Wolfe's

The restaurant was very unpleasant in terms of decor which seemed extremely dated. It seemed like an old pub on entry due to the shape of the room and featured a long bar right next to the raised dining tables. I would liken this restaurant to Wetherspoons.

There were very rowdy drinkers (rather like a pub) which interfered with coversations over dinner. Strangely, on one end of the bar there was a small flat screen tv facing the main dining area, showing a soap opera..!

There were a number of instances where a strong draft came through even though the door was closed.

The toilets were not very clean and very cold to say the least.

The food was excessively greasy and of low quality. Especially the starter of fish cakes on a bed of noodles. The noodles were bland and soggy and tasted very cheap. The fish cakes were similarly cheap tasting and were clearly frozen.

The burger was ok but by then my mood was ruined but for the excellent company of my friends.

Service was ok.
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1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, February 08, 2012

We booked ahead, after reading the reviews on line,(so glad we did) arrived on Friday 28/10/11, was not disappointed, the food was out of this world, the onion rings were to die for! When visiting London we will be booking again (shame we are in Hereford)
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- View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, October 30, 2011

I've been going to Wolfe's since it was born in Park Lane. My best friend's family and I always went there before going to the country for the weekend on a Friday night without fail. It was always something that I looked forward to. The food was excellent. My favourites: Chicken in a Basket as well as the Wolfe Burgers. Desserts were the Pear in a tall glass of ice-cream and the freshly made waffles. I even proposed to my wife in the Wolfe's in Knightsbridge.

Imagine how disappointed I was with my recent visit to Wolfe's in Covent Garden. I decided to treat my children to Dinner out with my wife and promised them something special. We ordered our drinks, (Wolfe's have a limited choice of beers), followed by our main course. (I never needed to order a starter at Wolfe's - it's always been the main course with dessert as the attraction of going there).

I'm glad that the Cokes arrived in the glass bottles, however, they were already opened before they got to the table (a convenience thing for the waitress? Left me wondering whether the bottles were just for show and filled up in the back somewhere!)

The main course arrived and the burger was excellent. The little sauce tray was dismal and pitiful. Nothing like the serving dishes that the Wolfe's used to have. The chips arrived in little metal frying baskets. Some may say they were quite quaint; but we found them to be fiddly, especially if you wanted to put sauce on them and I thought

they looked out of place and should have remained in the kitchen instead of taking up space on my plate!

While we ate there was a football match on the tv. We were happily watching the game when the barman would at regular intervals put the tv on teletext to check another football score without any consideration for the client watching. A simple excuse me would have sufficed but with little to do he seemed bored and couldn't care less.

On the dessert Menu, we saw no Waffles! Wolfe's has always been famous for its waffles, probably as much as their burgers! We asked the waitress and she replied that the manager had withdrawn it from the menu. I couldn't believe it! When I got home I looked on your website and it is there on your menu.

No waffles, so we opted for the profiteroles. When they arrived they were hard and crusty. The chocolate was cold and not hot. You can buy better for £1.50 in Sainsburys. We left it.

By now I was so disappointed with Wolfe's and I had such an excellent day at work that I did not want to spoil it by complaining on the day in front of the family and decided enough was enough and not bother ordering anything else. The bill came to £80 odd pounds with the service included. I disagree that the service should be included. I saw it as £80 badly spent and I am still bemused as such a famous name as Wolfe's could let its standards slip to such low, low levels.

The printed menus looked cheap. The decor is outdated and reminds me of an 80's Indian Restaurant. The staff? Probably the reason why the establishment 2 doors down was full and Wolfe's was empty apart from 2 business blokes coming in for a quick drink!
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2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, January 25, 2011

We are a group of normally easily pleased 55-62 year olds who often travel and holiday together. We were in London for 'rugby and shopping'. We spotted the restauant on the Saturday morning and the ladies decided that we should book a table for our eight, plus two friends who live locally, for the evening. We informed the restaurant staff that the majority of us would be choosing from the 'set' menu recommended on the display board outside. We arrived a few minutes before our friends, and were seated and served drinks (A couple of bottles of wine and some rather expensive beers). It was not until after our friends arrived and were also served drinks that the problems started. We were presented with the menus and informed that four of the main course choices on the 'set' menu , "were off". Had we known this before ordering the drinks, we would have gone elsewhere. However, being reasonable people, we persevered, with more than half of us having to resort to the Ala Carte menu (No discretional discounts offered- and we were informed that the starters we wanted from the set menu would be charged at ALa carte price).

We all ordered the same fishcake starter, but we got several different versions of it. Some cold, some warm, some overdone, some underdone, some soft, some leathery. All were on a bed of noodles of varying temperature, and all had a dollop of chilli dipping sauce, probably straight from the bottle.

Main course was a disaster. Best dish was the cod, haddock and chips chosen by three of us. Fish, hot and well cooked, but the oven style chips, dry and tasteless. Two salmon dishes, one hot, but the other needing to be sent back (Cold). Calf's liver, a particular favourite of his, was chosen by one of our party, to be told as some of the other main meals were being brought to the table, that the restaurant had run out of mashed potato, and had to make do with chips (as it turned out, similarly dry and tasteless). The quality of the rest of the meal also left much to be desired and much of it remained uneaten. The other four 'meals' consisted of what appeared to be microved meals one might buy at the local discount freezer shop. A chicken joint covered with what looked like condensed soup. These arrived with the now expected variance of temperature, two of them needing to be returned because of lack of heat. None of these meals were finished, with more left than eaten.

