St. John

The suckling pig banquet was a rather vulgar and tasteless (in every sense) affair: exaggeratedly theatrical sweeney todd butchery: the meat is chopped up roughly in the style of a chinese shredded duck, then served on platters with feet and tail sticking out for maximum THIS IS A PIG impact.

In case you miss the trotters - the head is served to the chief guest, to play with and pick out the cheeks, brain and tongue. It is pitched as head to tail eating but even as a meat eater who is perfectly aware that meat comes from whole animals not polystyrene trays - i found it over the top squeamish. Heart served with beetroot was quite tasty, but one can't help feeling that the beetroot is there to ham up (sorry) the blood and gore feel to the evening.

The disappointing texture and taste of the food itself made it seem like a unneccesary gimmick of a meal. Everything was over-salted, overly-heavy, overcooked, & overpriced. I felt like I was being laughed at by the proprietors of this restaurant, it seems the sort of place big fat city boys should go and show off to each other in braying voices, while paying for the overpriced stodgy school dinner food on expense accounts.

Also the table that fits into the private dining room was uneven so there were dangerous spots for wine - hidden from view underneath lots of paper napkins... and at £48 a bottle it would be a shame to spill it because the table is shoddily made out of strips of MDF.

The service was very good I thought, however. Patient and good humoured.

I won't be going back - but it was certainly an experience I will never forget.
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miss piggy
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Friday, October 05, 2007

I live in California, but have wanted to visit this restaurant for a long time. I was finally able to arrange a one-day stopover in London on the way home from another trip to the continent, on a day the web site said they were open. I couldn't make the reservation at the time of booking as I used miles for this trip and had to book many months in advance. Imagine my dismay upon attempting to make a reservation several weeks in advance when I was informed that the place is booked for a private event. Repeated explanations and supplication, for a table in the kitchen, early seating, anything, yielded nothing except a statement that the bar will be open (no full menu). Sorry folks, you get all zeros for that. This is a level of indifference that is nearly unmatched in my experience. Small wonder that the reviews for this supposedly great restaurant are so surprisingly poor.
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Alan Yoder
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, September 24, 2007

Having just enjoyed my first meal at St. John this evening I was really surprised to see the mixed reviews, especially the review posted on August 25th. I couldn't believe the bit about small portions - anything but that, really! My husband and I were full enough from our starters of bone marrow and smoked mackerel that we had to cancel our order of welsh rarebit that was to accompany our main courses. Glad we did, if only to save room in our stomachs, as the main courses were very substantial as well! I must add that we hadn't eaten since breakfast so we arrived hungry. We found the waitstaff knowledgable and helpful, the atmosphere pleasant and the variety of food excellent (especially since I generally prefer vegetables to meat!). Very satiated but tempted by the desserts, we finished by sharing a half dozen madeleines (again, more than enough food) and fresh mint tea - perfect! The madeleines were hot out of the oven and absolutely scrumptious. Our total bill with a glass of wine and a beer, plus tip: 63.75 for two people - quite good value for such a high-quality dinner.

If I had to offer one comment, some music would have contributed to a nicer atmosphere, particulary as the dining room filled up and grew loud with conversation.
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Emily King
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

I'm sorry to say that based on our experience this is certainly a case of 'The Emperor's New Clothes'.

Bland Food, arrogant staff, extremely slow service, tiny portions and a huge bill.

Having visited on a recommendation from a friend who had visited a while ago we were appalled by the attitude of the staff, the quality of the food and the Gall to charge those prices.

Never Again
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DE
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Saturday, August 25, 2007

A positive experience - interesting food, simple but perfectly done, at a price. Waiting staff were attentive and knowledgeable and were fine when we asked to move tables.

One sour note, which did risk putting a dampener on the whole evening was the rather rude attitude of the maitre d' who enforced the restaurant's perfectly acceptable "no mobile (or as they somewhat pretensiously call it 'portable') phone policy" with something of a 'telling off' for my girlfriend almost as soon as we walked in (and thus had not seen the phone policy on the menu).

