The Only on King
172 King St
London, ON
N6A 1C6
(519) 936-2064
Rating:
4 out of 5 stars
(
100 reviews)
Hours: mon:5:30PM - , 12:00AM , tue:5:30PM - , 12:00AM , wed:5:30PM - , 12:00AM , thu:5:30PM - , 12:00AM , fri:5:30PM - , 12:00AM , sat:5:30PM - , 12:00AM , sun:CLOSED ,
Payment Methods: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
Description
The Only on King offers these services: restaurant.
by ourbis
on August 28, 2013 from ourbis
Reviews
Tarragon Carpet Bomb: Some great elements to the meal, our table of eight ordered a number of dishes and sampled freely. The prosciutto and foie gras were superb. The food cooked in house however was decent though difficult to tell through the carpet bombing of tarragon throughout. All in all an o.k. dining experience, to much pretense, probably won't go back
Rated 3 stars by Murray Stickler
on December 04, 2010
Hee hee hee: Never ate ther, but looking at the reviews below, the last user has a point - notice how every former review was written at the same level of diction and utilized similar catch phrases? These reviews were indeed all by one individual (I'm a student of such things); "wine pairings" and "tasting platter"? Not only does the repetition suggest one individual but implies a lack of variety in their imagination, which would most likely reflect in the food. "Inspired chef", and "best food in London" are repeated in different fashions as well... This poster is desperate and frightened.
Rated 1 stars by Matthew JHL
on February 12, 2009
Pomp with NO Flavour: Instead of the obvious shill reviews posted previously allow me to provide a truly honest, independent review.<br/>
First, I was seated for my reservation at a back table by a wall near a corridor. There was a draft and, seeing that the restaurant was empty thus far but for a few tables, I politely asked to be moved to one of the many empty tables. The hostess flat out refused, saying that the manager pre-plans the seating plan. I looked around at all of the empty seats and re-iterated that I was uncomfortable at that table, and I could not understand why I could simply not be moved to one of the many empty tables. At this point the manager got involved and said "we like to think that one table in our restaurant is no better than any other". Then with a roll of his eyes and a huff, he said "Do you REALLY want to move?" and I was able to move.<br/>
When we were seated, our waitress was extremely attentive and knowledeable, and delivered perfect service throughout the meal.<br/>
THE FOOD:<br/>
We both ordered the cheddar soup for starters - very nice, delicious in fact. Great wine selection, but I chose an organic English ale that was wonderful.<br/>
My friend ordered the "Boneless Crispy Skin Cornish Hen" and I ordered a Beef Steak dish that came with greens and blue cheese. It was one of the worst meals we have ever had. The title of my friend's Cornish Hen dish included the words "Crispy Skin"...the skin was anything but crispy...it was soggy and rubbery. The pompacity of the "chef" was obvious when I asked my beef to be Medium Well. The waitress hesitantly responded with "our chef prefers not to go above medium rare". I simply instructed her "I prefer medium well, thank you". My dish came and I'll describe it as best I can: A small round plate, pieces of cut up, practically raw beef lining the bottom of the plate, with a COLD field-greens salad heaped on top like an ugly weed mountain, with a slight smattering of dry blue-cheese crumbs. The meat itself had been cooked to barely a "blue rare" level. It was warm and slimy in its raw state, and I felt I was eating raw seal-meat in an inuit restaurant. The cold field-greens neither complemented nor added to the meat, and beef is best served with a blue-cheese butter, not these dry hard crumbs. Both my friend and I agreed that the meals were flavourless. We questioned between us whether this restaurant might have a policy against the use of seasonings or even herbs - the food was extremely bland.<br/>
OVERALL OPINION:<br/>
In its own description above, the restaurant describes itself as "sophisticated but approachable". I did not experience either. Many new upstart restaurants feel that they can simply clad their staff in black uniforms, have tasteful decor, and have (what THEY consider) some unique menu items, and boom: we're a sophisticated restaurant. This is, at best, a fad restaurant. Organic / Local grown is a fad. The "wholesome", or "natural flavour" approach - lack of seasonings, spice, or even salt - is a bad fad in the hands of incompetent chefs, but can work well in the hands of competent ones who really understand the interplay of flavours and understand herbs and spices. <br/>
Why is it that I can go to a fine restaurant like Winston's or the Four Seasons in Toronto and get a steak made to order, and yet this pompous chef at a little upstart London, Ontario restaurant "refuses"? The reason is that a talented, competent, and confident chef CAN make a steak to order, and a bad chef masks their inability with pomp. I mean really, what self-respecting chef would allow their "crispy skin" cornish hen leave the kitchen with rubbery wet skin?<br/>
And from beginning to end, The Only on King is pure pomp and nothing more.<br/><br/>(A note to the owner: The next time you're going to post your own reviews, don't make it so obvious)
Rated 1 stars by Diner1
on February 12, 2009
Information from the business
From OpenTable:<br/><br/>The Only On King opened its doors in the heart of historic downtown London, a stone’s throw from Budweiser Gardens and the Covent Garden Market where the casual dining restaurant sources most of its fresh ingredients.<br/><br/>Chef Paul Harding is serving sophisticated but approachable French and Italian cuisine.<br/><br/>The menu, which also features ingredients purchased from local...
by menuism
on July 30, 2013 from menuism
The Only On King opened its doors in the heart of historic downtown London, a stone’s throw from Budweiser Gardens and the Covent Garden Market where the casual dining restaurant sources most of its fresh ingredients. and Italian cuisine.The menu, which also features ingredients purchased from local southwestern Ontario farmers, boasts several dishes that are priced $29 or less.Located in a...
by opentable
on May 12, 2013 from opentable
The Only On King is proudly opening its doors in the heart of historic downtown London, a stones throw from Covent Garden Market where the casual dining restaurant sources most of its fresh ingredients.
<br/>
Chefs Jason Schubert and Paul Harding are serving sophisticated but approachable French and Italian cuisine. The menu, which also features ingredients purchased from local southwestern Ontario...
by foodpagesca
on October 14, 2008 from foodpagesca