Hedone

Perfect Michelin 1* restaurant can be found in London. Amazing experience with the reasonable wine list.

+2

Superb restaurant. Attentive staff and truly well balanced tasting menu. A must when in London

This has been on our ‘to do’ list for a long time, pending a special occasion to justify it. On that basis we said ‘yes’ to everything - extra courses, the best wines, the full works. The food is great across 9 delicious courses and the prestige wine pairing was outstanding. But done that way with no holes barred this is a once in a lifetime experience at the very top end of any budget. This perhaps explains why we were the only guests on a Friday lunchtime, with all the pros and cons that go with that. Very good food, excellent service, amazing wines. But astonishingly expensive even in spite of that.

Simply unbelievable food. Been twice, and provided two of the best meals of my life - and better than most of the UK's main 2-3 Michelin star competitors. Recent reviews identify some flaws so it’s possible standards have slipped a little, but they don’t resonate with the experiences I had, which were pretty perfect in every respect. Expensive, of course, but really worth trying.

A restaurateurs dream...probably the best one star restaurant in the world. The kitchen is a joy to watch and everything flows beautifully. We had the set menu with the classic pairing and every wine was spot on..I don’t even dear to think about the prestige pairing. Great enthusiasm on the floor too but maybe lacking a guiding hand and a little experience. Great value for the money and a once in a life time experience to watch one of the best in the business. Thanks for everything

Incredible restaurant. By far the best tasting menu in london . Not one average dish . Incredible quality ingredients and incredible cooking skill . Defiantly get the kitchen bar seats as wonderful to watch the chefs at work and talk to them about the techniques . We went for the cheaper wine pairing and for once def worth the money some delicious and interesting glasses . I wish i could give 6 out 5 top meal

Twice visited. Both truly magnificent. A slight preference for the smaller tasting menu. We don't drink, so I cannot comment on the wines. The food was exquisite, such great combinations of flavours and textures. Every course was a revelation.

A very talented and passionate chef offering a modern european cuisine. A must go if you want to discover what are the next stars of the food scene.

We came off of andy hayler's recommendation and had a pescetarian take on the degustation menu. The ravioli exploded when bit into! One of my favourite michelin dining experiences.

One of the best restaraunts in London. The quality of ingredients is second to none and the quality is allowed to shine by the skilled chef.

Fine dine at its best. Very good food with daily menu. Good service. I strongly recommend this place for fine dining lovers.

Hedone has some of the best food and presentation in the area. It may be pricey but it is worth every penny. the staff are friendly and attentive.

Pricey but my God, its good! nice treat, mind you for a Michelin star they should spruce up the entrance a bit.

Loved it. Unpretentious Michelin-quality food in an unusual place. Well worth the trip to Chiswick.

Very pleasant and informal with well spaced tables, friendly staff and good food. Sour dough bread is excellent, and even got a loaf to take home. A bit expensive, but perhaps worth it for a special occasion

Exceptional food. I highly recommend going for the carte blanche option and letting the chef decide what is best to cook for you right now. One of the most memorable meals we've had in London.

Excellent food and good customer service. The menu uses some interesting flavours and fresh ingredients. Went for the tasting menu and thoroughly enjoyed it. Its obviously a bit on the pricey side - but fairly reasonable for fine dining.

This is a weird restaurant. It's location on the high street is incongruous, you're miles from fashionable East London or the poshness of Mayfair, you leave the traffic behind and you're sat at a generously proportioned table (far away from other people's, thank God) and on impulse go for the Carte Blanche menu with wine pairing which costs a month's rent... The food is outstanding. Every course produced a noise: a sigh, a moan, a gurgle. You just can't fault it. The wine was fabulous, although I would recommend getting a good bottle to save yourself a few hundred quid. The room lacks atmosphere, probably due to the fact everyone is moaning as they eat, which in itself creates an atmosphere. Go.

We went to Hedone with high expectations & to a large extent the restaurant met them. It's a some what eclectic ambience more reminiscent of a cafe than restaurant. We had lovely seats but some of the counter seating looked both distinctly uncomfortable and out of place in a restaurant this pricey. Overall, I walked away conflicted - truly spectacular creative dishes spoiled by minor details like the way they were served, the hit-or-miss quality of service and the high price. Dining out is a lot about the food of course but also about the experience and Hedone misses on the latter. I found that our experience is consistent with those of my friends which is disappointing because it would take very little to address them and deliver those inventive dishes in at atmosphere that could truly be relished.

Impeccable sourcing of ingredients, and top-notch cooking technique. Mikael Jonsson is a perfectionist. I do wish the service staff were more attentive, which is why I knocked it down to 4/5 stars, but the food is superb.

Usually not a fan of pretentious fine dining but If you've got money to spend, spend it here. Interesting, delicious (albeit tiny) food and excellent service. Unique.

