North Pole Piano Restaurant

My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a meal at the North Pole Piano Restaurant last night. I had read others (somewhat mixed) reviews on here before going- I didn't want to have a disappointing evening.

Our experience was exceptional. The décor was charming, the service from our waitress was faultless, she was attentive and welcoming. The food was perfection. I didn't notice any wait for the courses. Portion sizes were perfect and well presented.

I wanted to go somewhere for the perfect meal out to celebrate a special occasion, and experience certainly did not disappoint. I would highly recommend it. I know I will be returning.
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Rebeka Carey
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, July 26, 2010

We went here on the recommendation of a friend for my wife's birthday (15 of us in party) and we were all very impressed. The decor was very nice and we especially loved the goldfish in the chandeliers. The food was well presented, served very timely and good portions. We chose the £25 3 course set menu that included a glass of champagne and thought it was very good value for money. The restaurant was packed yet the service was exemplary.

We have eaten in many restaurants in the area and this is now one of our firm favourites. The previous reviewer sounded a little too harsh in my opinion but hey everyones entitled to their opinion.

We would definitely recommend this place and we even headed down to the bar for a bit of boogying after the meal and cocktails!
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Jason Barrent
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Oh dear! My partner, friends and I regularly eat in Greenwich and decided to give the North Pole a try after reading the reviews on here. Never again!

We used the 50% off food offer and just as well - I've never been served such average food at Michelin star prices. £7:95 for a small starter. £18:50 for lamb? Bonkers.

There were just 2 waiters that we could see (although my friend thought she spotted another one) and one was spectacularly under-trained. We arrived just after 8 and didn't even get a drink until 8:55. We were about to walk out when they arrived.

We were in the 'Fine Dining Room' which means you are ignored most of the time. The excuse for the slowness was that they were busy. Well yes, and with 2 waiting staff it's no surprise. That's not an excuse, it's poor management.

Why don't management spend the 12.5% they fleece in service charges and pay more staff?

We all noticed that several of the other diners found it difficult to attract the attention of the staff and there were quite a few knowing looks between tables.

Quite frankly, my friends and I won't be wasting our time and money again.

If you're planning on spending £40 per head or more in Greenwich, go spend it at Spread Eagle or Kum Luang. Or save your money and go to High Chaparral or Café Rouge.

Having recently returned from New York and Amsterdam where service is always exemplary I really deplore the standard of service in some of our local restaurants.
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Nick
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Monday, January 25, 2010

wow, well this restaurant caught my eye as it had a rating on here of 10- which I've never seen before. I went on Saturday, and as it was Blackheath fireworks, I couldn't book anything there, so we decided to walk down to Greenwich.

I was a bit dubious about the 'piano bar' concept for starters, but if anything it made the place more memorable- it certainly made us giggle a bit too- as we were sat right next to it- it was rather loud sometimes, but still was a nice change.

The place was quiet, but filled up a bit later on, so not sure how they would be under pressure- but the service was second to none. Attentive waiters, excellent service (topping up water without being asked) and not being too pushy on getting more wine etc.

There were four of us and we ordered sea bass and duck between us. The food arrived in a timely fashion (lately I've noticed food arriving far too quickly in many restaurants- surely a sign of pre-preparation and lack of freshness?!)- this arrived about 20 minutes after our order. I am usually worried about where the fish comes from, and am still not sure the source/fishing method for the seabass, so that is a point to mark them down on- these days I want to know if my chicken is free range and if the fish is line caught, sustainable etc.

The food itself though could not be faulted. A meal like this really shows the difference between being able to cook, and knowing how to really cook! The fish was delicate, the skin crispy, and completely boneless. The dill was just right (easy to overdo dill) and the potatoes fabulous. £4 for a side dish of beans was pricey, but they were cooked to perfection with shallots- as were the side of carrots we also ordered.

My desert was the white chocolate cheesecake with berry basket and raspberry coulie- which was divine (and a proper size!- small, so didnt leave me gasping and feeling like I'd over-eaten).

The only downsides other than the lack of information on the menu, were the poor goldfish swimming around the tacky glass lamps in the chandaliers, and the occassional noise coming up from the basement bar- but considering it was well after 10, this latter issue was completely reasonable (and the big boxing fight was being shown as well).

Overall, I must say in 7 years of dining out in London, this was the best fish dish I've ever eaten, and probably the most pleasant (and sincere) service I've ever had- as I said, the waiters were attentive and friendly, but not pushy.

I would (and have already) recommend this restaurant for a great dinner- mains are all between £16-18 with a £20-ish steak dish, but the few extra £ you pay per main over other similar restaurants. If they'd fix the goldfish and menu sourcing information issues, I'd have rated this a 10!
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Jared
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, November 09, 2009

