Bar Boulud

Came here for dinner and enjoyed every second of it! The staff is attentive, and the wine sommelier is awesome!
Having wine paired with our dishes was brilliant, making the restaurant extra special! This restaurant is in Mandarin Oriental's basement, but it has these red sexy loungey vibes. You could see colleagues having dinner, and some people enjoying a cute date night!

My mom had french onion soup for her appetizer, which she thoroughly enjoyed. My dad and I shared the octopus, which we wanted extra charred. It was beautifully cooked, served + presented. Plus, it was a good piece (not something you can say about most places with their octopus lol) I think I could order the octopus for my entree and be content. But we didn't stop there
I ordered the steak, my mom ordered a veggie burger and my dad ordered a regular burger - the dishes weren't crazy exquisite or over the top, but it was just good food. My mom did rave about the veggie burger though - I think it was a falafel pattie? smelled nice as well!

Wonderful food and atmosphere. Very attentive service. The charcuterie is amazing, a vast selection of wines and the sommelier is always very helpful. We love the seafood platter!

Go to Bar Boulud, if you're in London! Relax in the formal, yet laid back Art Deco surroundings, while the wait staff bring course after course of delicious food. We tried a lot of dishes and honestly, there's not a single one I wouldn't order again!

Here was our meal with descriptions:
Drinks
- Watermelon & cucumber gin & tonic
- Old Fashioned

Appetizers
- Baguettes and butter (complimentary): fresh and airy start to the meal.
- Small Charcuterie board: We really enjoyed the shredded duck and the jamon. The wheat bread accompanying the charcuterie was also delicious! Small pickles and dogs decorate the plate to balance the salty with sweet.
- Lobster roll paired with Sunset white wine: So decadent and delicious! This isn't your standard lobster roll. The buttered roll and the lobster bits were the perfect balance of tasty and satisfying.

Dinner
- Loup de Mer: after so many appetizers, I was looking for a lighter entree. The sea bass was prepared so well, and layered over grains with marinated peach pieces. I loved the balance of sweet and savory, and would definitely order again. Pair with the Sunset white wine.
- Steak Frites: Amazing! The fries were perfectly seasoned and crispy. The bearnaise sauce served alongside the steak complemented the dish so well, making each bite better than the last. Paired with a Merlot.

Dessert:
- Vanilla bean with berry cream birthday dessert:
Way to make a girl feel special on her birthday! This dessert was so light and tasty, I loved the final touch Bar Boulud put on my perfect birthday dinner.
- Vanilla Mille-Feuille: Puff Pastry filled with vanilla cream and topped with a lace of caramel sauce. YUM! So flaky, but we scooped up those extra pieces with the side of homemade vanilla ice cream, so no complaints here!

Bar Boulud is just one outpost of renowned chef, Daniel Boulud's empire. The French chef, who is originally from Lyon in the Rhone River valley, became famous in New York after moving there in the early 80s. Boulud's centerpiece - three Michelin star restaurant DANIEL is located in NYC - but his empire spans the globe with locations in Florida, Singapore, Beijing, Montreal, Toronto and London. Bar Boulud sits in the ground floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel, one of the poshest addresses in London's Knightsbridge area.

The Boulud American-inspired French bistro concept is a majorly relaxed and welcoming environment. And unlike many other restaurants in this price range, it attracts people who aren't dressed to the nine's and just want a chilled out, but very nice meal. The slightly-underground Bar Boulud is designed to feel like a French wine cellar with vaulted ceilings and recessed, red-leather booths. It's open kitchen does make things more lively than your average wine cellar.

I, of course, had the burger. Bar Boulud features four delicious burgers on their regular menu, priced between £17 and £24. Now, this is pricey - it's prohibitively pricey. And considering just a few short years back, the Boulud burgers were priced between £13-19, Boulud has realized that there is money to be made in a delicious hamburger.

However, I do say that these burgers are worth it - considering the Hawksmoor burger for £15 without fries; Bar Boulud includes the pommes frites, and it's on par with Hawksmoor. Boulud's beef comes from the Castle of Mey; aged Aberdeen Angus Cross chuck steak (grass and silage fed from the North of Scotland).

Their burgers include: the Yankee (£17) - a classic beef burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle on the homemade glazed brioche bun. The Frenchie (£19) is topped with confit pork belly, tomato, and dijon on a morbier peppered homemade bun. The Piggie (£19) piles bbq pork on top of the beef patty and then includes jalapeno mayo and cabbage on a cheddar bun. And finally, the piéce de résistance is Boulud's £24 BB: a beef burger with foie gras, short rib meat, horseradish mayo, confit tomatoes on a black onion seed bun.

