Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food

Had a mid-afternoon lunch two weeks ago, arriving after a fairly hassle free check-in. Maitre d' cheerfully greeted me in reception area. I was struck by the number of staff, I counted up to 9 bodies - mostly trying to keep busy during the post lunch lull.

My food was ok - you get exactly what you pay (dearly) for - side orders extra. The restaurant was fine, seating and lighting comfortable, and cleared following lunch.

Service during my meal was average, considering the staff/customer ratio. I had to repeatedly (4 times) request a glass of water, thought that the choice of cutlery supplier was poor, and was told that I could not have a steak knife - no explanation offered. I ordered a half bottle of red wine - and received a carafe, no sight of a bottle. I finished my meal with an espresso, which didn't merit the £4 price tag!

As I paid the £68 bill, the maitre d' arrived. I asked about the cutlery and he explained that BAA had selected/approved the cutlery, and would not allow steak knives..., he didn't comment when I mentioned the price of an espresso!

In conclusion, a pleasant enough lunch, service left a bit to be desired, and a little expensive - the Ramsay experience comes at a premium!!
Comment on this reader review

Tom Woods
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, June 08, 2008

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear Gordon's got this one sooooo wrong.

We arrived at eight thirty in the morning on 9th April having actually got through Terminal 5's chaos quickly. Having spotted the restaurant we made a bee line for it looking forward to a great special "holiday breakfast". On passing some sofas we arrived at the reception desk and looked for some sign of life. There was nothing apart from a sea of used crockery, cluttered tables and no staff in sight.

After a few minutes someone we assume was the maitre'd arrived together with a vacant looking "minder". He asked us to take a seat on the sofas while they cleaned up the restaurant and set us a table.

You guessed it, we left and had a thouroughly pleasant breakfast at the food outlet called Giraffe. It was buzzing with people and running like clockwork. The food was tasty and the staff were great.

I would also point out that my hairdresser had a similar experience at Plane Food two days before but stuck it out and ate there. She paid well over £40 for two breakfasts that she said were just very average hotel fare and certainly not worth the money. Please note that when it says toast on the menu it means one small slice. There is a basic price which looks attractive but just like your average BMW that's only half the story.

Gordon, you have your own Kitchen Nightmare, get to it and sort it out before it closes in a rush of bad publicity.

You have to ask yourself whether the concept was right in the first place providing slow food in a place that most people are in a rush to get out of. Perhaps he was made an offer he couldn't refuse by BAA and doesn't really care whether it makes money or not..........
Comment on this reader review

Chris
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Thursday, May 01, 2008