kitchen w8

a meal in february 2013 began with nibbles of fried spheres of salt cod, with reasonable texture and tasting properly of the salt cod filling (5/10). bread was from the flourish bakery, and the brown sourdough was particularly good, having an excellent crust (5/10). a starter of scallops came with beurre noisette pear, hazelnut, swiss chard and roast chicken skin. the scallops were carefully timed and the crisp chicken skin offered a textural contrast, but the pear did not bring as much acidity to the dish as it might have done (5/10). rillettes of mackerel with smoked eel, sweet mustard, pickled onions, dill and rye was a successful dish, the balance between the dish elements good, the taste of the eel and mackerel coming through well (6/10).

fillet of sea bream came with chanterelles, curly kale, winter truffle “pesto” and crown prince squash. the fish was excellent, precisely cooked and having good flavour, the kale retaining its texture and the squash puree not too sweet (6/10). wood pigeon came with red and golden beetroot, pearl barley and a garnish of bacon. the pigeon was cooked well enough but this particular pigeon breast was a touch chewy in nature, though the dish was well designed, with the beetroot and barley proving a good accompaniment (4/10). on the side, ratte potatoes and sprouting broccoli were accurately cooked (5/10).

for dessert, hazelnut parfait was served with chocolate-soaked brioche and salt caramel ice cream, garnished with praline and lime. the ice cream had good texture, the hazelnut parfait plenty of flavour, but the brioche could have had more chocolate flavour, and a little more lime as balance would not have gone amiss (4/10). better was an excellent passion fruit posset with lime and pomegranate, clementine sherbet and a little meringue. the posset was carefully balanced, the fruit and sugar in harmonious proportions, and the sherbet added a hint of sharpness (6/10). service was very good indeed, friendly and efficient.

the last savoury course is based on more familiar ingredients and the full plate was one of my favourite dishes in 2013. smoked haunch of fallow deer is combined with jerusalem artichoke, swiss chard, chanterelles and scorched onions. smoking the venison gives it a wonderful depth of flavour and it partners superbly with the earthy jerusalem artichokes. the scorched onions have a sweet smoky flavour that plays on this theme further. complimentary sweetness comes from port and raisin purée. nutty bulgur wheat is a superb partner to the venison and again the use of chanterelles provides another delightful touch. loved this dish last year, love it this.

an exorbitantly priced riesling hurls us into the inevitable wallet lightening experience that kitchen w8 will be; however with the starters comes a sense of justification. a giant tortelli is laden with scallop, resting on a celeriac puree with a creamy veloute.

meet my new favourite local restaurant in london: kitchen w8. i had here the best all around meal, everything from starter to dessert was fantastic and after the dinner i just had that satisfied feeling that you only get when everything goes just right.

kitchen w8 is a michelin star restaurant, not far from high st kensington… i have never been a fan of eating around high st kensington cause i think this area doesn’t boast must quality but here its completely a hidden gem with the accolades they have and the price they charge of the set menu at lunch i just have to give it a try eventhou i heard good words from my friends, i have to come check it out myself michelin star restaurant always come with the complimentary bread and butter and here its not bad at all… crisp crust and dough fill of white or brown.. good start… so without further intro, let see what kitchen w8 cooks up… first for starter of crispy hen’s egg with truffle pesto on a bed of parmesan polenta and partridge tortellini with celeriac volute on bed of pear and celery both were amazing… the crispy hen eggs was crispy, yolk still runny.. polenta was creamy, crispy bacon bits adds that pork fatty flavour to it.. but the truffle just blew the whole thing to the next level

kitchen w8 is a michelin star restaurant, not far from high st kensington…

i have never been a fan of eating around high st kensington cause i think this area doesn’t boast must quality but here its completely a hidden gem

with the accolades they have and the price they charge of the set menu at lunch i just have to give it a try eventhou i heard good words from my friends, i have to come check it out myself

michelin star restaurant always come with the complimentary bread and butter and here its not bad at all… crisp crust and dough fill of white or brown.. good start…

so without further intro, let see what kitchen w8 cooks up…

first for starter of crispy hen’s egg with truffle pesto on a bed of parmesan polenta and partridge tortellini with celeriac volute on bed of pear and celery

both were amazing… the crispy hen eggs was crispy, yolk still runny.. polenta was creamy, crispy bacon bits adds that pork fatty flavour to it.. but the truffle just blew the whole thing to the next level of luxurious aroma.. delicious dish!

