Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill

Seafood Restaurant in Mayfair
Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill image

8 / 10 from 7 reviews
Address
11-15 Swallow Street
Mayfair
London
W1B 4DG
Map
Telephone
020 7734 4756
Cuisine
Seafood
Region
Mayfair
Nearest Station
Piccadilly Circus
0.16 miles
Opening Summary
Oyster & Champagne Bar
Monday - Friday
7am to 10am
12pm to 12midnight
Saturday
12pm to 12midnight
Sunday
12pm to 10pm

The Grill
Monday - Saturday
Lunch 12pm to 3pm
Dinner 6pm to 11pm
Restaurant Facilities

Smoking Area

Disabled Facilities

Children Welcome

Credit Cards Accepted

Music Played

Live Music Played

Outdoor Area

Booking Advisable

Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill is open for breakfast, Monday to Friday, 7.00am - 10.00am.
Lunch and dinner is served in the Oyster Bar, The Grill or al fresco on Bentley's Terrace.

Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill Picture Gallery

Oyster Bar
Oyster Bar
Bentley's Exterior
Bentley's Exterior
Crustacea
Crustacea
Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill Picture
Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill Picture
Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill Picture

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All In London Review

Indulgent and delicious

Having opened in 1916, this oyster eatery quickly gained a fine reputation thanks to catering to the local theatre-goers and well-healed socialites. The formula of eating one of the most indulgent of foods in casual surroundings survived WWII and successive recessions; today, it is as popular as ever as this bustling Oyster Bar demonstrates. Situated in one of the dainty courtyards off Regent Street, the more formal Grill restaurant is upstairs, but all the fun seems to be downstairs, where diners chat animatedly by the marble-topped bar. It’s dimly lit and French bistro chic, somewhere you’d want to take someone on an informal, nonetheless impressive outing.

At first glance, the prices on the menu are less extortionate than one would expect, with main dishes averaging around £20. Similarly with the wines, a light bodied 2009 Gavi di Gavi Tacchini Piemonte is £32. Enjoying oysters without Champagne is like stepping outside to find you’ve left your mobile phone at home, they feel a little lonely and out of sorts without the accompanying bubbles; Champagne starts at £12.50 a glass for the Phillipponnat Royale Reserve Brut. Along with this we sample a platter of Welsh, Whitstable and Jersey oysters while trying to be clever at divining the difference between them – if the lemon and shallot vinaigrette is left to one side it is possible to perceive a slight sweetness to the Welsh oysters and the more mineral properties of the Jersey variety.

A dish of gingery tuna sashimi is very pleasant but it can’t avoid paling in comparison to the octopus and feta salad, which can only be described as an orgasmic explosion of flavour. Sweet roasted red peppers, briny capers and black olives, chunks of salty feta cheese, peppery rocket leaf and meaty pieces of octopus really shouldn’t work this well together on one plate, but they do, and to what effect.

Mains are equally delightful, the delicate sweetness of skate is paired with peppery puy lentils and a vinegary, mushy sauce; rich almonds are a surprisingly good pairing for the slightly sour, salt cod which comes with peppers and potatoes.

A very dark chocolate mousse with a dollop of cream that offsets its bitterness is a suitably exuberant dessert to finish off an excellent meal.

Reviewed by Leila
Published on Feb 20, 2011


Best For

London's most romantic restaurants - oooh-la-la! picture

London's most romantic restaurants - oooh-la-la!

When you're in the mood for love, or even just some lovin'...

Quite aside from the fact that oysters are supposedly aphrodisiacs, Bentley’s has a romantic, yet casual aesthetic about it which reminds one of sitting in a Parisian café. Sit at the marble-topped bar or by the window at the Oyster Bar or grab a table at the quieter restaurant upstairs; either way the food is exceptional.

Restaurants for when you're eating alone picture

Restaurants for when you're eating alone

Eating on your lonesome? It's OK we'll get you through this.

The marble-topped bar at Bentley’s is ideal for solo diners who wish to while away a few hours in style, and what could be more decadent than sipping champagne and quaffing oysters while submerged in a classic novel?

Guzzle them down at London's best oyster bars picture

Guzzle them down at London's best oyster bars

To those of you who already love oysters - you know what all the fuss is about...

Grab a seat at the buzzy, marble-topped bar downstairs (there’s a more formal restaurant on the first floor) and sample native and rock oysters, along with an obligatory coupe of champagne. Once your appetite is whettedRichard Corrigan’s seafood-heavy menu has plenty of other delectable dishes to choose from.

User Reviews

SGW

May 26, 2011

We had a great dinner at Bentley's. It was really busy and had a nice,buzzy atmosphere. The front of house were all lovely and attentive, and our waiter made a great recommendation - halibut with squid linguine, which I will defintately be having again! Polished it all off with a nice bottle of white. Lovely experience all round, and would definately recommend it to friends.
Daniel Atkinson
from Robertsbridge

Feb 21, 2011

We booked our family of five for my wife's birthday. Expensive but we expected a high quality of service and food. Dissapointing. Most of the waiting staff were courteous, but the head waiter made us feel that he had more important things to do. Most of the food was ecellent but the fish pie was less than ordinary with a gimmicky lobster head. Never again.

Name: Daniel Atkinson
Location: Robertsbridge
Anonymous

Jul 21, 2010

My boyfriend took me to Bentley's for a surprise birthday dinner. Ah, I wish I could score more than just 10 out of 10. their oysters are to die for and all the food was delicious. I might train the waiters to explain/sell the specials bit better but hey I loved it anyway... can't wait to go back! well done!!!!
Anonymous

Feb 18, 2010

I went to Bentleys with my family one night and the food was delicious!
Anonymous

Jun 29, 2009

A disapointment.I expected fireworks and got a limp half used sparkler.
Took my husband for his birthday, booked the restaurant online, when arrived told it was closed. seated in the grill room we spent ages choosing from the all over the place menu.
There was an obvious staff problem as there was only 1 waitress for the whole room!
The food was below average, i was expecting the most delicious fish id ever had sadly i think i expected too much.
Anonymous

Sep 1, 2008

While visiting London from the U.S., we ate at Bentley's and enjoyed it so much that we returned for dinner the next night. The seafood was lovely - very fresh - and the food well prepared. Delicious!
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