Slim pickings in S. Kensington

[Jonathan Day]

12 years ago we moved to the UK, starting out in a flat in Onslow Gardens, South Kensington (much of South Kensington happens to be called Onslow Gardens or at least Onslow Something, but that's another story). We left the area after a few months and have not been back. Trips to the museums or the park somehow haven't entailed a stop on the Old Brompton Road.

This weekend I arrived in S. Ken somewhat early for a rendez-vous and had a pleasant walk around the old neighbourhood. But I was surprised at how poor the food offerings seemed to be, at all levels. I had hoped to find an espresso and a decent pastry, but the shops were all chain stores (Coffee Express, etc.). Hilaire has closed -- it is now a Lebanese restaurant with an ordinary-looking menu.

A few of the food shops aimed at the French were still around, but most appeared to have closed. I didn't walk up to see whether Bagatelle, the baker/patissier/fancy food shop, is still operating, but I presume that it is. It was once distinctive compared to other offerings in London, but this is no longer the case.

The wonderful La Vigneronne wine shop is still in operation. But I spotted no other food shops or restaurants of interest or distinction. (I rule out Bibendum in this regard; in days past I had a couple of fine meals there, but after two dinners where the food and service were horrible, I have not returned. I am also distinguishing Knightsbridge from South Ken).

Given that (1) there are many French people living in South Kensington and (2) it is a reasonably wealthy area, I am wondering why the area seems so devoid of gastronomic interest. After all, as we've been reminded many times on this site, France + Money = Haute Cuisine = (objectively) Good Food.

Is this observation accurate, or am I missing some great places in South Kensington?

[Steve Plotnicki]

South Kensington is sort of like the upper east side of Manhattan. The neighborhood is lovely but there is nowhere to eat other than places with more style then substance. Hillaire used to be good, but I don't think it was ever patronized by the French in the neighborhood. Where I have seen French people eating are at Le Suquet on Draycott Ave and Le Pescadou on Old Brompton Rd. just west of Earl's Court Rd. The only other place I know of in the neighborhood that is good is Star of India on Old Brompton down near the Gloucester Rd. But I haven't been there in a while. In general I don't find that the French people living in the U.S. or the U.K. spend lots of money on food. I mean it sort of goes against living in those places in the first place. If you are a food crazy Francophile (and a French citizen,) why live in London or New York? I think there is another issue as well. I will bet you that upper middle class homes in NYC or London are spending as much or more on food per capita then the French do. Now that would be a useful statistic to have.

[Tonyfinch]

There's a lot on this board about the recently opened Racine- a French restaurant on Old Brompton Rd (I think).

Apart from that Bombay Brasserie in Courtfield Rd is one of London's best upmarket Indians, and Cambio de Tercio, also on Old Brompton Rd, is now rated by many as London's best Spanish.

[TCD]

Haven't been there, but have heard several positive first-hand accounts of dining at the restaurant in the Blake's Hotel.

[John Whiting]

Steve's trip down Memory Lane reminds me that, when we lived in Gledhow Gardens and then Rosary gardens over thirty-five years ago, one of Elizabeth David's favorite London restaurants, La Chantarelle, was just around the corner on the Old Brompton Road. Star of India was going back then, looking exactly as it does now, and in the Good Food Guide.

My bank was the Westminster, the So. Kensignton-Onslow Gardens branch. I stayed with it for years after we left the area, until the manager retired. He used to call me in once a year for a financial consultation, which was an hour spent in sad reflection on how the neighborhood had changed for the worse. There was, of course, no charge.

Edit: The Society of Authors is in Drayton Gardens. Whenever I go to one of their evening events, my walk from So. Kensington tube station takes me expensively past La Vigneronne. Or rather into it -- I am unable to walk past without buying at least a bottle.

[Vanessa]

OK, I know this not 'haute'-anything, but to me South Kensington is Daquise - whether for a cup of good coffee and a doughnut filled with plum jam, or for a meal of herring with sour cream followed by pierogi and accompanied by a mug of Zywiec beer. And that atmosphere, essentially unchanged for a good 40 years. Great place for weird people watching.

v

[tony h]

I used to work at the V&A and had no end of wonderful places to eat for lunch (although not everyday - Museum's don't pay that well).

