Caractère in Kensington and Chelsea

A great restaurant worth visiting. Fairly spartan minimalist decor, the food is very good as is the service. The menu, albeit a little limited, nevertheless offers some great dishes which are flavoursome and the wine list is also quite extensive.

We’ve been a few times for dinner but this visit was the summer lunch - a set menu offering. It was excellent. Canapés are exquisite. The prawn tartlette as a starter was fresh and tasty. Rib of beef was succulent. Coffee tart was a slightly surprising choice and we would have preferred something lemon based or similar. The food was faultless throughout, well prepared and well presented. The menu came with two glasses of wine - both lesser known Italian wines and both extremely enjoyable. Staff are knowledgeable and efficient. Service was excellent. It is first class. Would highly recommend

Caractere, you spoilt us. Beautiful 5 course dinner. Service and really knowledgeable friendly staff. Food fabulous, we both thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely return.

My wife and I had dinner - the food and service was absolutely fabulous! Well done Diego and Emily-- who's that Michel fellow?

You would have to be very hard to please not to enjoy this restaurant. Food was superb at every stage. My table was very impressed.

A fancy restaurant but rude employees including first line manager. The restaurant and its employees disregard customer satisfaction over making profit in an abusive way such as charging aroun £200 for a day in advance cancellation fee. I am very dissapointed with the way they treat their customers and I will never come back neither my circle of friends.

What a lovely lunch experience awaited us. It was a feast to the eyes and just as scrumptious. Thank you so much for Angela, our waitress on the day who explained each dish served. First class service she provided to me and my friend. Thanks for our Sommelier & for the lovely taste of the two wines paired with our lunch. We simply enjoyed a fabulous lunch in gorgeous surroundings. Thanks to the Chef.

Top quality dining experience, friendly and stylish restaurant serving modern and creative French cuisine. Lovely wine list and attentive services.

Outstanding Food, great service! To start with we had a scallop dish with an amazing Beurre blanc….Then the one and only Lobster risotto! yumm! Followed by a cod dish with chicken jus, the cod was cooked to such a perfection, just stunning! Wagyu Beef for Main course just Wow! The desserts were incredible too, not too sweet, just the right balance! What an evening! Just great! I can only say if Ou are in the area try to book this amazing Restaurant! Too good not to try it!

I last reviewed this restaurant in May 2021 - it was our first indoors dinner since lockdown. Since then we visited few times, each time as good as the first or better. This time we went for the set Italian lunch: canapés, three courses, water, coffee and petit fours, with two glasses of matching wines with the first two courses. All for £60 pp plus service charge. Excellent service and everything was simply awesome.

We had been wanting to visit Caractare for a long time - and it didn’t disappoint. Beautiful resturant. Fantastic food. Great service. Highly recommend.

We went for a limited run (4 days) to celebrate Michel Roux and the closure of Le Gavroche. I understand that this restaurant is run by his son-in-law and daughter. The food was outstanding and Michel came out twice to talk to us. I am assuming that he supervised all the cooking. It took us back to our wedding evening meal at Le Gavroche in 1980. It was a totally memorable experience. Service was fantastic and there is plenty of space in the traditionally finished restaurant. We felt uplifted following the evening and even came hope with gifts from the chef himself. Don't ask the price!

Had lunch after quite a while since our last visit and it was busy and all the better for that. The place had more atmosphere and seems to have developed its own following of devoted clients from the welcome given to some of the guests. We had the three course fixed menu which was both excellent and good value. Good attentive service, not rushed, well paced and friendly. The location is a little bit a of a travel issue but we will not leave it so long before we return.

What a dinner fabulous food the Wagu Beef was fantastic a must. The new coffee pudding amazing and the Truffle Pasta a must. My Wife's vegetarian options fantastic.

