Baltic

I love this restaurant. And although its right at the other side of london from where I live, I quite happily make the journey there for the great food. (parking is usually ok nearby)

The atmosphere is great, they always have a very subtle live musician or band playing, and the bar at the front is great to relax in for a pre-dinner drink.

The main restaurant is open-plan, with a fresh, clean feel, and although its one big room , the place still feels quite intimate mainly due to the subdued lighting.

The biggest downside is that sometimes the service can be a bit poor depending on the particualr waitress or waiter you get, but I usually find if you are polite and friendly with them they will reciprocate. I find the staff make excellent recommendations, and I've been here a number of times with freinds and collegues from poland and the ukraine etc and they say the food is some of the best in london.

The drinks are excellent, great bloody mary's and good choice of wines, but this place is not cheap but its worth it
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Ronan Falsey
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Monday, August 25, 2008

This is possibly the worst service I have ever had in London.

The food was fine, although as with haute British food one can only do so much with Eastern European cuisine - both were designed mainly to get underfed peasants through the winter months, and you have to be in the mood for a huge load of carbs.

But on a busy night a month ago, I was sitting there with 12 friends and it took 45 minutes for our orders to be taken. When we made a pointed statement to our waiter about how long we had waited, he rolled his eyes, put on a look that said we were troublesome children who had better behave, then he slammed our water carafe on the table and walked away in a huff - without saying a word. Many of us broke into laughter at the sheer unprofessionalism of his attitude. Soon another waiter took pity on us and took our orders but he was clearly overstressed himself, although he put a smile on.

After two and a half hours, I felt like I had been cheated of time and money. It was overpriced for what it was, and if not for some funny stories over dinner about how piss-poor service can be in London, it would have been a complete waste of an evening.
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Will
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Thursday, June 26, 2008

The food seemed generally fine, although another example of East-European themed restaurants curiously managing to persuade gullible Londoners to pay handsomely for what would normally cost pennies in the native country (herring etc). However, due to the irritating habit of the waiter constantly re-filling wine glasses and more annoyingly, removing half-empty water bottles, combined with the drinks (and water) charges being horrendous meant an otherwise reasonable party left several people angered, particularly the hosts, who graciously stumped up the excess (the water bill alone came to over £100).

My advice is to not bother with Baltic, but if you must, insist on tap water and pour the drinks yourself - then you might stand a chance of enjoying it.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Monday, June 02, 2008

BEHIND A pretty Georgian façade, Baltic extends. A long vodka bar opens onto a wider platform, where Eastern European jazz bands regularly perform. This is flanked by an Alizarin coloured brick wall, under a fibre optic amber mobile. The journey finishes in a large sunken square: white walls, black floor, flooded from skylights forty feet up.

I have been wanting to eat in this former coachbuilders since spotting it en-route to an interview in nearby Valentine Place a few years ago. I was interested in working with Optomen at the time, the pixellating force behind the ‘F-Word’.

This unusually chic Eastern European restaurant is the brainchild of Jan Woroniecki, restaurateur behind Wodka and most recently Chez Kristoff. It is an impressive, if aloof space.

At £17.50, the set Sunday menu, available all day, offers the best value. Three courses and a Bloody Mary or Bellini. Our waitress, who is either shy or a little bored, arrives with a pot of beetroot ‘caviar’ spiced with horseradish and a dish of tangy, but not vinegary pickles. She offers obviously fresh bread from what must be one of the most beautifully presented selections in the capital. I opt for Baltic black: sturdy, chewy, with moist, almost caramelised crusts. Unfortunately no side plates ensure a fair amount of mess. But maybe this is Workoniecki’s way of saying it’s okay to cut loose on the crusts, “relax”.

A la Carte, I choose a small Blini of Keta Salmon Caviar (aka ‘dog’ salmon) for £9. The small bright orange marbles are inappropriately served with a lemon wedge. I enjoy spooning little pots of ground boiled egg, crisp onion and fluffy sour cream onto the soft pancakes.

Stepping back onto the set menu, I eagerly scoop my vibrantly fresh Salmon Tartar, crowned with more Keta and dusted with dill. My Polish companion likes her monochrome marinated Artichoke, Broad Bean and Rocket salad.

My lamb meatballs with meaty, glossy cherry sauce are pressed into a mash concealing occasionally gristly porky cubes. Nourishing and heartily against the minimalistic surroundings.

Pan Fried Pollock beached on whole chicory leaves, infested with pomegranate seeds which look like poisonous beetles, is designed more for the eye then the palate. The bitter endive and sweet seeds fight. A dramatic oily onslaught had been applied in an attempt to bind everything together. A serious miss.

