170 Great Portland Street
Somerstown
London, W1W 5QB
Nearest Transport: Great Portland Street
020 7631 3131
The Villandry Restaurant serves dishes from a modern European and International menu, as well as an extensive wine list. The menu changes daily sourcing ingredients from their impressive food store. They can also cater for private parties of up to 120 people and provide outside seating on the pavement.
Unfortunately I can only comment on the takeaway delights from the Villandry. Stopped there for a quick bite before my dentist's appointement and the pain-au-chocolat was definitely worth the slight detour. It was baked perfectly and the consistency of the dough reminded me of the real thing one gets in Paris.
After being a realtively clean bill of health from the dentist, I decided to make another small detour on my way back and pick up some lunch. Again, I'm really glad I did. The roast duck and vegetable noodle salad was full of flavour. The duck was of high quality with the perfect balance of crispiness and fat. The vegetables where not overwhelming the just crunchy enough. The noodles were fresh and not greasy at all. At £4.95 for the large bowl it is an excellent, quick-lunch choice.
I can't wait to go back and have a proper, sit-down meal
I was sorely disappointed in Villandry, but not as much as my friend, as he was the one who waited 30 min for his English breakfast, and when it finally arrived, they had gotten his order wrong.
Shall I even mention the fact we had to remind the waitress twice about our coffees (and, as we all know, this is a major component to any brunch, especially those who have enough trouble with daylight hours as it is...)
I guess at this point, even mentioning the fact they forgot our water order as well, is redundant. I hope the wait staff were not completely surprised when I contested the 'service charge'. I am not usually this bitter, I just didn't like Villandry. Food wasn't special, it was way overpriced, and if you have been reading this far, you already know my thoughts about the service.
Went to Villandry for a business lunch. The restaurant was crowded (it seems to be something of a canteen for BBC Radio staff - saw various journalists/presenters lunching), but didn't feel cramped, and conversation was possible without straining voices. Good range of food on the daily menu. Starter of pear and bleu d'Auvergne rarebit was really super, and main course of cassoulet was good. My lunch companions both had the fish of the day, which was an apparently excellent bass. Given that the total bill was over £100 for three people drinking only fizzy water, I'm glad that I was taken as a guest. However, for a business lunch I'd recommend Villandry, and the attached gourmet grocery looks worthy of further experimentation.
Today the Villandy's ordering system crashed, and it took over half an hour for the waiting staff and the kitchen staff to realise that somehting was wrong! Needless to say we waited for ages for our food which, when it arrived, was just about decent. They took 25% off our bill - which sounds decent, but not when we noticed that they had actually had the cheek to add the 12.5% service charge! Unless you are feeling particularly humorous, might as well avoid it.
Dinner out for Mrs Magellan and I with some close friends, he a media guru, she a composer of distinction. The media guru, an epicurean to the core, selected Villandry. The place has changed since it was a small deli and cafe in Marylebone High Street. Now it is a huge food emporium with four separate components: a foodstore, bar, charcuterie cafe and a full restaurant. The media guru had selected the restaurant. First piece of advice: do make sure you are sitting in the right place as the restaurant is somehwhat hidden if you arrive at the Great Portland St entrance. The food was fine - good in fact. Excellent crudites, pea soup, ham hock salad and carpaccio received glowing rports. Mains too worked well: steak tartare, barramundi. The Professor had a bowl of fettucini which was not terribly exciting and was a poor choice. The men consumed their puddings (banana tarte tatin and honeycomb ice cream) with gusto. The wine list was outrageously priced even by greedy London standards. We found a 25 bottle of Maipo which worked well but not much in this range. Chianti Fonterutoli - which is produced by my dear friend the Mazzeis - was on sale for 36 a bottle. In Chianti, you can buy it for 15 euros (less than 10). 36 for a nice everyday Chianti is a bit toppy to say the least. Breads, baked on the premises, wre excellent. Main criticisms were that the tables are far too close together; so useless for a romantic evening or cofidential discussions. And the service was very slow and very remote. The waiter was quite unengaged. Our happiness was simply not an issue. One curiosity: Mrs Magellan was told that the artichokes were "not good enough to serve". Yet we saw table after table being served artichokes. The waiter claimed that was because there was a late delivery of artcihokes. Mrs Magellan gasped in disbelief as this was 9.00pm in the evening. Finally, the waiter continued to bring bottles of expensive water without asking if we wanted more - this is becoming a nasty London trick which should be stopped. Before you know where you are, there is a 20 charge on the bill for countless bottles of water. Dinner all in was around 50 a head. Not cheap. Villandry has potential; but they need to work hard on the service which is well below par and lets down the rather good cooking.
Please note a maximum of 6 people can dine with one taste card Ordered direct from the producers, Villandrys charcuterie counter boasts the best cured hams and salamis from all over Europe and is delivered to them twice weekly.
Adjacent to the charcuterie counter is an area for relaxed all-day dining the Charcuterie Bar.
Enjoy a plate of charcuterie or a sandwich during the day, or meet friends for a light dinner in the evening.
This is another takeaway deli/restaurant/bar place. I love going here for a quick bite to eat or meet girlies for a lunch. They make lovely soups, and always have a 3-5 hot dishes fish, pasta, quiches etc. There is a wonderful selection of breads and they do pancakes till 6pm (please check as it may vary). To sit down is a bit more expensive but the service is nice and its all beautifully done with thick linen table clots all perfectly clean. There is a restaurant at the back but I never been there.
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