Delicious food and excellent service. The best sole I've had. The preparation and presentation of each dish was perfect. The restaurant itself is well designed. Classy and romantic atmosphere with beautiful floral design consistent with the entire One Aldwych building. read more

Eneko Basque Kitchen & Bar - Dover sole and greens. highly recommend - Basque Near Me - London, XGL

I would highly recommend this restaurant for several reasons. 1. Location cannot be beat if you're in central London! It's a beautiful restaurant that's ideally situated next to the theatre district. 2. Menu is very interesting and full of unique items that are rare to find on traditional restaurant menus. It's also quite good for vegetarians (3 mains and 3 apps are fully vegetarian). 3. Service was quite good. Our server was quite attentive, helpful, and gave us excellent recommendations. The chef's assistant also came out a few times to say Hi and even brought us complimentary coffee at the end. 4. Price is incredibly good for the kind of food, experience, service, and location you're in. Two of us had two appetizers, two mains, 1 dessert, and a carafe of wine for £80 (incl. service)! 5. Finally -- the food. Explosions of flavor, unique textures, and interesting preparations all combine to make this a wonderful experience. I had memories of eating in San Sebastian at Michelin star restaurants...highly recommended for 1/5 of the price! Check out the pictures to see some of the things we got. I would highly recommend the "Traditional Talo" and "Arraultzak". The "Arroz de Setas" was also awesome, but a bit salty for my taste. We got an excellent Rioja to go with the food which was perfect. For dessert, the salted caramel is a no-brainer! read more

See all

Dinner during the soft launch of Eneko was pleasant enough, nothing amazing or impressive given that the menu is influenced by a 3 Michelin star chef. The trio pork festival starter presented in a haphazard way with 2 portions squashed inside a glass dish consisted of iberico ham, suckling pig and pork jowl served in a steamed milk bun, deep fried brioche and batter. We shared 2 portions between 4 people, the pork trio would be too heavy for 1 person especially as the deep fried brioche & crispy pork jowl were so greasy. Out of the 4 main courses we ordered I would recommend the meat over the fish, favourites were the Iberico pork and duck. The desserts mostly displayed on a dessert trolley reminded me of a boring hotel buffet and did not tempt us to order any. We did however order from the menu the vanilla pudding served with sheep's milk ice cream just to try one. We should have completely skipped dessert to save time and preserve our appetite for a nearby dessert place we planned to visit but missed out on as it closed 5 minutes earlier than advertised :( We dined during the half price soft opening, at full price one would have been very disappointed as I had higher expectations. Although Eneko has opened in London it is still worth booking flights to Bilbao to visit Azurmendi where you will experience dining at a far superior level for hardly much more than at Eneko even with the post Brexit weak exchange rate! read more

See all

I was fairly disappointed in Eneko, when you compare it to the hype and pedigree that the head chef has come from back with its 3 Michelin stars. Maybe if I hadn't read up on him and his food I would've received the food a bit more warmly? But it's a real shame as I think there's a huge amount of potential here, just let down by execution and fine-tuning. First up, the service is generally great. I say generally, because the waiters are extremely friendly, knowledgeable, great at staying hidden in the background and topping your drinks up. BUT, my friend who's allergic to various food items, who rang the restaurant in advance to check it was ok, was then let down by our waitress who didn't seem to understand the concept of an allergy. Even when my friend had to leave the restaurant before our starters arrived due to feeling sick, our waitress showed no empathy or sign of being apologetic. On the other hand, the head waiter was extremely apologetic over it, and basically knocked off half of our bill as a way of saying sorry and rang my friend personally the day to apologise. Swings and roundabouts right? And of course, the food! Trying not to cover what plenty of the other reviewers have said, the thing to realise about Eneko is that its approach to tastebuds is different. Few of the meals are balanced. Instead, you just get an absolute intense amount of flavour of one thing. I.e., the Memories of Biscay dish with its seafood is just shellfish umami love. The pork pressa is just meaty love, and the mushroom dish is just insanely packed with mushrooms. Beware/enjoy! But unfortuantely, a few of these dishes fail at their execution. I.e, the beetroot dish is pretty terrible, the mushroom dish is too strong and needs something to cut it, and meat isn't actually that great compared to other places, the duck breast was chewy and lacking duck flavour, and the two times I had the hake it was great, but the 2nd was overcooked. So yes, execution needs to be fine tuned, and the menu needs some minor changes to help really put on show the food here! One great thing is that the menu did indeed change, with minor changes to dishes with the addition/taking away of elements, and overall, my 2nd meal was much better than my first. But would I pay full price for this place? No way. read more

