Sarastro

Booked for sunday evening with two colleagues. Met at the door by head waiter who gave us a very good 'lower' table. We had hoped for a box but as it happend this was the right place to be. Wesettled for the set dinner with a good choice of main course. One of my group had Anatolian which he described as 'quite the best I've ever eaten'. I and my other colleague had Chicken Princess which was garnished with asparagus and served with delicious fres vegetables. As a precursor we found that the 'meze' was very tasty and varied. A salver of fresh fruit completed the comestibles. Several bottles of House Rd, an acceptable Granache, washed this down. Coffee and a glass of port apiece rounded things off beautifully.

The service was impeccable. We were entertained by a rather interesting string quartet, who's name sadly eludes me (this could be due to the effect of the 'quaffable' red wine. The played about 30 minutes of rather off-beat and yet, popular clasics. The twist was in their interpretation which was most entertaining. They were followed by a delightfull soprano and tenor who, once again, charmed us with a selection of arias and duets from Puccini, Verdi & Mozart.

Several people dining were celebrating and so the waltz from Lehar's 'Merry Widow' was offered. One of the ladies and one of the gentlemen celebrating the happy anniversary were led onto the floor and spun around vigoursly by the respective artist of the opposite sex.

All in all a very pleasant evening with a good table, wine and entertainment. My friends from "T'North" were completely won over and said it was somewhat superior to pie, pease and a night with the whippets!
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Peter Martin
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Went on a Saturday night in February, booked a table well in advance but weren't seated all at one table, four were seated across an adjoining staircase. A friend had a word with the manager but they could not seat us together so he negotiated for a discount and we got 6 bottles of wine for free.

A little cramped at the table, the food was okay but we were not expecting Michelin Star cuisine for a theme restaurant, the atmosphere was superb and we all had a craicing time. In all we were there for about 4 hours drinking and having a laugh (basically we were all very merry when we left). We would have spent twice as much if we had just gone to a pub.

P.S. I have come to the conclusion that the majority of reviews are from people who like to complain about every fine detail.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Monday, June 09, 2008

We organised a work dinner party at Sarastros as i had been there a few times in the past and the food is always nice and very reasonable. I had asked to sit in the balcony areas and i was most impressed when we arrived ! We sat at the main balcony at the back of the restaurant - we felt like royalty. One of the girls was celebrating her birthday and they definately made her feel special. The food,service and atmosphere was perfect. Thank you for making it such our evening a success and all for £35.00 each.
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Belinda Bowles
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, June 07, 2008

Very poor food. Looked at menu and official website before going and thought it would be a real treat. However, when you get inside and eat the food it is not. Mussels from a jar, a lobster with no meat in it, lamb cutlets the size of a finger and a sweaty cheese plate. Luckily I went with good friends who can laugh - it was terrible
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Andrew Parker
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Saturday, April 26, 2008

A group of friends thought this would be a fun venue to try for a get together. We had to have the set menu as we were a group booking. The Meze starter was ample portions, though i felt it had been set out on the table for quite sometime as the carrot sticks were very dry.

Our service was prompt and polite though we did dine early evening when it was a little quiet. Our main courses were average, the vegetables were a little more than al dente, i was left dissapointed by desert, the bulk of it was fresh fruit on rather a large platter.

The seating area was a little cramped and as the restaurant got more busy it did become rather warm.

We did have a good evening, though i wouldn't rave about it and i wouldn't go back.
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Monday, April 21, 2008

This may be out of date, since I haven't been there for years - here's why.

I would heartily recommend going to see this restaurant - but I would not recommend eating a meal there.

The decor has to be seen to be believed - opulent, flamboyant, like the set of a big-budget opera - think baroque palace converted into a Turkish harem. (Check out the erotic murals in the lavatories). We couldn't get upper-level seats, but they must be even more spectacular.

But the food was mediocre. The waitress, who barely spoke English, could not tell me what was in the vegetarian pasta. (So I asked her if it had real vegetarians in it - she didn't get it).

On hot summer days, it's stifling in there.

A pity - if new management were to bring in decent service and food, this would be a dream of a restaurant.
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Austin - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 4
Thursday, April 17, 2008

Went there for the first time last night for our daughter's 25th birthday. No choice - set menu was what you had to have.

Meze OK but main courses just about reach poor motorway service area standards. Dessert just a load of fruit.

String quartet and opera singers were entertaining - though soprano was very wobbly at times. Decor interesting. Waiters a bit distant but by no meand rude.

Despite poor food we had a fun evening but we won't bother again till the food improves considerably.
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Kevin
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, April 08, 2008

This has got to be one of the worst restaurants ever who also over charge!

1. It was extremely hard to get service, non of the waiters would come over.

2. The food took forever

3. What they call a Big Boss Seafood selection is a couple spoon fulls of shrimps (not prawns) with a few small bits of squid in a nasty white cream sauce.

4. Seats were cramp even for a petite person such as myself (5,1")

Shame, the decor was nice.
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KK
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Monday, March 17, 2008

I booked a table for 20 people for my birthday.

There was no fan or air conditioning that worked. We were all red in the face it was that hot. The seating was VERY cramped. Once I was sat down I couldn't get up for 2 hours. The service was slow and unprofessional. It was a set menu. For starters an awful shared meze with dry bread. For mains there were a few choices. I had the salom which was bland. The vegetarian pancake looked vile, swamped in cheese sauce. We allowed 2 hours for our meal to take place as we were off to see a show afterwards. We ended up being late EVEN THOUGH WE ALL SKIPPED DESSERT (which came as a relief.) We didn't have time to argue or complain so we just paid the bill and left. It was too hot and cramped to argue.

It cost us £36 pounds EACH for a mealsy starter, a poor main course, NO DESSERT and one glass of wine. It's only merit was the decor which made me consider it in the first place.
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Tallulah
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Monday, February 25, 2008

Visited in Feb 2008 and found the decor to be the most interesting thing about the experience. The food is very average...stay clear of the very HOT fish boat available as soon as you sit down. It is impossible to keep the table on an even keel so I spent the whole time with one foot on one of the legs. Service is ok but can teeter towards the rude if you ask too many questions.

The decor is the only real reason to visit this restaurant. It is very different. A mixture a slapstick pantomime and Indian erotisicm. Take a visit to the toilets and you will really see what I mean. Not for the faint hearted or vaguely Christian. Overall the experience was different. A welcome change and good value for an average $50 per head.
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Steve Limbirons
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Sunday, February 24, 2008