Reviews of Chapter One

Exceptional food and service.. the celeriac veloute was beautifully presented, smooth and extremely tasty! The homemade bread complimented the soup.. could it get any better, well yes, the grilled sea bass (brasserie menu) was served on the bone, generously proportioned, moist meaty and cooked on their unique Jesper Grill which infused a level of smokiness I have not tasted before - absolute Yum! I enjoyed with a little sauce on the side. To finish with I shared the caramelised apple and sesame seed Mille-feuille desert.. which was nice.. had I had room I would have opted for the cheese board!.. a bottle of the Sancerre complimented the whole Meal superbly.. the service was very attentive and as good as anywhere I have been! This was not just a meal but a fabulous experience I would happily recommend to anyone looking for that something special!..

I was invited to my friend's 60th birthday lunch. What a fantastic venue. We had the private room upstairs. The canapes , starters, mains, and desserts were outstanding. The staff were amazing, cheerful, and wonderful. Thank you to the entire team. Management, front of house, chefs, back of house, right down to the K.P's. Regards Nev

Fantastic experience. The food and service was exceptional. We will definitely be back. Ps to the chef: We weren't that impressed by the desserts. I had the baked yogurt and my husband had the gooseberry dessert. They were difficult to eat because of the hard caramel wafer between the layers. It couldn't be cut, so we had to disassemble the dessert and break it on the side, which is a shame because the presentation of the dishes were lovely.

Great brassiere, great food and great service. The reason that I have not given Chapter One 5 stars throughout is the fact that when my disabled husband and I went to have lunch there was only ONE disabled car space and that was tucked away at the side of the building when it should be by the front entrance. Shame on you Chapter One for treating your disabled customers like second class customers. Considering the age demographic of your clientele I would expect a considerable percentage of your customers have some mobility problems, should you not address this?

It was my daughter’s 18th over the weekend and since she was 16 always wanted to go there for her 18th; which we did and we were not disappointed The staff were polite, accommodating and made her day very special. The food was exquisite and I have to stay reasonably priced. We will definitely come again. Thank you for making our time with you special. We loved every second. See you again soon xxx

Excellent meal and service. Had the Terrine to start which was fantastic. The Rib-Eye steak was also great with a delicious red wine sauce. Wife had the Seabass which was a very good portion and cooked to perfection. Staff were very accommodating finding us a table on the Terrace and we had a lovely evening.

Really nice experience in such a nice part of outer london. Great decor and cleanliness but the service was really something else! professinal waiters with a really nice sense of humour and totally made you feel welcome. The food was really fantastic tried a bunch of things id normally never ever order and the dishes i was served showed what nice ingredients they can be when cooked well. Also .. the breads were really something special.

First time last night, thought I'd try after always heard good things from people. And usually go for partners birthday meal into London and pick a Michelin restaurant. I have to say the food & service was excellent Karolina was very helpful. Didn't feel rushed, some restaurants do. Better than some Michelin star restaurants I've been too and the food and value for money was worth it would definitely visit again.

One of the best experiences in the greater London. I didn’t have any expectations as we were just visiting the area, but I was amazed by the reviews. It’s absolutely worth it! Even if the outside surroundings are not amazing, when you enter you’ll feel an immediate elegance, classy and sober atmosphere. Recipes are traditional but brave, inspired by different suggestions from all around Europe, the chef amazes you with gorgeous food. The wine carte was various and really greatly selected. All the waiters were professional and friendly, service was perfectly balanced. When the bill comes, you are ready to pay for it and grateful you found this place. We will be back, absolutely recommended! What a surprise!! External surroundings: 3/5 Interiors: 4/5 Atmosphere: 5/5 Food: 5/5 Service: 5/5 Quality: 5/5 Price: 5/5 Conclusion: amazing!

