The Electric Brasserie

We have been going to The Electric Brasserie for many years and it never fails to please.

I love the bustling yet relaxed feel of the brasserie at the front and the calmer, slightly more formal feel of the restaurant at the back.  I am a fan of any restaurant where you can see what is being cooked in front of you, and in The Electric the kitchen is on full view.

Now that we have moved out to Buckinghamshire, eating out in London is a rarer occurrence than it used to be. If we finish in the salon at 6pm, then we don't really want to hang around for a couple of hours before heading out to eat.  So, when we heard that The Electric Brasserie were offering a great value set menu from 12pm to 6pm Monday to Friday we headed straight down there last Friday for an early supper and we weren't disappointed.

The set menu changes daily and includes seasonal dishes such as pan-fried squid or roasted sweet potato soup to start with. Follow with an onglet (skirt) steak or salmon fillet served with their delicious mini 'buckets' of chips.  Finish off with warming cinnamon rice pudding, or as we did, a crème brûlée.  Kell is quite a connoisseur of these and nearly always chooses a variation if it features on a menu, so he knows a thing or two about them (we even had them at our wedding) and he declared The Electric Brasserie's to be perfect!

All this for just £13.50 for two courses or £16.50 for three.

And for us, eating early meant we missed the rush hour traffic yet still got home in time to sit and relax in front of the log fire!

Jacqueline's profile     Other reviews by Jacqueline     Jacqueline likes    

The Electric Brasserie is on the ground floor, next and attached to the excellent Electric Cinema, and there is also a private member’s club with a separate dining room on the floor above. It is part of the Soho House group, who own the High Road Brasserie in Chiswick, and several other ventures in London and New York.  The dining room is narrow but deep, separated into two sections by an open kitchen with a few tables opposite the kitchen connecting the two areas.

The wine list fits into one closely typed page, with selections such as West Brook Sauvignon Blanc 2008 at £37 for a wine that costs £8 retail, Berberana Tempanillo 2007 was £25.75 for a wine that fetches around £8 retail, and the pleasant Valdemar Gran Reserva 2001 was £59.75 for a wine you can buy in the shops for about £17, so in general mark-ups are quite steep (remember that you have to add VAT to these restaurant prices, which are included in a price at a wine shop). The Louis Roederer Cristal 2000 at £285 is technically the bargain of the list, since it costs perhaps £260 retail these days thanks to massive price inflation in recent years due to its featuring in assorted rap videos and consequent popularity.

The simplest food here seems to be the best. It was interesting to contrast a tart of spinach, goat cheese and mushroom (£7), which was adequate but was fairly crude e.g. huge chunks of onion, rather than delicate slices (1/10), with a haddock fish cake. The latter (£5) had a crisp outer coating, well seasoned filling, and nicely cooked fish; haddock works well here, having enough flavour to come through the deep frying (easily 3/10).

A whole sea bass (£15.50) was served just as that, with no garnish other than a little lemon, but was well timed and had quite good flavour (3/10). Fish and chips (£12.50) had somewhat pale batter and a far from generous portion of fish, but at least had good chips, pleasant tartare sauce and reasonable mushy peas with a hint of mint (2/10).

Just as with other locations in this group, the food is generally simple, appealing, and competently executed, though the bill always seems rather high for what you are getting.

Andy's profile     Other reviews by Andy     Andy likes    

Just had brunch there today and thought the food was pretty good. The place looks really neat. There's an outside area which looks like a cafe then as soon as you enter it's this modern looking restaurant. I'm not sure how the prices for lunch and dinner are but the breakfast menu was really decent and the coffee was really quite fresh. It's probably better on the weekdays though as I'm sure it'll be much quieter.

Paolo's profile     Other reviews by Paolo     Paolo likes    

The Electric Brasserie – no surprises, it does what it says on the tin if you know what I mean. You get well to do Notting Hill types who think they’re a little bit cool, can’t quite afford to invest in the private membership, but like to be seen at the brasserie, reading their papers, chatting media twaddle and trying to look like the world is their playground (and it proabaly is). Alongside the clientele, you get well prepared (although not astounding) food, any kind of drink you can think of and top notch service. A place you love to hate, but keep going to all the same.

Leandra's profile     Other reviews by Leandra     Leandra likes    

One of my favs and especially ideal for celeb spotting too... despite the A - Z lists attempts of camouflaging behind oversized shades. Whether a sip of their wine list or a dabble in the food menu, this hits the spot for a reckless night in town.

Priya's profile     Other reviews by Priya     Priya likes