Kitchen Table

The décor is awesome. Staff are friendly. The food doesn’t worth as much as it cost. high class Traditional American restaurants is usually better.

I really wanted to like this place based on the premise and what I’d read about it beforehand but sadly I found it all just a bit of a letdown.
The premise is that the Kitchen Table is based around where the chefs are working and when I’ve been to this kind of thing before there is a bit of interaction. That’s not the case here with the dish just being announced to your half of the room. I attended the first sitting and was faced with 10 empty seats and wondered whether it just wasn’t fully booked but my questions were soon answered. The next sitting joined when we were just over halfway through and to see the dishes being announced exactly the same as they were to us made it lose a little bit of the magic and spectacle.
Food wise the ethos is definitely on not wasting anything which led to me trying quite a few things. Parsons Nose, duck heart, fatty trout and a spread made from rendered bacon fat where all part of the menu and while the menu is incredibly clever and all of the dishes looked very nice most of it just wasn’t for me.
Some of the food was incredibly tasty and there was a bit of a mix up with the additional dish (lobster) on offer which was dealt with very well which gets them a big thumbs up. For the price we paid for the food just doesn’t stand up against other comparable places which was a big disappointment.
For me the big thing about somewhere is would I recommend or go back and I’m afraid to say that the answer would be no for the Kitchen Table

Gastro nerds’ paradise this. Top chef serving up 16 courses, ingredients grown in his Northumbrian garden.
The vibe is extremely foodie. This isn’t a place to relax and enjoy each other’s company. It’s all about the nosh. You are ushered in to a dark entrance at the back of the ever popular Bubbledogs. Behind the curtain is a kitchen with a bar that goes all the way round and 18 comfy bar stools to sit and watch the cooks at work.
Menu chalked up on the wall. One ingredient. Peas. Followed by potato. Then bread, carrot, trout, duck, pork, lobster, balsamic, cherry, vanilla. The list goes on.
16 courses. A couple of absolute crackers, the bulk real winners but a few I reckon I could have easily done without. A course of two lightly pickled carrots from their garden springs to mind. Brushed of their mud and served on ice as I remember. A lot of fuss about nothing much and as everyone cooed away while chef explained the dish, I wondered whether it was a case of emperor’s new clothes.
The proprietors’ passion is beyond doubt. You could feel their delight as they talked about each dish and presented it to us. They were dead eager to answer any questions too as they grafted in front of us as well as engage in arguments about whether the tube strike was fair or not. A fun mixture of very relaxed and high end gastronomy.
I feel mean for being the first one not to give this place five stars. And I hesitate to say this, but for me the overriding memory of the night was the bill.
Obviously, if you’re booked in to a place of high renown and you’re eating 16 courses of delicious food you expect to pay a whack. But our whack came to £380. Delicious, yes. An experience, yes. But £380 for two? To be fair, we downed a couple of bottles of wine. But is there anyone in this world who can make one bottle last the three hours the meal requires of you? Not us unfortunately. We quaffed one St Aubin and a good Hungarian red which came in right at the bottom end of the scale. Neither bottle worried the fancy end of the list.
I worked out the absolute cheapest you could dine here for two. Its £214. For that you would need to drink tap water all night and forego the two supplemented dishes on the menu (both delicious and without them the meal is a great deal less spectacular). Service is included in that price and I guess you could stop short of paying that if you wished but it was thoroughly charming throughout. That said, my service came to well over £40. This isn’t service like you get at La Gavroche where 10 waiters move effortlessly and expertly around you without you ever even noticing. This is the lovely proprietor laying your dish in front of you and taking it away at the end. An altogether more casual affair that deserves reward, but on the scale they tag onto your bill? Blimey, she’s on about £800 a night. Nice work.
So, whilst this is one cool place run by fantastically passionate and gifted people, my overriding memory is of the bill rather than the food which is a great shame. I should be waxing lyrical about the supplemented lobster dish which was beautiful and crammed with seafood flavour, or those ever so fresh peas and their creamy accompaniment or the salty sorbet which woke my mouth from the pillowy dreams of the bread and honey that came before it. But the cheque gets star billing.
Personally I would cut down the menu by a few courses, add some more reasonably priced wines to the list and leave the service charge to the punter. Not sure the 12.5% rule needs to be strictly observed once you get into the £300 realms.
I would also just check on the minor things like how you’re greeted when you walk in. We sat at the Bubbledogs bar and had a drink before being ushered through the magic curtain. The girl at the bar could neither speak or understand a word of English. It was clearly her first day, she was petrified and she couldn’t catch my order for either a lager, a vodka and slimline (this one caused the utmost confusion with her bolshy American translator too, to the extent that I had to quite literally spell it out) or a glass of sparkling mineral water for which I was eventually rewarded with a whole bottle. By this time I had given up and just took whatever I was given. On a casual night out you’d laugh it off. But for £380 you remember it and it bugs you.
One more thing. How about banning mobile phones? No doubt everyone’s entitled to photograph their food if they’ve paid for it and god knows I’ve done it enough myself. But the incessant shooting of every single dish from all angles became absurd and with the layout being what it is — 19 people sitting in a horse shoe — its not something you can just ignore. Its there, in your face the whole three hours and after a while you want to shove the iPhones and iPads down their gullets along with the delicious deep fried chicken skin. Say ‘cheeeeese’. (£8 supplement)

