Bocconcino Mayfair — Restaurant in London

As a chef, there are really things that make my blood boil, from bad service, chipped plates and non-chalance, Bocconcino Mayfair has somewhat ticked my boxes to set off the once in a while motivation I have to write a review.

As I blow the dust off my writing skills, more and more things come to mind, from the cold and awkward setting, to the lambda food that is trying to hide its messy and cheap taste with a luxury facade.

As we get the menu, I notice the traces and scattering of salt over our table, despite the salt and pepper grinders being absent from the table, obviously showing they set the table between sittings without cleaning it. The selection already popped to me, variants of the same ingredients in different settings. Bland selection for a italian restaurant with a wine list with whopping prices containing mainly name bottles that won't be looked at twice by a sommelier. As we order, we go for the so-called spicy tartare, linguini al astice, seabass ravioli and truffle fries because why not and frankly nothing really tickled my fancy. So why not go for a staple.

As our entree comes in, this anemic and lazy plate appears before me. The tartare was tasteless, still had membrane pieces that you are supposed to remove while breaking down a fish and a pool of what is possibly rapeseed oil slowly accumulating around the base of the tartare. I had to borrow the salt from the empty table next to me to attempt to save it, which was fruitless. Probably because the owner and management cut the costs so low that we are left with the cheapest cut of the market.

Next courses come in, and covering the overcooked lobster is the gaudy shell of the head, which I had nowhere to put but on the side of my plate, which was chipped and full of sauce due to both the overflowing amount of ready bought bisque mixed with undercooked cherry tomatoes.

My partners plate, hid the lazy plating with a shower of truffle shavings, the one string that is holding the luxurious look of the restaurant for what it really is.

But out of everything, this is what really made me ashamed of being a chef and having to be associated with whoever made the plates.

The dull and washed out parsley, that had obviously never seen the sun or apparently the UV light of the factory it grew in, thrown into the plate in the most I don't care way. It was on two of our plates unpicked, leaving that stem taste, and if you picked one the rest would follow along as if it was fist held and thrown on top of the plate. I could see the cooks hidden behind the door giving us the middle finger.

Looking at the prices, the restaurant can obviously afford veg and meat from better producers or distributors, which shows the plain money-grabbing aspect of this place.

Thank god the service forgot to input the truffle fries in the system, it would have added even more grief to my wallet that felt stripped and robbed after paying for this meal. I was also glad I skipped the dessert menu after seeing the 1990 desserts I spotted on my way out.

If you are rich and tasteless, this is the place for you.

I would have a look online at the cocktail descriptions which gave us a giggle, as they are so wild and beyond what the cocktails actually are.

So Bocconcino, here is my middle finger to you, two stars, because 1 star is for my hate writing but your restaurant is just god awful while having the possibility to be...

Not a luxury restaurant and certainly not for families. First the website states £80 per adult (chceked this today), yet I was charged £85. When I spoke with the manager she said prices have gone up. I explained well it hasnt changed on the website and so thats false advertising. The service charge is 15% and I wouldnt usually mind but they didnt take the dirty dishes away, didnt refill our water, didnt give clean cutlery, didnt clean the table and when I was at the dessert buffet, the waiters were standing round laughing and swearing. The lobster looks nothing like the online pics and is not fresh. You have to peel the prawns and you ob use your hands for the lobster and oysters but get no hand wipes or bowl to put your hands in after like most restaurants. My son opted for the pepperoni pizza as his main but one bite and said it was very spicy and so he didnt have a main. The waiter didnt offer anything else. We didnt get asked if we were enjoying our meal or if everything was ok. It was very cold and so my son sat the whole meal with his coat on. The lady next to us also complained about how cold it was but they said nothing they could do. I opted for the roast- think undercooked yorkshire, boiled potatoes (not roasts) and chewy/fatty beef. Carrots and parsnips were nice though. Hand dryer in toilets didnt work and the toilet was extremely dirty. Music was nice but very loud and the room is tiny. The online pics are very deceiving. Its very tight to move around. So basically £150 for a kid to eat some salmon and cucumber, apple juice and a poor roast (with some lobster and prawns). Worst service. Overall completely overpriced and a very disappointing experience. Shame as this was a treat for my birthday. I also did try to explain to the lady on reception I had been overcharged and she was like “go downstairs and find a manager”. I told her to go downstairs and you could see she was...

For anybody who has eaten in Italy a lot, the first floor at Bocconcino will be very familiar. The decor has the look of an expensive Roman family hotel restaurant. The staff are friendly, the food was excellent, authentically Italian and with big portions. The pasta in the walnut and gorganzola pappardelle was cooked perfectly. My wife had a huge veal Milanese with sweet tomatoes - ask for extra! There was an extensive wine list, mainly focused on Italy and mainly by the bottle. We had a very nice Argentinian Malbec, as my daughter is allergic to many Italian wines.

Desserts were also a strong suit, the standard tiramisu had more cream than I like, to make it a statement dessert, but inside the sponge was exactly the right moistness and strength of coffee flavour and it was easy enough to just leave some of the cream behind. My daughter had the pistachio version which arrived with some theatre and was equally delicious.

Some reviews have complained of service issues. Staff were checking in with us very regularly, so we certainly didn’t feel abandoned. Our coffees went AWOL but we hadn’t even asked where they were when our waiter came over to explain that they were coming in a minute and they would be taken off the bill.

Downstairs has more of a cabaret feel with live music, so that’s more to pander to the tourists and instagrammers I feel. Some reviews tell you to get a table downstairs for atmosphere but we preferred it upstairs where we could hear each other without shouting. Either way you get the same great food.

I also read some reviews saying it was very expensive for what you got but, come on, this is Mayfair! We had a very good standard of food and wine with desserts for £100/head, including service. We were very happy with our meal and would happily book there again for the right occasion (we were there for...