Wild Honey Chic bistro

General comment Simple, very well executed food; Great value for money lunch menu in Mayfair (£22 for 3 courses), near Regent Street/Oxford Circus; good bread served lightly warm; all wine available by carafes (250ml);

To be improved Don't look at the ceiling...really shabby although the wood panels are nice; service could smile more...

General comment Next to Old Bond Street, a gorgeous urban restaurant. We went there on Claudia Eftimie recommendation, have a look at her review.

I am afraid that, like Claudia, we couldn't resist to the Terrine de Frois Gras and the Rib Eye for two ... but please note they have other delicious things on the Menu ! we skipped as well the cheese, for the sake of trying a "Floating Island". And didn't regret.

Very good wine, we had a Meursault to accompany the Terrine de Fois Gras that came surprisingly with Rhubarbe - macérée dans des pickles ( first time in my life I liked rhubarbe ! ) a spoon of Gelée de Coings

For the main course we choose Promis, a wine from Angelo Gaja ( Merlot, Cabernet and S...) to accompany the wonderfull Rib Eye for two. The Rib Eye comes with Sauce Bearnaise, separately, we didn't taste it. The Meat came with a delicious "tranche" of gratin and a modern tiny-tiny portion of delicious vegetables, cooked just I like I adore them.

We didnt taste the cheese, around 10 sorts to choose from, that is very nicely presented on a big wooden plate in the middle of the restaurant ( sous une énorme cloche) that perfectly matches with the rest of the restaurant. It's hard to resist, especially when you see the cheese plates on the nearest table.

We sacrificed the cheese, but it was worth: for the dessert we tried a "Floating Island" that was topped with crispy rosa nougat: GORGEOUS ! and light enough to set a closing point to this excellent dinner.

We very much liked the espressos, excellent coffee, we forgot to ask, but it was not the everywhere to find Jilly, nor the Lavazza.

PS: the toilets are worth a visit. It was a time when I first went to the toilet to make myself an opinion about how the restaurant was managed.behind the curtains. Here it's perfectly in line with the rest.

To be improved we ordered the wine in Carafe, unfortunatley they do not show you the bottle, just the Carafe is brought to your table.
The portion of vegetables: 1 slim carrot, 2 leaves of something excellent and 5gr of spinach.... why so tiny ?? ... so frustrating.

General comment Le cadre sobre mais chaleureux, grâce à de large panneaux en chêne, des tons taupe et chocolat, un bar à l'ancienne à l'entrée, ainsi qu'une cuisine de saison très soignée font de Wild Honey une excellente adresse à Mayfair.
Nous avons pris une terrine de foie gras agrémentée de coings confits, très joliment présentée et parfaitement délicieuse. Le ribeye steak pour deux, servi dans une petite poêle en cuivre, était rosé juste ce qu'il faut, et accompagné d'oignons confits et jardinière de légumes hivernaux, savoureux.
Le carte des vins offre une jolie variété, et surtout, quasiment tous les vins peuvent être commandés en carafe de 250ml, une aubaine pour le porte-monnaie, souvent maltraité à Londres.
Hélas, pas eu l'occasion de goûter aux desserts, mais le plateau de fromages avec sa pâte de coings, et une crème glacée servie sur du miel en rayons avaient l'air délicieux.

To be improved Rien...si ce n'est qu'il faut impérativement réserver, minimum un ou deux jours à l'avance, surtout en fin de semaine bien sûr.

General comment As already mentioned, Wild Honey is cosier than sister Arbutus, with wooden panels and comfy sofa benches. I had a nice potato soup and mushroom duxelle, followed by risotto with salmon trout and then floating island with pink pralines. The menu changes very often and is not too long which is key for me. Water and coffee are resonnably priced (about 3,7 GBP) which is another of my criteria!

To be improved Don't worry if you think your coat has been lost when you don't see the waiter coming back after 5 minutes:: The staff told us the cloakroom is very far away!!

General comment Sister restaurant to Arbutus, that shows: great seasonal food in a relaxed atmosphere. I had the pre-theatre menu (£22): pressed chicken and eel = fresh, well balanced terrine with a delicious chutney; venison cottage pie = generous portion of tasty venison mince; finally, ile flottante with pink pralines=ok. Good selection of wines (also carafes available which is rare in Mayfair). Nice mix of people, from businessmen to relaxed neighbour. Wood panels give the room a warm atmosphere.

To be improved Effective service... maybe a bit too effective sometimes (i.e. keen to free the table). Ile flottante was too sweet for my taste.