On a Kensington site that’s had a somewhat chequered history of late, a smart but somewhat subdued bistro offering food English dishes of very high quality, under the auspices of Square chef Philip Howard.
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Philip Howard is one of those blameless chefs who beavers away doing what chefs are supposed to do – for younger readers, that’s cooking – year after year. It’s no particular surprise, then...
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Press Reviews (8)
John Walsh (1st March 2010)
Food 4/5 stars, Ambience 3/5 stars, Service 5/5 stars
The critic visits are “rather stark” but “indefinably cool” and “friendly” Kensington bistro, where the food – though it has its ups and downs – generally impresses. It’s “a little too pricey and plain to be a neighbourhood drop-in site. But the food and the welcome make it a must-consider for anyone in Kensington with something to celebrate”.
Giles Coren (18th January 2010)
9.33
“From now on, I shall always order the vegetarian option, wherever I go, starter and main”, says the critic. Gosh, it will be interesting to see how long that lasts. (“Probably not for ever, but for a while”) And that’s not all: “from now on I’m going to be scoring restaurants on the quality and variety of their non-meat cooking.” “I want balance”, says the critic, and “I want to see meat used for flavour and variation, or as a focus, but I want most of the plate to be other things”. Well, if nothing else, this looks set to be an interesting corrective to the carnivocentricity to which we have all generally become accustomed.
AA Gill (18th January 2010)
4/5 stars
Like his Murcoch stablemate who got there the day before, the Sunday Times’s man concludes that this Kensington newcomer offers food “far better than anything else you can eat in Kensington”. He does caution, however, that “[p]lates can become overwhelmed by good ideas and taste association”, and the room has been decorated “with energy rather than élan”.
Marina O'Loughlin (14th January 2010)
3/5 stars
The critic visit’s a Kensington newcomer that’s “neither glowing with cosiness nor entirely contemporary”, where the cuisine offers a “blast of luxurious extravagance” that you only normally find in “a temple to haute cuisine”. To make it an “unreservedly welcome” arrival, however, it would be necessary to “[turn] down the rich factor a couple of notches”.
Nicholas Lander (21st December 2009)
On the basis of a duo of visits, the critic hails this Kensington “neighbourhood” newcomer for its “compelling” menu, which is “full of contrasting flavours and textures”.
Jay Rayner (21st December 2009)
“Kitchen W8 proclaims itself a neighbourhood restaurant, and I suppose it is, but only if you live in the sort of neighbourhood where everybody can afford to wear mink-lined knickers”, the critic tells us “[s]o their version of low key – either in terms of price or execution – may not be yours or mine”. He proclaims this a “soothing” room, with staff who are “well drilled without being dead eyed”. The food, though, “needs fine tuning” – some dishes were “fantastic”, but others were “bewildering”.
David Sexton (19th November 2009)
3/5 stars
The critic finds this “pleasant” new Kensington operation, led by Philip Howard of Square fame, something of a “puzzle”: the generally successful cooking is “full-out French luxurious”, but the sort of rich people who live round here “don’t really crave really rich food”. Even though this is “a bargain for the area”, he remains unsure as to its prospects. (We hope this analysis is right – our own review ended on a very similar sentiment!)
Richard Vines (12th November 2009)
3 stars
“Sometimes, a dish may stop you in your tracks for the right reasons: cutting through the small talk, pulling your wandering eye back to the plate and causing an involuntary movement that returns wine glass to table. Game consomme with bacon cream and a small game hot dog – a starter at [Square chef] Philip Howard’s informal new west London venue… – take a bow.” Right from the off, it’s clear that the financial information company’s critic is swept away by the food at this Kensington debutant. “I’m not sure where I last had so much pleasure for [£8]… but it was probably late at night from some exotic food stall somewhere in Asia, such as Kuala Lumpur, rather than at a smart London neighborhood restaurant”.
Kitchen W8 is a welcome revamp of the old 11 Abingdon Road premises, which has involved an improvement in the décor and, more importantly, in the kitchen. The place is now owned partly by Phil Howard and partly by previous owner Rebecca Mascarenhas (who has the erratic Sonnys). The dining room retains its split into different, quite cosy, sections with banquette seating around the walls, and seats up to 75. The wallpaper is a little dark but there are plenty of mirrors to offset that. There is the obligatory wooden floor, but noise levels are reasonable. Chef Mark Kempson was previously sous chef at The Square, and also worked at the Vineyard at Stockcross, so has a good pedigree.
John Walsh (1st March 2010)
Giles Coren (18th January 2010)
AA Gill (18th January 2010)
Marina O'Loughlin (14th January 2010)
Nicholas Lander (21st December 2009)
Jay Rayner (21st December 2009)
David Sexton (19th November 2009)
Richard Vines (12th November 2009)
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