St John

The food is nothing to write home about, with very few options on the menu, and the service - oh, my, the service - it couldn't be worse! Waitress disdaining and very careless; on the top of everything, they tried to rip me off when bill came.
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Roberto German
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Saturday, June 27, 2009

I had heard a lot about this place and was very excited at the prospect. I left slightly disappointed, having expecting more.

The food was good, the bone marrow in particular an unusual dish which works well, albeit that four bones is perhaps a little too much but that cannot be a critisism of the restaurant - only my lack of stamina. The eccles cake and cheese was excellent and well worth having.

The wine was good and the wine list is decent.

The service was infuriating - just far too slow, indifferent, no apologies. They all looked like they had other days jobs and came to earn a few quid as robotic waiting staff at night.

The atmosphere is wierd - definitely not one would expect - but in that regard it makes it rather unique. That is not to say it is a great place to sit for hours on end enjoying your meal though. Quite the opposite I would say: bright lighting, slightly uncomfortable chairs, tables close together, poor accoustics, abatoir look - presumably all of which they intend given the focus on offal and cuts of meat?!
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Rick Brown
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 6
Monday, June 22, 2009

Warning, this is not a restaurant to go to if you have nothing to say to your partner and / or friends. St Johns allows for a leisurely paced dinner with a break between each course and yes, at busy times this may quite long. The food appears to be cooked to order rather than prepared in advance and kept warm. The food was delicious, although the pigeon could have been rare rather than bleu. The size of each course (plus the break between courses) enabled us to enjoy a 3 course dinner without feeling bloated when we left. The French wine list is a bit hit and miss, unless you really know your French wines. If you aren't familiar with French wines I would suggest downloading the wine list and googling the wines before you go.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

went there sunday for lunch which my girlfriend took me too cause it was my birthday and i have got to say that i was not impressed with this place. i am sure it got a michelin star in january, really dont know why.

my starter was 4 spears of asparagus boiled, not even peeled, on a plate and served with warm butter. then i had to wait 45mins for my mains which i got 2 slices of beef 5 shallots and a bit of horseradish oh and some watercress for 23 pounds. come on...when i think that i have been to better places than this and no stars. think it all comes down to politics getting given the stars out for this rubbish...
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dave a
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, May 05, 2009

After all the good things I read about St. John it seemed like the perfect place to cap a week-long holiday for a family of hedonists. Too bad we got what was pretty much the most uninspired meal of our stay. In fact, it managed to confirm the worst prejudices about English food which would seem to have long since been laid to rest b y the renaissance of regional cuisines.

To wit: roasted bone marrow is certainly a matter of personal taste, but the brown crabmeat on toast tasted fishy rather than maritime, which good crabs never should. The braised rabbit was overcooked, while its broth was perhaps the best part of the dinner - though certainly nothing an amateur couldn't easily produce at home. The pigeon was fair and of good quality, but dramatically underspiced and with a half-hearted crust. My local no-budget Italian does better quail at half the price. The side orders were devastatingly awful. Broiled cabbage, half-cooked and plain - greetings from Winston Smith - and flavorless new potatoes (there must be tasty old local varieties akin to French La Ratte or German Bamberger Hoernchen). Considering the blandness of the food, and the fact it was not mitigated by the quality of the raw materials I'm happy we didn't go for innerds.

All in all we spent 90 pounds (incl. a L 26 bottle of mediocre French red) for a dinner that would make several pub grubs I've had seem Michelin-worthy. In sum, this seems like a pretentious eatery for well-endowed professionals who couldn't tell bacon from pancetta, but feel the need for some supposedly "authentic food" to augment their shallow investment banker lives (judging from the table talk). Not suggested for serious foodies.
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Tom Clark
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Monday, March 30, 2009

Friendly service and atmosphere, unfortunately considering it's next to the largest meat market in the country the menu was limited. The option of a good steak would have been nice if you didn't fancy the marrow bones ,pigs intestines,mutton or pigeon the Friday night we visited. The bill came to £520 pounds for 8, alot of money for old offal? Poor man's food dressed up and sold at richman prices. We won't be visitng again, will leave it to the city traders who have the money to burn.
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Philip
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Saturday, March 21, 2009

This is everything that a great restaurant should be. The menu manages to combine the classiest of British comfort food (broths and roasts) with plenty of interest, fun and challenge that tempts you into trying stuff (ok, it was a squirrel broth and the pork was rolled spleen) you wouldn't normally try. And every time it's cooked to perfection so you know that your taste buds can experiment in confidence.

The service is also up there above the best. Efficient, but relaxed and helpful, and knowledgeable without ever being patronising. And they never rush you. Whenever we go it is busy and bustling, but unlike so many London restaurants that seem intent on turning you round, emptying your wallet ,and turfing you out in an hour, here they let you savour your meal, enjoy the company of your friends and unwind at your own pace. Now that's what dinner should be like.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, March 15, 2009

Very good food, nice basic and airy setting, service is attentive without being in your face and over fussy, what else do you want from a good lunch/dinner?
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Hargreaves
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, March 02, 2009

This is a yummy restaurant. I had the crab for starters which was delicious and the roasted teal with sprout tops. I then had quince jelly and Jersey cream with shortbread biscuits.

They only had five madeleines because they'd run out of ingredients because we were literally the last people eating. They usually come in an even amount - so they gave them to us free.

The staff were lovely and totally down to earth. The food was divine and I will definitely go back. We had two glasses of champagne a bottle of good red, a glass of sweet wine and coffee. It all came - with optional tip - to £150. Well worth it.
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Simon
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 20, 2009

My boyfriend surprised me with a Sunday lunch at the reputed St. John. The casual ambience was nice and staff was willing to explain the very much simplified menu. However, I guess it wouldn't be much hassle to serve the bread and butter warm?

Oysters and grilled artichoke were excellent, whereas the signature bone marrow salad was a bit too oily. We had faggot and mallard as mains (after waiting for almost an hour after our starters). The meatballs and swede mash were scrumptious! Duck was perfectly cooked and complemented well with braised chard. The recommended red went well with our dishes too. We're too full by the end of this but still tempted by the lemon sorbet with vodka. The portion was very generous - 3 big scoops of sorbet! It'd have been nicer if they are less lemony. Having ordered so much the size of the bill still looked so pleasant which was absolutely a bonus.

I'll definitely come back for their oysters and specials (the woodcock looks attractive too!).
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bunni
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, February 18, 2009