I don’t know how I didn’t leave a review after my first visit to Kitchen Table back in 2013. Obviously, a huge oversight on my part, but bonus… I get to review it after my second visit. Which was divine.
Just go. And if Chef is offering extras, do it. No matter what.
So many courses. And I believe we got 4 extras for a mere £15 over standard. And one of those extras was a Cornish lobster that was easily the best thing I ate that evening and perhaps one of the best things I’ve ever eaten (which I say as a person who is perpetually skeptical of lobster). Other favorites included a not-​jersey royal potato roasted in chicken fat, covered in a parmesan sauce with a load of shaved truffles on top (I literally wiped the plate clean with my index finger), and oddly enough, the carrot course, which was a small pickled carrot with dollops of marscapone? Crème fraîche? (shame on me for not remembering) and different herbs along on each dollop so that each bite was a different flavor.
They do two sittings at Kitchen Table, 6:00 and 7:30. While 6:00 may seem a bit early, I definitely recommend it as you have the kitchen’s full attention during the savory courses. Service was, of course, impeccable, and they accommodated my husband’s hatred of anything nutty as though it was an allergy.
Easily one of the best restaurants in London.

Kitchen Table is one of the most innovative concepts on the London restaurant scene. Behind a curtain in the immensely popular Bubbledogs, in the heart of UCL student town, is an intimate Michelin star kitchen where diners watch each of their 12 – 15 courses prepared by a brilliant team of chefs. I booked roughly 2 months in advance, and was only able to get a 6 PM seating, but it turned out that they had a later seating around 8 PM as well. Our 6 PM seating had 9 diners, with all arriving in pairs except one, and we waited in the Bubbledogs restaurant area for a while before we were called in turn to be escorted to our seat on the other side of the curtain. We sampled a number of wines with the friendly sommelier, who guided us through a very diverse wine list featuring 2 – 3 bottles each from all parts of the world. We were then asked if we wanted to participate in the £15 supplement to add 3 extra courses to the menu. We were hesitant but finally decided to share one of the supplements, as the standard 12 courses already seemed quite daunting. As it turned out, everyone else ordered the supplement individually.
The menu changes frequently and can be described as follows: 4 appetizer courses, 5 main courses, a cheese course, and 5 dessert courses. Of the starters, the most interesting was an amazing fried chicken skin with bacon jam, and also a fried potato purée with salmon, sour cream, and chives. There was also a sort of fish caviar purée that was served with a brioche roll, and a bright green asparagus soup. As for the mains, we saw a piece of trout seared with a blowtorch before our very eyes. We also had our eyes on the duck crown that was cooked in a pan on the stove — that was utterly delicious. But the star of the show was the «chicken of the woods,» a wild mushroom that actually does come out with a chicken texture, served with grating of fresh summer truffles. Also memorable was the supplement dish of lobster, which had been cooked with its own brains and was served with a sauce made with its shell. There was a duck tartare as well, and I’m not normally a fan of tartare, but this one was tossed with some delicious sauces and was a pleasant surprise.
The cheese course was a burrata served with two pieces of tomato that had been brushed with a special herb blend for over 4 days. Then for dessert, it was ice cream upon ice cream. We started with the supplement dish — a balsamic sorbet that was served with truffle gratings. We saw this being prepared and wasn’t sure if it was truffle, but indeed that balsamic vinegar and truffle combination worked and definitely impressed. We then moved on to an elderflower ice cream served with battered and fried elderflower and a sprinkling of elderflower blossoms. Then we had a caramel ice cream that had a liqueur (rum?) element as well and was served over crumbs of chocolate. Next there was a liquorice ice cream dipped in chocolate, served on an elegant pedestal. To finish, we had vanilla fudge squares. We were offered some homemade digestif drinks, but at the time it was all too much. All in all, Kitchen Table met all my expectations and more. I would recommend coming here for a special occasion with a serious foodie. It’s not kind to the wallet, but you won’t regret it.