Michelin-starred restaurant Chapter One rivals the top restaurants in London with exquisite service, and some of the most flavoursome food out there. Situated in Kent, just outside of London, in a stunning Victorian building, with delightful neutral decor Chapter One is more than suitable for both lunch and dinner, and I headed over there to try out the lunch menu.<br/><br/>Quality is the most important thing to head chef, Andrew McLeish, who has been at the helm of this adventure for over twelve years now, and he sources a large percentage of the food served at the restaurant locally. The fish used is caught by day boats only, which having for my main course, I can state is delicious, and he also shoots deer for the venison at Chapter One, but don’t worry, there’s always a very strict season which determines when you can shoot, what breed and what sex.<br/><br/>The choice of food is outstanding, and the pricing is even better with a selection from the al a carte or a smaller locally sourced Kent based menu. The wine list would rival many, but the Sommelier is always on hand to point you in the right direction if you find yourself, much like I did, a little bewildered by the difference between Cabernet Sauvignons and Pinot Noirs.<br/><br/>The cheese selection available for desert is so extensive I could well been choosing from my local specialist cheese display in a fine end supermarket. The desert menu pleases your palette greatly, and the desert wine even more so. I certainly didn’t want my Banana Delice with Caramelised White Chocolate to ever come to an end, despite the fact I was more than bursting at the seams!<br/><br/>Chapter One offers some of the greatest locally sourced food around, and every attention to detail certainly does not go amiss when the flavour of the food hit your taste buds. It’ll have you wanting more time and time again.

Probably one of few, if not only, fine-dining places in Orpington. Food was between good to very good and service was good. However, let down by how slow the food was delivered. We had to wait around 1 hour for our dishes to arrive. We ordered the following which were all very tasteful. Best dish: Belly of pork, followed by the pigeon. Dessert was good too.<br/><br/>1. Roasted Hake<br/>2. Belly of Pork<br/>3. Pigeon<br/>4. Dessert - chocolate Fondant<br/><br/>Note: place is quite packed. So advise is to book it.

Let down again. Have been regular visitor for many years however Valentine meal was very restrictive and mediocre however booked table for mothers day. For second time table not available as they had not been able to contact us. On checking 3 contact numbers did not relate to us and therefore we had to find alternative venue which we found.<br/><br/>Now restaurant is popular but I supported it when it wasnt and may as well not bothered. Will never go to chapter one again its good but not that good.

Chapter One is a one Michelin-star commanding restaurant, based rather unusually out in the suburbs of Kent rather than the standard West End. The distance is misleading though and a swift 30 minute drive later, we were pulling up.<br/><br/>The prices are another pleasant surprise - Sunday night sees 3 courses for £31.95 and the choices are mouth watering. For a set menu, it's extensive featuring over 6 options. What is a little annoying is the randomly spliced supplements adorning the set menu. 1 menu supplement seems reasonable, 3 seemed excessive.<br/><br/>Smart but simply decorated, it's all black and white with splashes of red lamps lining the walls for some added impact.<br/><br/>Onto the food now and I'm afraid I'm going to have to go on a Bread Rave. Oh the bread. First up, White with Rosemary. That was inhaled in about 20 seconds flat and I had to stop myself from snatching at the bread basket when it came around again. This time I plumped for Focaccia. Wow, it's not like any Focaccia I've ever had. Cheesy (Is that normal for focaccia?), buttery, dense, creamy. Mmmmm.<br/><br/>Course One, I chose Jugged Hare and Hare Satay. Having no idea what a Jugged Hare was, I was very intrigued when a pot of what looked like a Mini Shepherd's Pie arrived. One bite later, I was in Hare Heaven. I could eat a vat of it and be happy. It was rich, creamy, intense of flavour and so fab I bullied everybody else into having a bite. Not smart in hindsight as that left less for me. The Satay in comparison was nothing special. It was not a particularly soft piece of meat and I resented every mouthful it took away from my jugged pot.<br/><br/>Course 2: Pan fried Gurnard, late summer trufles, with Gnocchi, Trompette mushrooms and Tiger prawns. You don't often see Gurnard on a menu and it definitely had it's due. Firm, beautifully cooked and seasoned, it was a great piece of fish. But in this case, it was it's accompaniments that blew me away. Never have I tasted gnocchi that could impact so much flavour in one pasta mouthful. The trompette mushrooms packed a punch but didn't overpower and the tiger prawns (Tiger might be a bit of an exaggeration here...) were sweet bites of goodness.<br/><br/>I must pause in my food reminisces to talk about the service. Most restaurants (Especially those graced with the Fine Dining tag) do a very good dose of service. But here, we had something not often found - genuine friendliness. They didn't just offer the requisite politeness, they laughed, they smiled, they actually cared. And what a difference it made.<br/><br/>Finally, bellies straining at the seam, it was time for dessert. I plumped for the Iced Peanut Parfait with Lime & Raspberry sorbets. Neither of the sorbets were to my taste, being a bit too tart for my liking, but don't let that put you off - I'm just not a favour of the sweet/sour tastes. The peanut parfait though was a treat. Not to sweet, not too peanuty, it was the perfect way to end the meal.<br/><br/>But wait, there was more. Salted Caramel and Chocolate/ Anise Petit Fours and a Happy Anniversary plate for the In laws. They even did Leftover Petit Fours stuffed into a tin foil swan to take home to Darling Husband. And the best part - opened up Swannie at home to discover they'd thrown in some more Truffles and a couple of Mini Macaroons. Wow.

