Quaglino's

Booking a private room for a special occasion and at £80 per head, we had high expectations and were then remarkably disappointed with the food. An apparent quality establishment (by appearance) with OK service, it was amazing to discover that I could get a better cut of steak (with better presentation, a pepper sauce with more flavour and vege that is freshly cooked) at my local gastro pub. The Sea Bass was sent back it was so poor (swapped for a steak, to give you an idea of how bad is was). There are better restaurants in London than this place, if you are happy to pay this kind of money. We will never return and will relate this negative experience over every dinner conversation for the next year. Given the current media exposure of chefs/cooking shows etc, customers are able to judge good food better than ever and Quaglino's would do well to realise this.
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Richard Elliott
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Saturday, January 29, 2011

Very dissapointing.

Our party of 15 adults arrived here to celebrate an extra special event. Our drinks reception at the bar was fine but once we were seated the evening went downhill. Drinks were served promtly and after about 20-30 minutes our order was taken. While bread and butter was supplied on the table, no side-plates were present (and never arrived) so needless to say the table linen was a mess with crumbs and buttered knives before our meal had even started. The starters arrived and were quite nice (potted duck, asparagus) - the 'toasted' bread with the duck was burnt on one side and completely un-toasted on the other (strange but a minor problem). However the mains were a disaster - the fish dish (seabass) was so awful they were sent back and a replacement dish of fillet beef was given to those who needed it. However, despite all of us (who had ordered the fillet of beef originally) being asked how we would like it cooked, the staff admitted they had not kept track of the rare, medium or well done meat and simply gave them out randomly with an apology - not acceptable. To make matters worse the meat was of exceptionally poor quality. Dessert was however, very nice but when the coffee arrived it was cold. All in all a disappointment and I won't be eating here again.
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5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Saturday, January 29, 2011

Arrived at Quaglino's last night and was very impressed with the decor and buzz of the place. We started our evening with a nice drink at the bar and it slowly went down hill from there. We waited so long for someone to come and get us to seat us at a table that we had to go and find someone ourselves but that was fine it was a little busy and we are quite relaxed people. We were seated at our table eventually and then had to wait about 30 minutes for someone to come and take our drinks/food order. Again we waited about 40 mins and still no food however a waiter did come over and apologised for the long wait so again we gave them the benefit of the doubt. Starter arrived and I must say the food was excellent so then we began to relax a little and hoped to enjoy the rest of our evening (my birthday). Once the starter was cleared away my boyfriends main (steak) was delivered straight away not even 5 minutes to allow the starter to digest. However I was still without a main meal 5 minutes later and my boyfriend still had no side dishes. We called for the waitress who then went hurrying into the kicthen and returned about 5 mins later with my fish and my boyfriends side order...................BUT GUESS WHAT no side order for me. You can imagine we are now running out of patience with this place. Called the waitress AGAIN who returned 10 minutes later with my side order (no apology just dumped on table) needless to say my fish was now cold. We called over the manager to explain what had happened and she offered to take away my main and replace it with a fresh one which I refused as my boyfriend had already eaten his meal to save them both getting cold so what was the point you go out to eat together right? I told the manager not to worry about it just take away the fish and remove it from our bill. THE BEST BIT.......within a couple of minutes of her removing my plate a waitress returned with our bill and asked us to settle it right away. (IN OTHER WORDS PLEASE LEAVE).....What can I say about this place good food from what I ate but a DISGRACE in service and the way they treat people. We just left very dissapointed without a fuss and WILL NEVER return to Quaglino's again.
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6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Sunday, November 28, 2010

After reading some of the previous comments I was slightly worried, but our party of 15 were greeted and led to the bar area before being seated. Pleasant atmosphere, not too loud so we could hear each other. Led to our table and our orders taken promptly and shortly after our starters arrived, plenty of staff to cater for our needs. Food was very good, and were quickly served. Overall a very good experience and would visit again.
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Mr Price
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, November 21, 2010

It seemed strange that no one has written anything about this restaurant for a while,...! Well, what a fantastic surprise came our way last Saturday night. We decided to book Quaglino's, also gently referred to as Quags (by the staff themselves).

Booking was taken promptly and in a very efficient manner, a lovely Elisabeth called us in the morning to re-confirm our table and our special requirements. Upon arriving, we were greeted by 4 smiles, offered to have a drink at the Bar, which we did and decided to go classic, Martini and Cosmopolitan - faultless and Brani, the Bar manager makes feel like it is home... whilst listening to the ban and singer, we had a very nice view of a full restaurant, full of buzz and full of people clearly enjoying themselves. Eventually, we were taken down to the restaurant, sat on a nice round table (left hand side of the restaurant, best side to sit as one has a good view of what goes about...) - an eastern very polished, friendly and efficient waiter took our order, we went for Quaglinos cocktail, Caesar salad, followed by Dover sole and fishcake, our dessert was one pavlova to share - the food was amazing, classic and reflective of what this restaurant has managed to establish over the years..., did you know this place opened in 1993?

Yes, most definetely would recommend anyone to go back and enjoy a buzz night, with quality food and great service. Decor is modern, art deco, with some interesting features such as the tastle on the chairs, different colour columns, check the toilet signs very quircky, very Quags!

Well done, I have already booked for next month.
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john and juliette
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, October 11, 2010