Being the parents of Grant T below, we wanted to try the Kitchen Table on a recent trip to London. All four of us met up for the early seating, and it filled right up. The attention to detail was wonderful. All of the courses were excellent. It would be hard to pick which one was the best. All of the people working there were diligent at their jobs and were great to talk with. They would answer all questions no matter how crazy. It was definitely be an experience we would enjoy having again.

This is definitely one of London’s under-​the-​radar high end experiences. Unless you caught some of the initial media coverage (honestly, mainly by bloggers and Fay), you probably would have no idea that this Cesar Chavez-​esque space existed behind a bijou gourmet hot dog resto.
Now with a Michelin star, husband/​wife team James Knappet and Sandia Chang are equally responsible for the restaurant’s success. The food was some of the most creative and intensely prepared that I’ve eaten, but I recall that everything tasted as it should. Some of the flavours were personally quite subtle for my palate (I am South Asian, after all — we like to be smacked over the head with flavour) but the quality of ingredients and preparation was faultless.
Unlike some of my fellow reviewers, I can’t remember what I ate (which, honestly, is pretty common for high-​end places in my experience) — but I do remember a crisp chicken skin, creamy aioli, a beautiful piece of venison and an intense berry reduction. Knappet and his team are hot shit, and it shows, and it’s evident he takes real pride in presenting his dishes directly to his customers.
An underrated aspect of the experience here — and actually what remains with me the most — is the FOH aspect. Sandia was such a kind, affable and genial host and made me feel like a valued customer and a friend. The pacing was wonderful and service didn’t miss a beat. Some of the most cutting-​edge cooking in the city by far.

This was the BEST meal of my life so far. I was further blown away by the chef’s careful preparation of gluten free options for me, which included custom made breads and crackers to serve alongside some of the tastes.
I went in late September and here’s the menu we had:
Oyster: Raw oyster served on the half shell, with herbs
Shrimp: Rare, small shrimps served raw on a chick pea cracker; we also received the shrimp heads fried to enjoy afterwards
Chicken: Chicken skin made into a cracker spread with rosemary marscapone and bacon jam
Bonus course! Pig: Pig head slowly cooked over night and fried. Served on an anchovies dressing
Scallop: Fresh scallop from Scotland with sea salt and raw pickle mayonnaise and roe of scallop smoked and grated on top
Sea trout: From the Shetland islands, lightly warmed, served on top of a collection of sea vegetables with dried seaweed powder and a sauce made from the fish bones
Cep: wild forests mushrooms sautéed and raw with chestnuts made into a powder and an oil
Duck: Duck leg and neck cooked in its fat and rolled in pastry and fried; served with duck sauce and damson (plum)
Bonus course! Pigeon: Pigeon liver as a mousse, served as a parfait with Cobb nuts and English truffles; served with buttered toast
Lamb: Cornish lamb belly with sorrel and crème fraise; drizzled with olive oil from the Vatican (i.e. really old)
Cheese: Devon blue cheese with green gauges plum cooked in a puff pastry and served with a plum caramel
Raspberry: raspberry sauce with goat curd ice cream
Caramel: caramel ice cream, caramel whipped cream, caramel drizzle and hazelnut caramel
Pine: Young pine tips pickled and turned into an ice cream covered in dark chocolate
Black Currant: Black currant paste made into a marshmallow and toasted
Vanilla: Madagascar vanilla fudge with sea salt
Will certainly return if I am ever back in London.

