Snows on the Green

Went here with a friend for my birthday a couple of weeks ago, after a gap of about a year. I have to say that I think it's improved, both in terms of service and food. It was always ok but nothing to write home about. However on this occasion I really enjoyed my starter of deep fried courgette flower with ricotta. For mains I had the summer risotto which was very nice. My friend had the steak which he said was delicious. It was a Saturday night and the place was reasonably busy but not full and there was a nice relaxing atmosphere. We were warmly greeted on arrival and thereafter service was prompt and courteous. The bill came to about £90 for two with a bottle of wine which I think is about right really for the food, service and ambience - I've certainly paid more for meals that I've enjoyed less. So after this latest visit I will definitely go again a bit more regularly.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Having looked at the promising, if pricey, menu outside and walked through the door into a well presented restaurant, I had high hopes for Snow's on my very first visit there a few weeks back.. Oh, how wrong I was....

After some initial confusion between staff and a rather damp squib of a welcome, we were shown to our table. It took an age for the waiter/ess to take our order and the food was slow to arrive, although the bread and pesto which we were presented with whilst we were waiting was good.

My choice of belly pork was pleasant enough, although I was disappointed by the rather meagre potato and mushroom which accompanied the meat. A decent enough dish but nothing much to write home about and certainly not worth the money. My girlfriend's steak, however, was a disaster. The meat was cold and tough beyond belief, so much so that she left the vast majority of it. Needless to say, we quickly decided to finish up and leave, whilst making it clear that we were not prepared to pay the cover charge or the service which had been included on our astronomical bill.

All in all, this place is trying to be something which it isn't. The prices are far to high for the mediocre quality of food and disappointing level of service which you receive. I won't be returning.
Comment on this reader review

Mark Chiverton
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, October 02, 2007

We ate here yesterday evening with a friend. In common with other reviewers we found the service hit and miss. On arrival bread and pesto was delivered to the table and that was the last we saw of the staff for some time. When I arrive in a restaurant I want to be offered an aperitif, but it was some time before we caught the waitress's eye and managed to do this. Once we had ordered the food came promptly, except for the side orders which eventually (after asking twice) came just as we had fininshed our main courses. The food is nice but not exceptional - fritto misto is in fact up market calamari - and therefore overpriced. Generally this would be a very nice neighbourhood restaurant worth a visit if the service were considerably sharper. Also rather too expensive for what is on offer. Disappointing.
Comment on this reader review

slowloris - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Sunday, April 08, 2007

We went to the Snow's on Green on a Saturday night and there were enough people to make it lively but not crowded. The menu looked quite tasty and we chose the warm foie gras with fried egg for starters. Unfortunately and although the foie gras itself was really good, the whole thing was drowned in oil and accompanied by sweet bread, so was very rich and filling. As I was finishing my last mouthful and thinking that I needed a break before the main course, the waitress was very eager and litterally took my plate and cutlery off me straight away. We thought we'd better ask if we could have a break so called her when we saw her 5 minutes later. Unfortunately she told us she'd already asked for our main course, which was a little annoying.

I had osso-buco and risotto and my boyfriend had salmon / prawn skewers with noodle and teryaki sauce. My dish was quite nice, his was a little too oily again, and for respectively £ 16 and £ 14.50, you would expect perfection. The lemon curd tart was excellent (we shared one for two) and the wine was great - they have a good selection.

The most annoying thing was the bill, with a 12,5 % gratuity added without choice, but also a 90p service charge per head. If someone can explain the difference, but mainly the justification (on top of the rush the waitress put us in, it has to be said that she never replaced the knives we used for starters so we just used our bread knife as we could not be bothered to ask for something else again).

All in all there is a very good potential but the service and quality of the dishes do not justify the high prices.
Comment on this reader review

Kat
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Monday, March 26, 2007

I am sorry to say this, but any chef who accompanies fried foie gras with a fried egg and brick sized piece of brioche should not be running a restaurant. This was a triumph of grease over any other discernible taste or sensation. A terrible dish, and one that left me reeling for the rest of the meal. That this was followed by a pressed pork belly that still possessed a significant, gloopy layer of subcutaneous fat, and was swimming in a reduction that was dotted with giant pools of olive oil, showed me that this chef desperately needs to reappraise his technique and, most importantly, the balance to his cooking. He desperately needs to provide lightness and counterbalance to the overwhelming richness and fat that swamp his meals.

The desert menu displayed a lack of creativity or interest in deserts, and the cheesecake my sister ordered was screaming out for something, anything, to cut through the gargantuan slab of bland cheesiness that was set before her.

