http://www.saintgeorgeshotel.com/restaurant.html
Langham Place, Regent Street,
London, W1B 2QS
The website says 'be prepared to see a famous face from screen or stage' I assume this is a tag-line from the 1960s.
The reviews says the food is great but the service is poor, that it doesn't get busy but that can be a blessing.
The positives: It has a very nice view across London, the Wembley arch is visible in the distance, there are lots of nice buildings, and while you wait (and wait, and wait) for service you can people watch.
The negatives: Right, let's start form the beginning. They mixed up our drink order when we were sat waiting to go to our table. They apparently didn't know how to make some of the cocktails they had on offer. They took so long to prepare some of the drinks we thought they had forgotten.
They did not offer us any bread. The house rose was something we used to drink at Rob's when his Dad had a bottle he wanted to get rid of. The wine list had water damage (and the food menu looked like it had been part of a year 5 art project. When the menu is not of a high quality you worry about the rest of the place).
My starter, Tea roasted Duck, was horrendous. The duck was rubbery, a whole lettuce seemed to be chucked in with it and a gallon of salad cream poured on top.
Pork Loin was the main, and while it was a good chunk of Pork Chop it was nothing that you couldn't rustle up at home and was a real let down. However, the mains will be remembered for the waitress (who previously had been the only member of staff you could either find or would actively serve you) brought two fillets and two rumps, but our table had ordered three fillets and one rump. She went back into the kitchen, came back with her order pad and told us she had "2 fillets, 2 rumps" written down. Now I don't care what you wrote down, if we say we ordered 3 fillets, we ordered 3 fillets, you apologise and say it might be a few more minutes. We know you made an error but you are trying to rectify it, that's okay. You don't claim the customers are in error and then ram whatever you want them to eat down their throats.
Dessert was a chocolate cake with melting caramel, and to be fair the caramel was nice.
The whole experience was terrible and you can see why the restaurant was half full and quickly emptied. If at 9pm you are getting the tables ready for breakfast the next day you have problems. Whoever is in charge, if indeed there is someone in charge, should be replaced with immediate effect. Most of the staff looked like this was their summer job and were half awake.
Sod the view, I will never go back to this place again. The service was terrible, the food was ordinary, the drinks amateur, and the experience so bad we refused to pay the service charge (we met no objections, probably a regular occurrence)
Rating: 1.5/10 (only because you are guaranteed to get a table)
Average Rating: 1.5/10 (1)
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Oxo Tower, South Bank
http://www.harveynichols.com/restaurants/oxo-tower-london/oxo-tower-london-restaurant
OXO Tower Wharf
Barge House Street
South Bank
London
SE1 9PH
My second visit to the OXO tower restaurant (first review) and I have to say, I like this place. With good views of the Thames on one side, this restaurant makes the right balance between formal and relaxed. The food, drink and staff are to high standards and you leave the place knowing you will come back.
Things started off with a quick drink while we waited for the rest of our party to turn up. Pip had a Martini with a grapefruit twist which, as a connoisseur of Martini's, he enjoyed immensely. When the full compliment of our party was present we went to our table that was disappointingly on the opposite side to the Thames - came have it all I suppose.
For a starter I had Roast Quail - a meat very easier to spoil, but cooked very well and presented well. Then for the main I went for the cod, again another serving that is constantly ruined and under appreciated. However in this instance the fish was succulent and crumbled under the power of my fork. The chive mash offered a valued companion, although the cockles were a little gritty and didn't offer a compliment to the cod.
Dessert was a honey cake (with the Tokaji Asuzu dessert wine) and the only complaint can be that there was not enough of it! I sampled (stole) someones Chocolate plate and the white chocolate panna cotta and white chocolate cheese cake were fabulous.
All in all a good meal, good drink, good service and a lovely atmosphere.
Rating: 8.5/10
Average Rating: 8.5/10 (1)
OXO Tower Wharf
Barge House Street
South Bank
London
SE1 9PH
My second visit to the OXO tower restaurant (first review) and I have to say, I like this place. With good views of the Thames on one side, this restaurant makes the right balance between formal and relaxed. The food, drink and staff are to high standards and you leave the place knowing you will come back.
Things started off with a quick drink while we waited for the rest of our party to turn up. Pip had a Martini with a grapefruit twist which, as a connoisseur of Martini's, he enjoyed immensely. When the full compliment of our party was present we went to our table that was disappointingly on the opposite side to the Thames - came have it all I suppose.
For a starter I had Roast Quail - a meat very easier to spoil, but cooked very well and presented well. Then for the main I went for the cod, again another serving that is constantly ruined and under appreciated. However in this instance the fish was succulent and crumbled under the power of my fork. The chive mash offered a valued companion, although the cockles were a little gritty and didn't offer a compliment to the cod.