Okay, so you need to go here. Seriously. You won’t regret it.
Dining at Kitchen Table was easily the best culinary experience I’ve had in my life. And it’s not just the 12 courses of mouthwatering amazingness — it’s the group atmosphere. The feeling of sitting just inches from a bustling kitchen full of energy and experiencing the creation of each dish from start to finish.
Every plate was amazing, and though at first I feared the small portions wouldn’t fill me up, by the end of the night I was more than satisfied.
Service, which is so important to me at a restaurant, was exceptional. James Knappet and his crew of sous were wonderful. James took the time to explain each dish and even chat with us a bit between courses. Even the owner popped in to clear plates and say hello! The sommelier, as well, was also a complete gentleman, and such a wonderful friendly face throughout the meal.
Each dish was perfectly crafted and seasoned with not much of a wait between each course. Plenty of time to chit chat with your dining partners and enjoy a glass of wine.
On my night, there was a last minute addition of a truffle dish, but it was a pricey £30 addition, so we skipped it. While small, it looked and smelled delicious, though.
The crispy chicken skin with bacon jam seemed to be a favorite of most people here and was on the menu when I went as well, but it’s funny, that one was almost ruined for me by the sweetness of the bacon jam. I felt it was a bit cloying, actually, and almost threatened to overshadow the crisp, subtle fatty flavor of the skin. My favorite was actually COD, which was a dish of cod roe with paprika, lemon zest, and served with perfectly toasted sourdough bread. My mouth is totally watering right now as I just think about it.
Remember to book ahead, as seating is limited, and alert the kitchen of any food allergies or special requests you may have. They were wonderful with accommodating me, and I can’t wait to go back when budget allows :) !

Wow… I feel like I could leave it just at that!
I’ve been to bubble dogs a few times, and to be honest it’s not really my thing. So when I heard that there was a kitchen table section I was unsure it was for me. Then I heard some really good things from multiple friends so I made a reservation (the earliest was 3months!)
It’s exactly what it says on the packet… You sit at the table in the kitchen and watch the chefs do their thing! It’s more prep than cooking as much of it is already done but you still get a close up feel what it’s like working in a top end restaurant including the head chef berating his underlings in full chef style! Some people are put off the comunial eating but it’s more being sat next to someone rather than having to mix with new people.
The food… Wow… The food! We had 14 courses which I cannot fault, neither on presentation or taste it was all amazing. Each dish is intricately explained by one of the chefs. I won’t run through each one as they change regularly but the fried chicken skin with bacon deserves a special mention as its simply a small peice of taste sensation!
The service was brilliant, glasses were never empty and we were excellently upsold at least twice before we noticed due to their knowledge of the wines and dishes.
If there was a slight negative about the evening I guess it would possibly be the additional (30pounds) charge for a «late edition» dish. I accept it was truffles, and was very good but for the size of the serving and true cost of the experience already it was steep. The dish was optional and we were allowed to share though.
A definate must for anyone that likes fine dining! I will certainly be recommending it to anyone that will listen.