This place was amazing! We went on a double date at the reccomendation of a friend who had eaten there the week before and couldnt wait to go back. I am very hard to please, and everything was lovely. The service was perfect--i never had to touch the wine bottle or ask for more water. They asked each of us persnally about our courses to mke sure everything was good. The plates came out hot and the presentation was beautiful---and the food actually tasted as good as it looked! I had the halibut which was cooked perfectly and the skin was even crispy. The veg was cooked perfectly as well and the sauce was very nice. We took advantage of the 50% off 2 courses and ended up having a bottle of wine and a dessert each and the meal only came (with service) to 85 pounds. Incredible food for a pittance. Incredible I can't wait to go again. The music --it was a quiet night and no piano player---was still wonderful and gave a relaxed but jazzy atmosphere.
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Louise
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, June 24, 2009

what a fantastic evening i had with my family, i live locally and i didn't knew that restaurant is so up like top westend with very resionable price....food walla... no doubt... twice cook pork belly i still feel taste....dessert cheese board with great port ... pionist with balnced music. service top class, what a welcoming and restaurant manager was very helpful and step a head on service... basically in overall great remembarence night...thanks for north pole
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sam mcarthy
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I hired the restaurant on saturday night the 13 september 2008 .I had 23 guests,The food was excellent,the service was attentive and friendly,When my guests arrived i used the VIP room for a reception,the north pole manager natalie,was very helpfull in arranging my night out,all the guest said how nice the food was and as there was a piano player tinklin the ivory it made for a very pleasant night out thankyou north pole.We will call again.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, September 15, 2008

This place is something special. I booked a table for 8.00pm on Saturday 6th September after reading the reviews for our anniversary - 21 years - so a more adult venue required I thought and I could not have been any happier with the choice. We drove into London and found plenty of parking in the area. We walked through the hideous rain to the Restaurant and proceded immediately up the stairs to the Restaurant. We were greeted by a friendly waiter who guided us to our seats next to the piano. Thinking this might be a little close when he was belting out tunes or 'Roll out the Barrel' as my husband put it, we waited and looked over the menu and wine list. We were brought a complimentary glass of champagne and were left with some warm bread rolls and butter to mull over the prospective culinary masterpieces. This was just delightful and we were left the appropriate amount of time to make our decisions. I started with the Duck Rillets and Plum Chutney and my husband with the Smoked Mackerel. Oh, this was lovely, plenty of cold shredded duck with dressed rocket and cherry tomatoes with the sweetest plum chutney and spots of balsamic vinegar. There was a small round of Brioche lightly toasted on the side and it was lovely, I gave some to my hubby who was tucking in just as enthusiastically to his cold smoked mackerel starter, a fillet resting on a bed of dressed leaves. As we were eating the pianist came to the piano and after seating himself proceded to tinkle away unobtrosively and inoffesively on the ivory keys in such a way that you found yourself humming along to Strangers in the night and various other wonderful tunes with an obvious mix of talent and artistic licence! I followed this with the Rib Eye Steak which came with a block of Dauphinoise Potato and Garlic Spinach which was just sublime, the meat was cooked to perfection and was just melt in the mouth. My husband chose the Duck Breast which came with Vegetables and sweet potato, which was cooked to perfection also. We ordered the hand made chips on the side just in case which were just fabulous - most of which disappeared onto my husbands plate!! We accompanied this with a fantastic wine Amalaya Malbec which at £19 a bottle was fruity and smooth and a bottle of still water to cleanse the palate between courses. Well to say we were stuffed is a bit of an understatement, but we just could not stop! We had to have dessert, it would have been rude not to!! I finished with the Baileys Brulee and my husband just had to have that Sticky Toffee Pudding with what he says was the best ice cream he has ever tasted. The Brulee came in a little white teacup with dusted raspberries on top and the crisp caramelised sugar lid that you expect and boy, I was not disappointed and just could not contain the sigh I let out as the first mouthful of this heaven slipped down my throat. After polishing off the Amaretto and paying the bill thanking the lovely man at the piano and the waiters we set off back to the car. The rain could not dampen the wonderful experience we just had and the fantastic atmosphere and only then did we realise that we had been there more than 2 hours. You don't have to be psychic to tell we will be back - move over Gordon!! The service and ambience were fantastic, well done.
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Dawn Ambrose
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, September 07, 2008

LET'S CLEAR THIS UP..... This is a very good restaurant where they serve excellent food with excellent service. I am notoriously hard to please when eating out but was refreshingly pleased with my experience at the North Pole. The pianist played The Best of Magic FM which made for a good game of "name that tune". Other reviewers mistakenly commented on the chavvy bar downstairs which is obviously not the restaurant. The music from downstairs could only be heard at the very end of the night and in no way interfered with what was an otherwise pleasant ambiance. I had the duck which was well cooked with a truly delicious honey sauce. The sea bream is also well recommended. The sticky date pudding was also richly wonderful. The meal for two came to a little over fifty pounds for two which was reasonable as it's easy to pay slightly less in London for food half as good.
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Jules
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, January 20, 2008

We visited the North Pole on Friday 21st December for our xmas party and had a really good time. It's an excellent party venue but imagine it would be equally as good for a romantic night out. The thing that attracted my law firm to book was that because there were 18 of us we needed somewhere that we could have a complete night out without the need to move to another venue.

The North Pole is exactly that. We booked the VIP room first on the ground floor for drinks and then headed upto the swanky restaurant on the first fllor. The food was very good. The turkey was the best I've ever had! The whole party were very happy and apart from one wrong order (which was very quickly replaced) the meal went very smoothly - we were actually surprised at this becasue the place was really busy.

Back down to the disco in basement after the meal and we stayed till 2am - all of us a little worse for wear! We've already concluded that we are going back next year though- much better than many of the establishments in the town centre owned by one group. The guys there did a good job of looking after us and we just wanted to say thanks from all of us.

Morgan Stanley and Associates
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Morgan Stanley and Associates
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, January 11, 2008