Trader Vic's

Never again. I know the food and drinks here are vastly over-priced. But we were in the area the other day and thought we'd drop in. Keeping in mind that a) it's a Tiki beach bar-themed place, and b) it was the hottest day of the year in the UK, I quite naturally assumed that well-tailored, ankle-length shorts would be fine.

Au Contraire. A VERY rude "manager" refused my wife and I Entry to the empty bar with a dismissive wave. We wandered round the corner to the VERY much superior Fakheraldine, which is about 3x as formal as Trader Vics. 'No trouble with my attire there, oddly, and we had a great meal. No more money for Trader Vics.....ever.

With a "manager" like that, I can see why this place is failing.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, June 28, 2010

Great drinks and food, atmosphere is magic thanks to stephan (?) music, he's the best guitarist we ever seen around! My husband and I are always happy when we are lucky enough to find him there.

Staff very helpful and friendly, we' ll keep returning on weekends.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, September 02, 2009

I love Trader Vic's. Is it for the trend-obsessed sheep? Nope. But if you want some REALLY good food (albeit at very high prices) and a fun night out, Trader Vic's is hard to beat.

It's cheesy, corny and so far over the top it's actually cool! Great, fun drinks, served in all sorts of impossibly OT shells, logs, canoes, etc. Some amazingly good dishes (smoked tea duck, better than any Chinese food I've had in a proper Chinese Restaurant.....and the same for Beef Cho Cho, come to think of it), Spinach and oyster soup.....the list goes on.

I find the staff (oddly, almost all of whom are from the Phillipines) to be very courteous and helpful. In short, the service is great.

To sum it up....if you can live with the prices (plan on £150 for a party of two if you're drinking) you will find a one-off, eclectic collection of dishes here, some of which are fantastic, and a unique night out.
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Adam Roberts
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Sunday, July 12, 2009

Service was bad last night. The waiter, when politely asked to take a picture for our group, remarked, 'hurry up, I've got something else to do'. Leaving the bar, we chanced upon the arrival of a presumably important customer of the hotel. We were shoved aside (physically) by the doorman and spoken to rudely - get out of the way. If they continue acting snobbish and impolite, it is a no wonder why no decent customers will consider returning. We most certainly wont be.
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2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Saturday, May 02, 2009

One might argue that if you're going to a tiki bar beneath the Park Lane Hilton you deserve all you get. However, I would at least have expected decent service, and this was sorely lacking. A hot buttered rum took 30 minutes to arrive. Actually, it only took twenty, then it came and apparently it wasn't hot enough so they had to disappear again for another ten, with no apology. Glasses of water, asked for at the beginning of the meal didn't turn up until after the rum, and the fillet steak sandwich, 'rare', was almost indistinguishable from my friend's burger (cooked to death, toasted stale burger bun, sad lettuce and a piece of meat that had certainly never seen the inside of a cow's back).

The nicest thing I had all night was the oyster that was forced on me by a drooling banker, (the profession, and the slang), who decided to burden us with his presence for half an hour.

The only good thing I have to say about the place was that when I asked for the 15% service to be taken off the bill, the waitress did it with no fuss. Unsurprising really, it probably happens all the time.

If you like paying through the nose for average food and drink, being dribbled on by sad middle aged men, or sandwiched between banks of floppy haired, braying public school boys then Trader Vic's is your place.
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rebecca - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 12, 2008

Sorry, but I must respectfully disagree with the negative reviews. If you order the right things from the menu you can get SENSATIONAL food at Trader Vics. Much, much better than the cheesy theme would lead you to believe.

Having said that, the cheesy theme is fun. A few big drinks in a giant clam shell to share, and I promise that you'll be in that South Pacific mood. Go with the flow and it's a really fun night out.