My wife and I enjoyed a fabulous evening of eating and drinking at Emily Roux’s restaurant in Notting Hill on 17 October 2023. We were particularly impressed to see Emily’s father, Michel Roux, in attendance there for at least two hours, given that his own restaurant is closing next January and so, as he told us, they are extremely busy fitting in many of their customers who want to enjoy a final meal at Le Gavroche! We started with an interesting gin-based cocktail and two delicious canapés before moving on to the four-course set dinner. The menu was: A huge Scottish scallop, very lightly cooked, topped with Iberico ham and deep-fried parsley and seaweed on a light creamy sauce; then A piece of cod stuffed with scallop and prawn - again just cooked - along with salsify cut into little pieces and a parsley oil; before A roast saddle of lamb, served very pink, with a shallot purée and a tiny potato gratin, accompanied by a superb lamb jus (this was the stand-out dish of the meal); and finally A cheese course, with five different varieties of French cheese, starting with a chèvre, a délice de Bourgogne, two semi-hard cheeses and a Saint-Nectaire, served with crunchy homemade crackers, a prune chutney and a tiny date. The wines which accompanied our food came from a family-owned winery called Chêne Bleu which is based high up in the Ventoux area of south-east France (ie. close to Chateauneuf du Pape). The charming lady owner and a colleague visited each table to explain about the wines and to tell us about their (interesting) wine-making philosophy. They seem to hold back the wines until they are mature before selling them. We enjoyed a Viognier 2017 with the scallop, a Maryanne-Roussanne blend - again 2017 - with the cod, followed by two reds, mainly made from Syrah and Grenache (but in different proportions) to go with our lamb (Héloïse 2015) and cheese (Abelard 2012). We never discovered how the red wines came to get their names! We finished with coffee and petits fours and the bill came to £230 per head (all in) plus a service charge. We were very well looked after by the waiting staff, one of whom kindly went out into the cold London evening for 10 minutes to find us a taxi.

Caractère just gets better and better. Our lunch today was exceptional - the delicious dishes exquisitely yet unpretentiously presented, the service charming and friendly. The three-course lunch offer is excellent value for money.

Been following this restaurant since its opening. Very clear evolution, for the better. Which is normal when you have an ambitious chef de cuisine at the helm and when you have two chefs who worked for years at le Gavroche (2*) in the kitchen: “Les chiens ne font pas des chats” by definition and therefore I was not surprised by the quality of the dishes served to my table yesterday. Very nice visuals, cuissons, temperature, seasonings, quality of the ingredients, respect of the seasons, balance and complexity were there in each dish. One key for me was the consistency of the quality throughout the meal. And it was there. I was not convinced by the very pretty desert I selected though. Still very good as I finished it! The negatives: cutlery, no tablecloth, lighting, lack of music. Again, nothing that will stop me to go back! As I definitively will! This is a very solid restaurant that due to some external circumstances has not had its full recognition over the past year. Unlikely to stay that way if they continue like this. There were 18 covers that day (65-70% full?). A question is to know when full if the kitchen and floor are up to it. They are not “perdreaux de l’annee” so I am not too worried. I am also interested in knowing how often the menu changes. Service is very friendly and not pretentious at all. Wine list is good and they don’t seem to rip you off which is a change in London (see the carte des vins at the Ritz….). Keen to go back and hopefully taste a new menu when they are full!

We’ve been a few times and it’s very good. This was a birthday visit and we had an excellent evening. Cacio e Pepe very good, the fish was superb. The dessert menu is limited and that could apply to the menu as a whole if you’re a frequent visitor. The canapés and petit four bookend the meal perfectly. We have always had excellent meals here.

Hidden gem behind big wooden door in Notting Hill London. Exquisite food, superbly presented with service of the highest calibre

Just back at our hotel following a super evening at Caractère. Slight glitch in the matrix when we arrived, as they were in the middle of a power cut, but staff were on the case with candles & reassurance that the kitchen could still perform. And they did just that! Food was fantastic, gorgeous snacks to start, followed by well balanced, delicious dishes. The prawn starter was my stand-out dish of the meal. Importantly for me, the cheese selection was also superb! Staff were friendly, knowledgeable & attentive. Thank you for a great dinner!

Wow! What an incredible dining experience. From the ambiance and decor, to the fantastic food and the wonderful staff. A true fine dining experience yet with an extremely relaxed and friendly atmosphere. It was a delight to be served by Edmond, Marco and the rest of the team. I will be back!

We had a fabulous meal last night at Caractère! From start to finish totally divine. Food and service complemented each other perfectly. They definitely merit a Michelin star! Can’t wait to come back.

The Rhubarb Desert which I love was fantastic as was the Pigeon. My wife's veggie choices also fantastic.

Can't recommend highly enough. Outstanding food. Menus with imagination and attention to detail. Service very friendly, helpful but also not intrusive. Well worth a visit. We have been 5 or 6 times now and each time a gem

What a disappointment! Over salted and over fussy food… not sure what is the ‘inspiration’ but it is confused. One of the least balanced culinary experiences. Cutlery ill-matched to the food.. The biscuit of the dessert needed a hatchet rather than the petite chopstick-like handled...

As another year passes by the standards at Caractere just seem to be getting higher and higher. The food , wine and service is quite simply exceptional. In the kitchen you have chefs Diego and Gaetano producing dishes of the highest quality. Sommelier Marco is...

