The Clerkenwell Dining Room and Bar

What a way to celebrate one's youth as a bachelor, and the forecoming life as a gentleman and husband! My friends and I had a splendid meal with champagne, wine, coffee and port. The selection of food was a delight with all 14 of us able to deliberate over many a dish. I had salmon which was perfectly textured with great taste. The presentation of the food, and the kindness of waiting staff made the whole occasion very special indeed. Expensive restaurant, but worth every pound!
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David
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, March 12, 2007

the food is good, but nothing out of this world. quite average in reality especially keeping in mind the relatively high price tag. But with top service and pleasant atmosphere the chances are you'll come away feeling good about your time there. Especially recommended if you can get yourself on the 50% off offer from London-Eating
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Simon Priest
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, March 07, 2007

We visited the restaurant for the first time at lunch time on a Monday. It was surprisingly busy but the service staff could not be any more helpful. They were attentative without being overpowering.

The food was excellent. The starter was superb and as for the main course. Out of this world. The beef was cooked to perfection and just fell apart. The dessert was lovely. The lime sorbet left you speechless due to the sharpness but that is what it should have been.

It is definitely a place to go whether there are just two of you or a crowd. The decor is calming and spacious. So all together it is now one of my favourite restaurants.
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Mel - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Thursday, February 15, 2007

What a pleasant evening we had last night at the Clerkenwell! Of course the food was extremely good, this has been reported in many reviews, but the service and the all atmosphere was equally great.
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Robert
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, November 03, 2006

We went to this restaurant last night after hearing rave reviews! Intially it was very nice, the starters of my fois gras and my partners scallops were very very nice! However it took and age to take our plates to be taken away and they brought out our mains out and they still hadn't cleared the starters yet. We had to request for our glasses to be filled with our wine at least 5 times as nobody seemed to notice. Unfortunatly they seemd under staffed and the staff that were there were grumpy and un-apologetic. What a shame because the food was great and value for money was super. It was ruined however by very very poor service!
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Natalie
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Thursday, May 04, 2006

Reading previous reviews I'd almost think we dined in the wrong restaurant last night...

. Food - I am all for being adventurous with putting ingredients, spices and flavors together but make sure that what you've invented works in a £40 a head restaurant before you make people pay for it. Our starter of seared scallops was a great disappointed - the 3 tiniest scallops were burried underneath two huge potato and onion pakoras and spinach which was not washed properly and thus grit my teeth. I was hoping that my main course of sea bass filet would make up for the starter but i was even more disappointed when two very small pieces of filet arrived overpowered by a black calamari sauce, mix of vegetables AND deep fried breaded calamari rings. It just did not taste good. The 9 veggie raviolini was my partners choice which we both thought would be a safe option to go for but things only got worse when we figured out that his dish was microwaved.

We did not take the risk of having desert but had coffee and cognac instead to ease the pain. Coffee came with two cute pieces of brownie which would have come out better if I had done them myself.

.Drink - Our choice of white wine was good but unfortuntely the bottle was not chilled so we had to send it back to the ice bucket.

.Service - The manager on duty was friendly and helpful but the two waiters working last night are definitely in the wrong job.

.Decor - Past its date and someone needs to tell them that Lillies belong to funeral homes but not restaurants. Toilets are clean but if you are any bigger than a size 10 you won't fit.

If you are planning on paying £100 for dinner for two and expect value for money, avoid this place!
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sofie
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Sunday, April 30, 2006

A very good restaurant. We went for a night out and splurged. The waitress gave us impeccable service and good advice on wine by the glass and bottle, although a muscadet might've gone better with the fish. Appetizers were wonderful and the main courses did not disappoint.
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Alex Eble
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Having dined at this excellent restaurant on a number of occasions, I feel it is my duty to comment on what can only be described as an experience worth having. Again and again I have been wowed with the fantastic food, service and most of all the value that this restaurant gives. There are all too many other establishments in London claiming to offer great food and drink at good prices but they leave you feeling ripped off and unimpressed. The Clerkenwell is the real deal! I recommend it to anyone. A fantastic all round experience at a great price.
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Jo Simmonds
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, February 02, 2006

This is a litttle late as we actually went for our meal in October 2005. However I thought that Zak and his restaurant should have a mention. My brother won an award so I decided to have a family celebratory meal at the Clerkenwelll Dining Room. Zak was so accomodationg and managed to fit us all on to our favourite round table as well as specially printing some menu cards in recognition of the event. The meal and service was excellent as usual.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Friday, January 06, 2006