Reviews of Theo Randall At The Intercontinental

We went for the Signature menu after reading it online. For four set courses and a half bottle of wine per person, it must be the best value for money menu in London. Every course was excellent, beginning with beef carpaccio that just melted in the mouth. The primi pasta course was exceptional with perfectly cooked, al dente pasta generously filled with a duck and porcini filling and a rich sauce. The main course of guinea fowl was superbly executed while the Amalfi lemon tart was the perfect way to end a delicious meal. Service was great to start but our original waiter seemed to disappear and we became a bit of an after thought. Everyone was nice but it seemed like they were more interested in serving schmoozing over big-tipping Americans, although I do hope I'm wrong on that one.

We came here for dinner. This restaurant is within the intercontinental hotel, on the right side of reception. The decor is marvellous. The service was great as was the ambience. We started off with some bread which was nice. We then got the cheese soufflé which was okay but lacked flavour. We also got the calamari which was nice- it tasted great with the lemon. For mains we got the lobster ravioli which was lovely and the sauce was exquisite. We also got the duck cappelletti which was good but the sauce was a bit too heavy. The angelo mocktail was also lovely. I would recommend coming for the experience but we were not wowed by the food. For desert we got the amalfi lemon tart which was lovely. Our total bill was £72 with our discount. The waiter was very considerate of our food requirements which was nice.

Had always wanted to visit and as I had a meeting in London, decided to pop in on a Wednesday evening. Restaurant was a bit on the quiet side. Several menu options, but decided on the 3 Course Set Menu, which at £40 (including a drink) was very good value. Fast and attentive service provided by Bridget and Peter. Overall, I give Theo Randall's top marks for food and service. Plus the restaurant itself was immaculate. But for me it lacked a bit of character - maybe should have visited on a Friday or Saturday night. And the lighting was way too dim. Will definitely return though.

Fantastic restaurant, can't recommend this enough. Great place for a special occasion and the portion sizes were very generous compared to restaurants of this nature... I'm a big eater and I struggled to finish everything! Ordered the calamari for starters and the Guinea fowl for main- both were cooked perfectly and tasted fresh. Ordered the vanilla creme brulé with rhubarb for dessert which was nice. 10/10 service as well

Our second time to this fabulous restaurant and it didn’t disappoint. The team that looked after us were brilliant and very attentive without being overbearing. Classy but not too starchy atmosphere. The food was AMAZING and reasonably priced. Five stars for sure and we will return for the next milestone birthday. Fantastic, and a big thank you to all.

If you love Italian food and wine along with fabulous cocktails and service of the highest order from one of the very best front of house teams then a visit to Theo Randall at the Intercontinental is an absolute must. This restaurant has easily become a real favourite of ours and after yet another excellent dining experience on saturday night it’s not hard to see why. It all began on arrival when we received a lovely welcome before being escorted to the bar area to enjoy an aperitif. Here we were greeted by Astrit who is definitely one of the best mixologists around. We got to enjoy two of his new creations. The first was the South Slope with panarea gin , aperol , lillet blanc , mandarin , lemon and bitters and the other was the Apollo with havana 7 and kraken rum , cointreau , coffee , pistachio , vanilla and citrus. These were two amazing cocktails and a great way to start the evening. We then headed to our table and were met by Dorina , Brigida and our waiter for the evening Francisco who provided excellent service throughout the evening. On this occasion we decided to go for the a la carte menu something we hadn’t done for a while due to previous visits where we’ve loved the regional tasting menu’s and weekend brunch. We started by enjoying some Zucchini Fritte along with Focaccia and tomato crostini while finishing off our Romantica cocktail. ANTIPASTI - Now to begin the food experience which started with two fantastic antipasti dishes. My wife opted for the Tartare di Tonno with yellowfin tuna tartare , pangrattato , rocket , capers , and amalfi lemons. I was in heaven with my Calamari in Padella with pan fried squid , cannellini beans , chilli , anchovies , parsley and chopped rocket. These were paired beautifully with a Planeta Alastro 2021 wine from Sicily. PRIMI - We now moved on to the pasta section with the first being a Ravioli di Aragosta with dorset blue lobster , tomato and shellfish broth. My pasta dish was the one I’d seen on Saturday Kitchen that morning and it was delicious. The Ravioli di Tartufo e patate con asparagi bianchi filled with potato , winter black truffle , white asparagus , butter and parmesan. Paired once again with another excellent wine from the Planeta winery. (sorry about quality of pic). SECONDI - It was now time to move on to the main course and easily one of the best monkfish dishes I ever had the pleasure of eating. The Coda di Rospo with cornish monkfish , charlotte potatoes , fennel , thyme , garlic , crispy prosciutto , white wine , capers and parsley. My wife enjoyed the Fegato di Vitello a pan fried calves liver with pancetta , sage , wild mushrooms and spinach. Paired with a Planeta La Segreta 2020 Nero D’Avola. DOLCI - Now for desserts. Here my wife opted for the Cheese Course where for myself I just couldn’t decide between the Amalfi Lemon Tart and the Ricotta Cheesecake with pears , sultanas marinated in marsala and vanilla so I ordered both and what an absolute pleasure they were to. These were paired with a Planeta Passito di Noto 2019. We finished with coffee and petit fours to bring to an end another fantastic dining experience at Theo Randall at the Intercontinental. The food was amazing , the wine was excellent , the cocktails were stunning and the service was impeccable as ever. So yes I would highly recommend a visit and it won’t be too long before I’m back again. Thank You Theo , Dorina , Astrit , Francisco , Brigida and all the team for a fabulous italian evening and look forward to seeing you all again soon. Ciao for now.

