The Ritz

Last night I dined with my huband and son at the Ritz for their pre-theatre dining offer. I have to say that that we were very disappointed with the quality of service we received from the hotel and in particular the staff in the main restaurant. Firstly, we arrived 10mins early, and were told by the restaurant staff to wait in the bar. However, we were then refused entry into the bar (much to our embarrassment) as our son was under 14. We wouldn't have minded if their policy on age restriction had been made clear when I phoned the hotel to book the restaurant and specifically asked if young children were welcome (and I was told they were). Following this, we went through to the restaurant and had our starters and main courses which I have to admit were very nice but not outstanding. However, the sweet (a souffle) didn't arrive for another 45mins after the main course, even though the waiter asked me to order this in advance as he said it took 20mins to cook. The souffle eventually arrived 10mins before our show was about to begin, and a waiter knocked over my drink as he was placing it on the table, and then laughed! To add insult to injury the souffle was undercooked! We were not offered apologies or replacement drinks and I felt that our custom was not deemed important as we were dining on a special rate. The food and the level of service in this hotel is totally overrated and we will most definately not be returning!!
Comment on this reader review

Julie
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, April 03, 2008

It was a few weeks now since I dined at this place and as my memory is poor at the best of times I will not try and remember every little detail in terms of what I ate.

What I will say, however, is that I thoroughly enjoyed the food and would recommend this place. Yes, it is very expensive and for the food alone, perhaps not worth the money. Having said that my starter - duck egg and fois gras - was superb. So was my main course - sea bass and snails.

Service was a delight as were the surroundings.

A few people have criticised The Ritz, but I can only say good things. Perhaps I got lucky.
Comment on this reader review

nakedlunch - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Sunday, March 09, 2008

Been here before and it was great, but lately gone downhill in my studied opinion. The sandwiches were reasonable and the coffee quite bland. The only thing that saved it this time was the hilarious antics of the head waiter. unintentional would be our word to describe the scenario!..
Comment on this reader review

Yummeemummy
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

I had high expectation, as one would from The Ritz and I was disappointed. So, if you don’t go with any expectation, you will probably think it is fantastic. I have recently had some really great meals at hotel restaurants – The Grill at Dorchester and Theo Randall at Inter-continental. When you compare the prices you have to pay at The Ritz and what you get, you are better off going elsewhere. I went for Sunday lunch. Don’t get me wrong, the dining room is breathtaking. You feel like you walked into the dining room of some grand mansion. It was lovely, bright and very ornate. The best part was the pianist with soft flowing music in the background. Where The Ritz fell short was in the lack of warmth of its service staff and the lack of flair in its food. From the moment that I was told that I could check my coat in at the cloakroom (this is something that the reception staff should do), to being ignored twice when I requested something, to having to flag down waiters for seconds of the bread, there was just something missing on the service front. Even though there was ample service staff, they weren’t attentive and seemed more interested in doing other things than paying attention to the customer’s needs. The sauté scalloped that I had as an appetiser tasted slightly overcooked. Compared to The Grill at the Dorchester, the roast beef was not nearly as nice. All during lunch, I felt rushed. Before the bottle of wine was even finished, dessert was already delivered to the table. Overall, if you want a beautiful meal, there are a lot more other choices in London. Give this one a miss unless you are desperate to see the dining room and to say that you’ve been to The Ritz!
Comment on this reader review

T. Lam
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 6
Monday, February 18, 2008

My mother and I received gift vouches to have afternoon tea at The Ritz.

We went to the Sunday sitting at 5.30pm and we actually had to book this 3 months in advance to get the date and time we wanted.

We arrived at 5pm and were shown to the cloke room and then our table .

The setting was beautiful and the staff very attentive it was like going back in time and how tea rooms were in England when I was a little girl in the 60s.

The sandwiches and cakes arrived first and although very nice there was nothing very special about the selection , quite bland and boaring , All tables had the same choice, chicken, ham , egg mayo, cheese and chive and smoked salmon. The cakes were small and dainty , However, the scons and jam with clotted cream which they served were wonderful.

They came round quite a few times with more sandwiches and tea.

We tried a few different teas and coffee and I think it was the worse tea and coffee I have ever tasted.

We were there for 2 hours , the atmosphere was very calming and everyone seemed very relaxed.

I was very glad we did not have to pay the £37.00 per head bill as I dont think it was worth any more than £7.00 per person, but its the experience you pay for I guess .

You were not allowed to take any photos in the hotel or in the Palm court but I did see a few diners taking some sneeky ones,

All in all a nice experience but not one Id repeat too oftern
Comment on this reader review

jacquie
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Monday, February 11, 2008

Very good!
Comment on this reader review

Mr Me
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, February 06, 2008

We received a wedding present of pre theatre dinner for 2 at the Ritz. We went on Saturday evening and arrived at about 2 minutes to 6 and were told that the Restaurant was closed until 6. We weren't given any guidance about where to go to wait, so we wandered off. We then went through to the dining room and were shown to our table. The dining room was gorgeous, however I wisht the same could be said about the food, it was bland and borning and very very dated. We ate off the set menu provided for the pre theater diners. I didn't expect to see Chicken Supreme on the menu, but there it was. It was perfectly edible, but bland, borning and porely presented, and for desert, pannacotta with fruit salad harldy world beating quisine! To top it off the staff were impolite and tried to rush us though as quickly as possible. We were not led to feel welcome at all. If i were to go to the Ritz again i'd just go to the bar where they were pleased to see you!
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Monday, February 04, 2008

I took my mother and daughter to The Ritz afternoon tea last week. Before tea we had a drink in the Rivoli Bar where the service was exceptional, although drinks were a little overpriced. Tea in the Palm Court was also beyond our expectations, always asking if you had enough tea, sandwiches etc. As a little extra treat from my husband he had also booked us into a suite. This added to our experience, and I expected something out of this world, but even this was so much more. All of this I would totally recommend.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, January 28, 2008

Went with two girlfriends for tea as our very late Christmas get together. The whole experience was very genteel and like stepping back in time. Attentive waiters in starched and braided uniforms with a harpist playing background music. Sandwiches whilst not exactly inspiring were fresh and delicious and the service was very efficient with regular offerings of more sandwiches, scones and pots of tea. This really was an experience that did live up to expectations.
Comment on this reader review

Yummymummy - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, January 20, 2008

I took my friend to the ritz for a pre theatre dinner at the ritz recently and had mixed feelings about it. The service was undoubtedly excellent. Although not particularly friendly, they were always there on hand to provide anything you wanted, The food on the other hand was disappointingly plain. Nothing really struck me as exceptional and I've had better meals at a local pub restaurant. The surroundings and setting were second to none - enough to make anyone feel a bit special, although ours were spoiled slightly by a trigger happy tv style pensioner "HELLO, YES IM IN THE RITZ RESTAURANT - ITS VERY EXCLUSIVE - YOU'RE EMBARASSING ME - YES I'LL TRANSFER SOME MONEY - OK BYE!!!!!" The wine and champagne we had was outstanding (although you would expect that considering how much it cost. All in all an excellent experience but the food didn't justify the name.
Comment on this reader review

Chris Burge
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, October 31, 2007