“For extravagant excellence”, look no further than this “quirky”, “proper old-school French” establishment near Gray’s Inn, where “splendidly off-the-wall” patron, Otto Tepasse, “is at times both chef, sommelier and confidant”. “Old-fashioned silver service, rich dishes (including the signature ‘canard à la presse’), a wine cellar that seems to have no limits, and waiters who prep the sauces in front of you” all make for “great theatre and superb food. It’s slightly bonkers, but brilliant. Maybe wear elasticated trousers!” Top Menu Tip – “the scallops sealed in their shells, with the obligatory caviar, with puff pastry is a dish of the year”.
“Unique and outstanding!” – “don’t be fooled by the unprepossessing exterior” of Otto Tepasse’s very “individual” venture, near Gray’s Inn: “one of London’s better restaurants”. “Inside you find an eclectic, comfortable, old-fashioned interior” (“akin to the ambience of a country antique shop”), where le patron (much in evidence) and his “charming” team deliver “comforting and traditional, beautifully prepared French dishes”, as part of an old-school and “romantic” experience that’s “semi-theatrical in a very good way”. “Their signature dish – ordered in advance – is Duck à la Presse”: “quite a performance and possibly the richest three courses you’ll ever eat” (safest “to be sampled only once in a lifetime!”). Other Top Menu Tips – “exceptional tournedos Rossini and steak tartare”.
“A wonderful throwback to those halcyon days when you didn’t think of what you were eating and just tucked in with reckless abandon!” – Otto Tepasse’s “quirky” dining room, near Gray’s Inn, offers a masterclass in “unashamedly old-school French gastronomy” (most famously duck or lobster ‘à la presse’). Not only is his personal, eccentric approach welcome in an ever-more homogenous world, but it’s “also a wonderful reminder of what traditional, classic French cuisine is like and why it has led the world for as long as it has as the gold standard in culinary skill”. The famed ‘canard à la presse’ itself is “staggeringly good – a wonderful experience with plenty of theatre”. “A unique experience in London” and “very memorable”, but “not to be repeated often if you care about your waistline or artery linings!”
“A joyous celebration of how restaurants used to be and how they should be”; “eccentric Otto” is “a breath of fresh French air”, and his “gift of showmanship”, “traditional service” and “classic Gallic cuisine” – all in a “pleasant and old-fashioned”, if slightly “faded”, dining room in out-of-the-way Bloomsbury – is part of a nowadays “unique” approach that most diners feel is “always a wow”. “Otto’s duck and lobster à la presse is superlative” (he’s recently added pigeon too), “the steak tartare is London’s best” and such culinary throwbacks form part of a “magnificent”, unreformed, old-school menu. Caveats? – some of the food is “devastatingly cream-rich – not all modern eaters could manage it” – and “though it’s all very likeable, watch out as the bill stacks up quickly”. “But it’s one-of-a-kind”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Giles Coren was invited as a guest “to quite the most extraordinary (and extraordinarily huge) meal currently available in London”.
“It’s a famous and famously crazy restaurant — top of some lists of the best restaurants in Britain, entirely absent from others — presided over by a wonderful crazy man called Otto Albert Tepasse.”
“But, listen, you can’t afford La Grande Bouffe at Otto’s. And nor can I.”
Giles Coren - 2024-02-22 Drinks |
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|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £35.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.95 |
 Extras |
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|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 10.00% |
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Saturday | 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
