Porters English Restaurant

Quite literally fell across this place after seeing Shrek last Friday night on our office 'big night out.'

We'd already had pre theatre dinner elsewhere which was equally as good as Porter's. The boss had promised cocktails afterwards and Porter's looked like a decent enough place to help him spend his money in.

Well cocktails by Mike, the rather lovely barman (mike if you ever read this I'll wager that you'll remember our oh so well behaved group) led onto feeling a bit peckish.

Our table for supper was quickly arranged and whilst most were happy with just a starter and a pudding others went for the whole lot, the lamb and apricot pie with big chips was good to excellent, steaks were brilliant and came with their own mini fryer basket of chips, nice touch.

The people looking after us did exactly that, despite the lateness of the hour and despite our best efforts Mike's number remains a secret.

The boss has said that if we hit target next month we can do it all again. And we will, see you in April Mike X
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JJ - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, March 16, 2012

A friend and I recently visited Porters for lunch. We were not disappointed!

We picked the restaurant as we had a hankering for good old English fodder, which is exactly what we got!

My Steak and Mushroom Pie was very tasty, nice chunks of steak in a rich gravy. My friend had Fish and Chips, 'proper' chips and crispy beer batter.

The service was also friendly and professional.

Thank you Porters for a lovely lunch!!!
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Saturday, February 25, 2012

Incredibly disappointing meal, especially as I was taking Chinese friends to sample English food.

Food all felt like it was factory made or pre-prepared. Nothing tasted fresh. Even the butter given for the bread was obviously just taken out of the fridge and was still hard and in a perfect, artificial shape (hard to explain).

Service was good though, and I actually quite like the interior design of the restaurant.
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Alec
5 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Thursday, February 09, 2012

Ate at Porters for our office Xmas lunch on 14 December. I never expected "haute cuisine" when catering for such large numbers but this must rank as one of the worst Xmas lunches I have ever experienced. The food generally arrived cold. the turkey was processed slices (at least that's what it looked like) of a rubbery consistency. The gravy was cold. The Xmas pudding was made of plastic and the wine was expensive. It was poor value for money. I would not eat here again.
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John
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

I visited this place last month and had a poor dining experience. The food was below average and the service was uninspiring, but given the fairly shabby appearance of the restaurant (both inside and out) I wasn't surprised.

I didn't complain at the time because you get what you pay for.
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2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Sunday, December 18, 2011

First time ever writing a review, but honestly Wetherspoons would have been better. Pasted below what I emailed to the restaurant:

"I visited your restaurant yesterday for an Xmas dinner, and whilst the service was fantastic I wanted to comment on the poor quality of the food. I opted for the traditional turkey main and:

*The vegetables were limp, lifeless and obviously cooked in bulk much earlier in the day.

*The roast potatoes were soggy, and again not fresh.

*The stuffing was completely dried out and like sawdust, plainly not made in house. If you are going to use bought-in stuffing mix at least opt for a quality brand.

*The chipolata was poor quality. Yet again not fresh.

*Red cabbage was fine.

*Turkey was fine, but I was surprised at the amount of dark meat.

*Plum pudding quite nice though spoilt by poor quality custard.

Overall the food was reminiscent of a school canteen, poor value for money, and demonstrated Porter’s unfortunate lack of regard for quality. You should encourage your kitchen staff to take more pride in their work."
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Kenny - View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Monday, December 12, 2011

Went on a busy Sat evening but we had booked so got a seat in the restuarant. We both decided to have the same things, the London Particular soup to start then the gamesmans pie and both had ice cream and coffee. It came to £55 so pretty good value. The food itself was well cooked and the service was efficent, for me it lacked something, quite what I can't put my finger on, it was quite nice plenty of it but perhaps a little uninteresting. I would not rush back but again would not avoid it. To sum it up pleasant but unexceptional.
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davel
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, October 26, 2011

We had a meal at Porters as a part of the theatre + meal deal. The theatre was great but the meal at Porters was a dreadful experience and we will definitely not be coming back! We started with the cocktails - the Frozen Lime Daiquiri was just OK but Margarita was really bad. You could not taste the alcohol - it was just ice with two slices of lime. The main was a disaster. I had fish cakes on a bed of spicy lentils. The fish cakes were tasteless, lentils badly overcooked and not spicy. My husband ordered braised beef that again was tasteless and badly presented. The staff was pleasant but we did not appreciate that the tip is automatically added to your bill and that the restaurant adds a charge for Help for Heroes charity.
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Dorota
2 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, August 24, 2011

We went last Tuesday, which is the day they have toad in the hole on the menu. OMG, how do they make the Yorkshire Pudding that big. Fabulous.
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Steph - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Sunday, January 23, 2011

We enjoyed a lovely meal at Porters recently. This time we were seated upstairs amongst other diners which created a nicer atmosphere. The staff were pleasant and attentive and we didn't have to wait too long for service. As for the food, this time my husband had the chicken and sweetcorn pie, and I had the boar sausages. Both dishes were hot, well prepared and enjoyable. For dessert we had the spotted dick and the chocolate pudding. Overall, we had a far more enjoyable experience than last time and would now be happy to recommend to friends.
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Kristina Stevens
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Sunday, January 16, 2011