Lusciously ripe Mango Sorbet topped with a faworek (pastry ribbon) and coffee-chocolate scented Pistachio Ice Cream revived the spirits.

The loos are amongst the darkest I have ever seen and confusingly arranged. Infra red probably wouldn’t help. Tables are too close (although the place is not exactly heaving). Office fabric grey chairs are beginning to wear. The room needs colour, even if only from some flowers on tables. Service lacks warmth. Many people who walk through the door, along the dark corridor, and into this blank canvas will be trying Eastern European food for the first time.

Obliging staff, prepared to lead new customers through the culinary window of their world, would leave a lasting impression.
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Douglas Nicholas Austen Blyed
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Saturday, May 24, 2008

I have been going to this restaurant for 5 years and have always enjoyed the food and service... that is until earlier this week and after this experience I shall never set foot in the place again.

The service was shocking, it was plain rude. The people working ignored us when we called them over, literally threw the plates down in front of us, and seemed to be much more interested in each other than the customers. They had no knowledge about the menu and demanded to know why when we asked to sample one of the wines?! ( that was served by the glass) The food is certainly not up to the standards it used to be, and with staff like that this restaurant does not deserve your custom! Do yourself a favour and go somewhere decent!
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Sabie
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, May 08, 2008

Last week, four of us ate lunch at the Baltic - my favourite place to eat in London.

There is a new buzz about the place with very welcoming and friendly staff, spotless linen and excellent service.

The new management are certainly on the ball.

The food is as superb as ever, from the start of the meal with a selection of breads, fresh and generous, served with pots of butter, beetroot relish and pickles, through the delicious starters and mains to desserts which are just a delight.

Of course, cocktails are obligatoire and the vodka is smooth and sublime.

I know of no other restaurant that is consistantly excellent in its unique cuisine and comfort.
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Mrs. Irene Smith
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, February 28, 2008

We ate at at Baltic tonight and to say that we were disappointed was an understatement. The rump of lamb was so tough and had to be wrestled with on the plate and was served with an amorphous mass of aubergine puree. My partners chicken was little better. We looked forward to a desert of creme brulee with marinated cherries in vodka - on arrival there was not a cherry in sight in the ramekin.

The lighting is incredibly dim and we had to hold the tealights on the table over our dishes to see what we were eating! The staff were most unreceptive to feedback and we were asked to pay 12% service charge! Overall a most disappointing and unmemorable experience and we will definately not return.
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Ann Watts
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Friday, February 22, 2008

The food is as good as ever - freshly cooked, generous and delicious.

Every meal I have eaten here has been a delight.

The Dill Vodka shots are a perfect digestif after a satisfying and leisurely lunch!
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Mrs. Irene Smith
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, February 02, 2008

I have been a regular at the Baltic for more than 5 years and have been one of its keenest advocates. But in the past two or three months, something has changed. On the first visit before Christmas,I put it down to a one off bad night but it now transpires that the management has changed completely and apparently all the wonderful friendly staff that used to populate the restaurant have gone with them.

Bookings now have to be made cap in hand and I was told for my last visit that I had two choices of times, 7.00 and 9.00 as they have two sittings. When we arrived at 7.10, we were told that our table was probably gone "but they would see what they could do". When I suggested we had a drink at the bar whilst they sorted it out, I was told that we had to wait at the reception desk otherwise we wouldn't be seated at all.

The ordering of pre-dinner drinks when we got to our table was chaotic and we ended up with more drinks than people but the waiter would not take them back because he insisted that is what we ordered.

What was once wonderful food is now very average. The foie gras which historically has been the jewel in the crown for the Baltic came as a shrivelled burnt offering (despite having asked for it pink) and the main courses would not have been out of place in a works canteen.

Service was inconsistent, with main courses arriving for two of our guests and then a five minute interval before the other two mains arrived.

Incidentally, the two sittings policy doesn't seem to be implemented very well and there were a number of vacant tables throughout the evening. I suspect the inevitable decline has begun.
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Ridgerunner - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Monday, January 21, 2008

Have been going to Baltic since it opened several years ago - I love it - the food, the space, the ambience. Unfortunately the last time we went, taking American friends, although the food was as good as ever, the service was pretty awful, confirming the views of other recent reviewers. It was just a stream of incompetence - being asked by three different people about eight times if we were ready to order, wine brought before cocktails, which arrived after our starters, main courses appearing from kitchen before starters had been cleared, side order forgotten, and several other errors. The staff were charming on the whole but they didn't get it right. And no, the restaurant wasn't that busy.

I wouldn't be placing this comment if Baltic had bothered to respond to the email I sent to them directly, by the way.
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Lizzie
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, January 16, 2008