Fresh... but forgettable. I actually went here two months ago and the most memorable thing was that the restaurant was really drafty- this was on a chilly February night. I actually forgot we had eaten here until a friend recently reminded me. I can't recall a single dish I ate, but do remember really fresh and satisfying flavors, so it was a fun culinary experience and clearly a talented chef with a strong concept of his own food. The service was pretty disappointing, however. Some of the servers were very attentive and professional, but one of them lingered for a long time trying to chat with us when we just wanted to eat the food, and later he seemed to forget about us when we needed more wine. So it was hit or miss.

Food wasn't fresh. Macarons were stale. Super overpriced and none of the dishes were amazing. Not worth the one star at all. The mains were ok but not of Michelin quality. Shame as snacks started off really well.

Lots to like and clearly operating at a high level. Would say it's overpriced though at £520 for 2 without excessive drinking. Not worth the money especially given its location

First impression was that it's not a place to enjoy a somewhat quiet lunch (bad acoustics in the restaurant). Service is slow -- I suffered from a bad cough that day, and had to ask the waiter 3 times for my hot water to arrive. Long intervals between each dish (we had the tasting menu), so we all felt very hungry. The whole meal lasted 4 hours! The deserts were truly amazing and delicate, but in the end being charged £1 for a boiled water refill (not tea, just tap water) left a bad taste in my mouth.

We experience a great and excellent meal at Hedone. All the foods are really delicious and mouth-watering. They serve a finest food ever! It’s the best place that you must go for a good and delicious food at very affordable price.

Had a very good view of the chefs at the bar bit. Overall was good but for me it didn't live up to the hype, quality of ingredients was there but there wasn't any flavour, it was all pretty bland which is not what I was expecting so was disappointed

Just had yearly michelin meal here with mixed feelings. The service was very good and friendly. The wine was good -you get what you choose. The food was a mixed bag; they only serve a non menu 'd taster selection. The oyster was a bit bland, so was the crab, the pasta was a total washout for me (the filling of two of the three pieces was missing). Next was the fish and then the pigeon, both of which where excellent., and just about made the good portion size. There was a kir royal palette clenser that was bitter and we did not finish, and a single desert of a mango tart that was 'nice'. Overall, it did not deliver IMHO, and I will not be going g back.

For a 1 star experience I would have to say they failed. The front of house team were indifferent to rude, in most cases rushed, struggling to clearly articulate what was on the tasting menu, the sommelier was, at best, condescending, and finally even the table was, well, not clean and quite sticky; around the dining area crumbling plaster and a bathroom door handle wrapped in duct tape. At this level the experience, ambiance and details are essential. They came up very, very short of expectation. The food was good, but when you think of the level of service, experience and imagination, not to mention food quality, at other nearby 1 star Michelin restaurants, namely River Café and La Trompette, one has to wonder how long Hedone can hold on. Very disappointed and unable to recommend.

I'm stating upfront that I never got to eat at Hedone so I can't comment on the food. This is my opinion based on my experience as detailed below. I rang the restaurant after my best friend was hit by a car while cycling and was in A&E. My objective was to reschedule the booking. The owner gave me no opportunity to make this request after explaining the situation, and told me "We have a strict cancellation policy that will be enforced". My experience with this restaurant is, in my opinion, only worth 1 star. I think this is poor customer service. In my opinion, some better judgement should prevail under extenuating circumstances. I would have happily rescheduled and found some way to compensate him for treating his customer with respect considering the circumstances. I'd like to think that empathy under the right circumstances is something everyone should be able to expect.

It amazes me that Michelin awarded this restaurant a star. In this review, I would rate it with none whatsoever and would advise you to avoid at all costs. The customer service is absolutely appalling. Read on to find out more.... I had booked a table 20 days in advance. I understood that the restaurant wanted to take note of dietary requirements which I noted on the booking, so I attempted to call the restaurant a few days in advance of the booking to check on the dietary requirements. The Hostess on the phone was incredibly aggressive, unaccommodating and outright rude. She first launched into a number of in depth questions regarding my requirements, so at high level I stated we would not be consuming any alcohol or pork as noted on the booking. She responded stating there are no notes on the reservation (which may be an oversight on their side in the booking system, but regardless it is completely unnecessary to state it in such a blunt manner) and she affirmed that any such requirements should have been stated in advance. This begs the question that if the Chef is so adamant about preparing food a la minute, his staff should call the diners at the time of booking to collate this information. She continued to state that the waiters would nonetheless still offer the wine list, to which I said that would be inappropriate but she pushed aggressively and I had to justify that this is for religious reasons and as such there is no need for a wine menu to be presented to the guests. Her inquisition continued on the table's requirements... I specified that one guest may not eat fish, but can eat shellfish and proceeded to list the types of shellfish upon her request. She then rang me back to abruptly informed me that the Chef refuses to cater for our table. I asked: what if the guests are vegetarian? She replied: he simply won't cater for them, and they won't have an agreeable experience either given we do not prepare vegetarian food. Clearly Hedone failed to heed the old adage: "First impressions count". Their customer service was pompous, arrogant, inflexible. I would dread to see how this translates into the food! Alas I am not in a position to review the cuisine as we never made it through the front door. In a city where the dining scene is ever changing and competitive, Hedone cannot afford to offer such poor experience.