Easily my favorite restaurant in London. It is a true dining experience in that you interact with the chef, the crew and other diners next to you whilst enjoying exquisitely prepared courses. The dining room is also the plating kitchen: 19 dinners sit around the bar and inside is a huge table where Chef James Knappet and his crew complete plating of each course and serve it directly to you. I love seeing all the actions in the kitchen and having the opportunity to talk about the dishes with other diners. However, the best part is that the Chef will explain the inspiration and the ingredients of each dish. It was a true culinary treat for those who love food!
The evening started with some light bites and the first highlight came when we each got half of a gull’s egg. This was quite a delicacy. Then there was the heirloom tomatoes. The Chef poured the soup in my plate himself! The main meat courses were good, but not too memorable. My favorite course was the elderflower tempura! I have been a big fan of the delicate flavor of elderflower since I moved to London, but I have always been enjoying it in syrup form in my drinks, but today, the Chef created an amazing dessert dish with the flower itself! I loved every bit of it.
14 courses and 3 hours later. I was happily stuffed. Each course was perfectly executed from the flow, the taste and plating. It was indeed a feast for the eyes and the taste buds.
I highly recommend Kitchen Table. However, make sure you book your seats early enough, because there are only 19 seats per night. Oh and, make sure you show up, because you get charged for no show. A friend bailed on the last minute, and my other friend and I had to pay and eat her portion.

Wow. What an awesome experience.
The food was amazing and being able to watch it prepared and cooked in front of you really emphasised the effort, quality and care that goes into this meal.
The setting was awesome. Small, intimate and social at the same time. The entire restaurant ended up singing happy birthday which was great.
The wine pairing really complemented the food. Definitely recommend it — particularly as it introduced new wines we normally wouldn’t buy to us.
And finally — the staff were phenomenal. They worked together so well and they were all personable and friendly. they really topped off a great night!
Definitely going back!

Very nice place — tasting menu is explorations and nicely filling. I do not have that much to add as other reviewers all commented quite nice things about the menu.
A few key points are
— don’t expect any privacy as table to the kitchen counter are almost same height so chefs can hear everything. Whilst all the chefs are lovely, it is not a place where you could catch up well with your dinning partners.
— be quite precise on your dietary restrictions as they would really need to prepare your dish in advance in case you cannot eat any if their dishes
— dessert courses are really long so prepare by limiting sugar intake throughout the day
Definite must try!

Items Experienced:
John Dory — Salted and Smoked, Zest of Lemon, Radishes, Peppercorn
Girolles — Crispy Sourdough, Pickled Garlic Flower Buds, Wild Garlic Emulsion, House Cured Lardo
Chicken — Crispy Skin, Rosemary Mascarpone, Bacon Jam
Courgette — Flowers, Beetroot Sauce, Preserved Fennel Pollen
Carrot — Spiced Baby Carrot Soup with Elderflower
Scallop — Served Raw from the shell, Maldon Sea Salt, Raw Ginger Pickled Mayonaise, Bottarga
Plaice — Steamed Filet with Crispy Skin, Mussels, Charred Cabbage, White Strawberries, Wild Fennel
Asparagus-​Truffle — Blanched and served in Hollandaise, Orange Zest, Summer Truffle
Pig — Suckling Shoulder pounded flat and roasted crisp, Kohlrabi, Apple, Chervil, Elderflower Capers
Lamb — Roasted Rump, Butter Poached White Onions, Lemon-​Thyme, Sheep’s Yogurt, Minty English Pea
Ricotta — First Milking, English Cherries, Lemon Balm, Black Pepper Gastrique
Strawberry — English Strawberry, Hibiscus Jelly, Dried Rose Petal, Meadowsweet Cream
Raspberry — Elderflower Ice Cream, Frozen Olive Oil Dots, Raspberry Sauce
Gooseberry — Juice, Yogurt Parfait, Fresh Almonds, Trimmed Fir Tree Tips
Caramel — Praline Base, Salted Caramel Toffee, Caramel Ice Cream, Dark Chocolate Shell, Nuts
Sloe — Toasted Sloe Purée Marshmallow
Located on the backside of gourmet hotdog and champagne bar Bubbledogs is the sort of secret that separates the enthusiast from those simply looking for something good to eat, a casual space serving serious food straight from the hand of Chef James Knappett with service, sourcing, and skills on par with the city’s best. Titled «Kitchen Table» and manned by the young chef plus two in assist it is with a fine dining focus honed during stints at noma, per se, and Marcus Wareing that the sixteen course experience unfolds and with each dish prepped start to finish before the gaze of a twenty-​seat communal counter it was only the inebriated self-​described ‘socialite’ to my right that proved anything short of impressive during the three hour night. Beginning light and progressing to richer things while infusing the evening with anecdotes as they worked it was both in produce and proteins that the Kitchen Table team displayed their skills and although portions trend larger than a typical tasting rarely did a course go unfinished even by those claiming to be «full,» a strong testament to the beautiful interplay of only a few pristine ingredients compelling each bite. Truly an ‘experience’ as much as a meal and the sort of place where those invested are well rewarded in the results it was only The Fat Duck whose creativity wowed me more during my trip to the UK and taking into account the overall costs of each suffice it to say that Kitchen Table is a veritable bargain, a rarity in a city where even the most modest of Michelin’s stars often exceeds £100/​pp.

