L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

[Andy Lynes]

Here's some shots I took of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, 13-15 West Street, London (0207 010 8600) when I visited for a look around last week. The restaurant opens 8 September. The black and white restaurant is the first floor La Cuisine de Joël Robuchon and the red themed restaurant is L'Atelier. There is also a top floor bar. I haven't seen a menu or tried any of the food yet.

[Catriona]

Thanks for those... How did it feel?

[Gary Marshall]

not sure about the black & white chequers but the rest looks cool

[Andy Lynes]

Thanks for those... How did it feel?

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The restaurant was not open so I didn't get the customer experience, but the ground floor restaurant in particular has a very luxurious feel to it and the bar is very intimate and sexy.

[sunbeam]

those chequers have already given me a headache, christ knows what its like eating amongst it

S

[ravelda]

Thanks for the Photos Andy - very interesting. Shame you didn't get to try any of the food - hope you dropped plenty of subtle hints! Did Joel give you any idea of the direction he will be taking with the food at all?

[Andy Lynes]

Will be eating there soon. Can't say more as I'm writing about the restaurant for a forthcoming edition of olive magazine.

[Champagne Sadie]

Did you get any idea of pricing?

NYC has been deemed far too high, and the Paris locations, although nice, are too expensive for what they serve.

[Andy Lynes]

Did you get any idea of pricing?

NYC has been deemed far too high, and the Paris locations, although nice, are too expensive for what they serve.

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Didn't get to see a menu unfortunately but London is a very expensive place to eat out so wouldn't be surprised if the prices were on a par with New York and Paris.

[Scott]

Did you get any idea of pricing?

NYC has been deemed far too high, and the Paris locations, although nice, are too expensive for what they serve.

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never been to NYC, but the paris one offers phenomenal value imo.

[Champagne Sadie]

Did you get any idea of pricing?

NYC has been deemed far too high, and the Paris locations, although nice, are too expensive for what they serve.

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never been to NYC, but the paris one offers phenomenal value imo.

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Scott - you are obviously minted to come to that conclusion.

[Matthew Grant]

Publicity machine for this place is good! Managed to get a mention on TV this morning - BBC London news no less!

Story went along the lines of "One of London's best restaurants is finally getting some competition. Joel Robuchon has 6 Michelin stars and is opening next door....The Ivy said that they welcomed any competition..."

It was very brief but to get a mention on the news is pretty decent. I had to laugh at the competition quote. Just imagine the celebs from the Ivy queuing outside L'Atelier for a couple of hours.

[Gary Marshall]

Did you get any idea of pricing?

NYC has been deemed far too high, and the Paris locations, although nice, are too expensive for what they serve.

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never been to NYC, but the paris one offers phenomenal value imo.

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can't say i'd go that far!

when it's good it's very good, but it never seems to cost me less than £100 a head.

[dallardice]

"....The Ivy said that they welcomed any competition..."

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I seem to remember them saying the same thing when West Street first moved into the site several years ago...

[Matthew Grant]

Yes, but did they say it on the BBC news?

[dallardice]

No but some bloke in the Observer referred to it (and it was 2001 - gosh, it seems so much longer ago)

The event is given an added frisson by the fact that the new place is a mere Perrier bottle's throw from that other celeb hang-out, The Ivy, on West Street, off London's St Martin's Lane. However much both sides will try to deny it, two of the biggest players in town are now going head to head.

[Jamsie]

Went last night and really enjoyed it

Started off with cocktails in the bar upstairs, where they match the drink with a little treat like a lime sorbet

Downstairs had the tasting menu which was really enjoyable especially the sweetbreads and a superb gazpacho set soup.

A lot of the dishes had hidden surprises in them which i'll let you find out about.

Met Mr Robuchon too, my french only extends to "welcome to london", unfortunately i couldn't strech to "The Ivy is where c-list emerdale stars eat gastropub food".

He mentioned he was over for a couple of weeks.

Was very friendly too, it was refreshing to see the interaction with the chefs in the kitchen and the customers.

[Matthew Grant]

More details please! Did you eat at Atelier or the restaurant? Can you give us some idea of prices? How long did you queue for?

[Jamsie]

More details please! Did you eat at Atelier or the restaurant? Can you give us some idea of prices? How long did you queue for?

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Yeah it was Atelier, the sit at the bar one watching the kitchen, there's also some seats to the side for couples and a few tables for 4 but still on bar seats/high seats.

We didn't queue as the last time you can actually book for was 7pm so we went for then.

The tasting menu was £55 but most of the a la carte tapas size courses are about £6-£10.

Watching the skill in the kitchen was superb though, especially if you like food as much as the people who knock about on this site do.

[Scott]

just read that Robuchon has installed Frederick Simonin as executive chef.

he is a crack player, and obviously no chances are being taken.

[Pweaver1984]

Scott whats Frederick Simonins background, is he Robuchon protégé, been with him a while?

[jamiemaw]

This block of West Street now neatly summarizes modern dining in London; in condescending order: JR, Pizza Hut, The Ivy.

We attended the first lunch at JR on Saturday. I can't report on the specifics yet as I'm writing an embargoed article, however I can report that the experience compared favourably with the other two establishments. And judging by the crowd, I think it's safe to say that you'll be hearing much more about JR in next weekend's FT and Sunday Times, amongst others.

Edited September 12, 2006 by jamiemaw (log)

[Gary Marshall]

all i need to know is do they have the lozere lamb chops and mashed potato on the menu?

[Andy Lynes]

"L'agneau en cotelettes dorees a la fleur de thym" £14 or £20. You get the mash with various dishes but we ordered so much that I'm not entirely sure which dish it came with, it just sort of appeared. Fantastic stuff though.

[naebody]

The first paper review arrives from MarioPlum in the Metro (not on line yet, but will likely be here when it is).

Her verdict: "adequate" haute stuff in curious retro-glam surroundings, populated by lone diners genuflecting at the Altar of Joël. Too much gloop and not enough yum. Service criticised at length. Good: the "legendary" mash. Bad: frogs legs ("tasting only of the fryer and a stagnant pond of parsley"). Underwhelming: everything else. Meal for 2, wine and water quoted at £160.

... all of which reinforces my initial thoughts when hearing about the place. I'd assumed the capital's second wave of nouvelle cuisine was on the way out, having being ridiculed by the anti-haute approach of Galvin, St John, etc. A new opening surely needs a radical USP to win back the high ground. And I fail to see anything radical about this latest link in a French TV chef's global chain.