close together the tables were. We were in the upstairs room. We could barely hold a conversation at times due to distraction from the loudly voiced man who was seated so close beside us. Minor issue though for what was a lovely meal and great value at less than £70 a head including wine, water, service and an extra cheese course. Go!
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Visited on Fri lunchtime with friends and my 15 month old daughter. Dining room decor was unremarkable but was quite hectic and not a little cramped. My foie gras terrine starter was excellent (and very illing) and the smoked haddock with peppers, and fishcake and poached egg was also beautiful. They even did an extra serving for my daughter who loved it. The mains were also of a high standard, I particularly liked the cod with ratatouille and mash - the mash was top notch. The salmon and pork belly were apparently very good, and the cheese board got top marks (there is a supplement). For £25.50 this food represents tremendous value for money and I would go back. The only slight negative was that the staff seemed a little unfriendly but this may be because they were too rushed to give good eye contact.
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Gareth - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, November 17, 2008

Took a long taxi ride from W1 for about GBP 22. My wife refused to go by bus/train. We had a GBP 32.5 three course Sunday Lunch

This is a place of gastronomic History; was 3 Mich Harvey's. It was simply clad with plane unsophisticated feel to it.

We had nice food however, veggi gnocchi (Forget it, not their "bread and butter").

Went back by train to Victoria then took bus 82 to W1. (Note: train does not go to Victoria direct on Sundays),

Would like to visit again. Food is like nice home cooking.
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Bu 3abdalla
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Reserving a table chez Bruce is even more difficult than reserving in a 2 or 3 star Michelin restaurant in France. Number of people is limited to 6; OK the restaurant surface is small. Reservation is done by slots of 30 minutes, does that mean if you want to have a nice time with friends and be relaxed you cannot, because if it takes too much time to dine you get kicked out? Alright, I was prepared with the idea to have to speed up things at the end of the meal. What I did not like at all was having to give credit card details to confirm reservation a month in advance! I have never had to do such a thing, whether it be in a no star Michelin restaurant or a three star one. I ended up not making a reservation. There are many good restaurants in London, where the client is treated with a bit more respect, and I will simply spend my money and time somewhere else!
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mich - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, October 13, 2008

Was taken here last night for my birthday after months of wanting to try it.

My starter - parpadelle with oxtail - is one of the best dishes I've ever had. Simple but amazingly flavoursome. My boyfriend's onion tart sounds boring but it was light pastry with a gloopy filling - perfect.

For mains I had the haddock with lettuce, peas and a beurre blanc - again, very simple but nicely done. My boyfriend had the cod with olive oil mash and ratatouille which was bursting with flavour.

The puddings weren't the high point to be honest - though I don't have much of a sweet tooth and perhaps ought to have gone for the cheese board instead (the table near us had it and it smelt heavenly!).

Service was fantastic (thanks to the waitress, Emily). Discreet and subtle but helpful and friendly. Only slight gripe is that the somellier didn't come to our table (perhaps there wasn't one?) which was a bit of a shame as our £59 bottle of Sancerre was nice, but not amazing.

In answer to the person who complained about noise levels, we were in the upstairs room which is much smaller and has a pleasant hum of conversation but not too rowdy. As we left, we walked past the main room and I commented to my boyfriend that I was glad we hadn't eaten downstairs, because it did indeed sound really raucous. Depending on whether you are going for a lively night out or a romantic dinner, this might be worth bearing in mind when booking.

In all, excellent food and excellent service. Perhaps the reviewers at the bottom of the page were disappointed because they were expecting something fancier. But Chez Bruce is not about showing off - it's about excellent food and an intimate atmosphere.
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hungry hippo
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, September 12, 2008

I took my boyfriend there for his birthday on a friend's recommendation, and we had a wonderful night. We had one of the best meals we've ever had here - the dishes are inspired and beautifully cooked and the wine complemented them perfectly.

There was only one veggie option, but starter was amazing: a salad, duck egg and truffle dressing, which sounds very simple but the taste was incredible. I didn't want one of the ingredients in the main course, so the chef very thoughtfully cooked me something else in its place. My boyfriend loved his steak, which was very tender and of great quality, and got to try fois gras for the first time (even though I quietly disapproved!).

We found the place had a relaxed, chilled out ambiance which meant we felt immediately comfortable, and the sommelier was really helpful in advising us what wine to choose.

Great restaurant - I can't wait to go back!
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Kate
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, September 11, 2008

We visited Chez Bruce on Friday 01 August for a special occassion and had a wonderful, momorable evening. We ate scallop and morel starters, which were generous and full of flavour. Really deep meaty taste to the sauce, which was complemented with the sweet pea puree and HUGE scallops. Second courses were sea bass, which was divine and lamb, which was very nice but in need of a little more veg to offset the large amount of meat. Deserts were also simple and tasty.

The highlight of our meal was the wine. An amazing Ribera del duero. Simply the best wine we have ever drank. I almost cried it was that good!

We spent three hours over our meal and drinks, as did many other tables and i would recommend booking the later slot in order to relax over your meal. This is not, afterall, the kind of place that starts to shove people out the door at 11:30pm.

We will return to Chez Bruce to enjoy the food and the feeling that everyone involved with the operation knows EXACTLY what they are doing.
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Caroline
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, August 11, 2008

First visit to Chez Bruce yesterday for Sunday lunch and loved it. Food and presentation lived up to expectations. Can understand those reviewers who complained about over salting - for me it was fine, but a slightly lighter hand with the salt might not go amiss. Wines were wonderful with the (male) sommelier friendly and helpful. Wines not cheap, but good value (eg Argentinian, 'Luigi Bosca' Gala 1 is £44 at Chez Bruce and £52 at Gaucho steakhouse. Sunday lunch is very good value at £32.50 although with 1 bottle white, 1 red and 1 half bottle dessert wine, 2 bottles water the bill came to £72.50 each.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, August 11, 2008