I should have written my Kitchen Table review months ago when I actually went here, because I would have remembered the dishes better. But honestly, I was a little afraid. Each dish was so good, how do I do it justice in words alone.
So what I will do is try to not fail Kitchen Table here, because they came through so well for me.
My mom was visiting from the states and I wanted to go somewhere special. I knew this spot was supposed to be amazing, but was it? Could it be?
We passed the giant line queuing for Bubbledogs and walked right to the back, hanging out in front of a curtain. When we were lead through, we found a giant square table with seats (actually more like a giant square bar with seats), all surrounding the kitchen creation space. It only sits about 20 people and the chefs inside were already hard at work.
There’s a chalkboard laying out what you’ll be eating that day since the menu changes constantly (they only buy fresh and they only buy interesting). Still, having words on a chalkboard like ‘Cod” or «Beef» do not even start to do this place justice.
We had twelve course. Each one expediently prepared. Each one amazingly delicious. From the crispy skin of the chicken with rosemary mascarpone with bacon jam to the raw Scottish scallops with pickled ginger, the truffle with a Parmesan sauce and cauliflower or even the two course of beef: beef tartar on top of a oyster shell with pickled onions. and ten hour cooked beef with mashed potatoes, horseradish & wild garlic. I was simultaneously thrilled with each course and also anxious to see what would come next.
But it wasn’t just the food that turned this into, easily, one of the greatest meals I’ve eaten in my life. It was the presentation, it was the staff, watching them create these elegant dishes worthy of art photographs, it was them telling us stories about where they got the food, how they came up with the menu, what they were doing and thinking of doing next. It was a show as much as it was a meal.
There isn’t a single thing I didn’t love about this meal. It was almost four hours of eating, of chatting, of doing London as well as you possibly can. And it won’t be the last time for me. Not a chance.

I wish I could tell you what I ate but the descriptions were so complex and the courses so abundant that I can’t remember it all. I do know that the meal was fabulous. But more than that, it was an experience. Less than20 people seated in a semi circle around an open kitchen watching these amazing creations come together. A small, but enough, tasting of 12 courses. We also had the wine pairing to go with each course. This was more than dinner out. It was an evening of entertainment. Small changes made to the menu nightly. Big changes made weekly. I would go again for an entirely different experience.

I didn’t know what to expect, half my friends thought we were having hot dogs tasting menu but turned out to be one of the best meals of 2013 for me.
The tasting menu is one single word per course on the black board as you enter but wow each dish is beautifully plated with lots of accompaniments.
The style is very minimalist and clean, each course letting the key protein and ingredient shining through.
You can watch and interact with the chefs. Service is friendly and never stuffy.
Just go, and be surprised!

