The Warrington by Gordon Ramsay

I had heard mixed reviews about the Warrington and my review is also mixed.

The pub downstairs is absolutely gorgeous; the stained glass, the marble pillars, the ornate wood carvings, it's definitely worth a visit!

There were 14 of us and we had dinner in the restaurant upstairs, the staff were friendly and attentive, but not the best... They didn't know who had what meal at each course, when I asked whether the fish was sustainble the waitress didn't know (not even sure she understood what it meant, I would expect a Gordon Ramsay restaurant to know). I didn't have a starter, others did. When my duck main arrived it was the same size as the starters but at nearly three times the price! The food was nice, but I would expect more. Our desserts were nice but again, slightly disappointing...one was a honeycomb icecream with hot chocolate sauce, the sauce looked great (really nice and dark), but didn't taste anything like chocolate!

To sum up, I'd definitely go back to the pub, but wouldn't go back to the restaurant, there are much better places to eat for your money.
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6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Saturday, February 27, 2010

Based on my experience, I think most of these reviews are pretty unfair. We had a great belated Australia Day lunch at The Warrington.

The pub downstairs is gorgeous with really impressive ceilings and a nice ambience. Once up in the restaurant the waiter volunteered to give us the private room which was perfect for a group of 16.

Most of us had the winter set menu. The white onion soup was great, as was the mackerel pate. Almost everybody had the venison and beef cottage pie, which was exceptional - maybe not a huge portion, but it was pretty rich.

The staff were really helpful, especially the South African guy that looked after us. Couldn't do enough to help and really made the afternoon go off well.

Great wine list - go the Turkey Flat rose!

Overall it was great value and I'll definitely be going back.
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Dud
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, February 13, 2010

The Warrington is a joke of a restaurant/pub, considering Gordon Ramsay has such high standards I am shocked that he can put his name to such a badly run restaurant. We went in for a quick bite to eat, first of all we went upstairs to the restaurant but they were fully booked, we asked the lady in the restaurant if they served food downstairs but didnt know!! We then went donwnstairs and ordered food at the bar, 30 mins later the food turned up cold and without the gravy, to be told the gravy was on its way, 15 mins later the gravy turned up but by then we had nearly finished our meal having waited so long. Why didnt the bar staff tell us that there was a long wait for food before paying and ordering our food? It seems that other people in the bar were also waiting for food and experiencing the same problems. The only saving grace is that we complained and got a full refund. We will not be re-visiting this place again, Gordon sort yourself out!
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2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Sunday, January 17, 2010

I'll keep this short and fair. If you go somewhere for a pre-booked group lunch on a Friday in December you would expect the heating to be on. It wasn't. You would expect when they called in the morning to check we were still coming that they might have mentioned the heating was broken. They didn't. You might hope that on asking if the heating could be put on you would get more than a gruff monosyllabic response. We didn't. You might think that when paid and ordered at the bar from the bar menu they would let you know you would wait over 40 minutes for your food. They didn't. You would hope that when you complained to get your money back as the bar was too cold to sit in and the food had taken to long they would be polite and agree. They were not. You would have thought if you had 10 cold, and slightly annoyed customers who had paid for their meal in advance that you might invite them upstairs to dine in the empty restaurant. They did, but only after 3 or 4 conversations. On the positive side, once upstairs the food came quickly and a free round of drinks was offered. Food when it arrived was average. Not bad, not great. £9.95 burger - you would expect more, nice steak mince, cooked ok, nice bun. I've never counted the chips before, but I did. 11. That’s right ELEVEN 'chunky' chips. A smallish burger, no side salad, and 11 chips for £9.95. Make your own mind up. Eleven chips. Eleven. They were ok chips, not special, not double fried fancy ones, just 11 ok chips in a small dish on a small plate. The burger had some cheese and some caramelized red onion. £9.95. 11 chips. All places have a bad day some times. I don't think I'll be back to see if they improve. Not for me. 11 chips.
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Richard
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Friday, December 04, 2009

Not having visited The Warrington before it is impossible to comment on the previous decor, however the meal we were served with in the restaurant was excellent .

The fishcake actually tasted of fish rather than potato as at many establishments. The steak was cooked to perfection and spotted dick served with ginger ice cream was superb.

The service throughout was excellent and unobtrusive.

Finally the extensive drinks menu is very reasonably priced.

I am sure that all of us (6) will be returning to The Warrington at our earliest opportunity.
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Ed
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 05, 2009

I ordered from the set menu a decision based on the availability of French Onion Soup (a favourite) and having had the winter pie on my trip to The Narrow. I was disappointed with the soup, the onions had not been caramelised and the liquid broth suffered for it. I've never had French Onion Soup without the obligatory cheese/bread topping so a disappointing start. The mediocre meal was topped off literally, by the soggy pie lid - a classic pub/service station nasty. My order was based on the tasty puff pastry received at The Narrow - shocking to receive the buttery mush that arrived in front of four of our party.

My dessert was pleasant, I went off the set menu.

Finally, we happily sat with our dessert plates for some time and even after paying the bill these remained on the table. So well worth the obligator tip (not optional) of 12.5%.

I wouldn't expect this standard of food/service from my local let alone an outlet associated with someone who televises his displeasure with the lack of standards in eating establishments worldwide.

I notice most others in the restaurant had ordered off the set menu. Understandably, chef obviously isn't interested in supplying it.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Where to start! After eating at Claridges, The Maze and the Narrow and enjoying all three, I was really looking forward to The Warrington!

Unfortunately it was such a disappointment I don't think I could go back to one of Gordon's places again!

The service was slow, the main course's were a huge disappointment (Chicken and Wild mushroom pie - came with one cube of chicken and button mushrooms!)

My dish failed to appear until everyone else had finished thier main course

then to top it off I had the Creme Brule and found a custard the consistancy of milk! I mentioned this to the waiter who said he would ask the Chef - The response I got was "This is how our Chef serve's his Creme Brulee"

At this stage honesty would have been more appreciated he'd obviously heated it under the blow torch for too long! Have you senn Gordon's "How to make Creme Brulee" on You Tube - it's not runny there!
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Kelly Andrews
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Monday, June 29, 2009