kitchen w8

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 michelinstarso 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

one of my highlights if my recent london trip was the michelinstar@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❤️❤️"

kitchen w8 has a michelinstarbut 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 michelinstarbut 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.

kitchen w8 is a michelinstarrestaurant, 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 michelinstarrestaurant 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 michelinstarrestaurant, 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

michelinstarrestaurant 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… michelinstarat £23 for 3-course what more could you ask? a must try..

doesn't get much better than £23 for a 3 course michelinstarlunch, 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!

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 michelinstarand 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

kitchen w8, which opened about three weeks ago, is co-owned by none other than philip howard of the twostarmichelined restaurant the square , and rebecca mascarenhas of sonny's (which i also coincidentally visited recently).