A disappointing experience. Overall the service here is not bad but I feel the staffs are under training with Michelin one star standard. We had the prestige wine pairing (159£/person) and I feel the wine service here is not professional. First of all, they wouldn’t give you a taste before they serve you the wine. Secondly, they would not tell you why they chose the wine to pair with the dishes. Lastly, some of the wine for the prestige are stored in the refrigerator without any cap. Which could let the wine being decanted too much and lose its own flavour. Most importantly, the tastes of the wine did not go well with the dishes as well. I only had 3 white wines and stoped the wine pairing after that as I fell the dish would taste better without the wine pairing. For the food, the food quality dropped a lot comparing to last year when the chef Mikael Jonsson was here. The best course is the seabass but it is exactly same as the seabass from last year’s menu. All other dishes were just okay, not too bad. In terms of the price, The restaurant is too pricy. We spent 611 pounds for 2 person (105*2 tasting menu+35*2 extra course+159 wine pairing + 65 3 glasses wine pairing for me+ extra service and extra wine). I feel around 200-300 would be a fair price for the food and the service. Last week we spent 700 at Restaurant Gordon Ramsey and the ambience, service, food and wine pairing their was much better than this place. To sum up, I wouldn’t recommend this place. With the same cost you have much more choices such as the Ledbury, Restaurant Gordon Ramsey. You will gain a more satisfying experience at other place. The restaurant was incredible, but not for now.

My boyfriend and I came here for lunch, which was great. We returned for dinner one evening and we had the tasting menu, which did not include a single meat course. None of the dishes were great. We walked out dissatisfied, especially after paying around £650. Most importantly, both of us got severe food poisoning several hours later, which lasted an entire week. The doctor said it was most likely a form of shellfish poisoning ('gently poached oysters" was one of our courses). We informed the restaurant of this and did not even receive an apology. Will not make the mistake of returning again.

Food is subjective, our experience was of bland, insipid dishes. With a fatty pork neck and a cold turbot paired with harsh olive oil sauce. The whole experience left a bad taste in the mouth.

Outrageously expensive for very bland food and wine. The only positive was the service, but even that wasn’t optional on the bill. I will never go back.

This was the worst Michelin Starred experience I've ever had. From the ambience to the smell, from hygiene quality to food, everything was unsatisfactory.

Very disappointing. Of the 10+ best restaurants in the world that Ive eaten at this is by far the worst. No atmsophere, taste, anything... avoid.

Arrogant owner. No clear strategy. No clear idea on what you'll eat. Unnecessary mystery. Not great for diners with intolerances and/or allergens

I had high expectations but was left disappointed. I let them know way in advance that I was Coeliac and also allergic to fish/shellfish/seafood. After almost 2 weeks (and me having to chase up) they finally called me back to confirm they were able to accommodate our table (3 of us for lunch) although I was somewhat surprised that a Michelin star restaurant in London would have to think so long about whether to serve someone with food allergies. Unfortunately first amuse bouche they served was fish! It was a small cone with meat/fish inside and cream on top - so I couldn't actually see the filling. I questioned whether mine was separately made and prepared without any fish/seafood and the waiter said 'yes of course'. As soon as I bit into it, there it was - tuna! I was shocked. Had I been more severely allergic, I could have ended up in hospital. I spit it out and washed my mouth with water. My friend pointed it out that the waiter did not even apologise. He did bring me a fresh napkin at least. The rest of the meal was ok, although the bread was pretty much store bought semi baked sliced bread which was served over toasted and hard (vs fresh bread for non Coeliac diners). It was brought out at a separate time, much later than the regular bread. The petit fours included 1 item made with wheat but the waiter told me 'it's only a little bit of wheat'. Very disappointing. I don't think they take food allergies seriously or have any idea of the consequences they can have on people's health.

The presentation and taste of the many courses was rare, wonderful and exceptional. For this Hedone deserves the 5 stars. I am a coeliac and I asked if they had any gluten free beer, as almost no restaurants do, and Hedone don't . I asked if I could drink my own gluten free beer, which they did let me, with protest. The evening was ruined by Jonsson coming over and telling me that this is not a normal practice. When I explained that I had hardly been to any diner that refused this request, he arrogantly said he eats out a lot and this was not a usually accepted procedure . He is plain wrong , unless he is a fellow coeliac beer lover and been very very unlucky for years., he simply cannot make that claim. I have found restaurants of all prices being understanding and accommodating Being Coeliac is not a choice I made. The end bill was £450 for 4 and this guy was making me feel awkward about wanting to enjoy a £2 beer with my meal, that he could not provide . This is how golf clubs used to behave . We were not bringing in our wine bottle to avoid his very high wine prices. This is a shame, as we are local and eat out quite a lot . Jonsson spoke to most of the tables that evening but avoided ours. We are unlikely to return as the lack of understanding and arrogant approach, spoilt, what should have been a special evening . We all have bad days but this is a service industry. Mikael you know how to contact me and if you do , I will be delighted to add a happy ending to this disappointing review. Well, he never came back which shows you how much he cares.