See all

I really enjoyed my lunch here (especially as I was here when they had the soft launch offer) The venue was pretty cool and the staff were friendly. Although not the most attentive, but I guess that's due to the fact that they are all still training, hence the soft launch. Loved most of the staters and mains, although if I go in the future I'd probably skip the beetrooot as it literally tasted like mashed beetrooot..I mean it was nice and pretty to look at, but it was nothing special.and not really worth the price tag. When it came to desserts, we were taken towards the kitchen so we could see what the desserts looked like. We ordered the rice pudding and rice pudding. The sponge was nice.a little different. (I can't say wow) but I'd skip the rice pudding. We didn't bother even finishing it between us as it really wasnt that great. Overall, a yummy place to eat. But it is pricey without the soft launch offer. read more

Eneko Basque Kitchen & Bar - Basque Near Me - London, XGL

Eneko is a restaurant opened up by Eneko Atxa, a chef who has been working in a three Michelin starred restaurant in Bilbao, bringing his own creative dishes inspired from the basque cuisine One Aldwych hotel. A beautiful spacious contemporary restaurant and although situated in the basement it had an open ceiling that gives you the high ceiling look. We were very lucky to be seated in the middle of restaurant where on the left it was bright yet on right it was quite dark as if we were near the poles. Service was fantastic and all very friendly and knowledgable. Water was refilled regularly and complimentary breads were offered regularly too with a choice of rye bread, seeded sourdough or plain sourdough and unlimited refills too. Sadly they were getting quite stale and weren't as fluffy as I was expected for the sourdough. Better was the basil butter emulsion that came with it which was lovely and creamy although could have benefited with some salt to boost it's flavours. Boda Pork Pork Festival Beautifully presented in a wooden box with a carved pig's head as the lid containing three delicious pork delicacies. The mushroom Ibérico ham in milk bread was incredibly fluffy and puts a lot of Chinese buns to shame. The milk flavour was very apparent complementing well with the mushroom flavours whilst adding a nice creaminess against the rich cured Ibérico ham Suckling pig brioche came deep fried giving that boost of sweet and indulgence flavour against the juicy moist umami bursting pulled suckling pork. Greasy yet delicious. Finally the crispy pork jowl, meat from the side of the cheek give meant I was an superbly tender, juicy and fatty cut of meat. It was skilfully deep fried in a light crispy batter giving a lovely contrast in texture to wrap around it. Memories of the bay of biscay This dish wasn't just for show as fantastic as it was to stir the tastebuds by pouring hot water onto dried ice, next to seaweed which releases steam that smells like the ocean. The quality of each piece were also top notch, one of the freshest seafood I've had in a while and superbly composed. The oyster was wonderfully plump and sweet with a bit of what tasted like pea purée to round of its flavour by adding a delicate earthy taste to it. Wild prawn tartare was rich and an overload of umami. I have never had anything like that before. Although prawns were minced, it kept its bounciness with the herring roe giving it a burst of pungency and accentuating its silky textures. The crab meat was also fantastic with paste from the head giving it that pungent richness too. The meat was very fleshy, still with its juices intact which conveys freshness Potatoes in green sauce Although listed in the main dish I highly recommend it as a side too. The potatoes were tender soft in a lovely light creamy herby white wine sauce, delicately seasoned to make way for the highlight of it all, the fried crisp egg yolk. They were literally balls of egg yolk deep fried in batter so when you bite into it, the incredibly runny yolk will just burst out sending a gush of rich yolk across the dish. Sublime for just a potato dish Hake A fantastic take on fried fish using tempura batter instead, creating a extra thin and light crispy batter. The hake was incredibly succulent and almost meaty, lightly seasoned to allow room for the thick sticky savoury red pepper sauce. I did find the sauce slightly overpowering at times though so a little less salt might help. The parsley emulsion was a nice touch to add some creaminess to help bind the different textures together Ox Tail A dish that brings comfort food to a classier level. Ox tail braised in a complex rich savoury juice until it reduces. As the result the meat was very juicy and the cut meant it a good amount of fat to give it that rich umami flavour. The mushroom emulsion was great at adding complexity to it as well as break the meat apart with its creaminess. Some light wafers to add a light crunch and edible flowers to give the dish some vibrancy and colour. We did have a pleasant meal at Eneko but I felt it lacked the wow factor. Dishes were pleasing to the palate but needed to be more exciting and braver with ingredients and flavours especially at the high prices they are charging .They were all very safe choices with the deep fried dishes and the savoury sauces. Some little things need polishing like the bread, unseasoned butter and overseasoned sauce for the hake. However I can see that there is a lot of potential as everything was delicious and service was very attentive and friendly. Just need to up their game. read more

