Honest Review, Atmosphere - nothing special few paintings on the walls some basic spot lights white walls, dark seats white and dark red table clothes. underwhelming. The food, for a Michelin star restaurant was very disappointing simple and bland dishes. the dishes arrangements were very nice but the food itself, average nothing unique, flavours were lacking... Very salty dishes on the 2 starting courses the balance was just not there... Personally felt that most of the menu was based on low quality meat cuts/parts and ingredients and that the plating was trying to make up for the loss of value... the biggest let down in my eye is the sauces and the combination put together just didn't produce anything special... The desserts were very good nothing to say about those... but that was 1 out of the 7 dishes offered on the course, and going there just for the dessert, well... lack of attention to detail ... many times we ran out of drinks and we had no one come to offer more or serve us more...One of the waiters was also between each dish putting the cutlery down diagonally or at strange angles and its just all these little details that really did not impress... I sadly would there really not recommend this restaurant and will probably never go again even thought the staff was nice... Extremely overpriced for what it is...

Reassuringly expensive and worth every penny. Delicious and unpretentious food with fine wine and great service to boot. Thanks for the wine list although struggling to source most of them so relieved to have tried them at least. Thank you to all at L'Ortalan and hope to return soon.

Visited here with the family to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I mean what's not to like when you're having an 8 course tasting menu. Absolutely delcious... every course a triumph... looking good enough to eat, but a work of art too. We were treated very well, service was excellent, setting great too... drinks a bit pricey, but this is expected. Not a bad word to say. Scrumdiddlyumptious!!! They also charged the Tesla whilst we spent the best part of two and a half hours dining. Thoroughly recommended for a real treat of a meal.

We were searching for somewhere new to visit for dinner around Reading and came across L’Ortolan. Even though online there were no tables available to book in the near future, they kindly accomodated us for a table on Saturday evening. The venue itself is set in a lovely Georgian rectory with beautiful trees surrounding it and there is plenty of parking available on site. We were greeted kindly and decided to have some drinks at the bar before going to our table. I opted for the festive cocktail which was gorgeous to look at and tasted even better. The decor inside the bar was intriguing, however in my humble opinion the restaurant section itself was a bit bare. As with most fine dining restaurants the menu itself is a taster menu with small set dishes, each with a burst of flavour. However, you do get the option to add on dishes like the Oscietra caviar tart or the cheese platter. You also get a choice of two dishes for the mains and the dessert. The caviar tart and the Gigha halibut were definitely the stars of the show for me, exquisite presentation and flavour combinations. All the staff and the sommelier provided excellent and helpful service. Alex particularly stood out to us. He was very welcoming, attentive, funny and friendly. We did thoroughly enjoy ourselves and will visit again if we are around Reading.

It was wonderful that they accommodated us after our voucher had expired a long time ago. Thank you for that. We had the tasting menu. The waiting staff were obviously trained to a very 'old fashioned' standard which made them seem quite aloof but they did loosen up as the meal went on which was good. The food was very good but not amazing. Drinks very expensive, 2 small aperitifs, 2 coffees and the service charge came to £65.00.

Went on a weekday in Mar and the restaurant is not full so I won’t expect the service is like such. After sharing with few a friends and found we all have similar experience which I didn’t see in any review at all so prompt me leaving one here for a honest feedback as I do wish Reading to have a great fine dining experience. Food 3/5 - brilliant appetiser and dessert, the two main dishes - pork and fish are ok, not exciting - a gastropub standard. However, how we are being treated is something I won’t recommend and no surprise they don’t maintain their M star. A plate is presented as table setting and once you seated the waitress would immediately pull it away and that’s set the tone of the pacing in this fine dining restaurants. Amuse-bouche came and it looks great, however one of them are made of mini tartelette which is quite oily on the surface hence I requested a fork. She was amazed in her response and ask ‘ a fork?’ Yes I would like to have a fork. She then followed up questioning with ‘You need a fork with Amuse-Bouche???’ LOL right? I am glad I had get what a asked for but the attitude was a surprise. Then come with appetiser and bread (the bread n butter is heaven) however when we presented with so many dishes at the same time we found it we are rushing everything and didn’t pay full respect to it as it’s been cold down / warm up so we asked the waitress if we could pace a bit slower to the coming dishes as we are not in hurry - how could you imagine you have to request this in a fine dining place but again another blunt response are given “oh we cannot, the dishes are ready so we have to bring to serve” - we were like , excuse me - shall you go to give a headsup to the chef and reflect that so he would adjust the pacing? Don’t wanna repeat and make it lengthy review but I could just tell by all the engagement we had with the waitress - we didn’t feel like being very welcome or up to a fine dining experience expectation. For a mid week menu - it’s great ROI however they lost the chance to make me a loyal one and giving me & my other group of friends similar experience on a different day, not in our recommendation simply due to the services we experience.

Absolutely amazing day doing Chefs experience - the team were all really welcoming, chuffed to get hands on in the kitchen - come away with a few new skills. Food was absolutely phenomenal - looking forward to coming back. Thank you.