Hopefully the hard work of Emily and Diego will be rewarded with a well deserved M* in the coming months. The service is impeccable, Marco the sommelier is a wealth of knowledge and talked with great passion and detail about the wine and food pairings....

Wonderful inventive food from Emily and Diego in Notting Hill - don’t miss out because it’s a little out of the Centre it’s well worth the detour.

Little gem just off the Portobello Rd. Very casual and relaxed ambience. Food was amazing.All of it was just incredibly tasty. Spot on wine choosen by their sommelier. We had very lovely evening as service was attentive and professional. Can't wait to come back for...

We dined here as a group of 20 for a special event with guests that included many great Chefs from various countries around the world. The one comment from all was "when will Michelin recognise this level of cooking & service ?" Quite simply fantastically...

We had expected 3 courses to be less than the £85 on the day. The crab starter was sublime. The mains took a while to arrive - 45mins and was a slight disappointment. Good food but not worth the value.

A perfect evening. The food is unreal and service faultless. The portions are so generous and the fact you get a choice on the taster menu/ and can even share is a great little benefit! Well done to the team at at Caractere

The pasta with black truffle was fantastic. The Lamb was exceptional and new desert was fantastic. Staff are lovely and service is fantastic. Strongly suggest you book and you will have a fantastic meal.

This was a great experience, a beuatiful lunch, with every dish to be savoured and discussed - a foodie heaven The service is excellent The ambience is very relaxed, which is nice as similar restaurants tend towards pomposity My only compaint was that it was...

This was our 3rd visit, this time taking out the whole restaurant for my wife's birthday (40 settings max) Emily and Diego put great thought and care into choosing the menu with us and it was just outstanding. We had the signature celeriac starter which...

The Lamb was fantastic and the Gorgonzola Risotto the best i have eaten outside Italy. Service was good and Fig & Vanilla tart fantastic a great new dish!

Sorry but I really don’t get it. Lunch today. Been to this restaurant several times. Let me be honest, always had in the past a good meal here but not a great meal. Albeit last visit some time a year ago, I noted that something...

The food in this restaurant is well worth two Michelin stars. I’ve never had such a lovely dish of beef. All courses were very creative and of fantastic finesse. The service is very welcoming and attentive. The wines are rather expensive. We will definitely come...

Fabulous food in a fresh setting with fantastic service. On its way to the first Michelin star, no doubt about it.

The food is the quality and value in London and how the Michelin Guide doesn't give them a star is beyond belief! The beef i had this time was the some of the best i have ever had. The the pasta with truffle is an...

An extravaganza with visiting friends who appreciate good food. The tasting menu did not disappoint and service was strong. Rarely does the whole table comment on a butter knife but the team must get that question fairly often as the source was known. In terms...

The food was delicious, but the duck in particular was outstanding. It was tender beyond possibility, and so flavorful. I've never had a more perfectly cooked duck, and frankly, I think about it at least once a week. I'm coming to the area again in...

We had a terrific evening in the Caractère. Of course, we selected the 5-course tasting menu and started with cornish crab, white asparagus, pistachio, dill oil and caviar. Wow - what a start! Excellent product quality, sublime aromas and a beautiful presentation! Next course was...

The Food is the best value & quality in London. They also make an effort for Vegetarians and adapt dishes for my wife fantastic!

The food was exceptional and we enjoyed the different style of menu with interesting choices. Great selection of wine with good service. I would say that it is expensive though and whilst we did visit on a Tuesday - it was only half full which...

I would highly recommend the lunch deal with wine at this restaurant. My mother and I enjoyed every mouthful of food and it was a great way to enjoy a relaxed meal before going to the theatre later. We also enjoyed the walk along Portobello...

The food was fantastic my wife's risotto was the best she has ever had including ones in Italy! The lamb was fantastic and serves some of the best pasta in London. Staff are fantastic and the whole ambiance is also fantastic. This restaurant is a...

We ate in caractere on friday night, we were guest of friend regolar of this place, the restaurant was full and there were some good vibes, this is our second visit for us to caractere, the first was in june of last year. we noticed...

We have eaten at Caractere a number of times now. The welcome, the food and the service has been exceptional every time. The tasting menu is fabulous We would highly recommend the whole experience.

We really like this restaurant. The food is fabulous and the ambiance is great. We visited again last night. It was busy and that was great to see. The staff were friendly and all got off to a great start. However, we ordered white wine...

Enjoyed every minute off it. Food was delicious and service was great. Very reasonable lunchtime deal for 3 courses and a bottle of wine for £50 per head, so great value. Can’t wait to come back next time I’m visiting London.