Food-wise, the BongoBongo soup is GREAT. In reality, it's a cream of Spinach soup as good as any you'd get in a great French restauant. The veal with morrel mushroom sauce is sensational...better than the version served at Le Gavroche (Roux's Michelin starred place) around the corner. TV is also the only place in town I know of that will do the old fashioned, bring-the-cart-to-the-table-and-flambe-crepe-suzzette thingy, which is a) a great show and b) a great dish.

It's not an inexpensive place, so take a look on this site, or top table to see if a deal of some sort is on, which is normally the case. Even at normal ala carte prices it's still the DBs.

Fooeey to the trend-obsessed sheep who only want to be seen at whatever place is "fashionable" Let them "be seen" paying over the top prices for decidedly insipid food at Nobo. YOU go have a ball at Trader Vics!!!
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john
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Friday, October 10, 2008

I think only lazy people staying in the Hilton or people obsessed with theme restaurants should ever consider dining here. While our experience was reasonable enough, there was nothing in any way above acceptable in this rather faded, dark, uninspiring den.

Food: We did a deal for 3 courses for £20. All dishes were pleasant but nothing in any way interesting - really nothing to say about them other than every dish was as described, warm, filled me up- nothing worth thinking or talking about. If paying the normal price of dishes here, I would have complained bitterly for such nonsense.

Drinks: Some of the most average and expensive cocktails I have ever tasted. Most seemed rather like the sort of cocktails one can make at home, bit of orange juice, bit of pineapple juice, bit of rum, cocktail glass- bam. Could probably get better in a Wetherspoons (if they do such a thing) - no finesse.

Service: Very bizarre, mostly pathetic, lazy and disinterested, but then when food or drinks came a frenzy of attention, obsequiousness and care. Not sure what was going on but was mainly distracting and uncomforting. Added both a service charge of 15% and cover charge, which is a little rude.

Ambience: Rainforest cafe with less money spent on decor but more moneyed clients. Some will like- for me, a bit themey. Have no idea why they aim for silver service and why people would dress up smart for some kind of chain theme restaurant feel.

Overall: Nothing worth bothering to complain about, nothing to celebrate - I have no idea why such a place exists, it's just lame and hopeless.
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2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Thursday, July 03, 2008

Celebrated a trendy Norwegian lady's 70th birthday by going to Trader Vics with her and her husband whilst they were here on a mini-break. We enjoyed ourselves even though the table was probably booked a little early on a Sunday evening as the restaurant was virtually empty when we arrived. We found the waiters were very helpful and friendly and have no complaints with the service. Although the others enjoyed their meal unfortunately my main dish had to be sent back as it was virtually cold when it arrived which you don't expect when it was priced at £26.95. Would say the variety of dishes offered is good but think they are overpriced for what they are and have eaten better elsewhere. Doubt whether we would go back.
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6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, April 01, 2008

We used to get there on Saturday night and we really loved the atmosphere and drinks!

Since a couple of months something has changed, all the staff doesn't seem so happy and friendly as before and apparently they are cutting here and there to save money: last Saturday the resident musician was not there and a waitress told me he was left home that night!!! We left too! He was one of the good reasons we kept going there.

It is sad to see a wounderful place falling into misery like all other places in London! You don't feel being in that special place as it used to be over the years...

Shame!!!
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Omar
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, January 30, 2008

We won't be going back. The ambience is lovely and the tables are comfortable. The wine waiter was efficient, but he was the only one. The menu has two "starter" sections (finger food/bites etc. and traditional starters) and also two or three mains subsections (Traditional European, Wok, and Oven). We both took something from the Wok section and found it average quality (calling the chicken rubbery would be a little harsh, but it wasn't super tender either) but the prices are not average. Perhaps it's because it's a hotel restaurant, but £28 should get a good mean not something that was only as good as a neds noodle box for £7. In addition, I think it's a liberty to charge £6 for a bottle of Perrier (we were shocked to see £12 on the bill for our couple of bottles). In addition they add cover charges of £1.50 each (even though we didn't take any bread) and then a 15% gratuity at the end. All in all, it's very expensive for what it is.
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5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Thursday, January 24, 2008