Hibiscus

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 10 reviews

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29 Maddox Street,
Mayfair,
London,
W1S 2PA

0872 148 2946
Note: Calls cost 10p per min plus network extras.

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Hibiscus
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31/07/2011
Good food. Great chef. Great wine list.
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Reviewer deignan
24/01/2011
Probably best to avoid Hibiscus.

I had dinner in the private dining room with 6 friends just before Christmas. Whilst the food was great, the service from the sommelier was the worst I have experienced and verges on dishonesty.

The minor issue was the water that was provided - 7 people were charged for 19 bottles of water. I doubt that we drank nearly 3 bottles each on top of 13 bottles of wine.

However, my main gripe is what I consider to be a flagrant breach of the trust that exists between the sommelier and the host.

The wines chosen for the dinner were all priced between £74 and £90, i.e. less than £100 (with the exception of the a dessert wine at £140). Later in the evening, I asked the sommelier for some additional wines and suggested he recommended some new world wine based on the sort of wines we had been drinking so far (i.e. style and price point). I was shocked when I checked the bill and discovered the resulting wines poured for us were £160, £175 and £325. Clearly, I acknowledge that I should have asked the price before agreeing to any of the wines, but in my years in restaurants of this calibre, the sommelier has always picked up on the subtle cues around what style of wine the guest would prefer, and most importantly the amount he would like to pay.

So a good restaurant spoiled by poor management and opportunistically ripping off the guest.

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Reviewer Heron
14/02/2010
On the mood of a very great celebration we spontaneously chose to eat mid-week at Hibiscus with only an hour prior reservation. We are English and French with an expertise in wine and extensive travels around the world -- a passion for distinctive food, sensual flavours and culture. Maybe as we both warm to the individual spirit of all we meet, our waiters of which we had four, offered us exceptional service! As if royalty with extensive and perceptive engaging explanations of the menu and champagnes and wines. And each absolutely perfect with the choice of food. The atmosphere was so comfortable as if in our own home. For hours we sojourned in this world; tasted and delighted in each course and the in-between refreshers were an absolute wonder! We decided this cook must be the best lover as those places in us that distinguish taste and aromas – were in absolute ecstasy! Maybe we were lucky or something in the stars that day but we had no hesitation. It was fantastic meal and the ideal accompaniment for this celebration of life.
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Reviewer hvgray
05/10/2009
The first problem is the booking hassle. You phone, and are told when they are prepared to have you.

At the end of the week you are also told that they will only allow you to have the tasting menu. Having accepted that, they want your credit card, even for four people booking.

When you have given them that, they demand your email address, so that they can send you their forfeiture terms. Then you have to reply. Then they ring you up to see if you are coming.

By this time you wish you had decided to go somewhere else. Some, but not all of this, is understandable because it is a small restaurant (which does not "turn" tables every two hours) and some people have rotten manners and do not turn up when they have booked, so the restaurant loses money and wastes a table.

The service was good, and friendly,in contrast to other reviewers' comments, and the food generally was very well designed, cooked and presented.

Of course, it should be at the price. Unlike the lunch and a la carte, however, there is a bit too much of the sub-Heston Blumenthal I-can-do-such-amazing-things-with-odd-ingredients in the tasting menu, which caused the enjoyable beginning to crash at the last hurdle.

The pre-dessert palate cleanser was smothered in a chestnut foam, which is cloying and therefore does not do its job, and the dessert itself was a sickly concoction of white chocolate and mushroom, the taste of which lingered for hours and ruined the memory of the rest of the meal.
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Reviewer Anonymous
02/04/2009
Ate here with my partner recently for our anniversary. I had high expectations, considering Hibiscus has just been given its second Michelin star.

Upon walking in the lack of atmosphere in the restaurant hits you in the face like an old people's home.

Amicable service but they could have been more relaxed. We were afraid to speak let alone laugh through dinner.

Very, very stiff.We chose Hibiscus because of their amazing vegetarian menu online - don't be fooled by this. I was offered the same menu apparently they have been serving for the last six months.

The royale of parmesan, lemongrass foam and veloute of green vaucluse asparagus was admittedly delicious, but my main of spring vegetables in salted butter with gnocchi, was frankly uninspired.

Vegetables and lettuce? For £60? And then they still charged me £65 for the meat a la carte meal.

Have no regrets about going to Hibiscus - if this is a representation of a two Michelin starred restaurant, I certainly won't be going to any others.

Incidentally, Goodman's Steakhouse is situated opposite, obviously being a veggie I can't eat there, but it looked a hell of a lot more lively than Hibiscus.
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Reviewer Tim Gill
04/09/2008
We had a wonderful meal there on the evening of 23 July choosing the tasting menu. Claude Bosi is a talented chef who manages to creatively combine ingredients you would not expect to go together, to produce truly memorable dishes. No dish disappointed and we particularly enjoyed the ravoli of white onion and lime with caramelised onion and broad bean and mint puree. Whilst the oak smoked lamb's sweet bread with fresh goat's cheese, white onion fondue and lettuce veloute was a revelation. When our desert was brought and we were told it was a pea and mint tart with sheep's milk whey and coconut sorbet we were dubious about how it would taste; after all, peas as a desert! We needn't have been concerned. It was delicious. Through out the food was beautifully presented, The staff were professional but friendly, attentive but unobtrusive and the atmosphere was relaxed. The younthful sommelier was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The wines he suggested complemented the food superbly. At the end, a particularly nice touch was the appearance of Claude Bosi who came to ask how we had enjoyed the meal.

It was a truly, relaxed, enjoyable experience and well worth the money. We enjoyed it so much that we returned two days later for lunch which is brilliant value. Highly recommended but you do need to book.
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Reviewer David092
15/07/2008
Great food, except that having told our waiter that we didn't like mint, two of the 7 tasting menu dishes that followed were based around that exact ingredient! At these prices I expect the kitchen to listen to my dislikes (especially if they're going to take the trouble to ask), or at least warn me if they can't accommodate them. A pity, as the food was otherwise excellent, and the warm and friendly service makes a nice change to the cold efficiency of some Michelin starred eateries.
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Reviewer Leopoldo
24/06/2008
On Friday 13 June I, along with three other people were "kicked out" of this restaurant because the fourth member of the group was a last minute addition. The maitre refused to add a fourth place to the round table where three of us were already sitting and left us with the choice of either one of us leaving (which was of course out of the question) or the four of us leaving (which we did). What an unpleasant, unhelpful young man that maitre!! Appalling.

This has never happened to me before and it surely is not happening to me again in that place. One expects a certain level of courtesy when walking into a restaurant like that to spend some money, even if it has lost a Michelin star this year. Kinda see why...
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