Searcy's at The Barbican

Lunch for 4 with wine £ not too bad at all! We spent a few hours in all, and had a great time.

The bread was fresh..and yes we asked was it made in house? It was..Scrummy

I had some scallops, followed by Halibut..Heavenly all for just £24 odd set menu.

The view is cool, considering it looks like a concrete jungle on the way in...Lovely view of a lake and ducks flying around...Surreal for a london restaurant.

Worth a shot.
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Franchesco
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, February 08, 2010

This was my second visit to Searcy's in the elegant, modern surroundings of the Barbican, with the generous view from its large windows. In this review, oddly, I have little to say about the food, as I thought the standard was pleasing. (I did, however, find the size of the cod main course a bit on the small side.)

What I will comment on is the service, which sadly did not reflect the careful standard of the cuisine. Most of the problem, I think, were minor errors, but there were quite a few of them, and their effect builds up. In general the experience was fair, but I believe serious restaurants do benefit from genuine feedback.

One of our party had withdrawn so there was one place setting left. In all restaurants I have hitherto dined in, unused places are immediately cleared away. Ours was left there redundant until the plates from the main course were taken.

The first bottle of wine arrived, and was tasted, but the waiter promptly filled up the taster’s glass first, instead of filling it last. A classic mistake. When the second bottle came (the same variety as the first), the waitress (for there was no specific wine waiter) merely topped up each person’s glass, foregoing the opportunity to taste it. Hmm.

Plates were not cleared away until all had finished, fortunately, but what happened to serve from the left, clear from the right? It was done in a rather haphazard fashion.

I think some revision of the basic essentials from the Maitre d’ is called for to these young international waiters and waitresses. What is the point of enjoying such good food when the service lacks?
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Mark B
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Thursday, October 15, 2009