David’s Bistro

We are addicted to their sticky toffee pudding. This is my favourite restaurant in London. The food is always cooked to perfection. Not super-​fancy, just really well done. Always make a reservation well in advance. They are fully-​booked most nights. It’s a small restaurant, with a fabulous chef, cooking each plate of food really well. Their prix fixe menu is such a great deal — cheaper than a chain restaurant like Milestones and always fabulous.

Most impressive display of service I’ve seen in a very long time. I came here with my elderly parents to celebrate their birthdays. The staff were simply outstanding from the moment we stepped in the front door. You can train your staff. But, they have to be able to execute. Every single interaction seemed so authentic and warm without feeling scripted.
Oh yeah, the food was really good, too. I’m not a hard-​core foodie. But, the chef knows what he is doing. The foodies will be pleased. My parents were. My only quibbles would be I wish there was a pasta dish on the menu. Dessert could have been a little more decadent. Then again, I’m not a foodie. Gimme my sugar and cream and butter.
As others have noted, it is a small space. But, the décor is very bold with red walls, black trim and wonderful paintings. There were even was well chosen ceramics. Part of the restaurant is decorated with pictures of the staff from decades ago. It was another thoughtful detail. My overwhelming impression was it was an inviting and cozy space. Just perfect for a special meal with those you love.

I am from Washington DC but travel often to London for business. So it was great delight that although I didn’t have reservation, I managed to snag a table. The atmosphere is everything you want to have in an intimate bistro, nice soft jazz, mood setting lighting, and just the right measure of eclectic sound. I sat at a small corner table soaking in the warmth ambiance, the friendliness of both David and my server, and most of all, the excellent and thoughtfull created meal. I cooked a lot, all kind of cuisine and dined all over the world. Something about the food grasp me. The most difficult task for a chef is to balance the meal, create a new and exciting flavor but not fall into the trap of using all the trendy ingredients that may or may not go together. The special 3 courses of the day was a bargain at 30 dollars. I started with salmon chèvre timbale, then a perfectly seared pickerel with golden crisp crust at the bottom but tender with just the right amount of acidity from the celery root slaw to offset a bolder curried lentil. Perfect harmony between acid, crunch and fork tender fish. It was perfect evening even dining alone on travel. I cannot wait to come back. I want also to address Tyler’s review. Clearly if you are going to walk in, you cannot be angry if they can’t seat you. It’s a gamble. Even if the tables are empty, they have reservation within 30 mins and if they had let you have the table, they would have to displace someone who had made the effort to make reservation. This is unfair to a small establishment and your review thoughtless. It’s your shortcoming and shortsighted that you should be addressing and not projected those to David’s bistro. After all, you had one year at least of this event, your anniversary and to plan a walk in 5 o’clock, surely that can’t be the establishment fault of this last minute scramble.

Absolutely terrible went in there at 5 p.m. only to find out that you need reservations. This was on our anniversary I have not been able to rate their food but their service is absolutely a one I would give them a zero if I could they just lost a couple hundred dollars for not accepting walk-​ins. There was nobody even at any of the tables.

My husband and I spent a long weekend in london a couple of weeks ago and decided to check out David’s Bistro on our last night in town. We had read the Unilocal reviews and figured it must be good. Let me tell you, we were NOT disappointed!
The restaurant is quite small, with as many tables packed in as possible. We arrived without a reservation and were sat at a tiny table for two in a corner. We didn’t mind at all as we were there for a romantic dinner and the atmosphere in the restaurant was exactly what we were hoping for.
The server approached is almost immediately and took our cocktail order. The drinks were delivered to us promptly while we were perusing the menu. The server was very friendly and knowledgeable and rhymed off the specials to us. To be honest, everything sounded delicious and we had a hard time deciding.
We decided to share the smoked lake Erie trout appetizer which came on top of a zucchini rosti and had a grapefruit aioli. We were very happy to see that although we had said we’d share, the kitchen had plated the appetizer on 2 separate plates so that we each would have our own portion. The trout was delicious and the zucchini rosti was nice and crisp on the outside, while still soft in the middle.
I had the wild boar special, which was served with smashed potatoes, a jus and steamed vegetables. It was delicious and my only slight complaint was that I would have preferred the boar to be rarer.
My husband had the grilled fillet Mignon. He had it blue rare and it was cooked perfectly. It was served with silky smooth garlic mashed potatoes, watercress and wild mushroom ragout (outstanding) and topped with blue cheese.
For dessert, my husband had the crême brulée and it was also outstanding.
We shared a bottle of Peachy Canyon Zinfandel which was absolutely perfect with our meat courses.
This was a fabulous dinner and if we return to London, we will most definitely be having another dinner at David’s Bistro!

We had the most lovely anniversary dinner at David’s. Truly terrific food and service.
We had (among the four of us) chicken, osso buco, filet mignon, and the special veal. All excellent selections. David and Natalie are running a delightful place, with a solid cohort of regulars.
Strongly recommended. Terrific blackboard wine list as well.

One of the best dining experiences great food great wine selections. Desserts to die for. It took us years of walking by to decide to venture in and now we plan on returning within two weeks to do it again, with friends.

I was looking for vegetarian options and there was nothing on the menu for me… the chef created a bunch of sides… shaved potato with cheese sauce, grilled veggies, Caramel beets and a bunch of other things to make me a entrée!!! Really live the servers and also the atmosphere!

A chef’s place to eat. Food is thoughtfully made, balanced and tastey. a versitile place to have lunch with a date, for business, for contemplation. Oddly, we’ve had one of the best decafe coffees here!

DISREGARD THE FIRST REVIEW OF DAVID’S! This is a downtown London Gem! I regularly go there for an ofter work drink and stay for dinner — we live downtown so my wife will walk over and join me and whoever is there. There are no deals there as it is a local owner operated pub restaurant and it is to too big of a place. The food is surprisingly good and unique beyond the typical pub grub. Many of the patrons are regulars and the staff are quick to try to get to know you.