Core By Clare Smyth

Core by Clare Smyth, London, England. A three Michelin star restaurant in the heart of Notting Hill, Core is Chef Clare Smyth’s flagship and one of Britain’s most celebrated dining destinations. The menu showcases modern British cuisine, with focus on seasonal ingredients sourced from across the UK. Signature dishes are Potato and Roe, Lamb Carrot and Core Apple. The experience was in general good but nothing memorable. Was it me that had a high expectations from a three Michelin star restaurant? May be. Service was polished, attentive and highly professional. Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5/5 Average PPP £ 280

Absolutely amazing experience from start to finish. The tasting menu was outstanding — every dish was flavorful, creative, and perfectly executed. The service was exceptional: attentive, professional, and genuinely welcoming throughout the entire evening. The wine list was beautiful with great selections, and the cocktails were some of the best I’ve had at a restaurant. Truly a 10/10 experience. Highly recommend!

absolutely incredible experience at Core last night with my husband. every course was excellent and the restaurant itself is simply breathtaking. neither of us have any notes besides the most genuine “well done” for chef Clare and her team. having worked in fine dining and under michelin star chefs before, we know how much goes into providing an experience such as the one we enjoyed. each member of staff was well informed, friendly, extremely professional, and perfectly tuned to the atmosphere and elegance of this restaurant. from being greeted by every person we walked past to the quickness to respond to any need we had, i would give the staff alone more than 5 stars if i could. there wasn’t a moment where i felt i needed to ask for something before someone was already at our table to help. the food was indescribably delicious. as we made our way through one dish thinking “it can’t possibly get better than this” we were proven wrong each time the next one was given to us. the flavors and presentation of every single thing was beyond beautiful. as i have particular dietary needs, i was given a special menu to accommodate them, and that i certainly did not expect. it was yet another way, on top of the many others, that Core went above and beyond to provide the best hospitality they could. i greatly appreciated the personality and individuality of each member of staff, all of them displaying their own uniqueness that added to the experience. it is such an honor to have been able to enjoy this moment. we know how much love and respect is put into providing something like what’s given at Core, and to be on the other side of this style of service is a gift that we will remember forever.

Booked a Saturday lunch to celebrate an anniversary and would precursor this by saying that we have both wanted to visit this restaurant for a very long time so had quite high expectations. Lovely welcome, very friendly staff and it’s a beautiful dining room. We had a glass a champagne on arrival and chose the set menus - one of us having the Core Classics and one having the Core Seasons with their accompanying wine pairings. Canapés arrived and my partner immediately spotted a large hair on the lobster roll one and my heart sank. Although the waiter took it away and replaced it I felt like there wasn’t much apology and it kind of broke the magic of the place a little. We had another hair in a later course (the cocktail accompanying the pre dessert on the Seasons menu) which was really disappointing and there was nothing removed from the bill by way of apology. I think generally the food was of a very high standard but felt that there were quite a few dud courses across the 2 menus with comparison between each other inevitable. The tomato was far more complex and interesting than the scallop tartare, the kohlrabi was quite bland and boring whilst my partner’s girolle tart was much nicer, and my lamb was much more interesting than the overly salty beef and oyster my partner had. The petit fours were a little dull despite being served beautifully. The wine paring was varied and very interesting but the pours are quite small with no top ups, I was slightly rationing my consumption to ensure I had enough with each course which was a shame given it’s £175. The service was very good but a little overbearing at times, it’s lovely to be shown where the toilets are first time, but to then be escorted to and from them every time was a bit strange. The only other misstep was a forgotten explanation of my dessert. I think all in all there was some undeniably incredible food but some missteps that you just don’t expect as this level/price point (out total bill came to just under £1,200 for 2 people) and so I left feeling a bit deflated.

What can one say about the magnificent Core by Clare Smyth? It’s a beautiful restaurant with friendly, professional staff who take pride in their work. The chef, Clare Smyth, was running the kitchen so we got to watch the master in action from our super cool kitchen-side seats (not sure how we got so lucky, but very thankful!). We loved watching the beautiful ballet of this 3 star kitchen! And loved our chat with the chef about our trip plans which would take us into Northern Ireland, not far from her home area. I had the pescatarian menu which was sublimely executed! And my companions adored their meat options. We splurged on Dom Perignon and glasses of wine. Overall, our second time at Core by Clare Smyth was incredibly tasty, fun, and one of the best meals/experiences we’ve ever had. Thank you! We hope to be back for more soon!