Harden's survey result
Summary
“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!”
Summary
“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”.
Summary
“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”.
Summary
“Immune to trends and setting its own agenda” – visiting this “old-fashioned” Bloomsbury parlour is a little “like stepping back a generation”. “Wonderful, old-fashioned, French, classic cuisine” is served in a “delightful” dining room, overseen with “charming professionalism” by the owner Otto (“invariably there”) who is “amusing and fun”. Top Menu Tips – “everyone raves (rightly) about the pressed duck and Poularde de Bresse, but Otto also does the best Steak Tartare in the UK (made at the table with Otto’s inevitable theatrical flourish)”.
For 31 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).
Have you eaten at Otto's?
Restaurant details
Otto's Restaurant Diner Reviews
"One of London’s best restaurants. Don’t be fooled by the unprepossessing exterior. Inside you find quirky, comfortable decor, exceptional tournedos Rossini and steak tartare. Their signature dish (ordered in advance) is pressed duck, which is great and quite a performance but the real delights are on the ordinary menu. "
"A bit over the top - but what's not to like with red velvet banquettes"
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.50 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 12.50% |
182 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8EW
Opening hours
| 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 |
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