The Don Restaurant — Restaurant in London

Short version - couldn’t recommend it more, the food is exceptional, the service was outstanding and the wine selection was extensively perfect.

(Very) Long version - this place is great, came here on a whim as wanted to try somewhere new and what a gem to find in central london.

Service - all the staff were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, going above and beyond to ensure the enjoyment of the customer. Couldn’t fault it in my opinion. And a funny little point to add, but I really liked the cutlery and glassware. Good choice whoever picked those. The little extra silver service touches of pouring the sauces at the table aswell, but with the added bonus of giving you plenty of it was a delight. Which brings me on to the food.

Food - I’ve been to and working in a number of different Michelin restaurants and this was easily as good as, if not better, that the majority of them, but without the pretentiousness and overly stuffiness or the price tag! it was a nice relaxed atmosphere which led to the focus being on the food and wine. Unfortunately we didn’t get many pictures of the food so I apologise for the quick blurry videos, but we were just too eager to get stuck in. It’s hard to pick a standout because, honestly, it was all fantastic, but the oyster with horseradish and apple was incredible and very different. Second to that, through sheer surprise, was the cabbage side. Sounds silly I know, but this was a perfect balance of salty, sweet and acidic that complimented the main courses so well. We had the catch of the day which was gurnard with what seemed like a lightly pickled fennel salad and I think, if I can remember correctly, a parsley sauce; and also the duck with roast beetroot, turnip purée and cavelo nevo and again, an exceptional sauce. The cooking of the proteins was spot on, and all the garnishes on each dish working in harmony with each other. We also had a cafe gourmand, which I will always get if I see it (a selection of small little desserts that come with a coffee).

Wine - il keep this brief as you are probably bored by now, but the wine list is vast, but not overwhelmingly so. If you know the style you like it will almost certainly be on this list, and if it’s not, the knowledgeable staff will direct you to something that will suit your tastes. The sweet wines and port were incredible as well. They are known for the port and this place is steeped in history with all the old tunnels underneath where they used to roll the barrels through. They still have some old listed items like the rods on the stairs and the pulleys etc to lift the barrels up from underground. Worth a look if you can.

Overall- highly recommend this place. It’s been under new management for a couple of years now and from what they were saying it has completely changed it for the better and I can completely understand why. I didn’t catch the name of the FOH or the chefs working, but the GM Benoit knows his stuff and has a great team working with him. Give this place a go, mention my review if you like, and I hope you enjoy yourselves as...

The atmosphere of this restaurant is the most impressive part about it. I ate at the Bistro downstairs and you really feel like you are dining in a wine cellar. You enter the restaurant, then you go down a steep set of stairs. As you decent, you encounter a room that looks like a tunnel, at one end there is at bar and at the other is the cellar. Tables line the walls. The Bistro area is not big and it feels really quaint so I would recommend this location for those want take someone on a fancy date but not break the ban. The food is reasonably priced. I had the set menu, which included an appetizer and main for £ 19. The food was okay. I thought the seasoning was a bit on the sweet side, which I am not too keen on. I had the Cured Shetland Salmon for an appetizer and the steak as the main. We did have delicious wine. The service was also nice, albeit I thought the staff was a bit confused. They meant well and were friendly, but they were a bit disorganized about the way they did things. I can see how that can be annoying at times that the restaurant is busy. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about wines. Again, I recommend the bistro for a date. I am not sure what the...

The Sign of the Don Bar and Bistro is the younger, cheaper sibling of The Don's fine dining restaurant. It offers a top notch bargain price set menu that is possibly the biggest steal in the city.

On our visit we arrived in the near empty bar upstairs and got a little worried but after descending to the vault and cellar dining room the worries vanished. The space is decorated with paraphernalia that links the building back to it's days as a sherry and port distributor.

As I've already mentioned, the prix fixe menu is a bargain, at £21.50 for three courses and 7 choices for each course you get a fantastic choice to please any palate also some of the dishes available at The Sign of the Don are also the same as it's big brother so it's well worth it.

The food is delicious, all the dishes we got were very rich and really hit the spot, highly recommend getting the duck scotch egg as your starter.

Service is excellent, our super professional French Maitre D looked after us for the whole night and really showed how great service should be done.

All in all, if you don't fancy the higher prices of The Don, head to The Sign of the Don a hidden gem among the hustle and...