Chapter One is located in the wonderfully sounding Locksbottom, Kent, and while Kent may be considered 'the garden of England', it's also a rather big garden for it is one of the larger counties in England. In that respect, it's easy to forget that as well as being an extensively coastal county, it has a substantial border with London so that a decent slice of Kent is located within the M25. I say all this because I had expected Locksbottom to be a typically cute Kentish hamlet consisting of little more than a village green, a local pub and a charming but tiny restaurant, complete with original timber features; in this respect, I was wrong. Locksbottom, close to the better known Farnborough and Orpington, places Chapter One Restaurant comfortably within the M25 and the journey time from London was 40 minutes, about the same time it might take to get from the City to the West End. It does means however that rather than being a bucolic ideal, it is in fact set back from a rather busy roa

A very special local. Chapter One rarely disappoints. It is a stylish haven for fine dining in the 'burbs, a saviour for ex-city-living folk now residing out of town, like us :) Service is usually very good, but not without the rare disappointment. The atmosphere is quite buzzy, and diners usually make an effort to dress well, albeit in a relaxed way - great. A great local venue for a celebratory or special evening, accommodating to groups and with a good wine list. If the foie gras starter is on the menu don't miss it!

Chapter One is situated just off the south circular road, near Farnborough and Bromley. It was previously an old-fashioned Italian restaurant called Fantail, but became Chapter One in 1996. Chef Andrew McCleish has been at the helm ever since Chapter One opened. He previously trained for six years with the iconic chef Nico Ladenis at several of his properties, including the 3 star Michelin restaurant Chez Nico at 90 in Park Lane.

Stuffy service. I have visited this restaurant a handful of times and the food is gorgeous from the beautiful variety of breads and olives when you sit down to the stunning deserts on a par with The Oxo Tower. The thing that lets it down is a couple of the waiting staff which unfortunatly we seem to have had each time, very stuffy and snobby so you feel nervous to ask if you don't understand something on the menu. For me a truly classy restaurant is where the staff make you feel relaxed and welcome and free to ask about the food and their response should be passionate and informative so although the food is good I 'd rather go somewhere less formal.

Disappointing. Second visit for an evening dinner. Great service. Great starter and dessert. Main course was steak (most expensive item on the menu) First one was returned to the kitchen due to the huge fat content and the second was way over seasoned with salt. This didn't complement the puree potato, as this also was extremely salty. This was also duly dispatched to the kitchen for fear of salt poisoning! <br/><br/>I think this place is over rated

Excellent quality. Chapter One is an excellent quality restaurant, but a restaurant only suitable for that special occasion.<br/><br/>It is expensive, but for the quality of the food, you really do get what you pay for. The service is more than excellent.<br/><br/>I would recommend this restaurant to anybody.