See all

Had a great experience here! We were a big party 10 on a Wednesday night. They took our starters and mains orders a few days in advance. It was a bit tough because who knows what you'll want day of, but it did ensure smoothness of service. The memories of bay of biscay was a memorable dish. The presentation was really unique and flavors were excellent. I had the duck for my main, which was also really nice and flavorful. Portion sizes were good. I felt satisfied but not completely stuffed after our meal. The service was amazing. Very attentive staff. They could've explained each of our dishes a little bit more, which would have enhanced the experience. read more

Eneko Basque Kitchen & Bar - Memories of the Bay of Biscay - Basque Near Me - London, XGL

We made a reservation on a rainy Saturday since it was near our hotel. Had eaten at the location many times when it was Axis. Many steps down to the restaurant. Found out later that an elevator through the hotel will get you there. Creative design with interesting sculpture like walls. We arrived at 6:15 and chose the pre-theatre menu. A bargain at 22€ for two courses. We had beetroot with a little barbecue sauce on the side. Nice presentation. Another starter was risotto with clams which was well done. Main course was hake tempura. A very light batter and very good. The other main, pork cheeks with mushroom emulsion, melted in you mouth. Wonderful sauce. You could choose one side as well and we had broccoli and creamy mashed potatoes. The dishes that each course was served in were especially attractive and quite unique. Made the food taste even better. We shared a dessert. 5£ additional. A Basque sponge cake with caramel ice cream. Wonderful flavor. Would highly recommend. Great location for theatresd. Wait staff pleasant and helpful. read more

Eneko Basque Kitchen & Bar - Pork cheek - Basque Near Me - London, XGL

See all

A fabulous treasure in the theater district. Beautiful surroundings couple with interesting and affordable upscale food makes for a meal to remember. read more

Eneko Basque Kitchen & Bar - Duck cooked on a jasper with broccoli side and tempura Hake. Delish! - Basque Near Me - London, XGL

See all

Very nice setting and atmosphere. A lot of space between tables. Very friendly staff, if you want them to be. Most importantly the food is a delight, and excitement for the eyes and the palate. It is fresh creative accessible a lot of work put into it. Overall a food with personality, different from the rest and a very nice time spent. read more

Eneko Basque Kitchen & Bar - Memories of the bay of Biscay - Basque Near Me - London, XGL

Basque cuisine already exists in London, but has never had such an intense assault on raising its profile. Whilst a couple of new spots have popped up, Eneko appears to be the one all are pinning their hopes on. Eneko Atxa, who has the pleasure of being at the helm of three Michelin star Azurmendi Bilbao, brings his traditional Basque country cuisine to One Aldwych Hotel. Dangerously close to ME London with its STK, Radio Rooftop and Cucina Asellina, having been to two of the three, I don't think Eneko will have a problem establishing itself as the go to hotel restaurant on this Aldwych corner. On entering its separate entrance, you are greeting by a staircase bringing you to the reception desk and bar area. Follow another staircase down to the lower ground floor, you are greeted by a large sweeping room with booths, high ceilings around the edge and what feels like the floating bar above. This is very reminiscent of the former Isola restaurant in Knightsbridge. The staff are well trained and the service is on the formal side. This is a fine dining restaurant but with traditional food. Not sure if the service style would be called authentic in the Basque region, but to the discerning diner who will be able to afford this menu it is probably more welcome. The food was interesting. There were some dishes which certainly spoke of Basque wonders, some with tricks (steam created by oxide nitrogen), but all had a common thread of being thoroughly enjoyable even at the trial stage when we dined. read more

