Steph's

When I first walked in I thought that the restaurant looked fun and promising. Unfortunately the service and food were shocking.

I started with the chargrilled veggies as I thought that they looked like the only healthy option. They came out swimming in oil though and left me feeling slightly sick. I then had the marinated chicken, rocket and parmesan salad. The chicken was a tough as old leather and lacking any marinade. We ordered a bottle of Merlot and were served Shiraz.

The birthday girl was not given her starter and when she asked for it she was told by the waiter and the manager that she never ordered it - she was the first to order her starter

The yorkshire puddings were all burnt. The pie from the specials list was burnt. The cheese and bacon potato skins had no bacon. The chef and the waiter had a fight in the bar. One whole meal was not touched due to it being burnt and they charged us for it and charged us a service charge.

In summary if you like burnt, oily food accompanied by bad service then this is the place for you
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Clare
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, June 12, 2008

I went to Steph's yesterday with a few of my colleagues and this was the worst experience I have ever had! Having lived in London all my life and enjoying eating out, this place was just awful!

The service was slow, poor and the waiter got confused with our orders resulting in meals arriving late! Also some of the starters and mains were burnt, in fact we also had 2 additional lots of garlic bread to share and one set was normal and the other was swimming in garlic butter sauce like a soup, literally. I haven't seen anything like it before, it was soggy and we didn't touch it!

The boss lady was really rude, as for the burnt main meal, we returned it and all they did was shave off the burnt part of the pie and brought it back to our table. At the end of the meal, we asked her to take it off the bill since my colleague did not even attempt to eat it and she kept insisting it wasn't burnt and her final comment was 'oh, i'll take it off, i can't be bothered'! Nice boss!

Don't waste you time or money at this place, seriously.
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Man-Sin
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Thursday, June 12, 2008

I went to Steph's with my girlfriend for a "special night" (a year since our first date) and found the service very friendly, without being too OTT. The food was of a very high quality ( my girlfriend is Italian so she has high standards in this area) as was the wine, the bottle we chose was one of the best I have ever had.

Stefano himself even came over to have a chat, the sort of personal service that is all too often missing in London these days and something that actually reminded us of being back in Italy. Where a restaurant is kind of an extension of the owners house.

So I guess you make your choice, follow the sheep and go for what English restaurant owners would have you believe is the "way it's done in Italy" or get yourself down to Steph's and actually be served italian food, by Italian's. Even the bill wasn't too bad, 2 courses and a bottle of wine for about 30 quid a head, Que Buonissimo, as they say in Italy (Sorry if it's spelled wrong honey :O)
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Mal
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, October 22, 2007

Hi

I visited this reataurant for the first and last time last October and I am still angry at the treatment we received.

We waited over an hour for our food to arrive. No one came to explain what the problem was or apologise. When we finally caught the attention of a waiter we were told that they were short staffed in the kitchen. However they continued to take customers and food orders without explaining the situation to anyone We had two children with us who were by now really hungry and we had to weigh up trying to find another restaurant and another wait or we wouldn't have bothered to stay. The staff attitude was couldn't care less. When the food finally arrived it was burnt and inedible. At this point we our patience was spent and the waitress at last called the manager. She came over reluctanlty-the whole evening she had been chatting to friends while the choas ensued- even though we had seen the waitress apporach her and explain our complaint after the first hour of waiting. Her response was to offer us a free drink. Too little too late. I wrote a letter of complaint the next day and never even got the courtesy of a response. The worst restaurant experience I have ever had in London and I have lived here for over 20 years. I would never go there again .
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, July 22, 2007

Stephs has become a Soho tradition. The decor is wild! Pink Flamingos everywhere, including 5ft tall ones painted on the walls! If the lady herself is present when you arrive you will know it! A vision in Black.

Been going to Stephs for 20 years. The food is real British comfort food. The menu includes Fish And Chips (served in paper!), but my favourites always include the soups (which change daily, and are very fresh), and the Home made Pies (also change daily). If I need comforting its a Pie with Mash potato that I choose. . (the music in the backround consists of a mix of popular show music, and cheesy pop, which should give you some idea of the type of customers that frequent this place (usually Theatre lovers, actors and people in the business, and those of a type that apprecate Abba!)Desserts are good too. The Key Lime Pie is smooth and creamy, but tangy. If you want a giggle, with good British food, then Stephs is the place. Its also perfectly located for Theatreland, so before or after a show is the best time to go.
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Janet
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Thursday, April 12, 2007