Attended a private wedding at Caractere, making it a very special dinner. The staff were fantastic and my wine glass was never empty. The setting is very elegant and the food was beautiful. Will definitely visit again.

With the sad closing of the Ledbury just round the corner this is now the stand out fine dining restaurant in Notting Hill. The setting is less formal than lots of similar type restaurants which I really like and enhanced the dining experience , great...

We attended as part of a gastronomic event and had the pleasure of having lunch hosted by Emily and Michel. A wonderful ambience, service and food, will definitely be back as a destination restaurant. Were fortunate enough to speak with Emily who is clearly passionate...

The pasta with truffle was fantastic and the Pigeon one of the pest i have had. The vegetarian options again fabulous! The staff are all friendly and so lovely.

Delicious and beautifully presented food, not too much of it either which I like, overloaded plate can be offputting. We went with a vegetarian friend and the people serving were full of suggestions for how each meat dish could be adapted to suit her, as...

We had the three course lunch menu. The food was outstanding and the service was flawless - informal, but attentive. A genuinely stand-out experience, even amongst the very best.

Visited for a friend's birthday lunch. Everything was lovely. The food was delicious and amazing value. Service was warm, friendly and just the right level of attentive.

What an incredible experience, we chose the restaurant for an evening out. And we could not chose better.. The food was delicious the Aubergine ravioli with Sicilian red prawns is to die for, we loved the Pigeon and the Rhum Babba .. The wine list...

A few words to express how delighted my friend and I were at Caractère. Perfect. Delicious. Warm. Cosy. The atmosphere was great. We chose to have the tasting menu with matching wine flight. We chose different dishes, and more often then not had food envy...

Delicious food in a relaxed atmosphere. We visited for an anniversary weekend meal and were very impressed with the food here. My vegetarian meal was super tasty and they were able to adapt dishes for me from the main menu. The service was friendly and...

As le gavroche have been forced to stop lunches at the moment due to staffing issues, we gave this notting hill restaurant a try and were very pleased indeed. The service, food and ambience were all excellent and we will certainly be visiting again. Absolutely...

A delightful relaxed atmosphere with friendly and excellent service. The food was delicious and a Michelin star wouldn’t surprise. Superb.

We had such a lovely time at Caractere, very warm welcome from the waiters and great atmosphere! The staff was very helpful, they gave us some recommendations we didn't regret, the chef's signature dish: celeriac Caccio & pepe, I highly recommend it. We then went...

If you were to ask me if travelling from essex to west london to visit Caractere is worth it my answer would be a resounding yes. I say this because saturday was the fourth time we’ve completed this journey. The reason for this is quite...

We thoroughly enjoyed our first visit …hopefully not the last. The food was delicious and beautifully presented, so many interesting and well balanced flavours. I particularly enjoyed the aubergine ravioli and the roast duck; but the outstanding dish was definitely the rum infused baba with...

We went to celebrate a birthday. The greeting was warm and the first course arrived promptly and then we waited and waited and waited. After over an hour we asked where our mains were and were told they were on their way. A further 15...

The food was magnificent and the service friendly and excellent. The Lamb is fantastic and egg yolk ravioli the best pasta i have had in the UK.

Having visited Caractere in February 2019 and experiencing outstanding service and food i was somewhat disappointed that the flair and creativity of the food has gone down. As refugees from the Ledbury we were hoping for something a little more exciting from Emily and her...

A really good experience. Delicious food, full of wonderful flavours. Started with a ravioli which was amazing and actually contained runny egg yolk, stunning. Then flavourful duck, delicious, my guest had beautifully prepared and delicately flavoured cod and then incredible chocolate dessert. My finest meal...

Had a great lunch with friends at this restaurant yesterday. Very good food and service. Highly recommended.

Went for Tuesday dinner, friendly welcome and great ambiance. Menu is not extensive, but good choice, cod was superb plus crab tart. Best cheese section and accompaniments I have had for a while. All was first class and exceptionally executed.

So happy that I changed my birthday plans to book this restaurant instead of where I had originally planned to go. Everything about the restaurant was near perfect; ambiance, staff, food and wine. The crab tartlette and the molten chocolate tart were our favourite dishes....

This is my favourite restaurant for a special occasion meal. The food is innovative and delicious with interesting flavour combinations using seasonal produce. The service is warm and friendly - you feel very welcome from the moment you step in the door. I’m vegetarian and...

What's not to love? Food was innovative and refined with interesting combinations of flavours. The team are one team to serve and ensure you have great experience, whoever you are. Remarkably, owners lead by example and roll up their sleeves without any ego or attitude...

