Garfunkel's (Oxford Circus)

This was my first and last visit to this restaurant. I have been to london several times and always saw this place. Not only was the food horrible the service was bad. We asked the waitress for a recommendation, not knowing what to order, she suggested anything, whatever we were in the mood for. We ordered 2 glasses of wine which came after our meal and after we had asked 3 times, unfortunately they were piping hot and we were unable to drink them. As for the meal, within 5 minutes of ordering we had our dishes, I kid you now I actually timed it. My potatoes had sat under a heat lamp so long they were a crusty blob and my meat pie was barely warmed in the center. My friends meal consisted of an uncooked questionable chicken breast covered in a piece of pork fat (she had ordered a chicken breast with BBQ sauce). We did not eat our meal and sat there 20 minutes trying to get a waitress, at last one came by didn't say a word and grabbed our plates. After another 20 minutes of waiting I got up and asked for the cheque. Shortly after that the manager came over to ask how we had dined, when we expressed our dissatisfaction and the fact we had not eaten, he looked offended and offered us a 20% discount. 50£ was definately outrageous. NEVER EAT HERE
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Crystal
1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, October 20, 2010

took a couple of my firends last evening for dinner.

Very dissapointed on the overall quality of the entire experiance at the price paid. The two steak portions were rather small with the irish stew was a dish of hog wash. absolute disaster. overall very poor quaility and many restaurants in the area that wil serve very good food at around 25/-- per head.

Avod at all cost. very poor food. Service decent...
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Hash
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Saturday, August 14, 2010

After spending the first half of the day shopping, me and my mother just wanted somewhere to grab something to eat and head off again. We did realise it wouldn't be 'grab and go' but it did take it's time. We both ordered the all day breakfast - I asked for no egg and mum asked for hard done.

They arrived with two soft eggs on the plate. We did end up saying we asked for no eggs and the waiter apologised and walked off. Another waitress then arrived and apologised and kept trying to take our plates - we explained it had already taken far too long and just wanted to eat and go. A few minutes after she disappeared, the waiter that took our order came to apologise and said it was his fault. The till wouldnt let him put it in. I no its hard to apologise to unsatisfied customers (I myself know) but he basically couldn't be bothered to run upstairs to either put the order in or tell them in the kitchen.

Food was also luke warm and they were a bit tight on bacon!

That being said, it was 7.95 I think which isn't too bad, especially considering the location. Very nice sausages too!

I would go back due to their tasty menu but wasn't too impressed with their performance on this occasion.
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Stacey
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, August 13, 2010

Came here a few weeks ago for a bite to eat after being shopped out in Oxford Street with my best friend. I've been before when I was younger but couldn't really recall the experience, but nonetheless was excited about going back, and it did not disappoint.

We were seated, given menus and had our drinks order taken promptly by a charming Portugese waiter. One of the drinks was wrong but upon hearing this, the waiter quickly righted it with a smile.

My friend opted for the lasagne and I went for a plain cheeseburger off the very reasonably priced lunch menu. I'm not a great fan of salad and was a little apprehensive about requesting a plain burger but again, our cheery waiter said it was fine, so I immediately felt more at ease, if that was possible!

Food took a little while to arrive but having said that it was heaving in there (not a place for a romantic meal!) plus we were in no rush so this didn't phase us. When it did arrive, as previous reviewers say; not a gourmet meal but still adequate and filled a hole nicely. My burger was perfectly cooked, and enormous! I couldn't finish it all, especially with the generous helping of chunky chips that accompanied it. My friend said her lasagne was a tad dry but not enough to bother her, and she readily ate every scrap.

Service was a bit lacklustre after we'd finished eating, plates didn't get cleared for a good 15 minutes after we'd finished despite there being plenty of staff around, most of them not doing alot. Also, my other little niggle was that a family of German tourists were seated opposite our table and seemed to be glaring at us as we ate - uncomfortable!

All in all, a pleasant experience. You don't go here expecting Michelin star food but we were well looked after and our meals weren't exactly terrible! Would be happy to go again :)
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PJBaby - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, June 30, 2010

I knew of Garfunkel's before we ventured in to eat and wasn't expecting a gourmet meal but having ordered the Beef Fajitas I was shocked by what I was served.

The meal was described as beef strips marinated in spices with onions, peppers, sour cream and cheese served in a wrap. However on unrolling the wrap there was no definable shape to the beef at all. It had turned (along with any other ingredients that may or may not have been present) into a sort of mushy paste. I've never known beef to look such a way, I'm not even sure I would know how to make it that way if I tried.

My boyfriend had the ribs and chicken and to be fair that was fairly inoffensive and he finished it off (although the man would have been just as happy in Burger King...) and the chips at least where quite chunky and not fries.

I was a little surprised that the bill came to £33 with only two beers and mineral water in addition to the meals and not having had any starters and nor hanging around to sample desert. I have had cheaper, more satisfying and better quality meals.
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Gemma
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Vistied today after long day walking around and from The Natural Hitory Museum.

We were very disappointed with the quality, quantity and flavour of the food especailly given the cost.

We were however seated promptly, and served with drinks and our food within reasonable time. Our 4 year old readily ate all her spag bol without complaint however it was served with a minimum of presentation and would have looked entirely appropriate to give to our labradors! My lemon and coriander chicken with chunky chips was very disappointing. If I had more than 10 chips on my plate I would be suprised . The chicken looked suspiciously like a frozen "char grill effect" rather than how the menu described it. My husband had chicken and ribs, which was rather bland and he described it as " a bit like school diners". We orded 2 diet cokes, two mineral waters and a lemonade - total bill £36. The cokes at £2.55 each - were not free refill-eble!

A visit to the cramped, hot and not all that clean ladies room, sealed the fate of garfunkles for us. We will not be visiting any of the chains facillities again. In sumary, it is a poor substitute for the similarly prices but far superior restaurants such as TGI and Nandos.
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Carol Evans
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Friday, October 30, 2009

We went to Garfunkels after a long day walking around museums and we were really happy we chose to eat there. The menu gave lots of choice, including a great British section, and from the time we ordered to the time we had our food was not a long time at all. The atmosphere was a pleasant one and the food was delicious. The meals were quite big but we all ate everything and the side orders were of a good size. The waitress was very nice and pleasant and i would highly recommend this to anyone.
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, July 09, 2009