The Boxwood Cafe closed on 25th April 2010. The premises now house Koffmann. Boxwood Cafe was around the 13/20 level when open.
The Boxwood Cafe, owned by Gordon Ramsay holdings, was situated in the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge. It had a smart, modern interior. At a sample meal, bread was just brown or white rolls, and frankly these were very ordinary, lacking seasoning and indeed much interest for me (13/20). My starter of crab tagliolini was very capable, with good quality pasta, fresh crab laced with wild garlic, a little chilli and parsley, the flavours working well together and the chilli under control (15/20). This was better than a glazed pea and leek tart topped with a soft boiled quail egg and salad leaves, which was pleasant but one dimensional (12/20).
My main course of roasted loin of suckling pig had nice, crispy outside and tender pork, served with a pleasant grain mustard sauce and roasted potatoes infused with garlic (14/20). This was much better than the veal and foie gras burger, which I am afraid to say had a distinct burnt taste, though it was served with good chips (11/20). Service was reasonably good, though they forgot one drinks order. When a piece of plastic was found in a glass of wine they were at least apologetic and took it off the bill, though of course it would have been better if this had not happened in the first place. Coffee was pleasant (13/20). Overall this was a rather erratic meal, averaging around 13/20. However at this price there is a major issue with value for money.
Alfred
I went there about a year ago, and actually went for the tasting menu. The pan-fried tuna was fantastically crispy, and compensated well for the slightly disappointing carpaccio of duck salad. The lamb and mash was very capable- slightly over-pureed mash was ameliorated by a perfect piece of lamb neck. The chocolate fondue dessert was slightly unimaginative, but well done. Service was discreet, but the staff knew their stuff, and the barman came up with a custom cocktail for my date to start. All in all, a very satisfying meal, but with a £200 bill seemed slightly steep since the food can't really compare with other, not much more expensive places.
Kevin Taylor
I visited The Boxwood Cafe on Saturday with my 13 year old son. We had a great time, some reasonably nice food but I have to say, the Veal & Foie Gras Burger was a real let down. I thought it was a bit pricey for lunch for two (£132) as we didnt have much to drink. The Chocolate Fondant however was top drawer!
Paul Richardson
The service was excellent and the food was very good indeed, very reasonably priced. The atmosphere was very relaxed and really added to the experience furthermore when it came to deserts although they didn’t offer liqueur coffees they actually made myself and my partner ones to order which was a lovely touch. We really felt looked after and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
Amol Parnaik
My version of events The Boxwood looks very stylish. Right from the entrance to the downstairs bar and dining room. Very much reminded me of some cool New York hotels I've been in. The Tribeca Grand for example. After some glasses of champagne, I ordered the seafood ravioli, the veal and foie gras burger mentioned, some beans and mash on the side and a cheese cake dessert. The seafood ravioli looked and smelt great, however it was very bland and poorly seasoned. At this point I reached for the salt mill only to find that it was for decoration only. 1 or perhaps 2/10. Now, the burger. I love burgers and I heard about Daniel Boulud's DB burger is New York made from sirloin and foie gras and how good it was, ages ago. I suspected, with the New York style settings, that this was a take on this, however, it was burnt. There isn't really a way of cushioning that, the bun was burnt, and thus gave the whole burger a burnt taste. I ate some without the bun, but even that was a bit bland. Bottom line, I can go to McDonald's and not get a burnt burger. Very poor. 1/10 if that. I'm going to order the DB burger the next time I'm in New York to compare. The chips were good, so was the salad. The beans were bit over done and the mash was OK, Nothing special. Finally, the dessert. To be honest, this was pretty good. The cheese cake was soft and tasty and the jam accompaniment went well. It could have done with something more though. 3/10. As mentioned, they was some serious errors with the drinks, especially the whole 'plastic in glass' thing. I'm not sure what happened that evening. Perhaps they were having an off night or a change in team. In any event, the whole meal was very poor and very clumsy, especially for the price. I felt that they were simply following protocol, rather than tasting things before they went out. 1 or 2 /10 overall. The setting was very cool though, so I think I might go back there for drinks, before having dinner some place else.