Marco Pierre White Steak & Alehouse

A very disappointing experience. Visited over lunch time, food was bland and restaurant was under staffed and unable to cope, although not full. We had to wait about 15 minutes for check to arrive, same situation with a number of other tables. Service was anything but smooth and manager seemed rather arrogant and unprofessional. Not a place I would be willing to return to.
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3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Monday, December 19, 2011

My husband and I enjoyed a celebratory meal at Marco's last night. We had a three course meal and champagne Travelzoo voucher, which meant that our meal cost a lot less than it would have done ordinarily.

To start I had the kipper pate and my husband had the cream of cauliflower soup. I wasn't keen on mine (I prefer pate with a bit of texture and this was too smooth for my liking) so swapped, but wasn't that keen on the soup either as it resembled cauliflower flavoured frothy milk and wasn't seasoned enough.

We both had the steak for main which was beautifully cooked and tender. Cutting it was like cutting through butter and the chips complimented it perfectly. Quite possibly our best steak meal ever!!

For dessert we ordered the lemon tart and the sticky toffee pudding....a popular choice amongst the diners. Both were really tasty and the sticky toffee wasn't overly sweet as it can be sometimes.

We arrived at 7pm and left near to 10pm, feeling very full and satisfied. The staff were really friendly, helpful and didn't rush us through our meal, even though we probably stayed longer than our booking allowed (a breather was needed before we ordered dessert!!)

We had a really lovely evening and thoroughly recommend this place if you're looking for somewhere a bit special with good food in a relaxed atmosphere.
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Niss
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, November 17, 2011

It wasn't bad - but when you spend £50 per head on lunch you expect something a bit special, and this wasn't special. My fish pie was certainly edible, but had a bit of a microwaved feel about it. My mother makes a much tastier version....

The restaurant itself is dire and dingy, with the decor looking 10+ years old, when in fact it's only been open for a couple of years! The service was fine however, the waitress was perfectly pleasent and friendly.

Would not consider going back as it's just terrible value for money.
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Abi
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Thursday, November 10, 2011

I am always sceptical of these chef branded outlets which I imagine to be overpriced cash-cows for those celebrity cooks who have sold out on their name in the interest of a healthy pension. With MPW's Steak & Alehouse, I was not disappointed.

First the good; the dining room is lovely, atmosphere on a Friday night was lively but the setting intimate enough for dinner for two. Service was generally ok (they dealt with fussy dining requirements without a blink of the eye) but slow and lacking finesse - they can't be paying much for these part-timers.

Then the bad; the quality of ingredients we found generally to be ok, but there is absolutely no individual flair in that kitchen. Marco has ensured that almost every item on the menu can be executed with minimal use of any kitchen utensil other than the grill. The mackerel pate looked like it came pre-packed, asparagus with hollandaise was a kiddie-school starter, steaks were well cooked and of reliable quality (but over seasoned), and the triple cooked chips a distinct let down (too large cuts and hence the excess steam inside soggied the crust), with desserts probably a highlight (M&S quality lemon tart, but a very decent sticky toffee).

You wouldn't expect a steak house kitchen to be a cauldron of creativity, and indeed simple, well executed dishes would be fine of course, but when demanding nearly £30 for a 10oz steak and chips, you have to be sure you're serving something really special. This, however, is over priced, run-of-the-mill steakhouse fair. Had we paid full-whack, (our internet-site deal saved us nearly 50% - and over half the dinners seemed to be in the same boat the night we went!), I would have felt well and truly robbed.

I hope to heaven that celebrity chefs like Marco and Jamie Oliver will in future back talented chefs with their own ideas and individual styles (Gordon Ramsay has an excellent track record here at the top end of the culinary market; Jason Atherton, Clare Smyth, Mark Askew etc.), rather than fund the expansion of these mass produced, and over priced, steak and grill kitchens.
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Foodie - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Friday, November 04, 2011

I am very surprised by some comments this is the second time i have been here in middlesex street and again i would give ten out of ten..crab starter brill..calves liver perfect and eton mess lovely and perfect temperature not ice cold from fridge..had groupon voucher tho had add ons starter n drinks but i guess you get what you pay for...
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lily - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, August 19, 2011

Wow, how can a 'good' restaurant be so bad, I received a plate of food, that had I cooked myself, I would be mildly embarrassed to serve to my partner.

I had a steak that was not even approaching hot, it was unseasoned, flavourless and very fatty. The food was bland at best and far far from cheap. I don't expect to pay top dollar for an experience worse than my own very average cooking!
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Tom Kington
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Bad, very bad. We went in with expectations of high standards of food and were confronted with MPW's confidently smirking portrait on the back of the menu. Fair enough. Starters were so so: the onion soup had nice flavour, although not of onion soup! Mains, though, were mostly disappointing - the T bone steak was alarmingly chewy and overdone, the bearnaise too gooey, the much awaited triple cooked chips had the texture and taste of crusty socks you may find under your washing machine on the day you move out. One dish failed to arrive at all. The hostess was ditzy to the extent we worried she was suffering from a stroke. The other argued when we complained about the food. The wine list was excellent though, and the fillet steak acceptable. But with high expectations utterly dashed, coupled with the high prices, we will not be returning!
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1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Not great. A room full of drunk, leary office juniors set against a soundtrack of techno. Why on earth the staff think that suitable background music for a steak house is that I do not know. The food was indifferent and over-priced.

There are a considerble number of better options in the West End and the City. I would definitely give this place a miss.
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Duncan Rushworth
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Having visited this restaurant on the weekend for a special occasion, I was massively disappointed and left feeling rather very angry. We were booked to make use of the '50% off main courses' offer, but were misled with the T&Cs. In an attempt to resolve this issue, we had to speak to the Manager who was outrageously rude and incredibly unprofessional. The Manager refused to back down (whatever happened to 'the customer is always right'?!) and we were forced to pay an unreasonable amount for our meal which, to be quite honest, was mediocre. We were also left waiting to receive our side orders, causing our main meal to go cold.

Following our meal, my friend got home only to discover that her flatmate had experienced exactly the same situation in the same restaurant with the same incredibly rude Manager.

I would definitely not recommend going to this restaurant.
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4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Monday, December 13, 2010

Neither fantastic nor terrible. We went on a Monday night and the place was pretty dead. The menu is fairly simple and a cynic would suggest that MPW has designed something fairly formulaic which requires little or no "art" in the kitchen. French Onion soup was perfectly acceptable, and a fillet steak was a little dry but edible. Triple-cooked chips were very decent indeed. Puddings were fine too.

We booked a 50% offer through London Eating and this was honoured without a fuss. Its just about fair value for money with the discount included, but the quality does cannot sensibly command the full price.
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Foxtrot Oscar
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, November 02, 2010