They also serve up a sampler of three burgers, cut in halves so you and some select friends can divide your attention amongst these four 8oz. burger delights. The beef absolutely melts in your mouth and remains the focal point of the experience. Even though the house-made buns are exquisite, they are purely a bit-player to the beef. Even the toppings, though fresh and wonderful, are purely there for slight variation, not to overpower the burger patty.

You can read my full review here: https://beeffanatic.com/2015/12/26/bar-boulud-london-the-burger-review/

The Bar Boulud is located next to the Mandarain Oriental in Hyde Park area, London.
I have to say Daniel Boulud's Bistro has a nice open area on the floor, modern/hip style to it. Glad the group ate here and it is a GEM. Oh and its close to Harrods!

Yeah, I did have the James bond Martini, shaken! lol

The wines are great and as a group we bottles of the Chateau De Fonsalette, Cottes 1999. Quite exquisite!

Appetizers -

-rillons croustillants - (Its crispy pork belly) - Not surprised how delicious it was!
-foie gras, pork and truffle
-italian coppan sun dried tomato
-Gruyere cheese puffs

All were delicious and amazing.. I recommend! They have salads too.

Main course -

-Sea bream a la plancha, almonds and romesco sauce (broiled/baked fish)
-harissa spiced lamb loin

Sides -
-pommes frites (couldnt resist)
-truffled mashed potato ( I know potato potato) can you blame me.

Dessert -

Fleur pistache framboise - this was wrapped in a chocolate sphere and they poured more hot chocolate sauce on it which delicately opened the additional delicious sweetness hidden the sphere. Yummy!

As a New York resident, I have been to almost every Daniel Boulud restaurant in NYC. Needless to say, I am a huge fan, so when I come to a city that has a restaurant of his, I am there - especially if they have USDA steaks. This restaurant is in the ground level of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the place was a beehive of activity. The crowd was lively, young-ish and very upscale. It was last minute so I had to sit at the chartreuse table attached to the open kitchen, which was ok, since it was cool to be able to see all the action.

Also, when I found out that Daniel Boulud himself was there in the kitchen, I almost ran to my seat!!

Yes, Daniel himself was in the kitchen. Although, he is New York based these days, I guess he was in town for something and while in town, he was working in his kitchen. Pretty cool.

I had a glass of red and a USDA sirloin steak with béarnaise and a side of frites. The steak was fantastic, as this was a USDA grade cut of beef, not something you see often in London. The frites on the other hand, were rock hard and lukewarm. I asked for fresh frites and I got a dish of piping hot frites no questions asked. Awesome.

Bar Boulud was the same as all Daniel Boulud restaurants - the food, the atmosphere and the service were amazing.

Bar Boloud is just amazing. I would actually think it's the best overall restaurant in London, because it's so excellent always, and also because it's a great fit for any occasion - from dinner with your mother, to a work beer, to a romantic date or business dinner. It can be a place to splash out for superb French food and expensive wine (they go up to £400 per bottle) but also to have probably the best value meal in London (the set menu is simply the best deal in London) with extremely good value wine serviced by the glass. So it's just perfect for any occasion. The French food is superb. Everything is great, from the fine dining cuisine to their burgers, and if you like a bit more rustic country food I can really recommend their sausages.

And the service is just always flawless and genuinely friendly and caring. I had a person in my party spill red wine on their expensive cashmere sweater, and one of the waiters solved it with some soda water - it was gone!

About four or five times a year, I get an overwhelming craving for a burger. But being a lady of high standards, I want a burger that has real beef inside and I want to eat it in a nice restaurant on a plate. I can't stand plastic wrapping, or themed restaurants that try to pretend they're in America, when you can quite clearly see London buses going past the window.

Anyway, rant over, I was so happy with my burger at Bar Boulud. The texture was divine and there was just the right amount of lettuce and tomato with a delicious burger sauce. There are some more adventurous burgers on the menu, including one with foie gras inside, but I stuck to a Yankee burger with cheese and salad. Not that three bits of lettuce can be included as part of your five a day, but it probably saves some calories.

Saving calories on the main course is important as you'll want to indulge in a dessert. I had the chocolate lava cake, and held my breath to see if molten chocolate would oooze out as I've had some disappointing experiences with chocolate desserts recently. Thankfully, a river of chocolate flowed over the plate and I spooned up every last drop. A raspberry sorbet cleansed the palate so I could keep going back to the chocolate.

