Daniel Boulud’s eatery at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge is modelled on his New York restaurant of the same name. The menu is French, however Bar Boulud quickly made headlines for having the best burger in town, before the MeatLiquor stable made them a London-wide obsession. With fillings like pork belly, rocket and Dijon mustard, and foie gras, red wine braised ribs and horseradish (on top of the beef patty of course) it’s not surprising.
Bar Boulud has won plenty of awards, including Best Front of House from Tatler, Best Burger in Town from the Observer, and reaching number 7 in the National Restaurant Awards in 2010.
Bar Boulud
Brasserie in Knightsbridge
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Opening Summary
Lunch: Monday - Sunday 12:00-15:00
Afternoon Menu: Monday - Sunday 15:00-17:00
Dinner: Monday - Saturday 17:00-23:00 & Sunday 17:00-22:00
Lunch: Monday - Sunday 12:00-15:00
Afternoon Menu: Monday - Sunday 15:00-17:00
Dinner: Monday - Saturday 17:00-23:00 & Sunday 17:00-22:00
Restaurant Facilities
Disabled Facilities
Children Welcome
Credit Cards Accepted
Booking Advisable
Bar Boulud Picture Gallery
All In London Review
a decent restaurant serving a decent lunch at a cost you'd expect
We turned up at around 12:30 and were greeted in an acceptable manner by the front of house staff, jackets safely stowed we were taken through the bar area into the restaurant. We passed a fair few very nice tables which would have been ideal, which leads to my first problem with Bar Boulud, our table; we were seated on a bench that had 4 tables for 2 squeezed into a space where 3 would have been the optimum. The person sat on the bench side literally couldn't get out without asking the next table to move their table over, this kind of thing annoys me, in a cafe you let this stuff slide, in a pricey restaurant you expect more (space).
The restaurant is quite a pleasant place to be, nicely decorated in a brasserie style with a sense of quality and tradition, it's not trying hard to be different, and as a result isn't. The only thing I didn't like was the display of meats and other items dotted along the wall between the restaurant and kitchen, they looked interesting from a textural perspective but ultimately quite unpleasant when you're about to eat, kind of like something from the Natural History Museum.
Anyway, on to the food. We were just in for a quick lunch and both decided to go starter and main a la carte with no dessert and no alcohol. My colleague ordered the artichoke soup starter (£9.00) and Beetroot and Goats Cheese tart (£15.00) for main. The soup was perfect in every way; seasoning, depth of flavour; hint of cream on top but not too much; perfect. The main let the side down though; it was far too rich in goats cheese, over seasoned and too greasy. My colleague (not normally one to leave food on her plate) actually failed to finish it. I opted for the Salade Provencale (rocket, buffalo mozzarella, tomato confit, artichokes, tapenade crouton, anchovy £9.00) and the Piggie Burger (beef patty, bbq pulled pork, green chili mayonnaise, bibb lettuce, red cabbage slaw, cheddar bun £14.00) and a side of pommes frites (£5.00).
The Salade Provencale was superb, I don't usually expect much from a salad (even with an e on the end) and I'm usually not disappointed, however this was very good. The combination of buffalo mozzarella, anchovy and tomato confit was very well balanced and made every mouthful taste about 20% better than I'd expect a salad to, very happy with that. The Piggy burger didn't quite live up to my expectations, I asked for the beef patty to be cooked medium and I think it fell slightly short of that, which meant it had a texture that was almost wet, I didn't actually finish it as a result of that. The other flavours in the burger were good but it wasn't the show-stopper I was expecting after reading the reviews. The pomme frites tasted (and looked) re-heated and they were caked in salt, not the best I've had.
The service was ok, I think they were trying to drown us in sparkling water as it was topped up almost as we drank it, this is another no-no for me. The staff were all pleasant and professional (apart from the guy who spilled sparkling water all over the table and seemed not to notice) and apart from the over-zealous water top-ups I couldn't really fault them.
In summary, it's a decent restaurant serving a decent lunch at a cost you'd expect given the hotel that's sat on top of it. I'd like to go back and try some of the other dishes that I saw leaving the kitchen but for me the burger clearly isn't the star of the show here.
Reviewed by All In London
Published on Feb 26, 2014
In The News
Daniel Boulud Brings A Touch Of Lyon To London
New 'Menu Bouchon'
The All In One Ultimate Restaurant List Interview: Dean Yasharian
London’s Top 100 Restaurants 2013
Bar Boulud is taking a short holiday
Bar Boulud will be closed from 22nd August to 6th September
Best For
London's best beef burgers
What makes the ultimate burger? It's quite possibly a little bit of meat alchemy.
When you begin talking braised rib, foie gras and horseradish you know you’re talking about a burger joint with a difference. Well Bar Boulud is no burger joint; in fact it’s a gourmet kitchen that just happens to serve a selection of the best burgers in London. The pulled pork Piggy comes highly recommended if you’re not that into the beef.
Our pick of London's best hotel restaurants
You'll find some of London's best dining
NYC’s Daniel Boulud is partly to blame for the elevation of the burger to gourmet food, and his London site at the Mandarin Oriental - with Dean Yasharian in charge - has their famous beef, foiegras and braised short ribs burger. Not that you should overlook the rest of the menu, which has traditional French dishes like coq au vin and rosemary lamb rump.
Value for money eating in Knightsbridge
Contradiction in terms? Think again...
Super hip Bar Boulud is located in the swanky Mandarin Oriental Hotel, but despite its glitzy clientele it boasts one of London’s best value set meals. Two courses are only £17, with French-inspired dishes like mussels with white wine curry cream and rabbit pate with onion confit.
User Reviews
Susan
from Abbey Road
from Abbey Road
Jun 23, 2014
I enjoyed my food here, but it really felt like the hotel restaurant that it is. The atmosphere was lacking and the counter with the various bits of food in the display looked so outdated. The service was fine and the prices weren't unreasonable, but I wouldn't rush back I'm afraid.
Susie
from Surrey
from Surrey
Mar 17, 2014
I thought this place was 'fine'. Some of our food was good, other dishes less so. The service was impersonal but efficient. I wasn't a fan of the decor, but my companion was. Overall a definite 5/10 - did the job for me, but not much more.
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