Coq d'Argent

I have been going to this place for many years, and unfortunately of late, it has just gone down-hill in a big way.

The venue is great, but the staff (most of which struggle with English) are rude and arrogant, to say the least. You will generally wait an eternity for your meal (or a drink), and it is definitely not worth either the wait nor the price! It is an absolute rip-off.

Also watch, if you go for lunch, they have a brasserie section - which actually provides good food at a semi-reasonable price - but they only have minimal tables in the 'brasserie section'. They will push you into the restaurant where it is all much more expensive, and simply just not worth it.

Had lunch up there today. We booked the 'brasserie' but they said they only had a table in the 'restaurant section'. Waited forever for our meal, and when my pork arrived, the piece of meat was no bigger than my thumb. For £24, this was just a wasteof my time and money. I was left getting a Pret sandwich on my way back to the office (after having been at Coq for some 2 hours waiting around for food). My friend ordered the steak for £25 and it was about the size of 2 thumbs, but whilst it was ordered as 'medium-well' it came out raw. Having waited so long, he ate half of it and joined me for a sandwich afterwards.

This place is fast becoming a joke. If it wasn't for the great venue, it would have gone bust like many other City eateries!
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Peter James
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Friday, July 09, 2010

I thoroughly loved the food (my risotto was fantastic and well cooked). But the waiters were odd, one was very nice bordering on flirtatious (something I don't like), the others looked miserable. The fact that all of them seemed so made me wonder what the management must be like.

It was full and I asked myself if there's really a recession if people can afford to pay for so much money.
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Cinnamon Cherry
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Thursday, May 27, 2010

I only tend to write reviews for restaurants that are exceptionally good, or great value for money, or exceptionally bad, and terrible value for money. Unfortunately in the case of Coq D’argent, it was the latter.

There were positives…we had a table for four booked to celebrate my mothers Birthday on a warm Tuesday evening, early summer. I was really impressed with the layout, the roof top garden is a fantastic location with brilliant views over the city, and a good crowd too which made for a decent atmosphere. I’d certainly recommend for post work / special occasion drinks, if you can stomach the price of the drinks, which are pretty extortionate (but I guess that’s what you pay for in the centre of London). Up until we sat down, staff were great, the lady on reception remembered our names and came and found us in the garden when the table was ready, and bar staff had been fast and efficient too.

However, once we sat at the table, everything went downhill. We were sat next to the kitchen door, which wouldn’t normally be a problem, but its also where they store all the tables wines, so there were always 4-5 waiters standing over us, queuing to get past my chair in single file, trying to be subtle but failing miserably. Our personal table waiter seemed to have a slight attitude, and not much of a clue when it came to the food menu.

We waited about 45 minutes to have our food order taken, and they took the wine order after this, so we didn’t even have drinks in this time, but once it came the wine was very nice. All four of us had three courses, and the meal cost £310, including service and two bottles of wine, so £77.50 per person.

The starters arrived an hour and twenty minutes after we sat down, by which point I was absolutely starving having only been offered a singular piece of cold bread. I started with ballotine of chicken with spring vegetables and a mild garlic puree. Flavour wise this was actually quite nice, and well seasoned. Temperature wise it was a shambles (you may call that picky, but it’s a pretty standard consideration in a modern restaurant when you are paying these prices), the chicken was cold, the plate was cold, the puree was cold, the sauce was warm…which gave the whole dish that slightly above room temperature feel, which just isn’t right. The portion was also miniscule, and did nothing to satisfy the impending sense of starvation!

Next (two hours ten minutes after sitting down) came rack of lamb, with confit lamb shoulder and warm spring vegetables with a goats cheese and rosemary sauce. When they say rack of lamb, they mean one cutlet from a rack of lamb, as the cutlet is singular, its not a rack, and again the portion size of the dish was verging on the ridiculously small. You need sides…which low and behold cost £5-£7 for a tiny bowl of green beans etc, quite outrageous really, and must represent a mark-up of about 4000%. I know a lot of restaurants do this, but it takes the cost of a main course to over £30, and it was tiny. Temperature wise, again pretty much all “just about warm”, the confit itself being cold in the middle and had clearly been inadequately reheated. A main course should be HOT, piping hot, this was pretty much cold. Seasoning wise again quite good, but just let down by the temperatures, size, and offensively overpriced side dishes.

At this point I did feel a little let down, so I examined what was going on. When food is brought out from the kitchen it is placed on a central reservation in the middle of the dining room. It then sits there for a few minutes while they work out who it is for, and eventually it gets brought over to your table. As I previously mentioned we were sat by the kitchen door, so this step was completely unnecessary, and I think this poor organisation is why all the food gets cold. It’s the service more than the kitchen most probably.

For desert, the chocolate marquise with pistachio ice cream, which was definitely the best course, mainly because it was meant to be served cold so they couldn’t really go wrong with that! It was nice actually, I’ll give them that, but by this point we were 3 hours into a pretty shoddy three course meal, and so it did little to lift the disappointment we felt.

Coffees ensued at a predictably slow pace, and we finally settled the bill and left after 3 and a half hours. If the food / service lived up to the price and the time, I’d have no problem waiting or paying for it, but sadly it didn’t come close. Dining should be an experience, you should get to take your time over it, but shoddy mistakes with cold food and lacklustre service are letting the whole place down – it has the potential to be fantastic, but it is missing it by a mile.

I might return for drinks when I can afford to again, but not to eat. At £69 per person you can have a seven course tasting menu at places like Sat Bains in Nottingham, £65 for six courses at Maze in London, places where service and food are inventive and efficient, you don’t leave hungry, and sadly make the prices at Coq D’argent simply terrible value for money.

Go there for drinks on a nice day, but if you are looking to celebrate something special, don’t eat there!
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4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Very poor overall. Service was slow and sloppy; the food was not up to scratch for the price. We sat in the Brasserie area and had the steaks which were raw in the centre when they had been requested Medium and Medium Rare. They had been neither properly cooked or properly rested before being served.

While this place is good for drinks if you can get a place to sit in the garden I will never eat here again.
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Simon
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, May 14, 2010

Went to Coq D'Argent for your 4th Anniversary. The food was VERY ordinary, could have got better in a pub. Very disappointed, feel like I've just been robbed, practically have £150 lighter for little reward.

The only upside is that the service was good and the Champagne was cold.
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3 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Thursday, April 08, 2010

Had lunch here today. It started off alright, with interesting starters arriving very quickly. All downhill from there. Mains were ordinary and the service got slower and slower and slower. By the end I would have actually got up and walked over to the waiters to get someone's attention, had I not been with a client and boxed in against the wall. This is the second time I have been here and the second time that this has happened.
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3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, March 16, 2010

We had a big party here for our wedding and were exceptionally happy with the evening. The food was amazing, the organisation minute perfect, service was with a smile, and everyone went the extra mile. Laura their organiser is brilliant. We literally couldn't have been happier with the result.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, March 08, 2010

Visited for lunch. Totally underwhelmed. The food was mediocre and overpriced, and without the benefit of good weather and the use of the large terrace, the atmosphere was non existent. I would not waste my money eating here again. I could cook better with worse ingredients.
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Scott
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Went on Friday 18th December with a group of 6 friends. We were given the worst possible table by the door in spite of booking many weeks ago. It was one of the coldest nights and we got very chilled with the door constantly opening. Food Ok but no atmosphere and very pricey. I don't think I will go back any time soon! Terrible experience
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Luisa
3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Monday, December 21, 2009

Had a beautiful lunch today!! Thank you very much. Tuna steak was fantastic!
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, December 10, 2009