So, like most of the initial reviewers, I took advantage of the soft opening offer - 50% off food, and came for a quick lunch with a couple of friends from work. As an overall package, it's a good restaurant, the head chef is obviously skilled and has a great palate, the plates are beautifully presented, and the service (despite early days), I found to be welcoming and friendly. The room is spacious and well laid out, and the impression is that it is definitely a 'fine dining' establishment. Food wise, we chose the Squid Marmitko, Beetroot tartare, Cod Bizkaina and the Iberico pork presa. The squid was great, interestingly presented with ribbons of well cooked squid in a tasty broth. The beetroot tartare, which I understand is served in the 3 star bilbao restaurant was pretty good, and again an interesting dish. The Cod, a classic basque dish, which both of my friends took, was unanimously agreed to be well, just so so. The portion of cod was very small, and the broth was overpowering. However, the stand out dish was the pork. A great piece of meat, sensitively cooked and served with hand snipped pieces of spaghetti (from memory!). So, a final summation, no doubt that it's a good addition to the london scene, and great to get some high class spanish regionalisation, but needs a few tweaks - which hopefully the soft launch will remedy. read more

I don't usually review places until I've been there a few times; after all, one doesn't even know whether a place is having a bad day (or even an unusually great day) until you've been there a few times. However, for Eneko, I'll make an exception as I do think it's unfair to review a place during the soft launch (which, in this case, is the whole month of August) and, at the time I started this review, there had already been one review up. A soft launch is just that - a time in which a place tries its best to iron out its shortcomings, and, therefore, not the fairest of times in which to be judged. Still, to each their own. Eneko is situated at One Aldwych, with its entrance located on the main road, not via the hotel. Upon entering, there's a short flight of stairs down to the small bar area where the Front of House is. You can choose either to have an aperitif at the bar or be shown to your table that's located in the main dining area one more flight down. The dining area is nicely decorated; there are bright flowers in large vases along the wall, and several spacious dining booths which looked like they could fit five or six people comfortably. We, despite being only two, were lucky enough to get one of the booths which also benefited from the sun coming in from upstairs. Service was great at first, with various staff members taking our water orders and then presenting us with their wondrous bread selection and then mixing up the basil and butter to go with it. Then it flagged, with our being left alone for more than 15 minutes (it seemed), until we called for someone to take our orders. The restaurant was only half-full at the time, but I guess the staff were still finding their feet. We were told that the menu was designed so that diners should opt for the standard three course meal of starter, main and dessert, which was a real pity as a number of the starters looked amazing, and there were only two of us. I decided to be good and opted for the beetroot tartare. It was good. Really, really inventive and delicious. I enjoyed it greatly. My companion went for the anchovy tempura, which came served fish and chips style in a paper cone, alongside a tomato granita intended as a palate cleanser. It was interesting and tasty, if you like anchovies, although perhaps a little pricy if we had been paying full price. For the mains, I went for the oxtail and my companion went for the pork. The sauce which accompanied the former was particularly difficult to make as it had been cooked for a number of hours, I was told. It was nicely rich and complemented the oxtail perfectly. The pork was delicious - when is Iberico pork not? My companion would have ordered another there and then had he had the stomach space. As for desserts... They were nice. We tried the vanilla pudding and a dark chocolate tart from the dessert trolley. They were decent, although at £9 a pop, were a little on the high side. I should mention their wine selection before I forget. There's a selection of Basque white wines (txacolina) which tasted lovely, and red and white wines from other parts of Spain. The cocktails looked nice as well. Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Eneko. It wasn't a stand-out meal as I've had at full-on Michelin starred restaurants, but it should be remembered that this isn't a Michelin starred restaurant, the staff are different, and, in fact, I'd consider this a good hotel restaurant, although slightly pricey if I had been paying full price. read more

Eneko feels like a modern restaurant, with one of the more interesting decors I've been in a while. It feels cold and concrete, new and modern. We were a group of four, and were able to share a number of dishes. Really loved the Bay of Biscay, of which is served over dry ice which creates a thick grey smoke for atmosphere. The Beetroot Tartare was also very delicious (despite some other reviews which were not fans). In terms of the mains, we got to try the Hake, Oxtail and Pork. It was indeed executed well and delicious. The staff was friendly and we got good recommendations for our wine pairing. It's still early days, so it will be interesting to see how Eneko evolves. With wine, it was just over £50 per person. read more

