kitchen w8

the set sunday lunch at £25 a head is not particularly adventurous, but what they do, they do well. my whitebait starter had maybe a bit too much batter for some tastes, but was fresh, tasty and not in the least bit greasy. the potted pork rillette was a bit ordinary but fine for a set lunch. the mains were well received. the mash served with my well cooked haddock was particularly good.

the bitter chocolate pudding matched with px sherry was a triumph.

all in all, it was a perfectly pleasant way to spend a sunday lunch time.

they were also pushing an excellent byob deal (no corkage fee on a sunday evening), something that i do hope more and more fine dining restaurants take up.

2nd march 2015 · by chris · in eating , england , london i had heard a great deal about kitchen w8.  apparently a new up and coming restaurant.  time to put it to the test. i went with a friend and we decided to split the set lunch choices so one of us would go for the sea theme courses and the other, the more land based animals. first up, the house bread.  yes.  it is missing something on the left.  yes.  i lack self control.  i was hungry.  what’s there to say? onwards to the real food.  mackerel with peanut, seaweed and monks beard.  i have no idea what monks beard is.  i would hope that it might enlighten me to the level of one of those studious monks you see in the movies.  it was ok but not really to my tastes so i reserve my judgment.  perhaps a more sophisticated palate than mine can provide an informed opinion.  well, at least that is what i am told when i view art.  sometimes i wonder if i have some visigoth blood in me. pig’s head.  now, i didn’t expect a pig’s head to look like this.  i thought it would look more porky or at least shapely.  maybe this piggy was road kill… instead, it seems to be well, rather rectangular.  i haven’t had the privilege of witnessing a pig with a square head yet.  but maybe that’s just me.  however, it did taste very good, packing a quadruple helping of pig in this cubed pate next to a squared collection of the odd parts that did not manage to be reduced into the semi-solid block. featherblade of beef with onions layered with bacon lardons and a small potato.  i found the beef to be ok, nothing to write home about, but it was really the onion with bacon lardons on top which took the cake, or onion gravy in this case.  although the beef was cooked nicely pink, it seemed rather bland.  the onion with bacon lardons on the other hand made up for this issue.  i almost thought that a little piggy had managed to transmute itself into an onion shape. pollock with buttermilk, artichokes and grapes.  yes, grapes!  the artichoke was co

kitchen w8 is a “neighbourhood” restaurant just off high street kensington. it’s owned by philip howard, head chef and co-owner of two michelin starred the square and rebecca mascarenhas who owns a whole host of similar neighbourhood friendly restaurants in balham, chiswick and barnes. the restaurant also holds a michelin star so we had high hopes for our sunday lunch. the restaurant was fairly large and was very bright and modern. once it filled up with the kensington locals it had a pleasant buzzy atmosphere. the only menu available was the set lunch priced at £29.50 for three courses. unusually for us though we struggled to find anything on there that really excited or wowed us. during sunday lunchtime the option of the slightly more varied a la carte isn’t available which was a shame. no amuse bouche was offered which was a pity but the white sourdough bread was scarily addictive and some of the finest i’ve ever tasted! i wolfed down three large slices of the stuff! i opted for the

greeted at the door i was led to our table by the very pleasant and polite staff. like the decor the diners also looked smart and well heeled.

amazingly simple and delicious food. you should definitely try out their tasting menu. impeccable service, food explanations were clear and easy to understand. highly recommended!

amazing place in london. i love the food. can’t wait to come back here again. congratulations to the staff.

where in london can you get a three course lunch for £28 with a michelin star? the answer is this place, kitchen w8. i’m a big fan of phil howard (previously of the square, now elystan street) who part-owns kitchen w8. looking through the menu, you can see glimpses of phil’s influence throughout the dishes. phil’s books ‘the square: savoury’ and ‘the square: sweet’ are two of the best cookbooks that i own. the food is simple in terms of flavours but just the right side of complex in the construction of dishes. as we headed to high street kensington, i couldn’t wait for the experience to begin. kitchen w8 couldn’t really be in a more attractive area. just off the main kensington high street down abingdon road, it’s perfect for lunch or dinner after some high-end retail therapy. as we strolled into the restaurant, we were followed by other diners who had various designer carrier bags in tow. the dining room is a smart yet relaxed space. the large mirrors and waiters uniforms reminded me a lot of chez bruce in wandsworth, owned by bruce poole who has previously worked with phil howard at the square. we got a spot on a comfortable corner with a panoramic view of the dining room.we had a choice of a la carte or set lunch menus. given that we were excited at the prospect of three courses for such good value, we went with the set menu. i could quite happily have had the set menu as a tasting menu in itself – each and every dish sounded tempting. as the weather was hot, we opted to try a mocktail. a virgin mojito is the sole non-alcoholic cocktail on offer here at kitchen w8 so we went with that. as it turned out, it was well made and very refreshing.

one of my highlights if my recent london trip was the michelin star @kitchenw8
this place that presents itself as a neighborhood restaurant was one of my best culinary experiences in london ,with its generous portions and unbelievable flavours this place will definitely leave an amazing impression and you will leave satisfied to the bone :).
bottom line "i loved it❤️❤️"

i know there are plenty of blogs about london restaurants and places to go but below are the places i ventured to (one michelin restaurant, one breakfast club and one traditional pub) and can say are well worth a visit.

kitchen w8 has a michelin star but is more affordable than other restaurants with the same pedigree. most starters ranged from £9-13 and mains were £20-30. the food is good but won't blow you away and the setting is nice. i would prefer to go for lunch, they have a fantastically priced set menu and it is brighter.

kitchen w8 has a michelin star but is more affordable than other restaurants with the same pedigree. most starters ranged from £9-13 and mains were £20-30. the food is creative british and served in a plain and unremarkable setting. they have fantastic lunch deals for two and three courses but the a la carte menu in the evening didn't blow us away. for a similar michelin type experience, i preferred medlar.

unlike other michelin starred restaurants, kitchen w8 main brief is to bring affordable priced food to the local community. the word "affordable" certainly ticked the box for us, being a relatively somewhat cheaper than most of the michelin starred restaurants that i have encountered. kitchen w8 seems to be unknown to the public, located just off kensington high street.

i had heard a great deal about kitchen w8.  apparently a new up and coming restaurant.  time to put it to the test. i went with a friend and we decided to split the set lunch choices so one of us would go for the sea theme courses and the other, the more land based animals. first up, the house bread.  yes.  it is missing something on the left.  yes.  i lack self control.  i was hungry.  what’s there to say?

this is actually my second visit to kitchen w8, having eaten there about three years ago before i started blogging. the restaurant is known for its excellent priced set lunch and that is what i went for as i was on my way to an exhibition so i couldn't stay long.

when i booked to go to this restaurant, i was so excited and because it is michelin-starred, we had very high expectations of the food. 
we enter the restaurant, the waiter welcomes us, takes our coats, so i thought so far so good. the service was impeccable. 
when we got our dishes however, we didn't care about the perfect service any more, all we cared about was the deception  that we felt when tasting the food. 
i had fish, i can't remember which, i just remember that it wouldn't have made a difference because it was tasteless. it was very dull, the whole plate was plain and boring. and not worthy of a michelin-star. i was curious to know if my friends had a different experience, but we all thought that we were waisting our money here.
so we left the place very disappointed, and surprised that a place like this got a michelin star.