One Ashbourne — Restaurant in London

We booked a table for four for a Sunday evening a few weeks in advance of our visit. Our cousin who keeps strictly kosher was visiting us from Israel and as we had had a good experience here 3 years earlier we felt confident that we would have a good meal. We were told on arrival to an almost empty restaurant that there had been a private birthday party there that afternoon. On looking at the menu there was a very small choice (8 starters and only 6 mains plus the extortionately priced grill options) to then be told that the catch of the day was unavailable along with the chicken option. We asked for the focaccia while waiting for our mains to be told there was no bread! The waiter sensed we were incredulous. 10 minutes later bread ( wheaten sliced rye obviously from Daniel’s the bakery next door) was presented to us. The dips were nice enough but totally inappropriate given the style of bread ( olive oil/ tapenade/pimento salsa). We were then told by the manager that we wouldn’t be charged for the bread and could have one drink each of our choice on the house as recompense. Our mains arrived- lacklustre shredded duck sodden in dressing on saturated small leaves and a bit of grated carrot for light relief. My order of dauphinois potato arrived without the advertised morel mushrooms and asparagus- luckily I had ordered a side of salad leaves so there was some ‘light’ relief. Only after I had eaten my order ( I thought perhaps the mythical mushrooms had been’hidden’ in the dauphinois- or rather ‘potato kugel’) we were informed by the manageress she was sorry about our main and we wouldn’t be charged. Amazed she hadn’t seen this come out of the kitchen given how empty the place was! Despite apologies from staff it was clear this restaurant’s chef had been too overwhelmed by his lunchtime shift to be able to get things together enough for four almost solitary diners. A bill of £108 for this seemed extortionate. I realise that being a strictly kosher establishment one has to expect to pay over the odds but given the general incompetence we experienced I don’t believe we should have been asked to pay at all. Avoid unless paying £141.00 for a steak meal for two is your idea of a good night out… assuming that if you choose to you they will at least be able to give you...

Sadly our experience of this restaurant was totally different from others here in this review page.

I recognise that when it comes to taste we are all individual and so what doesn’t work for me may still be fab for you.

We both ordered steak - the restaurant’s ’signature’ steak. So we were expecting something delicious.

For me, a great steak is one that I can cut through it smoothly and can chew it without effort.

The steak I received was almost impossible to eat.

So, I was offered a second steak.

Unfortunately, this meant that my husband had already finished his meal when my second steak arrived.

The flavourings of the steak were lovely. Unfortunately, I had to work hard to chew the steak and a percentage of it I had to remove from my mouth as there’s no way I could break it down.

The greens on the side were tasty. And warm and then quickly turned cold.

The service was below average. Lack of communication between the staff, we were repeatedly asked the same questions. Restaurant wasn’t busy and yet was difficult to get the waiters’ attention.

Then, to top it all, the cutlery drawer was very noisily refilled…. Not very professional!

Let’s remember, this is a pricey restaurant in north west London…. Nothing about the environment / atmosphere gave that impression.

Having read lots of reviews before choosing to come here, I’m surprised that my experience of this restaurant was so very different from others …

Personally, I would never go back.

If it’s a place you choose to try yourself, I’d love to hear about...

Nothing was essentially "bad", however when paying that money for a kosher meal you expect a "fantastic" meal.

Our starter of beef tartare could have been anything. There was no way it was possible to taste the tartare with the amount of additional ingredients added in, however what we actually complained about was the amount of mustard which completely overtook all other flavours and which the dish didn't need really.

We both had steaks for our mains. I thought mine was fantastic, had almost no fat on and was cooked really well. My husband ordered his blue and although 3/4 was blue, the last 1/4 was rare - definitely cooked differently from the rest of the piece. I ordered chimichurri as my sauce. The sauce was delicious but was not chimichurri, it was Asian flavours of coriander, chilli and garlic and my husband's bernaise sauce was "gloopy" as he put it. The triple cooked chips in rosemary were excellent but those should not have been the star of the dish.

For dessert we shared the sticky date pudding. This tasted delicious but hugely lacked presentation. Clearly there is no patisserie chef in this established, rather the chef(s) who cook the rest of the food cook this too and it shows. There was a pool (albeit very tasty) sauce underneath which should have been placed in a jug rather than drenching the dish. Our waiter asked if we wanted two side plates, whereas he shouldn't have asked but should have brought them regardless.

All in all a "nice" evening with "nice" food but significantly...