the fillings for the tortellini were just right, and the pear and celery add that sweet crunch texture and the celeriac volute was light, creamy and fragrant

for mains its feather-steak on bed of sweet potatoes with a side of stuffed braised onion with beef and pearl barley

second is pan fried salmon serve on a bed of potatoes, broccoli stem, brown shrimps and seaweed butter….

the steak was amazing, tender, juicy and the jus on top elevates the meat.. cut by herby onion and sweet mash was just balanced and right.. a great dish… on the other hand, the salmon was abit too undercooked and the component didn’t shine, mild and lost but the seaweed butter was nice but the whole dish didn’t come together

for dessert, almond financier with vanilla ice cream, poached pears and toffee sauce…. this sounds heavy but it was light, luxurious and sweet… all went well together.. a great end..

i think high st kensington may not be boring anymore, thanks to kitchen w8… michelin star at £23 for 3-course what more could you ask? a must try..

doesn't get much better than £23 for a 3 course michelin star lunch, in high street kensington no less.
kitchen w8 came highly recommended from a few people as somewhere with good food, not too fussy that my parent's would enjoy for their anniversary meal, and my birthday. they always try and steal the limelight!
it's a classy place, with very friendly staff, but when you go somewhere for the set menu you are sometimes at all whim of the gods if you've got it on a good day. thankfully it looks quite appitising with cocao voluté and veal sweetbreads (my mum thought these were testicles) for starters and poached hake for mains.
the cocao voluté was very rich and full of intense flavours. i must admit it was my first time for sweetbreads, probably not my first choice, but wasn't bad. i suppose first times are always a bit indifferent! the hake was a bit bland for my tastes, needed a bit more seasoning.
the rich bitter chocolate pave for dessert was more like it. the staff also brought round some complimentary truffles for my birthday and my parents anniversary a very sweet touch.
while i think pollen street social is probably a lot more accomplished and in a similar price range, i enjoyed my meal at w8, as did my parents, which is a good thing, cause otherwise i'd would have been for it!

kitchen w8 opened its doors to the community of kensington & chelsea in october 2009 aiming to become the local, go-to place. two years later in 2011 the restaurant was awarded a michelin star, a great achievement in such a short space of time. the restaurant strives to use only excellent ingredients which are sourced from small, reputable suppliers, how it does this and still serves up set-menus at rock bottom prices amazes me, i couldn’t even do it that cheap at home for this quality.

the decor in the restaurant is very modern, clean and fresh, it looks great but on a quiet lunchtime afternoon it can feel a bit cold and soulless. the food at kitchen w8 is british but with a little bit of french making its way on to the plates, a little je ne sais quoi! we did dine from the set menu at an incredible £19.50 for three courses, for dinner the same menu is £24.50. the bread that was brought to our table must have a mention, it was terrific. incredibly light and airy with a texture similar to a crumpet, quite like nothing i’ve had before, but something i definitely want again.

we started our meal with the veloute of winter leeks and charlotte potatoes with brown shrimps, parsley and a side of cod's roe on toast. the veloute itself was very well executed and incredibly refined, a real depth of flavour and you could taste every ingredient individually. the brown shrimps worked perfectly and gave it a little saltiness, the small cod's roe on toast was good, but i didn’t see much point of it with the veloute, it was a little lost.

parfait of foie gras with a puree of caramelized pink grapefruit, blood orange jelly and toasted sourdough was good solid dish. the parfait was extremely smooth and light and the topping of blood orange jelly was a nice touch but wasn’t that strong. the grapefruit puree was incredible and literally made my mouth water and went very well with the parfait, sour dough was perhaps the best i have ever had and the crust was delicious.

hungry? read more - http://www.londonfoodaholic.co.uk/2013/03/review-kitchen-w8-abingdon-road.html

kitchen w8 is a non-pretentious, homely restaurant set in the heart of london on high street kensington. set lunches are at a very affordable £21.00 for 2 courses and £23.00 for 3 courses, available from monday-saturday and set dinners are priced at £22.00 for 2 courses and £25.00 for 3 courses (mon-fri). this is value that is hard to beat, especially for dinner which can be very costly affairs in a city like london and in a restaurant accredited the coveted michelin star.

