Wood Street Bar Restaurant - California

St. John is a must stop on our visits to London. Since the menus change regularly, I was concerned on our scheduled date that some of the big hitters wouldn 't be available. Well, we hit the menu jackpot! Deviled kidneys for a starter and goat faggots mash for a main course. Seriously, it doesn 't get any better for nose to tail enthusiasts! Mussels, Welsh Rarebit, green salad, and braised cabbage, hokey pokey ice cream and apple sorbet w/ vodka were some our other choices all excellent. Service was efficient and friendly. Atmosphere was energetic without being loud. SJ spaces out the dining room well so you never feel crowded. And finally, this has to be a best value Michelin star restaurant. We ate at Dishoom (love it! the night before, and our tabs were pretty similar. Cheers to the staff at St. John!

I was quite disappointed by this meal, from start to finish. I'll start with the parts I enjoyed the potatoes were great, dessert was great, and wine was great. The pigeon was prepared very well. Unfortunately, I don't have many positive things to say beyond that. We had to push through a crowd to enter the restaurant, and then we were seated in a dining room that felt like it belonged in an American bbq joint. The doors to the dining room were opened the whole time as servers were going in and out, which led to an unfortunate draft throughout the meal. This was probably a night specific experience, but it set an unpleasant tone. Service was slow and impersonal, although allergens/dietary restrictions were accommodated well. The braised lamb was added onto the menu as a substitution for the game pie, and I truly could not eat more than a few bites of it. Flavors were unpleasant, and it was not prepared well. Everything else was forgettable the cabbage that came with the pigeon was ok, the beef and lentil broth was ok. Altogether it felt like a disjointed, careless meal. I am disappointed because people talk about this place with such reverence, so I hoped my experience would be more pleasant. Not the place for me!

We were super excited to dine at St John. Many food loving people recommend this place to us. I love whole animal butchery and simple honest cooking methods so why 2 stars? Sad to say, we did not enjoy what we ate at St John Bar. Maybe it was an off night? Or I was expecting something more. I prepare similar but better food at home on a week night. For example, the bone marrows were just ordinary and needed more parsey. I prepare it the similar way but I cook local grass fed beef bone marrow over hard wood fire, sprinkle with flaky Læsø Salt Tellicherry Peppercorns then dress it with fresh parsley from our garden and splash of white Balsamic vinegar. Other dishes were ok as well but we felt they were overly rich and not balanced. Fish was fresh and fine but I do not understand their sauce pairing. Greens were overgrown, tough and too fibrous. People call me Bunny because I love raw greens more than anything but I could not eat it. Kids enjoyed a mountain of the freshly baked Madeleines. They were 5 stars.

I was very excited to eat here. The menu changes daily and uses the animal head to tail. I fear my expectations weee too high for this place. The dishes were good but extremely simple. And that's their style. Simply dressed and seasoned. The very present Welsh rarebit and Madeline's were not to be missed. Reservations are must. Service was unexpectedly spotty but there may have been a shortage. Michelin rating very questionable in my opinion.

It may sound like an oxymoron, but an unpretentious Michelin restaurant. I had a business lunch and it was great. The atmosphere is more like a bistro than a formal dining room, the service was efficient and formal rather than pretentious. I started with the brown crab, which was nice but the star was the saddleback, pork loin cooked a little pink. It was flavorful, tender, as good as can be. An enjoyable restaurant.