The Fire Station

Just ate some incredibly rubbish 8 pound nachos served by an unhappy waiter. We also got two drinks which came to 12 pounds. 20 quids worth of rubbish. Avoid at all costs.
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anna
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Sunday, October 23, 2011

I pretty much agree with the other reviews - The Fire Station is nothing amazing.

I chose to meet a few friends here for dinner on a Friday - not the best choice. The bar is spectacularly busy but luckily we had made a reservation in the restaurant. The decor is good and the menu choice isn't too bad, and not too overpriced. In fact I spent a while looking for somewhere with the right location and best menu option.

The service though leaves a lot to be desired. It started off well then declined throughout the meal. I hate to think what the experience is like when the restaurant is actually full - it was only 1/3 full on this occasion. I didn't realise but we were over charged for a bottle of white wine which we never had! I tried to contact the restaurant by phone but there was no answer and was forced to use the online contact form but still haven't received any reply.

It has the potential to be really good but service really let's the entire experience down. I won't go back there and wouldn't really recommend. There are plenty of other restaurants on The Cut.
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pyc
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Friday, April 15, 2011

Went yesterday evening for a pre-theatre meal and fought our way through the very noisy bar. Waiting staff put us at a table as far from the noise as possible and brought menus swiftly. It took a little time to order and then the starters arrived ahead of the drinks. Starters fine. It was then a very long wait for our mains, which arrived a few minutes after we pointed out that we needed to get away. My companion's chicken with mashed potato was apparently fine; my goat's cheese tart was horrible. There was a slab of partially cooked pastry with a thin yellow rubber topping. It had clearly been cut and left out some while previously. I am a good eater, but could not manage this doughy, chewy confection. The supermarkets sell much better stuff. However, the waitress was kind, concerned and interested in what had gone wrong and said that the chef was genuinely interested. They deducted the meal from the bill and I went hungry for the evening.

Overall, food careless, but staff disorganised but genuinely trying to do a good job.
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3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Sunday, March 20, 2011

Service would have been more efficient with proper staff training

I had entered and was ignored for approx 3-5 minutes as a number different waiting staff walk past me without any acknowledgment of my existence. Having discovered the entrance of the restaurant I was then again asked to wait. This was another 5 minutes standing, I would have left by that time if I had not been so hungry. Instead I ignored the manager's request for me to wait and just sat down at any table.

The floor manager approached and said that he would arrive with the menu in 1 second. It took another 5 minutes for him to arrive with the menus as he was more interested in obtaining customers' credit cards than providing me with a menu. Although he looked like a manager, he was definitely not acting like one. Clearly getting all of his priorities wrong.

I ordered a charcuterie board which was well presented was served with some fresh bread. Very good quality for £7.00 starter. Next I ordered a 9oz rib-eye steak for £16.50. The chips & steak were perfectly cooked, I had ordered Medium Rare. Although the steak was the right cut, it was clearly the poorest of cuts. Very chewy with too many tendons.

I quickly ordered the bill as I was in a rush to go to work, I would have had dessert if it wasn't for the unattentive slow service I received at the beginning.

The staff were very polite, however the owners should take more time to train their staff and re-organise their priorities. The manager should step back from such a hands on role and delegate his staff properly as the staff would have been more efficient without the need to employ extra staff to compensate.

My overall experience was somewhat amused by a number of impatient customers observing the frantic serving staff. It was like watching a tennis match. Although here the staff was acting like the tennis ball, wandering aimlessly.

Alas I am afraid this is not a restaurant I would return to. It does well to succeed as the Waterloo Brasserie opposite the road is equally as bad if not worse.
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Nolan Regent - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Saturday, February 19, 2011

Food terrible!! Over cooked rubbish. Meals forgotten, service bad and ignored whilst trying to order. Do not bother, go to the Wellington.
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Bianca
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Sunday, December 19, 2010

We visited the Fire Station last night. Burgers and chips were good. Beer and wine excellent but sadly it was uncomfortably cold and as a result we were forced to wear our outdoor gear whilst dining. We had a similar experience in late December and feel we cannot revisit until the weather improves.
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Richard Oakley
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Sunday, January 10, 2010

we went here and ate from the pre theatre menu. Friendly staff and a pleasant atmosphere (although go much later in the evening and you risk being surrounded by drunk people at the bar). The food was O.K. but nothing to write home about and overall we'd rather go to other restaurants in the area over here.
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Picky - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Friday, January 01, 2010