Petrus, Maze or Kitchen W8
Discussion
We're now doing three exhibitions over three days at Syon Park, Olympia then ExCel, for simplicity I'm about to book the Hilton at Olympia for two nights as I can park the car and forget about it while we do the Olympia one.
We're now thinking about the restaurants to go to in the evenings, I tried to book Gordon Ramsey at Hospital Road but that's full for both nights so the the website directed me to Maze and Petrus, anyone got any thoughts on which one of them might be the best?
I was doing a bit of research and came upon Kitchen W8 which looks to be just down the road from the hotel, the menu looks good and it sounds reasonable so that is a good bet for one night, we don't want to travel half way across town to eat so are there any other good spots in the area?
We're now thinking about the restaurants to go to in the evenings, I tried to book Gordon Ramsey at Hospital Road but that's full for both nights so the the website directed me to Maze and Petrus, anyone got any thoughts on which one of them might be the best?
I was doing a bit of research and came upon Kitchen W8 which looks to be just down the road from the hotel, the menu looks good and it sounds reasonable so that is a good bet for one night, we don't want to travel half way across town to eat so are there any other good spots in the area?
Both are different types of restaurant IMO.
Maze is a bit (lot) more relaxed. The food's probably a bit more "technical" in Petrus. Both are very nice places to eat, depends what you're wanting from the evening.
There are quite a few threads on here with non-GR recommendations for eating in London so it would be worth reading up...that is not to say Maze/Petrus are "bad" as they very much are not. But other alternatives are available
Maze is a bit (lot) more relaxed. The food's probably a bit more "technical" in Petrus. Both are very nice places to eat, depends what you're wanting from the evening.
There are quite a few threads on here with non-GR recommendations for eating in London so it would be worth reading up...that is not to say Maze/Petrus are "bad" as they very much are not. But other alternatives are available

We rarely get to London so like to treat ourselves to something nice, we have eaten at Hibiscus, Koffmans and Le Gavroche on our last three trips and we enjoyed them all. Our preference is for French/English, Traditional/Contemporary style food but we are open minded and will eat pretty much anything, we just don't want to have to travel too far from our hotel at Olympia on this trip as our schedule is pretty rushed as it is.
My nephew is taking us to the Royal Variety Show in November and we are staying at the Grosvenor House Hotel for a couple of nights so are also in the market for a restaurant in the Park Lane/Mayfair area, Glasshouse looks interesting but my wife quite fancies Galvin at Windows because of the view, any opinions on that or other suggestions would also be welcome as I probably need to get one booked soon.
My nephew is taking us to the Royal Variety Show in November and we are staying at the Grosvenor House Hotel for a couple of nights so are also in the market for a restaurant in the Park Lane/Mayfair area, Glasshouse looks interesting but my wife quite fancies Galvin at Windows because of the view, any opinions on that or other suggestions would also be welcome as I probably need to get one booked soon.
Murph7355 said:
Stoatman said:
I've been to maze twice now, tiny portions and a pretty informal atmosphere . You will probably be starved when you leave but it's nice.
It's meant to be like posh tapas. The idea is you order a bunch of dishes each, and give in to your inner fat b@st@rd 
Maze is a tapas style menu. You are meant to order multiple courses and mix , match and share.
Dblue said:
Murph7355 said:
Stoatman said:
I've been to maze twice now, tiny portions and a pretty informal atmosphere . You will probably be starved when you leave but it's nice.
It's meant to be like posh tapas. The idea is you order a bunch of dishes each, and give in to your inner fat b@st@rd 
Maze is a tapas style menu. You are meant to order multiple courses and mix , match and share.
In the words of a German friend I ate with "Wan f*****g ravioli? Wat em I supposed to do wis zat?"
Also, the Grosvenor Sq. one was oppressively noisy when we were there - there's informal and there's having to bellow at your fellow diners to be heard.
Mark Benson said:
Dblue said:
Murph7355 said:
Stoatman said:
I've been to maze twice now, tiny portions and a pretty informal atmosphere . You will probably be starved when you leave but it's nice.
It's meant to be like posh tapas. The idea is you order a bunch of dishes each, and give in to your inner fat b@st@rd 
Maze is a tapas style menu. You are meant to order multiple courses and mix , match and share.
In the words of a German friend I ate with "Wan f*****g ravioli? Wat em I supposed to do wis zat?"
Also, the Grosvenor Sq. one was oppressively noisy when we were there - there's informal and there's having to bellow at your fellow diners to be heard.
From what is being said it doesn't sound like Maze is for us on this trip, Petrus is a possibility though but we're still doing research for the second evening restaurant.
We may go back to Portes des Indes, we went there a few years ago and liked it, are there any other good Asian, Chinese or Japanese places in the Kensington area?
We may go back to Portes des Indes, we went there a few years ago and liked it, are there any other good Asian, Chinese or Japanese places in the Kensington area?
TeeRev said:
From what is being said it doesn't sound like Maze is for us on this trip, Petrus is a possibility though but we're still doing research for the second evening restaurant.
We may go back to Portes des Indes, we went there a few years ago and liked it, are there any other good Asian, Chinese or Japanese places in the Kensington area?
Zuma. Not been for a long time (I say that often...the flipside of having two kids under 6 We may go back to Portes des Indes, we went there a few years ago and liked it, are there any other good Asian, Chinese or Japanese places in the Kensington area?
), but liked it. Will probably suit what you sound like you're looking for. (Japanese)Hakassan (Chinese, not Kensington though - TCR) does very nice food - my Mrs loved it and doesn't like "normal" Chinese food. However I thought it was trying too hard ambience wise. Dark and moody and full of hip young things wanting to be seen not being seen.
Nobu (Japanese, Park Lane). I haven't been there for an even longer time. The black cod there is worth the visit alone.
For Asian food:
There is another Hakkasan in Mayfair which is a bit closer to Kensington than TCR, same menu (Chinese)
Min Jiang in the Royal Garden hotel High st ken is very good (Chinese)
Zuma is the same chain as Roka but you pay more for Knightsbridge. Not worth it!
If you want to pay those prices for sushi go to Umu - better food
Nobu looks great at the reception then you go in and it feels like a canteen! I think it was more of a celebrity place now the celebs don't go there.
Other options:
Kitchen W8 and Petrus are both excellent
Not a fan of Maze - it's a mish mash of cuisine European and Japanese as sharing plates and doesn't really work IMO. It was better when it was more traditional.
There is another Hakkasan in Mayfair which is a bit closer to Kensington than TCR, same menu (Chinese)
Min Jiang in the Royal Garden hotel High st ken is very good (Chinese)
Zuma is the same chain as Roka but you pay more for Knightsbridge. Not worth it!
If you want to pay those prices for sushi go to Umu - better food
Nobu looks great at the reception then you go in and it feels like a canteen! I think it was more of a celebrity place now the celebs don't go there.
Other options:
Kitchen W8 and Petrus are both excellent
Not a fan of Maze - it's a mish mash of cuisine European and Japanese as sharing plates and doesn't really work IMO. It was better when it was more traditional.
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