Whilst tackling the main courses,after said returns etc., we were asked if we were happy (one of our party almost needed to be restrained as she thought the staff member was extracting the Michael), upon explaining that we were not happy, we were asked why!!! (Cue further restraint)

We explained our concerns very clearly to the 'manager', who offered us a loyalty card!!!!

We strongly objected to the compulsory 12.5% service charge, as we felt the service was woeful. (I would have objected anyway, as I prefer to decide how much I would like to pay for the service I get)

This negatively affected the social character of the rest of the evening, it was so disappointing, and so expensive for the poor quality experience, (bordering on rip-off. )

We had excellent pub meals on the previous and following days, in much friendlier and cheerful atmospheres. It has certainly given us 'food for thought'. (sorry!).
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Ybsae
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Four of my friends and I chose to dine at Wolfe's late Friday afternoon .

We sat down at approximately 6-30pm and was immediately impressed by the service and the wide range of liquid refreshment that was available. and were impressed by the range of food that was available.

Our individual choices were very much enjoyed and would recommend Wolfes to others if they are ever in the vicinity.

We will most certainly be going back
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Terry - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Thursday, June 10, 2010

Not what I expected.

Not unpleasant but not brilliant. If you are looking for quantity then this is your place, there is no denying that they are generous. Our food was a little hit and miss.

The tables are a little close together for me which made it feel a bit cramped.

I will probably give Wolfe's another go as it was entertaining in a 70's posh restaurant kind of way.
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Nick - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Friday, April 23, 2010

Having first visited Wolfes in Park Lane nearly 20 years ago, I remembered good food exceptional service and a place to return to.

The 'new' venue for me was very nice reminded me of a New York type resturant, in fact I thought it was very good.

I have to say that the food was not what I remembered. The mushroom cream burger was fresh cream and mushrooms, 20 years ago it had a creamy cheese and mushroom sauce which was much nicer. Just didnt have the finish and having dreamt of coming back for over 20 years, I dont think that I will be that keen in the future.... which is a big shame. If you read this Wolfes add the cheese to the cream sauce!!!!
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6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Sunday, December 27, 2009

Having been enticed by the lure of Kobe beef, which I had heard wonderful things about - but never tried, I went to Wolfes with a work party. We waited an age for the food, and when our mains finally arrived the Kobe burger was dry as saw dust. Very poor indeed. I hope to my second foray into this Japanese delicacy will be a better experience.
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Anj
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Thursday, July 30, 2009

Having read the negative reviews below I feel compelled to say something in defence of Wolfe's! I have now been twice in the last 3 or so months (but hadn't been there before these two visits). An occasion was coming up where it fell to me to nominate a restaurant for a group of 10 people to eat on a Friday night. In researching suitable venues, my girlfriend and I went here on a Saturday night. I wasn't at all sure what to expect due to the reviews I had read on this site. We encountered none of the problems mentioned by other reviewers, and the experience was good enough to convince me to book this for the group meal (taking into account atmosphere, value for money, and of course quality of food and drink).

When the time came for the group of us to eat there, Wolfe's did not let me down. They were very accommodating, and did not complain when I rang the day before to change the booking from 10 people to 7. The service and food were both very good, and the whole group enjoyed it. I can see that the decor may not be to everybody's taste, but in my view it has character and makes a refreshing change from the standardised, brightly-lit appearances of many restaurants around.

Perhaps I was lucky, but having eaten there both as part of a couple and as part of a large group, on both a Friday and a Saturday night, I enjoyed each occasion and will be back!
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, May 11, 2009

I have only just reached the point where I can bring myself to talk about this place. My boyfriend and I went to Wolfe's on Valentines Day, booked through lastminute.com. (more about that later)

The food was mixed. I had the most bland beef stroganoff I have ever had, no veg just meat in a mild sauce with some nasty pasta. My boyfriend's burger dish was more impressive, but mostly because there was a lot of chips.

The atmosphere was interesting. Tacky decor, Celine Dion ballads and heart balloons everywhere, all quite funny in contrast to the somber staff who were polite enough but cold in their manner.

Here's the killer bit though. They would not accept that we had booked the offer we had booked, and had evidence of from the print out! They said that the offer had been 'blocked' because it was Valentine's Day...We felt that the issue should have been taken up with Last Minute.com not us. So instead of a £50ish bill we were presented with a £90+ one. The manageress even asked my boyfriend to show her how he booked it online on her computer. I stayed sat at the table for half an hour on my own, with the people sat either side of us giving us their sympathies!

When they returned she slammed a new bill on our table which had a new amount, a Valentines offer incorporated but not the offer we had booked. We decided to just pay it. My partner asked whether they really deserved their 12.5% tip and I laughed...

The manageress lost her temper. She said it was not funny we had wasted half an hour of her time. Then said 'Everyone else could manage to do it why couldn't you?!' Though I tried to point out that we were still customers and paying a larger bill she was not interested.

What a woman. I can only hope she spent a miserable evening on her own on Valentine's as she certainly ruined mine.
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Katy - View all reviews by this user
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, March 06, 2009