Daphne’s is quite good (but you had to wear a dress to fit in the ladies who lunch)

itsu - the first branch - serves perfectly acceptable sushi

Racine - much talked about on these pages

Bibendum

English Garden (I think that's what its called - the Richard Corrigan place).

You can even get to Aubergine & back in your lunch break

Capitol is next Harrods - best lunch in town

There's also a reasonably good Italian - Monsa, i think.

I loved the Collection - but it doesn't do lunch anymore (although there were many occasion when I'd go to for lunch & just not return - those were the days).

There are loads of other places at different ends of the scale.

Now, if you want a miserable part of London in which to eat - try Elephant & Castle where I now work. I'll challenge anyone to come up more than a couple of decent places (so far - all I've found is the laughing gravy). Help appreciated.

[Tonyfinch]

Higgins,you mean you haven't wandered a few hundred yards down the road towards Kennington to The Lobster Pot-the most ludicrous OTT fish restaurant in London,with seagulls on the soundtrack and the staff all gussied up as French fishermen etc.?

Actually its a hit and miss place. I've been twice and both times quality veered wildly within the meal. There's a retail outlet next door so everything is spanking fresh. Its not cheap but it'll certainly take your mind off the lovely Elephant &Castle for a couple of hours.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Well it isn't only about good dining in the neighborhood, JD wants to know where the French people eat? Otherwise from your list, Daphne's is fine, and so is Itsu. And that new place between them Tartine is acceptable as well. But is that really South Ken or are you getting into Chelsea or Knightsbridge there? But none of those places are fine dining and we are talking about London's poshest neighborhood aren't we. Don't those posh people like to eat?

[macrosan]

My bank was the Westminster, the So. Kensignton-Onslow Gardens branch. I stayed with it for years after we left the area, until the manager retired. He used to call me in once a year for a financial consultation, which was an hour spent in sad reflection on how the neighborhood had changed for the worse. There was, of course, no charge.

I wish I had memories like that. My bank used to be Natwest at 1 Kensington High Street, and my consultations with my bank manager were more of a sad reflection on my financial condition. And there sure was a charge

SteveP, Kensington is no longer a posh area. Smart hotels and shops, but I think as a residentoial area it has been overtaken by Regents Park, St Johns Wood, and the yuppie riverside neighbourhoods.

[Jonathan Day]

Kensington is no longer a posh area. Smart hotels and shops, but I think as a residentoial area it has been overtaken by Regents Park, St Johns Wood, and the yuppie riverside neighbourhoods.

This may be the key. Nothing worse than an area that still has associations of "highly desirable" but has in fact slipped in favour. Even the shops no longer seemed as interesting or ambitious as those I recalled from 1990. And it may explain why the eating seems to have slipped.

BLH -- agree with you about many of those places (with the notable exception of Bibendum) but most of them aren't, strictly speaking, in South Ken...alas, Bibendum is.

Vanessa, I only ate in Daquise once. The pierogis were flavourless and leaden and the service was dreadful. Perhaps they were having a bad day, but I haven't returned.

Fortunately the gastronomic fate of S. Ken is primarily a matter of nostalgic interest, since I now live near Wandsworth Common -- an area known in the very best foodie circles as "Chez Bruceville".

[tutti_frutti3]

Hello, all. I used to post earlier as tutti-frutti, but had to re-sign in as I had forgotten my password.

One thing I can tell you is that Kensington & Chelsea is still the hottest residential area in town. The prices to buy per square foot are around £1000, which is much, much higher than Regent's Park, St. Johns Wood, Marylebone etc. Those are 'wannabe' areas, really - and I'd include Hampstead in that category.

Don't quite understand where you get the idea of a neighbourhood thats no longer 'posh'.

[tony h]

it'll certainly take your mind off the lovely Elephant &Castle for a couple of hours.

