Mill Lane Bistro – restaurant review: A new legacy?

Bar 77 was a West Hampstead institution. I was one of many sad people when the owners called it a day. What came in its place was Cini. No-one knew how to pronounce it and it seemed no-one wanted to eat there. I was among many who didn’t care at all when it finally closed its doors.

What now for this landmark address? The left-hand side of Bar 77 – once the venue for my 30th birthday party – is now a mini-market. But the right-hand side has become the accurately named “Mill Lane Bistro”. It’s rather nice.
Deliberately or not, the dark wooden tables hark back to those ’77’ days as does the friendly welcome. The menu now is a sort of hybrid British/French selection. It is short. Very short. I think this is good. New restaurants that try and maintain a high standard when the menu stretches across several pages are usually asking for trouble. There are three starters and three main courses along with a couple of specials. There is also a rustic bar menu too – making it very clear that you’re as welcome for a drink and a bite to eat as for a full meal. Despite the brevity of choice none of the eight of us seem to struggle with what to have. It’s short and it reads well. It also means we don’t take long to decide.
While the starters were being prepared we turned our attention to the wine, upgrading from glasses to bottles of a good white Entre deux Mers (£16) and a Pinot Noir (£24) that had @Ghoul_of_London in raptures. The wine list didn’t seem extensive, but what we had was good.

The starters duly arrived and everyone tucked in. Tom and @MarkLedder‘s asparagus looked great with large (hopefully English new season) spears topped with a poached egg (“slightly overdone”) and “not enough” hollandaise. @chinmj‘s decision to go for a bar snack starter of hard thin salami sausage with bread left him sawing away at the sausages but with no complaints about flavour. The beef carpaccio, although not thin enough to merit the name, was delicious and unusually the dressing was very lightly applied, which I appreciated. Scallops varied in size from normal to enormous, leading to some quite amusing looking plates but the chef had at least tried to balance them out agaist perhaps too much of the de rigeur pea purée.

Mains of ribeye steak, sea bream (the special), rack of lamb, and a vegetarian option of rösti for @uponair all came in generous portions but far less overwhelming than the plates at LoveFood a couple of weeks earlier. The bream was particularly well presented with a “spring festival” of baby vegetables underneath an ample fillet of fish topped with a light creamy sauce and mussels although @StyleOnTheCouch seemed less impressed than I was. Some would have preferred their lamb a little pinker and we were surprised not to have been asked how we wanted it cooked, however it tasted great. @DJStoney may have even used the word “sublime”. Steaks did come out as requested with @Kayskill‘s medium rare looking on the money.

Of course we had room for desserts: a classic lemon tart and a chocolate gourmand plate were both well received. @MarkLedder had spent the day caffeined up to his eyeballs in Paris dashing back on an earlier train so as not to miss #whampreview excitement. Immune to any further impact he joined me and @uponair in an espresso only to find that it wasn’t an espresso at all but just a small strong coffee. It’s a small thing but, for a French style bistro, worth getting right.

It sounds like I’ve picked out all the minor mistakes, but overall everyone had a great evening. Notably the overall score was quite a bit higher than the separate scores because the atmosphere is good, it’s comfortable and relaxed. Service was accommodating and as the place has been open only a few weeks, it is not surprising that it hasn’t quite reached perfection. I shall definitely be back and am delighted that the Bar 77 legacy has been revived. Indeed, there’s no reason why the Mill Lane Bistro can’t become an institution in its own right.

Ratings
Food 7.4
Service 7.8
Value 6.3
Overall 8.4
Good for: convivial people
Bad for: perfectionists
Mill Lane Bistro
77 Mill Lane
West Hampstead
London, NW6 1NB
T: 0207 794 5577

0 replies
  1. Professor Doddley
    Professor Doddley says:

    My favourite kind of restaurant. No messing about. three starters, three mains, wooden tables, good wine, attentive (but not over-attentive) service. Not too posh, not too dumb. perfect. our new local of choice.

    Reply
  2. Royedwards
    Royedwards says:

    We remember David behind the bar and the good times watching the rugby over a pint or two the the best burgers in West Hampstead

    The feeling is different but this is a fabulous secret to foodies on the Mile Lane

    Don't try it – Leave it to those already in the know

    Roy

    Reply
  3. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Live locally and had been meaning to try it for a while. Total bill for x2 people was £71.29 including 12.5% optional service charge. Left them £71 and they came back to the table to ask for the extra 29p. So we rummaged around to find it. How short sited to annoy you customers for the sake of 29p! Shame.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    first & last visit to this bistro tonight. nice place & atmosphere – shame about the badly cooked food. gritty mussels, overcooked fish, inedible burned crepes which had to be sent back. a real pity.

    Reply
  5. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    was my favourite local restaurant untill it changed hands this summer. We unfortunatly loosing the bistro ambiance for a little restaurant. Prices are increasing as the wait between the dishes (approx 30min).The service is ok with the friendly staff, but still looking for the boss.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Agree with above, I have been 3 times since new owner and just gets worse… sorry, I am local and wish I could say something nice.

    Reply

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