How does this place not have a Michelin star? Read the review for details, or just make your reservation now. either way, you are in for a treat!
Enter Bubbledogs. a champagne and hot dog joint that has a line out the door, even in the pouring rain. The concept is trendy, the food looks lackluster, and the prices for champange are stiff. Why come here? Well, it’s not the hot dogs you’re looking for. step inside, look around and search for the floor to ceiling curtain to enter the main destination, Kitchen Table. A restaurant situated inside a restaurant, Kitchen table is exactly what it sounds like… it is a table that surrounds the open kitchen, for a diner’s feel of dining. Contrary to seeing a greasy grill, coffee pots, and a waitress that looks like she has had her third pack of cigarettes for the day, the counter is the ONLY thing that resembles anything close to a typical diner’s image. Kitchen Table displays a pristine and organized playground for the chefs.
The menu is set, and lacks descriptions– 10 courses is what you will get. Only one word is to describe your course: Butternut squash; Steak, Goat Cheese. As you watch the team in the kitchen create, plate, and deliver course after course, you also get to ask questions on preparation, dishes, and ingredients. I was extremely fond of this process as it was a great way to interact with the guests, and understand the chef’s ideas and concepts.
I won’t go into detail of all the dishes, but I will highlight my top dishes I had this night.
Steak– This was chef’s play on steak tartare. Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE steak tartare! Like all tartares, the beef was raw, however what stood out was that the meat was infused with smoke! Great smokey flavor, without the cooked feeling! Light leafy greens were distributed on the dish, but were cooked in vinegar, creating a great acidic combination when paired with the beef. Tiny drops of a savory cream topped 3 points of the dish, adding in a smooth blend of flavors, while a light sprinkling of crisp toasted rye crumbles finished the dish as a garnish.
Beetroot– A small dessert that blew me away. Simple, yet a great way to highlight the ingredient in a new light. Bite sized beetroot cake, with a licorice flavored ice cream, topped with beetroot chips. Sounds simple but this dessert blew me away!
Pineapple– A pineapple cream base topped with a shaved ice. However, the ice itself was impeccable! How can shaved frozen water be that great, you ask? When a whole pineapple is roasted, and the skin is charred, then soaked in water, frozen, then shaved, THAT’s HOW! Such a simple, clean, palette-​cleansing bite!
The fact that 2 of the 3 dishes highlighted were desserts, by a savory person that rarely leaves room for sweets, should go to show you how great this place is. Great dishes from beginning to end! Extremely affordable when considering you get not only delicious food, but also a foodie’s experience of being in a professional kitchen! Loved the overall experience and will be back when it town!