Rustic and fuss-free, yet executed with an inimitable degree of finesse… Theo Randall’s approach to Italian cooking has always left a memorable impression on me – be it the signature dishes I’ve sampled at Taste of London, or at my recent brunch at Theo’s Simple Italian.<br/> <br/>The secret – and indeed art – lies in his food philosophy which remains unchanged, right since his days at the iconic River Café where he earned a Michelin star back in 1997. Quite fittingly then, this is the first topic of discussion when we sit down at his eponymous restaurant at the InterContinental Park Lane…

This week I was privileged to attend a very special anniversary dinner. Theo Randall was celebrating 10 years at The Intercontinental on Park Lane and this was one invite I was ALWAYS going to accept. It was not to be a traditional ‘turn up and have some great food’ kind of night, Theo was also giving us a cooking masterclass on how to make the perfect risotto. Dinner and wine pairing started with an exceptional......

Taking stock of a decade doing delicious justice to classic Italian dishes, Theo Randall has reopened his restaurant at the InterContinental after an interiors refurb and the addition of a few new menu items. Great news! And the best news about the reopening is that Chef Randall has managed to maintain all the qualities that already had made his eatery one of my favourite places for Italian food.

I've been very lucky recently and have spent two evenings eating very delicious food cooked by one of the loveliest chefs I've met. A couple of Tuesdays ago was my Theo Randall experience part 1 at The Intercontinental in Mayfair where I was invited for drinks, a cooking demo by Theo and a sit down four course dinner. This was followed by a very different evening the next Tuesday at his new restaurant, Theo's Simple Italian in Earl's Court, which I'll write about in a separate post. So back to Theo part 1. A group of lots of lovely bloggers and I were invited to the newly refurbished Theo Randall at the Intercontinental. We started with drinks in the stunning bar area which has undergone a significant redesign to incorporate a sommelier’s table, where all the garnishes, bitters and mixers for the cocktails are kept. There's a revised bar menu which offers authentic and innovative Italian cocktails, including my absolute favourite, the Negroni. And the InterContinental's Negroni is one of the best I've tried. The perfect balance of bitter, citrus and punchy, I could drink far too many of these! If you want to go for drinks at the bar there's also a few small dishes and antipasti so you can go just for drinks and nibbles. But that would be silly with all the delicious main food on offer!We headed through to the smaller of two private rooms where Theo demonstrated how to cook the perfect risotto - don't use butter to start with (it'll burn), you don't need wine if you have good stock, be generous with the stock and use the freshest of vegetables that have been pre cooked so they don't bring the cooking temperature down in the pan. Whilst he was showing us this we nibbled on deep fried polenta with chilli and anchovy, which may well be my new favourite snack, and battered courgette slices.

