The Forge

Great value deal (from toptable), very nice atmosphere and very tasty - would definitely do again
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, August 03, 2010

We went to The Forge a few weeks ago while on a trip to London visiting a friend. From the look of the menu on the website we thought we would have a great experiance. We were wrong. We arrived and were seated, then just left for about 20 mins. No waiter came over to see if we wanted drinks or to explain any specials etc. I eventually had to call the waiter over, who may or may not have spoken english, i couldnt tell as he only moved his head, he didnt speak to us. He took our drinks and food order and left. That was it for the night service wise. No one came back to check on us at any point during our 3 course meal. No one came back to see if we wanted more drinks. Nothing. We were virtually ignored. They may have been understaffed as the maitre'de seemed to be running around serving tables. The food was very basic, nothing exciting and the presentation of the food was very very low standard. Some of our tables coffees were cold and one dessert came out burnt. We sent it back and 20 mins later a new one still hadnt come over. We called over the maitre'de who simply looked at us and said "yeah so......yeah". We deduced from that, there was not a new dessert coming, he gave no explanation as to what happened. Again, nothing. He ofered my friend a glass of dessert wine, which was refused. We wanted to get out of there.

This is probably the worst dining out experiance ive had before in my life. Ive never experecnced such bad and ignorant lack of service. They also had the cheek to add a tip onto our bill which we took off of course.

I would not reccomend this place to anyone.
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Stephen Taylor
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Sunday, March 28, 2010

I went to the Forge last night with two friends and I was thoroughly disappointed - the service was poor (we waited 15 minutes for our bottle of wine to arrive and everytime we asked where it was they said 'it's just coming', as though they were maybe decanting it or something, although of course they weren't ) and snobby (one waitress virtually sneered when we asked to share one dish of vegetables between two of us); the food was pretty poor as well - two of us had steaks which was chewy and stringy, badly presented with a mountain of chips pilled across the plate in a way you might get in a fast food restaurant; and it was expensive for the food we got. Bad experience all round.
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Victoria Read
4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Saturday, November 21, 2009

Ate at The Forge last night. The service was generally good, with friendly staff, crisp white tablecloths and nice cutlery and crockery but unfortunately the food was a major disappointment. We dined a la carte, which wasn't cheap (£80), and while the quality of the ingredients was undoubtedly good there seemed to be a major problem in the kitchen. My starter of Lobster Mulligatawny was tasty but just about lukewarm. It didn't seem serious enough to complain about, but when my main course of rack of lamb arrived that was even colder. The waiting staff sent it back without complaint but the replacement that arrived, while warmer, tasted like it had been basted in salt. By this stage I was hungry, and did not particularly want to ruin my, and my partner's, evening by having to choose something else from the menu and wait for it to arrive, so I ate it. My partner chose the salted brisket, which was unsurprisingly salty - but also excessively so. The Forge does many things right in front-of-house, but is anyone actually tasting the food they send out of the kitchen?
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JJ
6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Sunday, March 01, 2009

Don't usually take the time to write reviews but felt that in this case it was necessary - I'll keep it short. Decided to book this restaurant for a 30th birthday surprise meal. As I'm not from London I decided to look up restaurants that had featured in the popular television programme Master Chef. The ambience was great but the food was not. There was nothing particularly terrible about the food that was served other than it was just very very average and certainly not worth the cost. The staff were quite freindly and accomodating, however as the night went on, so did the wait for our food, especially between the starter and main course. I chose steak for my main course,nothing like a very good steak.....usually! It was quite cold, not very good quality and just came with a plate of luke warm very salty chips. It looked at as if it had been thrown on the plate, no care for the presentation, just very basic and boring!!!!!! The starter was not that great either, the dessert was very nice. I had a lovely night but unfortunately that was only due to the company. I had travelled a long way to be with a friend for her birthday and wanted it to be really special (we don't meet up very often) but was disappointed. I have never written a review before (as you can probably tell) but was just expecting more.
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4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Sunday, February 08, 2009

Returned to the Forge on Saturday lunch for the first time for a while and nothing seems to have changed.

Still a lot of choice on the menu but while the food is not bad it never really excites either.

The wine list appears to be bigger and better value, we had a good Chablis 1er Cru for about £35.

Service was freindly and quick although there was a reason for this. We arrived at about 1.15pm on a Saturday lunch time to a empty restaurant and when we left an hour and a half later we were still the only people they served all lunch.
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 7
Monday, January 19, 2009

We went as a group for dinner here and it was lovely. The food was excellent. Our table was for 7pm and there was only one other table there at that time. By the time we left (9:30pm) it was full to the rafters. The service to start with was good however as the restaurant filled up the waiting time became longer and longer, they certainly need more staff later in the evening. Luckily we were not in a hurry. One good thing about this was no one was hurrying you out the door.

It did get nosier later in the evening but as we were a group it did not affect us too much. Anyone wanting a quiet, romantic dinner might want to choose a secluded table or another restaurant.

The menu was good, lots to choose from. I had the truffled duck egg and ham hock. The duck egg was slightly underdone however the combination of the salty ham and the egg yolk was delicious. For a main course I had cod with puy lentils and bacon cream with a side order of mash. The cod was perfectly cooked - a rare thing.

For desert I had the Crème brûlée - it was creamy and far larger than I anticipated, I had to leave half of it.

All in all a lovely night.
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Claire Herbert
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Friday, December 05, 2008

We happened on this place (Saturday 11th October) & had the three course meal before 7pm...we all had excellent food, and hope to go again. The place emptied after 8 then started to fill again for the a la carte customers...so moral either go early or after 10pm
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D Rowe
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 13, 2008

i went to this restaurant last friday with a client and frankly it was one of the worst meals i'v ever had!

poor service [waited 55 mins between starter and main], poor food, complaint was treated with disdain.

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Friday, September 19, 2008

I visited the Forge mid-week with some friends. It was absolutely heaving with people and while that does make for a good atmosphere usually, it was absolutely deafening and impossible to hold a decent conversation. The food was average considering the price tags. The menu itself is vast but bizarrely nothing jumped out or was particularly inspiring. The service was TERRIBLE. They were obviously understaffed and waiters were deliberately avoiding eye contact which was just pathetic. It took ages to get menus, to order wine, to order food and to pay the bill - what should have been a relaxing experience was actually frustrating and tiring. Overall, I would not definitely not recommend this restaurant.
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3 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Thursday, September 11, 2008