OH MY GOODNESS! WE LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Amazing food, excellent service, and slick spot to grab a bite after a show. WE stumbled in here after seeing the "Lion King" and we were so pleased! You must try the scallops, we order 3 orders of them. Absolutely delicious. Actually go nuts, try everything! Totally will be glad you did! Enjoy! read more

I went during the soft opening and thought all was splendid! It isn't a three star michelin restaurant, that one is in Bilbao! But if you want a more relaxed atmosphere with good food and wine, that's the place. We were asked for feedback since they are such a brand new restaurant and I couldn't think of anything to change. The restaurant itself, whilst in the basement is still quite light with the open staircase and high ceiling. Eneko and his chef couldn't have been more pleasant. Coming to our table and checking how it was all going! I will go back at some stage as I was thoroughly impressed! read more

The talo is off the hook, but honestly, everything we ate and drank was wonderful. Service was also terrific. Will definitely go back.

London Foodie Mama had the pleasure of attending the soft launch (50% discount yeah!) of Eneko, a new upmarket restaurant serving food from the Basque region, fabulously located on the Strand in central London near theatre land. The décor of the venue is impressive, with a majestic sweeping stair case which leads guests from the bar area to the main dining room (this is lovely unless you have a buggy with you, although staff were keen to assist). It's a place you would definitely bring your tinder date to..however we were apprehensive with our unpredictable ticking time bomb also known as 'the toddler'. The restaurant surprisingly provided highchairs which were clean..Remarkable! (perhaps never used before as no sane parents have dared bring a child to such a plush venue). The venue was very spacious - but don't even consider letting your little ones run around..it's not that kinda place. On to the food. We ordered the Txerri Boda Pork Festival (£15) consisting of Mushroom & Iberico ham duxelle in milk bread, suckling pig brioche and crispy pork jowl. This was a delight, with pillow soft bread and tasty fillings encased in a charming wooden carved pig head box - our only complaint was the small size of these slider type starters for the price tag (OK this place ain't cheap and you better get some 'Return on Investment' from that Tinder date). Our main course was the perfectly cooked Basque style hake in tempura (£21) - soft in the middle, crisp on the outside. We also ordered the Potatoes in herb and txakoli sauce with fried crisp egg yolks - the highlight being the ingenious bursting egg yolks..disappointing were the slightly undercooked potatoes. For dessert, we had the rice pudding (£9) - sadly this was a low point. Chosen from the pre-made dessert trolley, it lacked the freshly prepared taste and the rice could have been cooked for longer. The flavours failed to excite and live up to the standards set by the preceding dishes. The accompanying sheep's milk ice cream was marvellous though - not too 'sheepy' tasting as feared. Overall, we had a great experience (and it was an EXPERIENCE, not just fill the tummy and go): the food, dazzling surroundings and friendly service. Would only return paying full price if someone else was treating - can't part with £9 for one dessert (that's like the price of ~40 nappies). Not advised to bring the kids for dinner, perhaps lunch but only those accustomed to dining out and BEHAVING! https://londonfoodiemama.wordpress.com/ read more

This restaurant is a real hidden gem! The food is refined and delicious and the staff is very attentive. This place makes you feel like you are at a Michelin star restaurant but completely affordable! This is a must try! read more

A chance to sample the wares of one of the world's top chefs with 3 Michelin stars in Spain. One month into opening I have to say this was one of the better meals I've had anywhere and we are lucky enough to travel a lot and sample the best New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Paris, and London have to offer. The starters (particularly the pork and sea samplers were a real highlight, and the pork and oxtail main courses were out of this world. We had a really spectacular medium bodied Rioja and lovely and accommodating service. All in all a very memorable meal that was good enough to have us plotting our next trip back to London to return. The starters and mains were among the best we've had in the past decade of dining around the world. The dessert selections were very good (a special highlight was the surprise goat's milk ice cream that came on the side) but the only part of the meal that didn't knock our socks off and I believe could use some tinkering to bring it up to par with the rest. At 75 pounds all in per person with several wines and 3 courses each you can't call this a cheap meal but dollar for dollar about half of what a meal of this caliber currently costs in New York or San Francisco. Can't wait to come back to see how this evolves! Truly spectacular! read more

Eneko Basque Kitchen & Bar - Knock-your-socks-off sea appetizer with smells of the Bay of Biscay emanating from the steam to enhance the experience. - Basque Near Me - London, XGL