As an inveterate food blogger I go out a lot. It’s easy to feel blasé about some invitations, another pizza place, a hotel restaurant  focussing on seasonality and locality… but when you get the call to an event at Theo Randall’s refurbished eponymous restaurant in the Intercontinental Hotel in Park Lane you sit up and take notice. Quite simply he is the best chef serving Italian food in London today and a decent chap to boot. He was known for running the kitchen at The legendary River Café and then ten years ago took the opportunity to open his own space within the Intercontinental Hotel. Theo told me he felt that the previous look had been a bit too corporate (although I loved the open kitchen and will never forget his enthusiasm whilst showing me his then new ovens).

There's something so exciting about a restaurant re-launch; a London institution that's had a total redecoration and a brand new menu. There's something amazing about the shiny, new venue in an iconic hotel and famous restaurant that's too much to resist for me, so when Angie asked if I'd like to try the newly re-opened Theo Randall at The Intercontinental Hotel  there was only really one answer!

With the the growing trend for dispensing with formality and throwing out the white table clothes, restaurants in London are reinventing themselves and becoming more modern and fresh. Theo Randall at The Intercontinental Park Lane is one such place. I first ate there about seven years (pre-Mr S) and I really loved the food so I was excited to revisit and check out the recent changes at the Italian restaurant.

This morning I find myself newly single and in a reflective mood. All in all things haven’t gone too far wrong in life so far, having reached my mid-to-late twenties with a bachelors, a masters, a job, a blog and a comfortably sized 12 bod, and although I have less reason than most to want for something, there’s still a sort of vacuum. For those who set any store by the Myers Briggs personality test my answers indicate that I have an INTJ personality, which by all accounts doesn’t seem too shabby a category save for one, niggling thing… An absolute cluelessness when it comes to romance.

His self-named restaurant is one to add to your list of gastronomic delights to try and it is not just his name but the man himself can be found in the kitchen on the majority of nights.   The hotel is modern and new and this theme is continued when you go into the restaurant. The room is very stylish, bright and cheerful with bright artwork, grass-themed glass screens, and red and green walls that sensibly don't mimic the Italian flag. The restaurant is a bit impersonal with banquette style seating which puts you closer to your fellow diners than you may wish.    The menu is simple, rustic and full of simple, produce-led delights. The wood-fired oven plays a key role in the secondi: turbot with capers, parsley, roast peppers and swiss chard; or Marsala-marinated Anjou pigeon on sourdough bruschetta with slow-cooked peas and pancetta. Fresh pasta might come as cappelletti stuffed with slow-cooked veal, taglierini with brown shrimps and artichokes, or ravioli of mixed greens and sheep's milk ricotta. I think the highlight of my meal though was the wild mushroom risotto; it was absolutely mouth watering with the earthy flavour of the mushrooms perfectly balanced with the creamy rice that goes with it.   If you want to experience a true Italian experience and have a love for alcohol then make sure you start with a Bellini-style appetitive, I would recommend the white peach juice, peach liqueur and Prosecco and then finish with a liqueur to go with one of the fabulous desserts on offer. Now there is a great selection and some real classics, but I would try the Amalfi lemon tart, which is a great combination of sweet an

A pretty bowl of calamari in padella – pan fried squid with fresh borlotti beans – tasted as good as it looked and although the Zucchini fritti were not quite as moreish as those I rave about from Tinello, they were exceptionally succulent little fingers of courgettes in the lightest of batter (and would work brilliantly as a contorni, as they appear on the main restaurant menu).