A fantastic meal the egg yolk ravioli one of the best dishes i have had at this restaurant as was the rum Barbra

Interesting tastes in your plate and absolutely beautiful presentations... but look carefully at the wine list before ordering a glass, ended up paying 27£ for one small glass without even seeing the bottle !

Our first indoor lunch after the lockdown was lifted. We went for the set lunch - the choices were superb. The Acquerello risotto was excellent and so were the Crab tartelette and the Soft yolk ravioli. For mains we had the duck, lamb and the...

Thoroughly recommend this restaurant. Excellent food and first class service. The menu is not particularly extensive but each dish we had was cooked to perfection and beautifully presented. Service is friendly and efficient without being overbearing. Tables well separated. Restaurant was busy for midweek with...

This was simply another fantastic visit to Caractere and where we felt on this occasion the quality of the food and service had risen to the next level. This time we took the short five minute walk from Westbourne Park train station to where we...

Excellent food but more like a 'brasserie' with no table cloths etc. than luxury restaurant. We told them I didn't like cheese but they delivered the second course that had cheese in it. The unhelpful response was effectively 'well you ordered it off the menu!'...

We had an excellent lunch meal at caractère. Each dish was interesting, inventive and full of flavour. The highlights for us were the buckwheat and cèpe tartlet with veal sweetbread, the lamb, and chocolate tart which was once one of the best we’ve ever tasted....

One of the best meals you’ll eat in London. We ate here for my birthday. Tremendous service and utterly delicious food. The chef created a starter for me when I couldn’t have anything from the menu which was spectacular. Book now. It’s worth it.

The pigeon I had was the best I have ever had and so tender and fabulous flavour. My Wife's vegetarian options were also fantastic. Great service as well.

Wonderful birthday meal. One of the best I’ll have for a while. I couldn’t recommend this restaurant highly enough; the food and service were exceptional.

Here's a wide range of unusual and interesting dishes, all of them utterly delicious. Go for house specialities and expect to have a wonderful meal. Friendly and helpful staff. Uncluttered space.

Extremely impressed on all counts on our first dinner out post lockdown/shielding. Great service, food and matching wines. Sweetbreads were outstanding. Generous portions too. Looking forward to our next visit when the menu changes.

Dinner was fantastic the cooking was of the Highest Standard. Pasta the best in London and the Lamb was great and so tender

The was our first post lockdown dinner and we couldn't be happier. Every dish we eat was delicious, the staff were brilliant and we thought they delt with the social distanceing efficiently and unobtrusively. Go and enjoy yourself.

An outstanding first time experience at Caractere. Absolutely wonderful meal, every course was beautifully presented with fine balance and depth of flavour. Service was professional and efficient. All in all just as good, even better than, many Michelin 1 Star restaurants in London. My only...

Food was fantastic and the best pasta I have eaten in London bar none, Fish is superb and the Lamb is again the best I have eaten in London

The service was excellent especially given the challenging environment being newly opened after lockdown. The menu was nice but I wasnt blown away by the combination of flavours. Everything was well cooked in itself but I think the flavour of the dishes could be a...

Have an excellent lunch the other day, food was very fresh, well presented with excellent sauces. The restaurant is in a rather austere setting of faux industrial rooms, it could work with a lot of people to liven up the place but this was half...

Service was very attentive, friendly and the somelier was great in helping my mum choose between 2 nice bottles of wine. We did have to wait a long time between our second starters and the mains, but once we reminded them, the mains came quickly....

Took boys and their girls for my birthday treat. Have been spoilt lately with the “real thing”, rosettes and all, in France and Italy. This was as good as anything we enjoyed there. Service was effortless and elegant; menu (after decoded for us fogies) was...

My business friends from Singapore, New York and Sevenoaks want to have a special dinner to celebrate the beginning of a new decade. Caractere came to mind and they delivered! Tasty food, fresh ingredients, excellent wines and swift service made this a delightful dinner. Highly...

Went with friends for a birthday celebration. Quality cooking and presentation. Service good. Had the veal for two which a good sized portion.

We first visited Caractere back in October and was so amazed by the experience it became my choice for Top London (non michelin stars) restaurant in my personal 2019 Lloydie Food Awards and so therefore couldn't wait to return. Now I can honestly say that...

Had a very enjoyable lunch at Caractere. Celeriac pasta dish is innovative and tasty. Dessert was top notch too. Excellent service as well. I shall return

Caractere is what restaurants used to be like. I mean this in THE MOST POSITIVE sense. Excellent food and service without hype, theatre or noise. The slightly darkened room is reminiscent of a fifties nightclub. All style and sophistication. And the food matches - everything...