From the pan-Asian food to the multilingual clientele and staff, it’s a truly international affair at this reborn King’s Road bar and restaurant.

The Venue
Part of the Ricker group - a select list of bars and restaurants including E&O in Notting Hill and Cicada in Clerkenwell – Eight Over Eight is positioned just past the Beaufort Street exit of the world-famous stretch. Recently reopened after a fire, its return has been welcomed with open arms by wadded locals, to the extent that you’ll need a reservation even during the week.

Inside, a smart bar area sits upfront but it’s the restaurant space to the rear that really exhibits an assured, moneyed air. Cream hues, starchy white tablecloths, dark wall-hugging booths, art deco-esque mirrors and topsy turvy Oriental-style tasselled lampshades all help convey a sense of sophistication.

The Atmosphere
Fellow diners from as far away as New Zealand and Norway mull over opening new offices in Singapore, whilst your waiter may well be from South Africa (you’re in luck if so – he’s very good). Elsewhere, a designer mum with a classic Vuitton handbag sips glasses of champers whilst daddy attends to the little bubs. It’s all very typical of the modern day King’s Road resident – international and minted.

The Food
The menu is divided into various categories including dim sum, sushi, tempura, curries and salads. What this means in reality is that Eight Over Eight picks and chooses from where it sees fit to create a pan-Asian menu. Chinese, Thai, Japanese, even Korean influences are all alluded to.

The dim sum is not, as you might expect, an assortment of steamed dumplings and fried rolls, it is in fact a list of small dishes. But one of the traditional dim sum offerings, the king prawn and black cod siu mai (£6.50), is a steamed dumpling containing a delicate, juicy mix of fish and herbs. The chilli salt squid (£6.75) also excels, the batter particularly noteworthy as its super-fresh and feather-light.

The rock shrimp tempura (£16.50) arrives next and are infused with jalepeno, although it’s so subtle you might not even realise and, in comparison to the squid, the round deep-fried popping balls of shrimp aren’t as successful, especially when you take into consideration the significant extra mark-up.

Mains deliver the best dish of the sitting – the smokey black cod (£24.50) served on a black shiny platter with pureed sweet miso sauce. It might come with a formidable price-tag but this can be shared between two if you’ve shared previous dishes. Another enjoyable dish is the Korean lamb chops (£16.50), which are served rare, so make sure to stipulate if you’re averse to rare meat. They are, however, genuinely memorable when generously covered in the rich, viscous barbecue dipping sauce. Chilli fried rice (£3.50) offers a change from the norm, and it has a fair whack of fresh chilli and diced spring onion in the mix giving it a potent kick.

The Drink
Cocktails or glasses of champagne are offered whilst you peruse the menu. Most of the cocktails (£7.50 - £9) continue the Eastern theme, with ingredients such as fresh lemongrass added to the Mekong Mule to give a little extra edge to a refreshing blend of ginger beer, lime and vodka. Hardly any bottles of wine cost less than £20 but the Cape Verde Cabernet Sauvignon (£21) represents great value and has more depth of flavour and character than many more expensive wines.

The Last Word
Quality pan-Asian cooking for a wealthy, international, upwardly-mobile crowd, it’s no wonder that Eight Over Eight is such a popular haunt in this part of town.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (2) image gallery (3)