Can't wait

[Tonyfinch]

BLH, a few yards further down the road,just by Kennington station WAS a restaurant called The Station Grill. It was set up a few years ago by a couple of Roux bros. graduates and served good local French bistrot type food at reasonable prices.

I say was because I've no idea if it's still there or in the same hands. Might be worth checking out though

[macrosan]

Don't quite understand where you get the idea of a neighbourhood thats no longer 'posh'.

It's from visual observation of once-beautiful residential buildings being allowed to decay, once-smart hotels not being kept adequately refurbished and/or being sold off to lower-quality chains, and once-exclusive and top-quality shops and restaurants being converted or sold off to lower-range establishments.

I'm happy to believe that prices od property are still astronomical, but the prices you quote are not much different from prices in St Johns Wood, Regents Park, Chelsea, Islington, Battersea, and so on, whereas once upon a time they were much different.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I have been reading the account of South Kensington and I am wondering if people are speaking about the same neighborhood I was walking in last month. The shops are quite posh, maybe moreso then they were in years past. And the people who are walking around are as posh as ever, and the flats listed at the estate agents are even dearer then they used to be. What has changed significantly is the commercial bit of the Old Brompton Road west of the tube station. That sshops on that strip seemed to have dropped in class a few notches from years past, closure of Hillaire adding to that state. But aside from that two block stretch, the neighborhood seems to be oozing money to me.

[tutti_frutti3]

Macrosan, where oh where are the once fine buildings decaying? Tell me quick, I'll buy one

Real estate is something I know about, and much as estate agents try to glam up Islington, St. Johns Wood etc, there isn't any real comparison. Steve Plotnicki is right - if anything, South Kensington is wealthier, tonier and more exclusive now than any time in the recent past.

The very high real estate market for Kensington/Chelsea properties is a problem for us diners out, because the real estate 'nut' is that much higher. I'm amazed at the number of restaurants doing business in the borough - I hope they don't all get driven out by the high prices.

[magnolia]

I lived in S. Ken on and off for a year in 1996 before I moved to London full-time, and then headed down the road to riverside. In the course of six years, the S. Ken retail scene has become distinctly un-posh. Perhaps a handful of high end stores like Amanda Wakely, Divertimenti (if it's still there?), Theo Fennell, - but the main drags of S Ken are almost indistinguishable from those of any neighbourhood in London - very,very bland.

In fact King's Road is like a Flintstone's cartoon in which Fred's car drives past an endlessly repeating background of coffee chains, Gaps, Hobbs, Boots, Knickerbox, La Senza and teen-oriented clothing shops. The only places I'd consider eating are Al-Dar on King's Road, perhaps English Garden if I were splurging. Maybe one of the "gastro-pubs" (Cross Keys, Builders Arms, Altas, Admiral Codrington, Ifield) - though some of these are rather closer to Earl's Court.

Yes, the housing is very expensive and exclusive, but that doesn't seem to have any bearing on the shops or restaurants. We already know that money does not equal good taste or high standards for food. My layperson's take is that the inflated real estate prices lead to an actual 'de-poshification' of an area, as only shops with very deep pockets - i.e. chains - can afford to take over the large spaces of the banks as they close. Same thing is happening in all the upper crusty neighbourhoods in London. St John's Wood is fast heading that way, and look at Hamstead, Starbucks Starbucks everywhere, and not a place to eat.

The French people I know who live in London don't have any kind words for the restaurants...they tend to cook at home or eat wherever their friends go, they make periodic trips to France to shop - or receive care packages from home.

I don't see any big mystery here - as we've discussed a zillion times on these boards, the vast majority of people in London (present company excluded of course!!) - even those in expensive neighbourhoods, with lots of disposable income - don't give a darn about food and this is reflected in the relatively slim restaurant pickings for a city of such vast, cosmopolitan proportions.

Sorry if I sound like I'm engaging in a bit of London-bashing, but I've had more good meals in New York in fewer than two weeks than I have had in a year in London. No mistake, I adore London - but I moved there for work, and have stayed for love. And I so hope to be able to change my mind about the food some day!