Bloomsbury Street Bar and Restaurant

The restaurant is based in & is part of the Radisson Edwardian Hotel. I booked based on the all-round good reviews. Here and on other sites.

They were offering a 50% off the food via "London Eating" - but even at that price, it was a complete waste of money and I begrudge paying what we did. The only enjoyable thing was the wine.

Before I start writing this I'd like to state that my sense of taste is superb, I don't smoke and I didn't have a cold (thereby impairing my taste-buds). I'm also someone who uses extremely little salt or seasoning on my food - but that by no means should mean that food is devoid of any *taste* - as was the case with all our food this evening.

My starter was a fennel, bean & Jerusalem artichoke salad, sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts. The only thing with a hint of taste was the nuts.

My friend had a duck platter starter consisting of smoked duck (leathery), seared fois gras (edible) and duck terrine (more like a fluffy mouse that reeked of garlic! not edible). The "brioche" was a bit of white sandwich loaf toasted.

Mains: I had a chicken & fois gras pie with mash. The chicken bits were dry and there was no way of telling that there was any fois gras in the pie. Everything was totally overshadowed and enveloped in the mash.

My friend has grilled seabass with chopped tomatoes in some sort of jus. The seabass reeked of fish (not in a good way) and the tomatoes might as well have been sawdust. Totally devoid of taste. And frankly the presentation was awful.

Overall the menu had so much possibility and on paper it all seemed very appetising.

Reality is a different matter.

The decor was fine and the ambience OK. A bit dark for my liking to be honest.

Service by the staff was fine. Efficient but not friendly.

Won't recommend and won't go again.
Comment on this reader review

- View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Thursday, January 12, 2012

Visited 23 March, restaurant quiet, excellent meal and service. Had a delicious White Choc and Orange truffle dessert. Would recommend, especially with 50% off food bill. Bottled water to be avoided very costly.
Comment on this reader review

- View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Saturday, April 02, 2011

highly recommend. pricy, but unlike many expensive places in London, is completely worth the money. great food and excellent service.
Comment on this reader review

Yevgeniy - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, February 19, 2011

I went to this restaurant yesterday (Saturday evening) and the overall experience was very good (not very busy). The food was beautifully made although I did find the starter a little on the small side but that was quickly forgotten due to the size and quality of the main meal, Thank you chef.

The Service was fantastic although the irony was that I found whom I considered the Head Waitress or Waitress Manager /Supervisor a little conceited and rude to myself and another customers next to us which let down the Service, otherwise it would have been a 10/10 for service.

When we told her we had booked a table for 5:30pm she advised us quite abruptly that the restaurant was not open fully yet and to just sit anywhere and wait (even though we were advised on the phone when making the booking to be there on time as it got busy) - she said this all without making any eye contact or a smile, it felt as though we were distracting her from something more important. Needless to say the appointed waitress we had at our table was absolutely fantastic which changed the service experience 180 degrees.

I also used the Taste Card (50% off food) but I always find that there is always a catch when you enter such vicinities. The catch here is that you can only use it on the ala carte menu (no problem here) but the discount is only limited to 2 courses. I think this should be highlighted when you call up and book with your card not when you are ordering your meal, therefore that was a little disappointing as we ended up going somewhere else for coffee and dessert.

Overall it was a good experience thanks to the Chef and the appointed Waitress.
Comment on this reader review

9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, November 14, 2010

booked a spanish restaurant near Tottenham court road but after reading a very very bad reviews on this restaurant I had to find something very last minute. I decided for Bloomsbury retaurant in Radisson hotel...and didn`t regret at all. I booked it for 6people on Monday and we also had taste London card so were expecting 50% off the bill.. The stuff was very swift and friendly, smiling and polite. The ambience was very nice, stylish simple and chairs were comfy. The a la carte menu offered few dishes so we decided to try a few off it. Delicious, delicious , delicious...from starters to yum yum dessert, everything tasty. The portions didnt seem big so i was worried that we would stay hungry, but if u order starter and main, its deffo enough (at least for the ladies)..We had a nice white wine..6 bottles, and the bill came out 400GBP so after the discount we got 200 to pay. I will deffo come back again. Highly recommended
Comment on this reader review

Lucia
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, October 24, 2010

We enjoyed a very well presented and competently executed dinner on Saturday night. All of our party of 5 were very happy with their food. The menu was a little predictable in places but showed flair with combinations like mackerel & rhubarb.

The menu was fairly priced but we used our taste London card for a 50% food discount and the value went stratospheric! A quick peak on the reservation list on the way in showed about half the other diners had done the same and saw other 241 for offers advertised elsewhere.

Service was swift and friendly although perhaps a little green as no one took drinks order until we ordered food and my G&T arrived between my starter and main course. Decor was fresh and modern and leather seats were very comfy.

Overall a great experience for the money and would certainly go back soon.
Comment on this reader review

8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Sunday, November 15, 2009

Lovely restaurant. Lovely food. Lovely atmosphere. Cant wait to again.
Comment on this reader review

Ellie Williams
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, October 19, 2009