Admittedly I chose heavily, but eating here was akin to spoon feeding myself luke warm olive oil and then basting myself with chip fat. I felt bloated for hours after.

The staff were wonderful and friendly, the service swift, the wine list good value, but as a neighbourhood restaurant this falls woefully short of the standards set by the nearby and similarly priced La Trompette. This is a restaurant that desperately needs to go on a diet.
Comment on this reader review

Murray
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, February 13, 2007

I have been a fan of this restaurant for years. I even took it over on a Saturday night and held my 40th birthday party here. It is consistently good, with interesting honest food well cooked, generally good service, and a relaxed comfortable, local verging-on-posh feeling. My only negative criticism is that the vegetables tend to be more exotic than my ideal, but that's good for my education! I eat here more regularly than is good for my waistline. Enjoy
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Being a local to the area, I have given Snows the benefit of doubt three times now, but never, ever again.

The service was appalling!! My starter was o.k, except for the tiny piece of bread for my foie gras and then waiting 15 minutes for another piece of bread...not brioche....to come out. Mains were luke warm at best and when I mentioned that my wine was unfortunately corked (having been in the wine industry for 7 years!!!) it was though I had personally insulted the waiter, his family and every friend he has ever had!

I then decided that the only way for me to stay calm was to time the dessert service. Having order a glass of sauternes, I then proceeded to wait for 45minutes for mine and my partners dessert to come and for the waiter to then blame it on the kitchen. I know chefs can be tempermental, but psychic chefs are a new concept to me maybe!

Even with the discounted price I will never, ever return to this establishment when there are some fantastic places in the area that actually want your business and make each meal a pleasure.
Comment on this reader review

Al
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Monday, December 04, 2006

Having moved back west recently, myself and my partner decided to give Snows a try last Friday night. Despite my dithering on when we actually wanted the table (9pm, then 7pm, then 8pm after a couple of pre-prandials in the Brook Green Hotel next door), we were greeted warmly and shown our table. The ambiance of the restaurant is, as most other reviewers note certainly conducive to romantic dining. This however hadn't detered several parties of four (which we suspected were couples-meeting-the-parents-for-the-first-time jobs anyway).

We were impressed with the quality of the food, ordering starters of a (huge) globe artichoke heart and a cassoulet of gutsy beans sausage, pork and duck (this very finely shredded) and a crusty topping, charmingly presented in a miniture cast-iron skillet. For the main I ordered the rabbit en-croute stuffed with chorizo (which complimented the gamey flavour of the rabbit perfectly where I'd expected it to overpower the dish). My partner ordered daube beef cheek, a meltingly tender cut with a well-balanced sauce. The menu billed this dish with snails which I couldn't detect, although I don't consider this a bad thing! I finished with a black-and-white fruit chocolate brownie which was steady if unspectacular.

The service is worth a note - and a caveat. It's certainly friendly and once our starters/mains were ordered they appeared in under 15 minutes. However, there was a noticeable delay between being seated and having our wine order taken and again between receiving the bill and paying. I'd put this down to the maitre being more a "meeter 'n greeter" of the neighbourhood resturant variety than someone truly organising the front of house as you'd expect from somewhere with a star or two.

We paid just over £70 for 3 courses and a very nice wine which I consider excellent value for money considering you can match (and top) the same amount in either of the gastropubs on the other side of Brook Green.

So here's my caveat - if you want Michelin service, head to Sweary Man's restuarant in Chelsea. If however, you're after honestly-cooked, well-presented food in a neighbourhood restaurant without breaking the bank, Snows is well worth a visit.
Comment on this reader review

Tom
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, November 17, 2006

Having been hear 4 or 5 times now, I would recommend this restaurant to a friend. Good value for money if you are getting the set menu of the day, 2 out of 3 courses will usually be very good.
Comment on this reader review

- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, August 12, 2006

A shocking disappointment. While there were some positives - good wine and a friendly waiter - the food was completely inedible. We had a soggy starter of sausage salad (chewy lukewarm sausages sliced on a bed of oily lettuce), but that was only the beginning... when the main course arrived we both only managed a couple of bites. To say they were over-salted would be an understatement. When I bit into a mouthful of couscous (hiding under warm smoked salmon on a bed of yet-more soggy lettuce) I could not only taste but hear the salt crunch between my teeth. 24 hours later and I still feel as though I have just washed out my mouth with saltwater.
Comment on this reader review

disgusted of shepherd''''s bush
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Saturday, July 29, 2006