Chimes

Like the previous reviewer, I had also been to Chimes 3 or 4 times and had liked the unpretentious menu, good choice of pies, well cooked and al dente veg, plus a range of ciders to try; all great for a local meal out when you are tired and hungry after a day at work.

Last week, a cousin over from the US wanted a traditional English meal, so we went to Chimes to find the pies bland, the vegetables and the tuna steak microwaved and dry as dust and whatever my partner had so unremarkable that he could not remember what it was an hour after leaving! The restaurant which was almost empty, also smelled dank.

The waitress was sweet but did not have a clue about the menu nor could advise on the various ciders, saying only that she didn't like cider herself!

What a shame that a no nonsense, reasonable local has become unusable
Comment on this reader review

Denise Poole
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Monday, July 14, 2008

I've visited this place a few times, and always really enjoyed it - the range and quality of pies was excellent and the cider a novel and always enjoyable quirk. However on my latest trip I was very disappointed: the menu had been cut to half the original size, and pushed much more towards the standard pub fare.

Not really fancying anything, I settled for sausage and mash, which I assumed would be safe. How wrong I was! The portion was so small it was served on a side plate, the sausages were tasteless and couldn't have been more than 50% meat, the mash was out of a packet, and the gravy was dried around the edges where it had been microwaved. To cap it all the onion in the "onion gravy" was raw and sprinkled on top as a garnish.

I will never eat here again.
Comment on this reader review

Mike
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Thursday, December 20, 2007

My wife, daughter, and I ate at Chimes on Friday evening, July 13th, and had a very nice meal.

The food was great, the cider good, and the staff was friendly and polite. A waitress with a Polish accent waited on us, and she was helpful and pleasant.

We enjoyed ourselves!
Comment on this reader review

John Feely, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, July 16, 2007

It didn't start well; we arrived at 2:45 p.m. for a late lunch and were told that the restaurant was closing until 5:30 p.m. The waitress claimed the opening hours were clearly displayed on the website. We checked before we visited, I have checked again and I still can't find them.

In the interim we installed ourselves in The Constitution a couple of doors down.

Back to Chimes at 5:30 p.m. for some cider and the now extremely late lunch. The main reason for the visit was that a friend from out of town is a keen cider drinker; she was impressed with the list but did say she was disappointed that there was nothing which she had not tried before.

I agree with some of the other reviews regarding the size of the portions.

My lamb was a drumstick rather than shank, dry and tough with some parts having the texture of biltong. It may have been more tender if it was cooked in the sauce which came in a jug on the side.

I assumed that the state of my food was due to a fit of piqué on the part of the chef - I ordered chips to replace the mash. Another diner who ordered the lamb shank seemed to fair far better in terms of portion size.

The other guests seemed more satisfied ordering baked Brie and the various pies which they claimed were very tasty.

We also ordered one of the fruit wines which was unusual and interesting.

One other disappointment was the service, at no point did the waitress as "How is/was your food", maybe she sensed I was not pleased and gave us a wide berth.

In conclusion, unless you are a cider buff or on a diet my personal view is that better value and cooking can be had elsewhere.

Guy, Greenwich
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Monday, July 09, 2007

Chimes of Pimlico has a few things going for it, namely an excellent choice of ciders (incl perry) and some proper English cooking. It's also got a bit of a 70's thing going on and it's a bit quiet (though I did go early evening). It's not bad value and I'd say worth going for the cider alone.
Comment on this reader review

Peter, Fitzrovia - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, March 19, 2007

I arranged for our office to go to Chimes for a Christmas lunch, and having read the frankly mixed reviews on this site was mindful that it could go either way.

The experience, however, was certainly a good one. Friendly staff showed the 12 of us to the cosy downstairs, where we were seated comfortably. The service was helpful and fairly quick and although we didn't have any of their famous cider or perry, the wine was excellent.

We all chose from the Christmas menu, which at £23.50 for 2 courses or £26.50 for 3 (plus service) was reasonably priced. I can't relate to reviews complaining about small portions. While not enormous, the portions were certainly sufficient, main courses came with vegetables (nothing fancy here) and I personally couldn't finish my main course. The food was generally simple but good and occasionally unusual - the Poacher's Yuletide Treat for instance (which turned out to be a pie).

The only real let down was the presentation - food served uninspiringly on your granny's 1970s crockery, with the Roast Turkey coming swimming in gravy.

With a bit more sharpening, Chimes could be something quite special; but it serves decent English food at decent prices.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, December 20, 2006

I recently visited Chimes with a group of friends for dinner. I have to concur with one or two of the previously posted comments on small portion sizes...the robust English fayre promised on the menu seems to come in minute helpings.

That said, the food itself was very good on our visit--a selection of pies all excellent, and simply served with perfectly cooked green vegetables). A hearty slab of treacle tart finished off where the mains left off. The cider menu is well worth exploring too.

The most pleasant surprise of all was the bill -- excellent value for money, indeed positively cheap for this part of London.

Only major gripe (apart from small portions) would be a lack of atmosphere. The place needs fewer formal tables and more of the pub-style seating to be found near the window. Previous reviewer's comment about the choral music was spot on...I couldn't help feeling Chimes needed livening up a little.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

After reading previous reviews, myself and partner ate at Chimes and were disappointed.

The restaurant has some road-side tables outside plus separate areas with lots of wood inside. The inside eating areas were fairly empty, perhaps due to it being early evening at the start of the week, and so atmosphere was lacking. There was piped music, mainly choral, and this choice slightly puzzled me.

Our shared fishcake starter was tasty, if a bit mushy; the steak and mushroom pie was nice, but not outstanding, and the halibut with orange sauce pretty average. Mains came with vegetables for two, but three small new potatoes between two of us seemed a little mean. Bread and butter pud was better, although spoiled by lumpy custard. Larger plates for all courses would have made fork-work easier and ensured food stayed on the plate.

Service came with a smile from one waitress but the other waitress had left her smile at home.

Although the food was adequate, there are many other better restaurants and pubs not too far distant and so it would be to one of these I would go next time.
Comment on this reader review

Sue Smith
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, September 05, 2006

a very pleasant restaurant and the food and cider are both superb. portions are maybe a little on the small side but thats nothing some garlic bread cant sort out.
Comment on this reader review

Anthony - Warlingham
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, May 14, 2006

I ate at Chimes under the £5 for 2 courses Times offer.

The food was great (I had a fantastic melt-in-the-mouth lamb shank for a small suppliment), the service was efficient and the staff were attentive.

My partner had a steak pie with a lovely airy puff pastry top, which was packed full of juicy steak and gravy underneath.

I will be going back to try the pies for myself next time!
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 10
Friday, March 03, 2006