I am predisposed to love Theo Randall because of his chocolate cake recipe . I noticed that it was on the menu. Perversely, I didn’t order it. It was a Friday night and we wanted to avoid rush-hour traffic. You will not be entirely shocked to find out that my Internet browser is set to open at Top Table and I did that aimless scroll through the tables available at pensioner’s choice, 6.15. After the Zafferano disappointment, I wasn’t particularly keen on going for another overpriced Italian and shocker: Italian isn’t my favourite cuisine. But C wanted it and sometimes I do what he wants. Sometimes. Actually barely ever. Once. Maybe. And there was an enticing offer of two courses, with a glass of prosecco, for £27. Not that it would make any difference, frankly. I don’t know what it is about me and set menus. Even if I fancy the food on it, I have to choose from the à la carte.

Good but not without a hiccup or two.. I droned on about Theo Randall so much after our first visit in November; that my wife and I were asked to return with friends. As our friends hadn't experienced the tasting menu, (and it's bargain wine selection), we went with this option again. Let's be honest, it was so good on our first occasion, it wasn't hard to refuse.<br/>As usual, front of house and service were impeccable, so I will say no more about that.<br/>Sadly, when the foccacia arrived, it was to be the first of a few small hiccups. I know foccacia is supposed to be moist but this was undercooked. The bruschetta (?) were partially burned, which detracted from the tasty, cooked tomato topping. Not good.<br/>Next came a crab salad, which was insipid. Presentation was OK but the sole inclusion of relatively tasteless, white meat, meant the flavour was “delicate” in the extreme. I know that white meat is considered to be “the best bit” but for flavour, brown kicks its a**!<br/>The pasta course provided our biggest disappointment. In November, we were given fresh fettucine with a mushroom (cep?) sauce which was as good, (maybe better), than dishes we've had in Italy. Fresh wild funghi are (cough) “difficult” to source in June, so the delicious ceps of November were replaced with a tiny funghi, that didn't taste of much to be honest. The pasta was also way overcooked. It hadn't turned to a “gloop” but it had no bite. Why the kitchen doesn't drop the mushrooms and dress with something seasonal is beyond me. Perhaps those tiny mushrooms are in season? Even so, they didn't taste of much.<br/>For the next course, we had a choice of fish or lamb and we all chose the lamb – which was stunning. I would have been very disappointed had a kitchen with the reputation of Theo Randall, were not able to deliver a decent rack of lamb. The grilled vegetable accompaniment was so-so.<br/>The next course, cheese, was the star. Perfect condition, matched to three perfect wines. I could have eaten the cheese course five times over.<br/>Dessert was Theo's excellent lemon tart and up to scratch.<br/>In no way could this meal be described as bad. In fact, our guests waxed lyrical about how wonderful it all was. However, my wife and I tasted this menu in November and it was so much better then, in almost every respect.

Theo Randall's recent TV appearance on The Chef's Protege prompted us to visit his restaurant at The InterContinental, for Theo came across well in the programme and his food, rustic Italian, always looked and sounded good on the show. The BBC series comes perhaps as a timely boost to Theo's profile as we both realised that in the three years of our blog's life, it had occurred to neither of us to eat here until now (and according to Urbanspoon, this is the first blog post on this restaurant in 2013). Having heard Theo talk about the ethos of his food over the past few weeks on the show, we can confidently state that his food philosophy centres on using Italy's best ingredients for maximum flavour, but with only a few ingredients on any one plate at any one time - nothing should be over complicated. Balance, seasoning and precise cooking are key. This comes across fully in the menu that brings together all those wonderful Italian ingredients in classic combinations, so our antipasti di

What disconcerted us most was the cuisine. Our meal, while by no means bad and far superior for instance to Sardo, was overall a rather dull, unremarkable affair in the light both of our expectations about the chef and of what one can enjoy for lunch, at lower prices, in London nowadays (£15 lunches at Arbutus and Latium, for example). The possibility remains that with the (much) more expensive dishes on his menu Theo Randall changes gear. Our experience cannot encourage optimism, however (after all we had read rave reviews also for his ‘cheap’ lunches), and for that type of traditional cuisine and a similar high cost we’d feel rather safer returning to the impressive, if expensive, LocandaLocatelli. We are really puzzled that a chef of such reputation as Randall’s should allow pedestrian food to come to the table – even the cheapest of cuts, the humblest of dishes can stir real passion after all. And please don’t suspect us of nationalistic pride – after all we were ravished by the ra

