“The airy beauty of the space” – “fantastic on a sunny day” – has made this first-floor Brompton Cross dining room a modern-day classic; “professional” service and notable wine also play their part but, of late, the “superior Gallic cuisine” has played rather a supporting role.
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“[Smoking aside], the dining experience at Bibendum is pretty much as it was when Sir Terence Conran, Lord Paul Hamlyn and plain old Mr Simon Hopkinson first opened the restaurant in the former Michelin-tyre headquarters in 1987”, says the critic… Even the classic French menu first installed by Hopkinson has been carried on by current chef/director Matthew Harris, who has been cooking here since day one. It may not be set in aspic, but it is certainly gently napped with beurre blanc”. It reminds the critic “more of what was good about the 1980s, rather than what wasn’t – with the possible exception of the bill, which is as uncomfortable now as it was then”.
Fay Maschler (4th September 2008)
The doyenne of critics obligingly reviews this Chelsea landmark restaurant on its 21st birthday, and notes that a “handsome book has been published to mark the milestone”. “Although prices make the tyres screech I still think, as Michelin would have it, that Bibendum is vaut le détour”.
Jay Raynor (4th December 2007)
The critic visits this South Kensington legend to celebrate its two decades in business. Time has moved on, he finds: “the real problem is there are a bunch of places now doing much more cheaply what Bibendum does so expensively”.
Michael Winner (23rd July 2007)
After entertaining us with his star-anedotes, our hero has a “stunning good meal” at this South Kensington institution, now two decades old. “Everything, and I mean everything, was beyond belief excellent.”
Terry Durack (2nd March 2009)
Fay Maschler (4th September 2008)
Jay Raynor (4th December 2007)
Michael Winner (23rd July 2007)
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