kitchen w8

the set sundaylunchat £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 sundaylunchtime.

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 setlunchchoices 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 setlunchpriced 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

where in london can you get a three courselunchfor £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 forlunchor 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 setlunchmenus. 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.

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 fantasticlunchdeals 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.

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 setlunchchoices 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 setlunchand that is what i went for as i was on my way to an exhibition so i couldn't stay long.

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 atlunchi 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 atlunchi 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..

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 wholunchreinforcing 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 forlunchthese 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 badlunchthen. the menu is well constructed and while offering lots of stuff you know and love, there's usually something extra going on

the set sundaylunchat £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.

we were planning to go to new york this easter break so we duly made our way down to the american embassy to get a couple of visas. after a round trip that took up 7.5 hrs of driving, 3 hours of queuing, usd$280 and £112 (14 for courier, 18 for parking, 80 for petrol), the pigpig's visa got approved while mine is on hold as they find it really odd that i'm not a permanent resident in the uk after staying here for 10 years and i also forgot to take my old passports to show my previous uk visas. thankfully we had time to havelunchat kitchen w8 afterwards then as i was feeling decidedly grumpy. conveniently found just off high street kensington, it was also just a short drive from the embassy and although we found a parking within two minutes of spotting the restaurant, i would imagine it a lot harder to get a spot on the weekends. as is seemingly the case with most other michelin starred restaurants in london, the interior of kitchen w8 had a very clean and polished approach in varian