The Wine Factory

Firstly this restaurant is not Italian, not even remotely. It was 2 years ago but it isn't anymore. The mixed Mediterranean & tThai menu was quite uninspiring if I'm honest. I opted for smoked salmon with watercress salad to start and a fillet steak with fries for main.

The salmon was very bland and had no seasoning on it at all, the horseradish looked like it was from a jar with a couple of peelings of fresh horseradish to make it look homemade. Whatever it's origin, it tasted odd and lacked bite. The watercress was fine. The lemon wedge was paltry & looked like an afterthought.

My main course, I thought could only be better. Unfortunately my steak was overcooked, medium rare it was not. The cold slightly congealed béarnaise was a let down as I believe it should be served warm, it had the consistency of thick custard but tasted ok. Fries and rocket leaves were fine.

My friends had prawn linguine which looked and was insipid and the cottage pie was apparently ok.

The service was pretty reasonable but they weren't busy.

With a bottle of wine between 4 of us it was about £26 per head which would have been about right had we been in a gastro pub having eaten better versions of our dishes.

It's fair to say we won't be rushing back. It wasn't bad; it was dull which is worse.
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Johnny Disappointed
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Average quality restaurant, slightly inflated prices for quality of food you get (but then you are just off Portobello Road) and disinterested waiting staff. All in all, not as good as the other places in the Brinkley chain. I would not go back.
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Rick Brown
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Monday, January 28, 2008

Came here after reading the reviews and was very much disappointed at the quality of the food. Salads were passable however all mains were not. would not return nor recommend to others especially given the prices charged which were excessive for what was received.
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Reeshma Jamal
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Saturday, October 20, 2007

I've eaten here a few times and like the food and location. But the service is consistently well below par and often offensive. They talk on their mobiles, chat amongst each other and actually sit down themselves in the afternoon for a meal, all of this, while ignoring the customers. They are actually rude when you interupt their chatter to ask for something, even though you've had to get up to get their attention. We were served a warm bottle of champagne and when we complained they simply said the fridge wasn't working and just came back with a bucket. They didn't seem to realise what they were doing. I like the restaurant but the waitresses are awfully rude and don't seem to like serving customers, much less with a smile. And if you complain or ask for something to be rectified they look at you like 'how dare you.' Such a shame, the management must not be paying attention. With so many nice restuarants in Notting Hill I'd give this a miss.
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Lorraine Buiel
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Friday, August 31, 2007

This place is my local love. My husband and I have gone here because it is so close to our flat and every time had a great meal, great service and staff that knew their menu. It's hard to get all that in some expensive restaurants in London. This place doesn't have the steep prices to match, though. I hope it keeps that balance of local charm, if everyone finds out how cool they are.
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Andria McGhee
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 06, 2007

Ate here last night and found the whole meal pretty faultless. As mentioned in other reviews the wine list prices are a great pull, especially being able to sit down to your meal with a bottle of Imperial 1996 Gran Reserva Rioja for £26! All four if the people in our group enjoyed their food immensly and we also foudnd the waiting staff friendly and attentive without being intrusive. If you fancy a place to eat with great wines, good service and smart surroundings you'd be wise to give it a try.
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basemess - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, March 25, 2007

Love this place, great food atmosphere service and prices... the wine list is brilliant and so reasonably priced
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Wilson
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, November 30, 2006

Food was good. They ran an interesting scam on us. We ordered a £13 bottle of wine. When the waitress came to the table it was already uncorked and she splashed wine sloppily in the glasses and immediately covered the bottle in a plastic ice sleeve. We paid little attention and enjoyed the meal. When we went to pay the bill, our £13 bottle of wine had become a £27 bottle of wine. Steer clear.
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Rob
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Thursday, July 20, 2006

The factory is unusual. The atmosphere is laid-back; service is friendly but not false; my fillet steak was as good as any I've ever had. just pink and melt in mouth ...that's a good chef.

The menu offers a rare mix of expensive and cheap items and so one gets a mixed eclectic crowd.
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alan
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, December 16, 2005