Patio

Lovely little place, like going for a meal at your grandmothers house. Atmosphere is quaint and homely, and service very friendly.

Food is not exactly gourmet but is hearty and full of flavour. The hunter stew is delicious and the perogi were also excellent. The portions are massive - you don't leave this place hungry!

Set menu for about 16 quid is pretty good value. A cracking little local place overall.
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Mr Big
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Like many of the other reviewers on this site, I first heard about Patio from a wave of exuberant critics, and also like many of the other reviewers, I had a slightly mixed experience at the restaurant.

I can't fault the service, in particular the owner who was bustling about ensuring everyone had plenty to eat and who, when we asked for a little more chocolate cake, brought it straight over without a moment's hesitation. Ok, so they probably knock it out by the truckload, but it did make us feel as though she really wanted to see us leave well fed and well pleased.

And well fed we certainly were. For starters, we had hunter stew and herring with apple salad. The stew was hearty and rich and the apple salad an excellent foil to the saltiness of the fish.

This was followed by Polish dumplings with three different fillings, all delicious, cabbage stuffed with meat and herbs, also very good and in an excellent tomato sauce, and slow cooked lamb which I wasn't keen on but my friend who ordered it was, so that was fine. Of the sides, the beetroot was good, cucumber salad and sauerkraut excellent and potatoes quite bog standard. In fact, perhaps all the food was bog standard if you live in Poland, but if you're not used to this kind of cooking then it's a real treat.

We then had a little bowl of fruit to share, some of the aforementioned chocolate cake (which was actually quite dry, but I enjoyed the spices in it), and finally cheesecake all round - which was a real disappointment. I was hoping for something creamy and perhaps slightly sour (given the proliferation of sour cream in the cooking) but this was dense, warm and very dry, and reminiscent of a stale sponge cake.

All in all though, we were more than happy with our meal - surprisingly, it was the bill that left a bitter taste. We found we'd been charged £2.40 for a few slices of bread which were whisked away before we'd even finished eating them anyway (and which were plonked down when we arrived, so I don't think it was ridiculous of us to assume they were free), £6.60 for three coffees (which we again, perhaps foolishly, assumed were included in the fixed price - and only ordered the third one after the waitress had told us that this was the case...) and £5.50 for vodka and apple juice - more than we had paid for the pre dinner cocktails we'd had at a bar in hammersmith.

While I don't deny that Patio is fantastic value for money, it really annoys me when restaurants add on little excess charges and when they don't make it clear what's included in the price and what isn't. I would happily go back there, but perhaps remaining slightly more aware that it is in fact a business and not your grandma's dining room as the atmosphere slightly misleads you to believe.
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Emily
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Sunday, March 16, 2008

Nice cosy place and friendly place. Food, however, is poor!
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nakedlunch - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Monday, March 10, 2008

We were drawn to this place by a very favourable review that indicated among other things that the place was constantly half full.

We arrived to find that it was pretty much full upstairs and our booking was honoured by offering us a table on the landing at the top of the stairs. Refusal was met with a sigh and a conversation among the staff in Polish - frankly rude of them. Since we weren't going to sit on the staircase they found us a nice enough table downstairs.

The service was abrupt and indifferent to the point of negligence. I couldn't be bothered to ask for bread more than once and when our Lech beers were replaced by zywiec we decided to ignore it. Starters of barszcz (red) and a potato pancake were ok - pancake was flabby the barszcz was just warm but both were tasty.

My main course of duck a la polonaise was edible but barely eatable: a badly carved hind quarter of duck cooked to falling off the boneness (which is fine...) and covered in a half jar of apricot jam. It was tooth achingly sweet. My co-diner's rabbit looked and tasted better and it lived up to the disturbingly vague explanation by our waitress that "polish style" meant "in some kind of cream sauce". Of the sides the cold pickled red cabbage was ok, the saute potatoes were uneven and the other dish - I think it was kraut it looked and tasted like bigos with the meat removed - was at least savoury.

This place will survive because people can have a jolly time and it's cheap. But the food is just not adequate and the service is neither professional nor attentive. I would gladly pay a fiver more per head and get a better quality meal.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, March 04, 2008

I had heard so may good things about patio from friends and from reviews and had really looked forward to going there. I have never been so disappointed.

The service was really unpleasant. The first waitress was rude and unhelpful. When we asked her for a minute to decide she ignored us for about fifteen. She answered questions with mumbles while maintaining a strict no smiling, no eye contact stance. The second waitress fogot things we ordered and at the end of the meal counted the money in front of us and accused us of underpaying even though we had added fifteen percent service (I have no idea why!)

Having heard about the great portions on the set menu, we were greeted with measly bits of cabanos (sausages) that looked and tasted like fried pepperami sticks and potato pancakes turned out to be one chewy potato pancake. The main courses were better but the dessert of several small pieces of hot dry cheesecake left the meal on a pretty sour note.

I simply cant understand why this place has had so many good reviews.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Monday, February 25, 2008

I visited 'Patio' yesterday, clean, cosy Polish restaurant off Shepherd's Bush Green. Piano, plants, real flowers, piped Slavic hits and pretty side plates. Complimentary vodka of your choice (I had Bison Grass) within the three course £15.75 menu, whisked to and from paper-clothed tables. Excellent potato pancakes, pert cheesecake, a reasonable wine list (although only generics are given, e.g. 'Crozes-Hermitage', rather than producer and vintage) And something about Liebfraumilch...? Also, stressfully terse service, Tetris-crammed tables; one couple perched atop (psychologically) loo view steps. Embarrassing. A place so beloved of critics that they would even (deep breath) spend their 'own money' there [Fay Maschler]. But basic points need resolving along with broad strokes from the paint pot of charm. But overall, I liked it.
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Douglas
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, February 18, 2008

The Patio is a fantastic place

Took Friend there today New Years Eve, for her Birthday. Our Menu included Red Borsch with meat dumplings,Herrings with sour sream ,Polish Ham -as Starters

Followed by-- Duck ala Polanaise, Lamb polish style. & Beef stroganoff.

Followed by fresh fruit & chocs. Then selection of desserts, & even a slice of cake with candle for our friend. Also FREE tot of Vodka each.

Our friend is Czech:, & has worked in London for over 20yrs,& said she has never enjoyed a meal as much.

So please try this wonderful place. Good atmosphere,Fantastic food & very well priced. 3course Menu( with lots of choices ) just over £ 15..
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margaret cranch
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Fantastic place!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, December 08, 2007

We had lunch here yesterday and I have to say we were very happy although quite shocked to find that such a great place was virtually empty. We walked past in the evening and it was busy.

The food was fantastic with good sized helpings. We started with the borcht and smoked salmon with blini which were both very tasty. Then we went on to the lamb and the pork schnitzel which were also delicious. Then a couple of vodkas followed by cheesecake and pancakes. We were well and truly stuffed!

The service was impeccable and it was great value for money coming in at £50 with a bottle of wine.

Really, really impressed and would definitely go again.

If you do go, try the cheesecake, it was to die for!
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Rachael
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, November 09, 2007

Found this place by looking at reviews online and glad I did so.

The food was delicious, we had the 3 course set menu. My husband had borcht to start and I had the smoked salmon and blini both of which were very tasty and well sized. Next my husband had the lamb while I had the pork shnitzel, again both were well cooked and good sized portions. To finish we had the cheesecake and pancakes, yum!! The cheesecake especially was to die for.

The service was faultless, the reception excellent and the vodkas,wow!

Overall I would have to say that, if you're looking for a very satisfying meal, this is the place for you and it's great value for money too.
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Rachael Seager
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, November 09, 2007