Oval Restaurant - The Wellesley (Knightsbridge)

• The light in the restaurant was blue oddly
• Non descriptive looking building to a magnificent thing of beauty which was quickly spoilt by an army of metallic sprayed Bentley's outside of it
• The restaurant is meant to be Italian I believe
• More modern European with an Italian flare
• Is rather small and not at all cosy how could it be with those icy blue cold lights
• Our waiter was so awfully polite
• The beetroot was the nicely cooked
• Everything was seasoned well but it was all cold perhaps bordering lukewarm
• Considering at this point we were the only people in the dining room there was no excuse for cold food is the kitchen is taking to long to plate the food
• Our other starter of pan fried squids with parmentier cream was much more proportionately sized
• The real problem was nothing on the plate knew exactly what it was doing
• Parmentier cream was a little dry and cloying in the mouth
• More problems arose with this dish too
• The kitchen is obviously trying with presentation here but it just isn't working
• The only thing that was good about this dish was the jus
• The home made burrata ravioli with Norcia black truffle sauce was a prime example of a chef attempting to create a dish with some wow factor
• Thinking foam was the way to do it
• It even had floating petals were we now in Lush purchasing bath bombs
• It was a real shame because the actual pasta was really very lovely
• The truffle sauce was under the foam
• If you're wondering what was the foam flavoured with I had no idea either
• By this point in the meal we were praying our desserts wouldn't be just as confused as the rest of the meal had been
• Orange cheesecake with citrus gel was stunning
• Even the citrus gel was throwing its flavour around the plate
• The Oval Restaurant is a unique eatery located in an art deco style hotel in Knightsbridge called The Wellesley
• As we entered the hotel we were immediately greeted by the doorman who was just one of the staff members eagerly hoping to help us during our visit
• The hallway threw me back into the age of the flapper girl with the sparkling
• At the end of the hallway we were directed into a very small room which happened to be The Oval
• I did feel that the lack of guests meant the atmosphere was less buzzy compared to busier lunch locations in London
• Once we were seated we were offered our champagne and were given a variety of breads and oil
• This pleased me as it is interesting to see what restaurant offer holders are given outside of the set menu
• The presentation of this dish was immaculate and I very much enjoyed it
• The cheese was strong and delicious and the different foods in the dish complemented each other greatly
• I chose the pumpkin and maccagno cheese pie with caponata and saffron sauce and
• The presentation was delicate and enticing
• The pie was tasty and the saffron sauce was not overpowering
• There was no question for me in choosing the dark chocolate mousse with coffee sauce and vanilla ice cream
• Beautifully displayed with a painted chocolate leaf and all the sweetness one could desire
• The final touch to the meal was when the waiter brought over an old wooden cigar box full of rich chocolates
• Whilst obviously this is quite pricey
• I even saw that when one of my party dropped their napkin a waiter swiftly and discreetly picked it up with a pair of tongs and replaced it with a new one
• This sort of service is only in the very high end restaurants so overall this meant
• I understand that they have jazz nights here also which would make for a different evening and really fit in with the 1920's vibe of the hotel
• Breakfast here is not cheap by any standards but I loved the intimacy and the service was extremely attentive
• You feel like this is your private space and the food was perfectly cooked and fresh
• Coffee delicious and when the main course arrived I was in breakfast yummy haven
• Michele del Monaco was still up to his old tricks of chucking out confused plates of food in the dining room
• S not good here is the bread â
• All I ask for is some amazing focaccia laced with rosemary and drizzled with oil

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