Rules

I'm not sure how Rules has recieved the bad reviews listed below. I went for my 25th birthday last night and thought it was great! Service was impeccible, the food was quality traditional fare and I liked the atmosphere. If you want something a bit trendy, this isn't the place for you, but if you love great British cooking, proper service and historic surroundings I'd recommenr Rules. And though I feared it may be over-run by tourists, I noted that most of the customers were English, and probably regulars.

Prices aren't cheap, but I think they are good value.
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Peter, Fitzrovia - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, February 10, 2007

I am sorry but certainly Rules wasn't the restaurant for me, at the age of 29 I felt far too young for the premises, a Wednesday dinner to forget.
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Jenny Lynn
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Food is pretty good but service is very poor - from waiting 30 mins for our pre-booked table, having to ask twice for drinks before the meal and general overall lack of service by staff makes this place a let down.

The manager (little man with facial growth leads seems to install this lack of customer focus from the top)
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, January 16, 2007

We dined on Tuesday 19 December 2006 and 1/4 way through our dinner, the waiter either quit or was sacked, but no one bothered to let us know. We were there an hour before we flagged the manager, who came up with a flimsy excuse as to why the waiter left. Anyway, we were going to the theatre on the other side of London and the staff bungled every order, stalled and we were late leaving. To top it off, they included a service charge on the bill!!

The food wasn't anything to speak of. Over priced and from frozen.

Skip Rules. It isn't worth the frustration.

One morw thing about the waiter, before he "left" he was noticably irritated and very rude.

We will NOT be going back.
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J Fry
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Monday, December 25, 2006

A massive let down. Went for my 19th birthday with my parents and was expecting old fashioned high quality Britsh food. The setting is nice and gives the feel of a high society dining experience however the food was poor and overcooked. The menu was poor. I wanted to like it... but the food let it down massively.
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Tom
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Thursday, November 30, 2006

I recently took our in-laws (who live overseas) to Rules for dinner. They were super impressed by the decor and the quality of the food. I definately isn't a michelan restaurant, but we didnt expect that. What was unexpected was the service, it was extremely attentive and made the overall experience wonderful.

The food was thoughtful and included some lovely organic and very british foods. We'll go back to Rules for sure!
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 02, 2006

I have dined at Rules a number of times and found that the service and standard varies

The biggest fault is the seating layout which in my opinion is poor and sometimes cramped

On my last visit after visiting the opera house we were given a poor table in spite of the fact that I had requested a good table, when the food was recieved it was average my partner later informed me that her food was salty.

Unfortunatly for Rules there are far better restaurants which offer better value for money

I will not be going back
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Andrew Deeks
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, September 25, 2006

Not great. The oysters had some kind of weird milky stuff on them. The risotto was a bit cloying. Pudding was excellent, but then again so is microwave sticky toffee pudding. It's well overpriced -Gordon Ramsay at Claridges is £25 for lunch, and you know you are getting something special. The restaurant has the feel of a gentleman's club, but the food matches it- English nursery food. Fair enough if that' what people want, but £20 per course? Come off it.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Monday, September 18, 2006

Unfortunately I found Rules a big disappointment.

The décor was plush and atmospheric, but the table we were seated at was cramped, with my wife and I sitting next to each other awkwardly facing outwards.

The food was very ordinary, lacking in imagination (which some may argue is the point of a classic restaurant) and certainly not worth the price.

What really irked me about the whole experience was the appalling service we received, with the inattentive young waiter spending more time flirting with a table of middle aged women than attending to any of the tables around him.

I will not be going back.
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Simon - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2
Friday, September 01, 2006

This is a fabulous restaurant and London institution. The food is great and the service excellent. I also really like the fact that it is open all day and so can avoid the rush by having a late lunch.
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Alex
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Thursday, August 17, 2006