Dear Michelin inspectors
I hope you’re impressed and excited by the plethora of new restaurants opening in London this year. The food scene has never been more vibrant
However, as you sit to consider Michelin stars for next year, I hope that you look behind the gloss and really concentrate on the food. I think by now, a lot of corporations have worked out the ‘Michelin formula’ and restaurants like HKK and Ametsa are clearly ‘made for Michelin’ establishments. However, I must say that I was disappointed when I dined at these 2 restaurants and Ametsa especially failed to deliver on the food and flavour side
I am however much more impressed by the restaurants opened by fresh new faces like Tom Sellers at Restaurant Story and last Friday, I was lucky enough to eat the best meal I’ve had this year so far at the Kitchen Table, the brainchild of couple James Knappett (who has cooked at Noma, Per Se and The Ledbury) and Sandia Chang, who runs front of house
I had met Sandia, while was running front of house at Roganic when I dined there and I am so pleased to see that she and James have finally got their own place. Accessed via the same entrance as Bubbledogs, their champagne and hot dogs front portion of the establishment, you step through the leather curtain which separates the Kitchen Table from Bubbledogs into the show kitchen, around which the 18 guests are seated. Seatings are staggered so that half the covers are fed together at staggered star times
Their wish was to create an ambiance and surroundings as if they are entertaining guests in their own home. However, the service is still top notch and professional but it’s so nice to be able to interact easily with James, Sandia and their kitchen and serving staff. Unlike some other kitchen counter restaurants that I’ve eaten in, they are super friendly and you are encouraged to interact at Kitchen Table. It was a lovely, relaxed and fun evening
They serve a 12 course tasting menu, listed on the wall merely by the main ingredient in each course, all sourced within the UK and the provenance of the food is announced as each course is introduced. At £68, it is an absolute steal for cooking of this standard. There truly wasn’t a weak dish in the whole line up. All were well balanced, packed with flavour and brought repeated smiles to my face
1. Oyster emulsion, beef heart tartare, sorrel on rye cracker
The beef and oyster has rich deep depths punctuated by the sharpness of sorrel
2. Crispy chicken skin, rosemary mascarpone, bacon jam
Deservedly a signature dish. I could eat a tub of that chicken skin
3. Asparagus, heirloom tomatoes, black olive crumb, black olive oil, sour cream
Fresh salad flavours
4. Steamed sole, grapes, cucumber, scallop sauce, shavings of smoked dehydrated scallop coral
The sauce was heavenly and the scallop coral was amazing
5. Poached white skin onion containing yoghurt, mint oil, pea shoots
Lovely single bites
6. Hen of the woods, girolles pear, peanuts, celery cress, whipped brown butter
The meaty Hen of the woods mushroom found good companions in the rest of this dish
7. Truffle atop tagliatelle, crab & mackarel sauce
Flavours of the sea beautifully orchestrated to match the truffle
8. Duck 3 ways — roasted breast, liver parfait, confit in tempura heart of fennel, orange
Each of the 3 preparations shone but I think the parfait won for me
9. Goat curd, wild garlic, homemade bread toasted in brown butter
The yummiest garlic bread you will taste!
10. Raspberry, beetroot foam, sorrel granite, beetroot meringue
Excellent palate cleanser
11. Strawberry, toasted brioche, verbena, vanilla ice cream
Soft, sweet, fruity decadence
12. Caramel, ice cream, chocolate coating, buts
A lovely end to the meal
If you don’t feel my championing of Kitchen Table carries enough weight as an amateur foodie, please read the messages on the blackboard in the kitchen to find good wishes from culinary luminaries such as Thomas Keller no less
If there is any natural justice in the world, I implore you to recognise the quality of cooking here at Kitchen Table and award them a star for next year. Kitchen Table deserve to be the ‘Dabbous of 2013’
Yours humbly
Yee Gan O

Kitchen Table is the venture from James Knappett and his wife Sandia Chang, the couple who own the place. They have an impressive resume with work at the Ledbury and Noma before opening Bubbledogs last year (the lovely lace with hot dogs and champagne). Kitchen Table is however a whole different thing than the also excellent Bubbledogs. Here is it is limited to 18 seats (the night I was there it was split in one seating of 8 and one of 10) seated around a bar with the kitchen inside.
The set menu is £68 and is great value for money, 12 courses that are prepared in front of you. The staff are great, always making sure that you have what you need without hoovering around you. WIne was carefully selected, for example the excellent Francois Bedel champagne. Staff were also happy to share where to buy the wine and also some of the plates that we were eying.
Will not go through every single dish but the highlights were (in addition to the great wine) the chicken (skin oven roasted) with bacon jam — I could have eaten tons of that so the only thing that was bad was that it ran out to quickly. Other highlights was the pasta with truffles, it was just divine and made to perfection. The adrakan cheese with honey was also great as well as some the desserts (the pear and the mandarin). In total a 12 dish meal with plenty of wine (four glasses for one of us, 3 and a beer for the other) and coffee after-​wards sets you back £220 including service and that is actually great value. Can definitely compete with many of the other fine dining places in London that charge substantially more for this.
The best thing apart from the food and the wine is also that it is so relaxed, the staff all have time to talk to you, the same goes for the chefs so it is a great experience.
If you have not been there is no excuse — just make a reservation.