I went to L'Ortolan with high expectations, despite knowing that the restaurant no longer holds any Michelin star. Unfortunately, my experience was rather disappointing. Firstly, the restaurant's location was rather obscure with inadequate signage. Upon entering, the ambiance was rather pleasant, but the service was frustratingly tardy. We waited nearly half an hour just to place our drink order, followed by another protracted wait for our meals to arrive. When they eventually did, the portions were meager and the food was lukewarm, which was disappointing given the elevated prices. Furthermore, we observed that the hygiene standards were not up to scratch. The carpet was stained, and the cutlery and tablecloths were not properly cleaned. Additionally, the toilet was not in a satisfactory condition that a fine-dining restaurant should have. In addition, the menu was limited and not very accommodating to dietary restrictions. When we requested vegan options, the waiter responded dismissively without making any effort to fulfil our requirements. Overall, I was disenchanted with my experience at L'Ortolan. Whilst the ambiance was agreeable, the sluggish service, lack of dietary flexibility, substandard hygiene standards, and high prices left much to be desired. I cannot recommend this restaurant.

Absolutely fantastic meal and service! One can tell that they care about how they do their jobs. Fantastic evening!

Had a great night here with friends. Service was warm, unpretentious, and extremely professional. Chef's menu + wine pairings were interesting and delicious!

Excellent service and food was delicious. Staff explained each course and were very attentive. A lovely way to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary

This was our first experience of a tasting menu and one that we really enjoyed. The food was presented beautifully and each course was carefully explained by the server. Some dishes really stood out over others, particularly the terrine and fish course, however we both found that some dishes were surprisingly lacking in flavour. We ordered the truffle dish (which had a supplementary charge of £25) and found it very disappointing and had only a very subtle truffle flavour despite the shavings on the top of the dish. It also lacked quite a bit of texture as it was presented as a creamy mousse. There was about 10-20 minutes between each course, however for one of the courses we waited over 40 minutes which felt a bit long. The dining room was relaxed and not too formal, but it was missing a little atmosphere. All in all it was a good experience with some unique dishes and concepts. There is also a fantastic selection of wines.

Was taken here for a surprise birthday lunch by my fiancée. She knows I love fine dining. This french restaurant did not disappoint. We had the £49 set lunch menu and ever dish was presented exceptionally and made my taste buds dance. The service was excellent and staff very friendly. If I had to nitpick - the lunch was slightly rushed and the drinks are let's say £££. Anyway this is part of the experience, been to many places in London - this is a really amazing place to enjoy outside of London. The setting of the restaurant is also divine. Go and try this place, you will not be disappointed. An exceptional birthday present.

Food was exception, atmosphere was great and whilst the servers were very attentive unfortunate the entire meal took 4 hours in total (but the wine flight helped!). However the staff did inform us that it was their busiest night of the year so far. Would still definitely recommend for a special occasion!

Lovely atmosphere, lovely food. We did ask them to slow down a little, with they happily did. Will definitely be back.

Food was okay. The wait in between dishes for the tasting menu was far too long. They preferred to offer additional bottles of wine instead. Also the only alternative to lamb was a small piece of aubergine

Wow. Really special experience here. Phenomenal food and wonderful service. Well worth the journey. Very excited to return in hopefully the not too distant future.

Great food and fab wines. The service is exceptional too. It's priced exactly where you would expect such a quality restaurant to be but it's easy to end up with a very big bill if you get tempted by the additional courses or an extra cocktail or too. Of course you may have more self restraint than my friends and I so may not encounter this issue 😊

Just wow! An overall fantastic experience from start to finish. From the first little appetiser you will be blown away with a huge flavour sensation that will only get better and better as your meal goes on. Opening you up to flavour combinations you would never imagine working together but in reality it's delicious. Also all the staff were fantastic and extremely attentive, could not fault them. Can't wait for my next visit!

Lovely venue. Good was delicious and the cocktails were good too We had the tasting menu with the classic wine pairing. Was amazing and left absolutely stuffed. All in the meal was around 3 hours but we had a drink in the lounge before our meal We didn't feel rushed at any point and the service was very attentive. Our night was just over £400 when you add in service. Not a regular trip based on this but well worth the visit for s special occasion

A fantastic fine dining experience. There was an extensive range of high quality and delicious food. An excellent venue for special occasions.

We had a lovely family birthday celebration here. Food was so interesting and our teenage kids experienced something very different to what they normally eat. The 8 course tasting menu took 3 hours to get through, and level of service wasn't too overbearing as can be in top end restaurants. Classic flight of wines 2 of us enjoyed, and learnt about new wines as they were introduced. 1 star dropped as after already opting for flight of wine and truffle course supplement, was then offered a wine at extra cost to go with the truffle course; that felt like too many upsells! Overall though, would recommend as not just a lunch but a lovely way to spend time with family chatting and trying new flavours

Lovely lunch with wife. Well looked after and delicious food! Will definitely make time to go again!

First time in a michelin star restaurant and have to say it was a real treat !! Lovely warm welcome , fabulous attentive but not suffocating staff , very informative . The food was fantastic and beautifully presented . We were very well taken care of , so thank you to the whole team .

Proud to be the first customer since they reopened. Very attentive service and lovely food. More than happy to return. Always wanted to try sweetbreads and they lived up to the expectation.

Excellent food. Even though I am vegetarian the food was amazing. Even the cabbage was exciting 😁

Set in a beautifully curated garden, from the moment of arrival, L'Ortolan delivers on the expectation for something special. The menu itself is well priced for the value you're getting, is varied with classic land and sea combinations, seafood vegetarian and meat courses, and each one combines flavours so wonderfully that every course made me pause and think in amazement. They are also presented in creative and surprising ways, namely the caviar white chocolate which is definitely worth the supplement. Service is impeccable, the staff is knowledgeable and helpful and always around if needed. I don't understand how they only have one Michelin star, since I've been to two start places that would not match up with L'Ortolan.