The Bonneville

Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este lugar, y lo voy a intentar explicar en la reseña. Primero, diré que me llevó un amigo que tengo que vive en Londres, y que está cerquísima de su casa, en Hackney, a unos veinte minutos en autobús de donde me estaba quedando yo. Así que quedamos para comer, a hora británica, a eso de las 20:30. Y la verdad es que cuando llegamos al lugar nos encantó: es bastante oscuro, como un antiguo edificio industrial, y por dentro es muy mono: sillas cada una de su padre y de su madre, muebles de madera, una barra con cócteles y una zona restaurante un poco más al fondo, con sus paredes decapadas.
Es un restaurante francés (entre francés y belga, me atrevería a decir yo), aunque no pudimos probar su plato estrella, los mejillones. Así que terminamos pidiendo cazuela de pato, que la verdad es que estaba espectacular, y algunos platos para compartir, entre los que destaco claramente el paté, que estaba espectacular.
He de decir que la chica que nos atendió era simpatiquísima, pero estaba un tanto desbordada. Nos sentó, pero tardó en venir a tomarnos nota media vida. De hecho, gente que se sentó después de nosotros fue atendida antes, quizá por la alegre conversación que estábamos teniendo, y en la que estábamos enfrascados. La comida muy buena, y bastante contundente (demasiado, para la cena, pero la verdad es que no quedó nada). Tenía un precio razonable tirando a un pelín alto, aunque para cara la cerveza, que me pareció prohibitiva. Eso sí, todo merece la pena cuando bajas al baño: prácticamente esperas encontrarte a Jack el Destripador en cualquier momento.

A friend in Hackney always wanted to come here so we went… I
The cocktails were fantastic, their A La Lousianne and Pencillin were so delicious. They also know how to make great classics — I ordered a Sazerac and Old Fashioned. Professional and knowledgeable bar staff… Everything was so good we booked dinner there the following week…
Unfortunately the food was not as impressive as their cocktails. I ordered a duck that was a bit dry and all of the food was just average. I definitely had better French food. BUT I do go back just for their cocktails, which are the best in the area.

Loved it, great beers, reasonable inner London prices and amazing décor. Never been anywhere with better attention to detail, felt completely immersed in the Victorian/​weird/​semi-​gothic atmosphere. Felt like I’d stepped into «from hell».
Never felt the need to recommend visiting the toilet in a place but honestly, the toilet in this place is insane.

Atmospheric little bar with a good ambience. We had a couple of cocktails which were delicious and well balanced. The toilets are quite fun too — makes you feel like you’re going back in time to victorian London! Only issue is that at peak times you have to book, even for a drink. We went down on a friday night and were turned away.

Went here for dinner, food was excellent although maybe slightly pricey and you need to get thingsLike potatoes and veggies as an additional side order. Waiting staff were really friendly and courteous. They have a really good selection of beers and wine to choose from. Would definitely recommend!

Amazing find, only been for cocktails as a bit skint to eat out at the moment, but wow! They are good! We have been twice in the last month and the service is amazing, the bartender is really attentive and shows an actual interest in whether or not you like his creation! They are reasonably priced at £7−9. The atmosphere of this place is great, a warm welcome, a hipster crowd, but not too in your face. The toilets are the star of this place though. you have to spend a penny when you come to The Bonneville! We will eat here soon, the food looks good, can’t wait!

One of the best things to happen to the neighborhood! A classy atmosphere with well thought out décor and an excellent menu. It is said that one should rate a restaurant on the quality of its bathroom — if so, then Bonneville gets *very* high marks. (The bathrooms there simply must be seen).
The menu is constantly changing, but always seems to offer some delicious and cheesy things, including quite possibly the best croque monsieur I’ve ever tried (including those from France). Their bread (complimentary) is beautifully textured and delicious. And their bearnaise sauce is also one of their recurring items worth raving about. The food is definitely above and beyond «pub food».
The cocktails are also clever and delicious, without trying too hard, as I’ve seen in some other trendy London cocktail bars.
Definitely glad to have this place as our «local»!

Wow. I REALLY liked the Bonneville. We were in London for 24 hours (to meet up with friends based around Hackney) and they suggested we pop in here for a spot of supper and a cocktail before heading back to theirs.
Now, not being a Londoner, I would never had of heard of this venue if it wasn’t for my aforementioned friends taking me there. We got there at around 6/​7pm on a Saturday night and managed to wangle a table in amongst the «reserved» signs.
The restaurant is gorgeous! Velvet drapes, soft lighting, a whole dang cat skeleton on the alcohol shelves and a real «speakeasy» vibe to it… I felt like I had been put on the VIP list just to be allowed to walk in! Rather than a full meal, we decided to order some starters to share and enjoy a cocktail from their rather generous menu to try some of their options out.
We let our friends decide and ended up with a baked camembert, french onion soup, chips and something else (which escapes me now). Everything looked great and tasted even better! The cocktails were really fantastic and I can personally recommend the «Mai Tai» (one of my go-​to cocktails in a new venue to set a benchmark).
My favourite thing about this place? The alleyway to the toilets… No, I’m serious! To get to the loo’s you have to get down some narrow stone steps which literally lead to a small alleyway (reminiscent of something out of a BBC drama about Jack the ripper — in a good way!). There was smoke pouring out of the vents in the floor which was then lit up green for effect. It was like being on a film set. The toilets (as you can imagine) were equally impressive.
I loved the gothic vibe, food and cocktails. For 4 starter dishes, 4 cocktails and 2 desserts the bill came to around £60 (prior to tip). I thought this was more than reasonable for the standard of service and food at this venue. Go and check it out!

We had onion soup, braised beef cheeks and crème brûlée. Soup was ok, but the beef cheeks and the crème brûlée were REALLY good.
The atmosphere was amazing and the menu was fairly priced.
Will definitely go there again…