Overall an enjoyable evening, good food, a fair price and a place that clearly fancies itself a bit.
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John S
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Friday, August 24, 2007

Went mid evening on Monday night.. Very excited but slightly apprehensive due to the mixed reviews on here. Met by an extremely friendly and personable Maitre d' and led straight to our table. Waiter attended instantaniously and our wine was presented promptly. My starter of skate, chicory and anchovy was well balanced with the delightfully cruchy chicory adding welcome texture to the soft fish pieces. My partners' roast bone marrow with parsley salad served with thin slices of brown toast was a taste sensation not to be missed! For mains I attacked the calfs liver & bacon served with a hugh portion welsh rarebit as a side. The liver was huge and tender cominded with the thick rashers of tasty bacon produced an earthy taste with out bringing back the irony flavour I was traumatised with as child being force fed liver and onions. The lemon sole my partner ordered was everything a lemon sole should be, simple fresh and cooked to perfection. After waiting for slightly too long (not to complain though), our plates were cleared. We polished off our bottle of good value Coteaux D'Aix en Provence requested our bill from our attentive yet in no way over bareing waiter paid and left feeling wholly satisfied with our first St John experiance. A culinary delight indeed. Don't miss out
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Alex Wrigley
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Had a very disappointing meal here on Friday night. Myself and my brother were sat down right on top of another couple. I do understand a no cell phones policy given a quiet, intimate setting, but St. Johns is anything but that - in fact the most attention we received was when I answered a call (phone on vibrate anyway!) for about 2 seconds - front of house was there to enforce the rules. Fair enough.

The food was distinctly bland - the starter of terrine was more fat than anything else, and my main of lemon sole was bereft of any lemon (other than the half lemon plonked on top of the fish) - almost completely flavourless. Considering that there are no sides provided with the mains (which come in at £16 - £19 a plate) this place is certainly not cheap at all, and certainly not value for money. The desserts were the most substantial offerings and were not bad.

Overall a very average eating experience and one that certainly will not be repeated.
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Leon Janeke
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Monday, June 11, 2007

I ate here for the first time last week and was very impressed. I had the bone marrow starter (very messy but delicious and nicely complemeted by the parsley salad), guinea fowl with aioli and potatoes (the bird and potatoes were perfectly cooked and the aioli packed a hefty garlic punch), followed by the Eccles cake and cheese. The cake was a little on the dry side and slightly too sweet for me, but the Lancashire cheese was a delight and cut the sweetness of teh cake admirably.

The service was excellent - my waiter was polite, helpful and recommended a Beaujolais for the meal and a Spanish dessert wine which were both excellent. Another server heplfully talked me through how to attack the bone marrow. I'm sure the fact that I was eating alone helped, but I felt I received very prompt attention without ever feeling rushed. Fergus Henderson was entertaining seven friends at a nearby table, so this may have had the staff on their toes too. All in all an excellent meal, and I will definitely be back.
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Andy Groves
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Saturday, June 09, 2007

i dont know where all these bad reviews are coming from! I went to St. John a few days ago and had one of the best meals I have had in a long time. I think the feasting menu that they do for larger paries is such a great idea and such value for money. the service was excellent and what a great atmosphere! they will definalty be seeing more of me!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, May 04, 2007

We went to this restaurant for our friend's birthday recently and we were thoroughly disappointed with:

1) the food - it was vulgar, tasteless and basic.

2) the service - it was neglectfully poor and rude and they still charged a 12.5 per cent tip!!

3) the price - we paid about £55 per person ( we were a group of 14 with a set menu) - total rip-off.

If this was cutting edge four years ago, the knife is certainly blunted now!!

The only positives were the wine and a chocolate cake desert ( which we all paid for quite expensively) - I still would have expected a decent wine and dessert from any restaurant competing in today's market for a cheaper price!

Overall, if this restaurant want's to continue to compete at the top level, it will have to up its game, considerably....I hope it does!
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Thursday, April 26, 2007