Dessert was a honey cake (with the Tokaji Asuzu dessert wine) and the only complaint can be that there was not enough of it! I sampled (stole) someones Chocolate plate and the white chocolate panna cotta and white chocolate cheese cake were fabulous.
All in all a good meal, good drink, good service and a lovely atmosphere.
Rating: 8.5/10
Average Rating: 8.5/10 (1)
Wiltons, Green Park
http://www.wiltons.co.uk/home
55 Jermyn Street
London SW1Y 6LX
Reservations 0207 629 9955
Wiltons is a very exclusive and very pricey restaurant. The kind that requires men wear a jacket (if you fail to adhere to this standard then you will be given one of the house jackets). The staff are extremely friendly and sub-servant, bordering on sycophantic. I'm sure the usual clientele are more than happy with this but the air of formality was a little unsettling and fake.
That being said, as I found out later in the week, it is better to offer this kind of service than veer towards the other end of the spectrum, but more on that later. Back to Wiltons, we were offered a lovely champagne rose, then moved on to our starters. I opted for the seafood salad as a starter, and while the offerings of crab, salmon and especially the eel were delicious it was perhaps a little too much, and I'd advise others to only opt for this as a main. One of the group offered caviar and my first impressions are it's okay, but not worth the trouble.
We tried a lovely Shiraz from Chile, then moved on to the mains. I selected the rump of lamb - a surprisingly large offering, but the sauce was fantastic and if it were not for the size of my starter I feel I would have enjoyed this course more. For dessert I tried the chocolate fondant - a touch too rich for my liking - then ended the night with whisky.
The service turned out to be very good, accommodations constantly made to any requests our table made, new napkins proffered whenever someone vacated their seat, all in all they were very attentive and never left us waiting for long.
The layout of the restaurant is deceptively large as form the front the restaurant seems very small. There are lots of little booths and seating 'catches', but the lack of natural light made me very sleepy.
Wiltons strikes me a nice treat, a chance to view another world, but the cost and stuffiness cost it a couple of marks.
Rating: 7/10
Average Rating: 7/10 (1)
55 Jermyn Street
London SW1Y 6LX
Reservations 0207 629 9955
Wiltons is a very exclusive and very pricey restaurant. The kind that requires men wear a jacket (if you fail to adhere to this standard then you will be given one of the house jackets). The staff are extremely friendly and sub-servant, bordering on sycophantic. I'm sure the usual clientele are more than happy with this but the air of formality was a little unsettling and fake.
That being said, as I found out later in the week, it is better to offer this kind of service than veer towards the other end of the spectrum, but more on that later. Back to Wiltons, we were offered a lovely champagne rose, then moved on to our starters. I opted for the seafood salad as a starter, and while the offerings of crab, salmon and especially the eel were delicious it was perhaps a little too much, and I'd advise others to only opt for this as a main. One of the group offered caviar and my first impressions are it's okay, but not worth the trouble.
We tried a lovely Shiraz from Chile, then moved on to the mains. I selected the rump of lamb - a surprisingly large offering, but the sauce was fantastic and if it were not for the size of my starter I feel I would have enjoyed this course more. For dessert I tried the chocolate fondant - a touch too rich for my liking - then ended the night with whisky.
The service turned out to be very good, accommodations constantly made to any requests our table made, new napkins proffered whenever someone vacated their seat, all in all they were very attentive and never left us waiting for long.
The layout of the restaurant is deceptively large as form the front the restaurant seems very small. There are lots of little booths and seating 'catches', but the lack of natural light made me very sleepy.
Wiltons strikes me a nice treat, a chance to view another world, but the cost and stuffiness cost it a couple of marks.
Rating: 7/10
Average Rating: 7/10 (1)
The Green, Clerkenwell
The Green
29 Clerkenwell Green
London
EC1R 0DU
http://www.thegreenec1.co.uk/
I should really write these up a bit quicker, as I can't remember exactly what me and Rob ordered here. I think he had sardines, I went for the soup, then maybe the fish? Anyway, here is what I can remember...
The Green is round the corner from Farringdon station and basks in the afternoon sun, which on this splendid day was out in its fullness. There was a decent selection of bitters on offer and while the bar itself is small the service was quick and the table service a welcomed touch. Plus our bitters were served in proper dimpled (jug) pint glass.
And the glasses were well made because Rob, obviously testing the professionalism of the staff, dropped a full pint onto the wooden floor. It went everywhere, and given the wooden floor, it didn't disappear in a hurry. Fortunately the staff were fine with this (especially as we cleaned it up).
I'll certainly be going back there (Warning, it does get busy around lunch time) and then I'll be able to give a fuller review, but I liked this place.
Rating: 8/10
Average Rating: 8/10 (1)
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