First Class Italian Cuisine & Wine. Extraordinary tasting menu. We had the 3 course meal. For antipasti we had the Insalata mista - Italian leaves with datterini tomatoes, cucumber, camone tomatoes,fresh basil and caprino fresco. Followed by the Primis of Ravioli di erbette - mixed green ravioli with Swiss chard, rocket, Italian spinach, sheep’s ricotta, butter and sage & theTagliatelle con ragù di manzo - fresh pasta with slow cooked beef fillet in Chianti and San Marzano tomatoes. The Secondis were Manzo alla griglia - chargrilled Longhorn beef sirloin with sweet celeriac, Italian spinach and salsa verde. The Dolci was their infamous and delicious Amalfi lemon tart, which was a deep reddish-orange in color. The dessert was not yellow as expected from the lemons, instead the eggs are sourced from italian chickens that are fed a diet high in carrots producing eggs with a reddish-orange yolk. Fascinating dining experience. Defied our expectations. Marvelous wine list. Attentive wait staff. Serene ambience. Who cares about the absence of a view.

The star ingedient of the evening is of course the Italian Cheese Parmigiano Reggiano. I especially love the more mature Parmigiano, aged 36 months or so, that I first discovered in Milan many years ago. That was the first time I had Parmigiano on a cheese course, with the distinctive crystals in the texture that results from the aging process. Now I constantly have a stock of aged Parmigiano in the fridge to snack on.<br/><br/>

Awful. For picking places on toptable I have a system that works - any place that gets a rating of above 8.3 is either a very good or amazing dining experience, but unfortunately tonight at Theo Randall that system came crashing to the ground.<br/>I went with 5 fairly easy to please friends and we ordered a variety of a la carte dishes. We all thought everything was poor to awful and we all left at least half of our plates full. This experience has put me off toptable entirely. To top it off I have a stomach ache (from the meal) and a big hole in my credit card bill.

The Bill - worth every penny! Theo Randall serves seasonal, fine and yet rustic food with flare! The service was amicable and cordial. The suggestion of wine was spot on, even though it was on the expensive side @ £14/glass. However, I appreciate that matching wine and food is quite important and part of fine dining experience. Verdict: I will be back on a special occasion!

For a restaurant in the basement of a not very attractive building (the boxy Intercontinental), Theo Randall doesn't seem to be trying particularly hard to stand out. Around the back of Park Lane, past a windswept taxi rank and through double doors to a bare, echoey corridor, you finally arrive at the above. Hardly inviting, is it? Looks more like a corporate boardroom than the entrance to a fine dining restaurant, but fortunately the pleasant staff inside do their best with the less than cosy surroundings

Freedom for Theo. I have gone on record to say that the River Cafe is vastly overrated and L"Anima is my current favourite Italian in London.<br/><br/>Well Theo Randall now has his own canvas to paint on free from Rosie and Ruthie !<br/><br/>I had a very good meal here last night as a guest of Subterranean.<br/><br/>We both started with the capelletti stuffed with slow roasted veal which was good to the standard found in an average restaurant in say Parma but nowhere near the delights of the Sorelle Picchi in that same fiar city or even an excellent Tortelli stuffed with osso buco a la Milanese that I onCe had a Locanda Locatelli full of flavour, a juicy runny meat and sauce stuffing.<br/><br/>My host had what he desribed as a superb grilled calves liver and I had a truly outstanding Vela Chop topped with porcini and slasa verde.<br/><br/>We shared some fried Zucchini that were good but not as good as those at L'Anima.<br/><br/>We both finished with a truly superb selection of deserts to share - homemade vanila ice cream , pana cotta , lemon tart and chocolate cake - all were really outstanding.<br/><br/>We drank a bottle of Frans Hass Pinot Grigio form Alto Adige and ended with a glass of Sweet Asti.<br/><br/>Perhaps because the retaurantis in a major international hotel it tries to please people with eclectic tastes hence some great Italian wines are conspicous by their absence eg. Passito di Pantelleria one of the worlds top dessert wines.<br/><br/>L'Anima remains my favourite Italian in London !