Not only was the food divine, but the location was a plus. As it is inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, which is just down the road from Harrods and Harvey Nichols, I expected it to be much more expensive than what it was. My Yankee Burger was just £18 though so it was cheaper than Burger and Lobster and some gastropubs. Service was excellent and the clientele were cool and civilised.

Next time I'll go back a bit further after Christmas, so my stomach can handle a foie gras burger. It's the poshest setting for a burger I've found in London so far.

Absolutely abysmal service... Even for London.

Boulud in Manhattan runs circles around this joke of an eatery. It should never take 20 minutes from being seated to be recognized and get in a drink order.

The waitstaff is too busy talking amongst themselves to really care.

Go elsewhere. There are too many decent brasseries in London to put up with this level of unprofessionalism

Thanks to Andrew M for organising Burger Quest 4.0, which turned out to be one of my oddest dining experiences

Bar Boulud is the brainchild of Michelin starred New York legendary chef Daniel Boulud and has been reproduced in London from its original version in New York. Senior maitre d' Paulo de Tarso, which eventually turned our evening into a special one, told us the origins of the London version from its humble basement beginnings at the swanky Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge

To be honest, the evening didn't start well. The first 4 of our party of 10 Yelpers arrived to find that they had split us up into tables of 4,4 and 2 and that they were unable to sit us close together. Having now spent an evening in the buzzing and impressively full dining rooms, I'm still not sure why our tables couldn't be placed closer together

The other unfortunate policy at the restaurant is that no photo taking is allowed, especially of the food. At the end of the evening, we all agreed that it was a real shame that they didn't allow us to take photos of the food, which was beautifully plated and presented. A little bizarrely, they did offer to let us return to photograph the food with professional photographers and they would set up the food professionally, which rather goes against the spontaneous joy of Yelp. I really hope that they re-consider this policy as I, in common with a lot of others I'm sure, have chosen to eat somewhere when we've seen the beautiful photos of the food

However, once Mr de Tarso worked out that we were serious foodies, he did put in a lot of time with us to share his obvious passion for the food and to make sure that we had an enjyable evening. He was the perfect host

We had some nice cocktails to sip on - my non alcoholic 'Exotic Breeze' was a nice combination of lychee juice, fresh berries and tonic - as we perused the menu

Very generously, Mr de Tarso sent over some complimentary charcuterie boards as he wanted us to try the terrines, which reflects Daniel Boulud's rustic origin and style of cooking though elevating it to perfect execution and appearance. Despite it having a bistro air in the dining room, they don't skimp on the quality of the ingredients or cooking

The many terrines and hams on the board weren't shy on flavour, which was nice. The mustards served alongside added some lovely bite but the pickled veggies could have had a little more zing

Being Burger Quest, we all went for burgers. I had already decided beforehand on their signature BB burger which is a beef patty, foie gras, red wine braised short ribs, truffle, frisée, horseradish mayonnaise and confit tomato all on a sesame black onion seed bun, costing a reasonable £19.50 considering the top class ingredients. Yinnie C bucked the trend on our table by having the Piggie burger, which was personally recommended by Mr de Tarso

So, the BB. It was very good but just a couple of notches from perfection. The beef patty is made in-house with a carefully measured ratio of fat to meat and this results in a wonderfully light patty. The foie gras and short ribs were nice too but as all these main filling ingredients are of the same consistency and flavour, everything just merged into an amorphous mouthful, nice though it tasted. I felt the foie gras was wasted in this mix and extracted it to be eaten separately. Similarly, the truffle was a bit lost in the meat feast. Linzi M had requested no horseradish in her burger and I did wonder if they leff it off mine as well as it did lack a little bit of different texture or a a little kick, which would have elevated it into the great division

However, Yinnie's Piggie burger was a little star. With the addition of barbecued pulled pork and chilli mayo, it had interesting contrasts on the palate

Happily, the truffle in the truffle mash was more obvious and was my favourite side. The fries, mushroom fricasee and cauliflower cheese gratin were good fillers but not in the same class

Somehow, we found space for a dessert each. These were yummy. We had a nice range with pineapple souffle, chocolate tart, peppermint chocolate sponge and mango with orange mousse

Mr de Tarso had a last surprise for us with a batch of mini madelaines fresh from the oven. Though we were stuffed by then, these all disappeared and I even spotted some fellow Yelpers pouring chocolate sauce into them!

So a big thanks to Mr de Tarso for being a perfect host and making our visit special