La Brasserie

I have recently moved into this area of London and feel very lucky to have La Brasserie as my "locale". It does everything one could ask for from breakfast to lunch and a very good supper (with the same menu available from lunch to dinner).

Any restaurant that has been going for some 35 years or more (it says "founded in 1972" on the menu) has to be doing something right, and their formula of honest, straightforward classic dishes, available all day hit the spot for me....!!

The onion soupe and fish soupe are to die for, and the classic steak ala minute is, from what I can see, the only place in london to do that really thin steak that you find in every Brasserie in Paris. Magnifique ! The desserts are a little predicatble, creme caramel, profiteroles etc...., but well done and simple....just could be a bit more exciting for the ladies i feel....!

I cannot count how many times I have been in the last year or so, and feel that a restaurant can only be judged on more than one visit unlike the previous reviewers. Yes the staff are a little serly, but hey, ther'e french and I wouldnt want it any other way.......they are not that bad, efficient and to the point.......if a little rushed....

Value for money wise.........its middle of the raod.........for this area at least..!

I'll be back soon....Bon Appetit....!
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Tony Kell
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, October 12, 2008

We were infuriated by the treatment we received at this brasserie and left in disgust before we could order anything.

We waited fifteen minutes to be approached by a waiter. Meanwhile, our thirst unquenched, we watched three slow moving self congratulatory waiters fail to attend to our urgent needs. Several other tables of would-be diners were clearly exasperated too.

In the brasserie's defence, we were served olives, bread and butter, though the butter was unspreadably cold and the olives saggy and yucky!

After the thirsty wait and with our fury building, a waiter slowly approached.

I said: "lucky you arrived then, we were about to leave". Unbelievably, the waiter objected and explained that they only had three waiters to cover the floor. We were surrounded by empty tables and slow moving waiters.

No apology, just disdain. Rather than apoligise, the waiter gave us the eye-rolling - this is your problem response. We were mightily vexed at the waiter's general indolence and insolent response, so we rose and left.
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Felix Marks
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Where should one start. As you enter the decor is tres francais and charming but after the initial excitement has woen off things get worse.

The waiters are terribly slow and choose to ignore us. We waited for 45minutes to order; then we waited another 45 minutes for the starters to arrive (salads!!!).

For mains we had the salmon (fried to a huge piece of black coal) and steak tartare (dry, old-meat with a disgusting flouery palate).

The prices were tremendously expensive and we left feeling utterly ripped off. As a Londoner DON'T go there. Bad enough if a couple of innocent tourists fall into this trap.
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Christina
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

4 of us dined at La Brasserie last saturday evening and after reading other reviews we were surprised to see how empty the restuarant was at 9.15, only a few other covers in what is a large airy space.

We all ordered starters, two of which were fish soup and good. However two of us had the smoked eel which arrived artfully placed on the plate with some greenery. The eel was very dissapointing, basically rubbery little sticks that lacked any real taste - the texture made me think that some sort of plastic had been left on them.

The mains on the whole were ok. Two of our party had steaks that were done as requested, although the chips were poor. A side order of mushrooms didn't arrive and a side order of vegetables were sent back as they were luke warm and overcooked. Two of us ordered Chicken Ceasar salad. I ordered mine with the dressing on the side, so was surprised to find after eating the top few leaves that the remaining leaves were swimming in some sort of vinagrette. The other salad was fine but could have done with a lighter touch when the dressing was applied. There was an abundance of grilled chicken on both salads which was fine.

Despite the lack of covers the service was very slow, so on the whole a pretty average dining experience.
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JB
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Thursday, August 16, 2007

This is an excellent French brasserie. I had the steak tartare and it was wonderful. The service was good. The atmosphere great...perhaps too much noise but this place is always busy! It's unbelievable! And that's part of the brasserie atmosphere anyway! I will go back for sure.
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Claire Debleu
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, July 24, 2007

I have nothing negative to say about this place, they will always find you a table, the food is simple french and service is always spot on. It is like stepping into Paris for the afternoon.
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EJ - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Good French food, even worse French service. You come here for the food, put up with the indifference of the waiting staff. There is a reason they are called waiters. They are there to make you wait.
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Bryan Goh
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Friday, January 05, 2007

We've been going to La Brasserie for a number of years and haven't been disappointed yet! From light lunch-time snacks through to early after-work supper, they ahve always scored top marks.

My only regret is that our friends moved from South Ken a while ago so we don;t get in there as much as we'd like.
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Mike Spellman
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, July 15, 2006

Despite being slightly indifferent to this place I always seem to end up eating here. The service is attentive and the food not bad, not exactly a great bargain but it is an institution of sorts. What it badly needs however is a refit! The celing is a mass of wires which they have tried to cover with a bad coat of gloss paint. Maybe my meal companions were entirely boring and I spent too much time staring at the celing but you don't stay an institution by looking shabby! Extra points for the glamourous loos though!
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Bee
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Elegance and class once again in Knightsbridge
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Antonio
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, January 16, 2006