much has been made of kitchen w8 being a 'neighbourhood restaurant' though that neighbourhood could only be kensington & chelsea since mains go as high as £28, the venue has a michelin star and if it were transported to say wales, it might possibly be considered the best restaurant in the whole country (sorry wales). pushchair buggies lining the walls suggest mothers or nannies who lunch reinforcing that neighbourhood image, but without mistake, there's some serious cooking going on here and we thoroughly enjoyed it. having recently eaten at the incredibly well regarded medlar also (we're moving west it seems for lunch these days), we think kitchen w8 trumps it on execution of dishes, providing more balance and depth in the food. to top it all, kitchen w8 delivered up what instantly became one of our favourite desserts since starting the blog. not a bad lunch then. the menu is well constructed and while offering lots of stuff you know and love, there's usually something extra going on

always a varied, carefully-conceived menu, combining intriguing, mainly british seasonal ingredients with both classic and modern cooking techniques.

some might consider the set up every so slightly pretentious (white tablecloths and dressed up staff) but service was unobtrusive though enlightening when it needed to be and it didn't feel stuffy in the slightest.

on the two occasions i have been there, the seasoning has been quite aggressive - which hits the spot for me but on one occasion my companion found a little too much, although she polished both plates off before i could finish mine!

every neighbourhood should have a spot like this: fine british-based cooking in a proper setting but without much fuss.

tucked away in a side street just off high street kensington, kitchen w8 is co-owned by philip howard, who is the head chef at the square with 2 michelin stars. despite of kitchen w8’s one michelin status, everything about the restaurant has a touch of local, neighbourhood feel. no tasting menu, no extravagant or crazy dishes. instead for simpler food, simple cooking (relatively) and excellent ingredients.  the restaurant i remembered that neighbourhood vibe at kitchen w8 vividly (i also live in the area). tables are easy to book on the day (you can probably just walk in for early dinner), cosy dining room and full of people who looked relaxed in that ‘i just walked into my local restaurant’ way. it reminded me of the nearby launceston place , which is also cosy and quiet with amazing food (also has a michelin star). i highly recommend both restaurants for occasions such as dates, catch up wit

i'd bigged it up. have the risotto, i insisted.  jerusalem artichoke with vacherin mont d’or and winter truffle. having had it the last time i came, i  thought it was a magnificent dish. that is because it contains a number of my favourite things, all in one place. 

kitchen w8 opened its doors to the community of kensington & chelsea in october 2009 aiming to become the local, go-to place. two years later in 2011 the restaurant was awarded a michelin star, a great achievement in such a short space of time. the restaurant strives to use only excellent ingredients which are sourced from small, reputable suppliers, how it does this and still serves up set-menus at rock bottom prices amazes me, i couldn’t even do it that cheap at home for this quality. the decor in the restaurant is very modern, clean and fresh, it looks great but on a quiet lunchtime afternoon it can feel a bit cold and soulless. the food at kitchen w8 is british but with a little bit of french making its way on to the plates, a little je ne sais quoi! we did dine from the set menu at an incredible £19.50 for three courses, for dinner the same menu is £24.50. the bread that was brought to our table must have a mention, it was terrific. incredibly light and airy with a texture similar

kitchen w8 – sublime and on my doorstep: there are times when i wonder if perhaps i’ve spent the last ten years walking around with my eyes closed.  there is, of course, a certain comfort in the familiar and that’s my excuse for not discovering kitchen w8 before.  there are other great places to eat around here and quite often if i am eating out, then i’m not in this part of london anyway.  but, it’s still good to find a great new place to dine locally. kitchen w8, on a small side road halfway along kensington high street, has a discrete and rather unmemorable exterior.  when i arrived, as always seems to be the case, there was a large delivery lorry parked outside, so i’ve borrowed a few pictures from my dining companion.  inside, understated chic, with muted colour on the walls, subtle contemporary art and rich velvet banquettes making this feel very much like a kensington living room.  friendly enough to accommodate the odd kensington yummy mummy and pushchair