Pret A Diner - 30/05/12
I have been away so lots of places to catch up on. The week before last before London turned back into a city swimming pool I went to the pop up restaurant prêt a Diner. Located for 3 months just round the corner from Mayfair with 2 Michelin starred chefs and Colebrook Row in residence it sounded exciting. However it came at a steep price, £75 for 3 courses with wine, cocktails, desserts and a main course upgrade coming as extra.
Trying too hard to be hip - needed to concentrate on the basics first
Colebrook row was taking over the bar, I know the bar well so was expecting good things. The cocktails were priced at £12 each so at the pricey end. Overall we were happy, but I got a Bellini that was half full compared to everyone else in the room, obviously opening another bottle was deemed too much effort – not good enough at £12.
The food was upstairs where a grand old room is covered in graffiti and turned into a basketball court. All our table chose the Niederkofler menu over Locatelli’s as it looked more appealing. We were given the hard sell to upgrade and to get mineral water, which at this price would not expect. The amuse bouche, starts and pasta were excellent and could not fault. However we were all disappointed with our main courses, even those who had upgraded, as were served undercooked fondant potatoes and veg. The reason for the rushed main course maybe due to the fact they were drastically running out of time for the next sitting of people. We were not offered desserts, but asked to go downstairs to the bar for a surprise (it was a friend’s birthday). We went down to the bar which had been quiet when we left but now bursting at the seams , the staff were running around apologising to everyone. Timings it seemed were not going to plan. We arrived at our saved table (much to everyone else’s annoyance) and a very large portion of cake was delivered to us. It was a relief to get something for being shooed off our table before dessert also the bill was racking up.
I got the impression it is more about the theatre of the experience rather than the food and although I enjoyed it for the most part, will not be going to another Pret a Diner experience.
Talk Rating: 3.5/5 (louder more hip music then any normal michelin restaurants)