Startisans in Kensington and Chelsea

I wanted to love Stanley’s I really did. From its quirky outdoor area brimming with the cosiness of sheepskin seat covers, candy coloured rugs and heaters to the welcoming staff.Settled with drinks the only challenge was what to choose from a menu that promised the deliciousness that brought us here in the first place.A selection of small plates ordered we were given warm sourdough bread we didn’t order, generously told to have it anyway but when we mentioned the mistake it was then swiftly and confusingly snatched away.All small plates descended. Pretty presentation showing thought in some dishes but clumsiness in others. Beef Tartar (an eye watering £18 for a tiny portion with no obvious beef provenance as even an excuse) decorated with tiny expertly placed mushrooms and egg yolks no doubt placed with tweezers verged on the fussy whilst the Beef Cheek (£15) although the best dish we ordered was hard to see under the mountain of toasted crumbs that buried it. I honestly have no idea how what appearedto be a small section of a cabbage in the King Cabbage Caesar could conceivably warrant a comparable price to the meat dishes of £14 when a whole cabbage costs less than a tenth of it but I was willing to go with it and be wowed by its added value.Sadly it was neither raw nor cooked and neither of us could cut it or chew it. Blanched sometime probably earlier in it’s lifetime it resisted us till we gave up.With more focus this could be a great restaurant.Clearly others are happy to pay these top dollar lunchtime prices and I would be too if the food actually delivered in better value and presentation in all the dishes. Maybe I’ll give it another go one day.

Such a great restaurant, food is impressively good. Very intimate restaurant, hidden garden in the busy streets of Chelsea. It is indeed a bit hidden, but totally worth checking out. It is completely different to the noodle bar that it has on the other side but it is really great restaurant. Food is extremely good, I probably got one of the best tartares I have ever had there. Totally suggested, to be aware it is not cheap but it deserves every penny.

Most incredible Saturday dinner here. Impeccable service from the accommodating staff, delicious drinks and a fab menu. Already excited to come back! Thank you Stanley's.

Flawless food drink & atmosphere, we LOVE Tilly our waitress. Brought us back to how excellent service and food and ambience can actually be achieved with some magic & masses of seamless work on the part of the staff. Please do not disappear. Artistic choices in interior were gorgeous too

Amazing place, been here many times and will keep coming back. The latest menu is the best so far, highly recommend all the small plates. Great wine list.

Nice restaurant, quite hidden away in The courtyard which can sometimes be better for more private meetings. The food is ok-ish, too many flowers on certain dish. I used to go there quite a lot, almost every week. Then i have noticed when i dressed and carry designers handbag, their approach is very different to when i dress normally and to be honestly this has put me off going there. It happened on few different occasions. The other thing i didn’t like as well, when i would go there for just coffee, the staff sometimes are a bit rude or would lie about “we are fully booked” when in fact they aren’t. I have stop recommending my friends to go there and few of them had the same experience as me. I hope they take into consideration my review and change their approach to customers. Many thanks

Great place for a light lunch.Limited food menu / options … but it comes with a cute presentation.

Beautiful restaurant with nice atmosphere and amazing-looking food. I appreciate the creativity of the food and, dressed with flowers, they all look so delicately delicious while their looks score more points than their tastes. Each portion is quite small so it’s better to order several different portions and share with others. Dessert is also creative and quite good. It’s a bit overpriced and the experience would be more pleasant if the staffs have been more friendly. Overall, a fine dinner with friend at Staley’s still made a wonderful evening!

For a restaurant that caters mainly to the super-slim Chelsea girls, there is an enormous amount of heavy cream going on. Crumpet with shrimps sounds great but had heavy cream layer, cod roe was totally submerged in mayo/cream, the not-very-good cake with not many strawberries was again covered in cream. Bread (not crispy fresh baked) has a big twirl of creamed butter.Service is super nice, beautiful setting, gorgeous cocktails, food looks terrific - but not the place to go if you want light, delicate tasty food.

Nice but oddly inconsistent food and atmosphere with slightly tatty fake flowers in the outside space and table heater only worked some of time. Expensive and very slow between courses. Forgot water that was ordered. Colleagues white jacket dropped into wet puddle on floor by waiter who was apologetic but not slick at sorting. Full time toilet cleaner but still loos not spotless. So fun but uneven.