Earl Grey
Maison Francois

Maison Francois

34 Duke StreetSt James's, London, United Kingdom, SW1Y 6DF

Pub • Wine • French • Brunch


"We had a rather mixed experience at Maison Francois, starting slow and ending poorly. **BAR:** The decor is lovely, but since we arrived early (around 5 PM), the bar was not fully staffed, and we had to flag down a server to place our order. The cocktails were decent but nothing noteworthy, and there were no bar snacks available. We felt somewhat overlooked. **FOOD:** The brasserie cuisine was truly outstanding. The chops were especially delicious, seasoned perfectly and sliced off the bone. The retro dessert trolley from the 1980s added a fun touch, and overall, the food was excellent. **WINE:** The sommelier was charming, attentive, and offered a fantastic recommendation for a white wine that surprised us in a good way. **STAFF:** There were plenty of staff members, but they seemed disorganized. While they were friendly, it was clear they prioritized regulars and celebrities, which made us feel like second-class guests. We didn’t feel like we were the staff's main focus. **DOG POLICY:** Although there was no mention of a dog policy on the website, a medium/large poodle at a nearby table barked incessantly, causing quite a disturbance throughout the dining room. Unfortunately, neither the owner nor the staff took action to address the issue, ruining our dessert experience for nearly 30 minutes. We raised the concern with the manager, who promised to look into the policy but did not take immediate action. As much as we love animals, they don’t belong in a restaurant where we spent nearly £300 on dinner! This would have been unacceptable prior to COVID. **RECOMMENDATION:** I cannot recommend this restaurant unless you are a dog lover, a regular patron, or a celebrity."

Boisdale of Belgravia

Boisdale of Belgravia

13 - 15 Eccleston Street Belgravia London, SW1W 9LX, United Kingdom

Wine • British • Seafood • Scottish


"Why on earth are there so much tartan? that is because it is a shattic-hearted restaurant. I didn't know that Scottish food could be used as thema – I mean, there are heggis, and that's good, that's right. It doesn't seem like, apart from all tartan, initial impressions are not good. they have lost our reservation and do not believe me when I say that I have one – necessary to withdraw the email confirmation. not consecrated, they still say that they are fully booked and begin to show us elsewhere, but this is the deepest darkest Victoria/Westminster, a lot of restaurants there is not and I am certainly not hunting on the streets. the young are kicking with a mini-haggis for starters, complete with maische and neeps, which even has the possibility of a noggin whisky as a chaser that it seems is an absolute no-brain of an option. I choose for the potty smoked makrele with meerrettich and toast. that is not almost as sharp and fiery as I want, it is tasty, but much too mellow to be fair to the strong taste of makrele and meerrettich in a couple. we have all ordered exactly the same for a head, saddle back pork with curly and black pudding hash. the meat is delicate to taste, but much too hard to cut through what makes it a bit too hard to get through. the hash ball are a little salty for my taste personally, but the personal keeps us plentiful with water, which they realize that we are like those in dessert. in the time that we run over half the distance through our net, the lively jazz band enters and while we cannot see them from our position in the appendix, they are an atmospheric supplement to the place. To enjoy the music, we decide to finish a cheeseboard and the youngs mull over the other possibility to finish the meal; havana zigarren. we have a huge proportion of different types of cheese, so we can all share on a cheese cracker and nibble, the beat of whiskys in the air and the jazz band music that filters us are a great way to finish at night. as far as the package is concerned, I remain undefeated. our waitress was beautiful, attentive sweet, but the front of the house staff was a bit extra spicy, that was delicious, but needed the little extra something to push it in divine."