Quaglino's

This is the first time I have felt compelled to write a review. We had heard good things about this restaurant and were excited about going for a special event. The food was okay but the service was poor. We got our starter and main in short order and then were left sitting waiting for 40 minutes, unable to get anyone's attention to move on to the third course. By this time, we decided we didn't want desert at the risk of being made to wait further. We asked for the bill once we finally got had someone attend the table. We were then left waiting a further 20 minutes for this which soured the night. I will not be returning nor recommending Quaglino's to friends. We felt like we were an inconvenience.
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Anna Nation
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Friday, May 01, 2009

Ate in Quaglino’s for the first time for my husband’s birthday treat. While I could not fault the service, the food was nothing special and certainly not worth the hefty price tag. Goats cheese starter was bland – I have had better in pubs at half the price. Main course vegetable ‘Croustade’ – the pastry was extremely over salted... and I like salty food. The lemon tart was very nice, but not enough to save the overall disappointment.

I was expecting a real treat at this price, not average pub food. I won’t be going back.
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, March 31, 2009

My first meal at Quaglino's and not my last.

Great food and attentive service - although the waiter did resemble Mr Bean!

The set menu is also very well compiled.
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spookyzoo - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Friday, March 06, 2009

I went there on Saturday night with my partner for a pre-theatre treat. Noting the mixed reviews but keen to see the place for myself, I booked and braced myself just in case. However, I am delighted to report we had a great time, with faultless, speedy, friendly service; brilliant, yummy food, and a price which in view of its location and style was excellent value for money. We went for the fixed price 3 course, under £20, still were spoilt for choice, and it really was delicious. Piping hot, tastefully arranged on th eplate and delicious. Well done Quaglinos, we'll be back.
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Antonia Barlow
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, March 01, 2009

My girlfriend and I went here for a special Valentine's meal, using points that we'd accumulated over about a year. I was dismayed by a) the food, and b) the service. Granted, we were redeeming points, and so didn't expect to choose from the full menu. But the specially labelled 'redeeming points menu' was an insult. The choices were completely uninteresting and uninspiring - no better than standard pub food, e.g. onion soup, goats cheese salad, and chicken with mushrooms and pancetta.

The food itself was poor, which was remarkable given its simplicity. The goats cheese starter was tasteless, my terrine tasted like cat food and was served on a bed of gherkins, which I found somewhat unusual, the fishcakes were dry and bland, and the creme brulee was like cold school custard.

The waiting staff were rude: I was actually insulted by a waitress after she tried to clear my plate, which still had food left on it, while I was still chewing. To add to the misery, when I asked that the service charge be removed from the bill, I was subjected to an aggressive interrogation from a head waitress as to why I did not want to pay for service. I received no apology.

In summary, I would NEVER, EVER go back to this place. It is over priced, the food is awful, and the service is comically bad.
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Disgruntled Diner
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, February 18, 2009

On the Friday before Christmas I took 11 employees to Quaglinos for our annual Christmas dinner. To say I was underwhelmed with the food would be an understatement. The mussells to start were fine but from there onwards it was downhill. My expensive fillett steak was seriously undercooked and the creme brulee (surely a basic for any compotent chef) was completely over cooked. All in very dissapointing and I will not be going back.
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justin wilson
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Monday, December 22, 2008

We booked early on a Saturday evening, and understood we would have to be out within 2 hours. We were totally unprepared however, for the speed of service, which was far too rapid and downright rude. My wife's hot starter was served within minutes of our order being placed, and while she had gone to the loo! We were just recovering from this, when the main courses arrived, we had literally just put our cutlery down. On top of this, my wife's main meal arrived cold, and when we complained about this we were told we would receive a freshly cooked meal, but in fact got reheats. I might have felt singled out for bad service, if the couple at the table next to us had not had a similar experience. I refused to pay the service charge, and when I explained to the head waiter why I was so disapponted with the meal, there was no genuine apology just an explanation that the kitchen was very busy. It seems Quaglino's is prepared to routinely compromise on the dining experience of its early diners to keep the throughput up. The food and wine were good, but if you must go, don't go early, and don't order more than one course at a time.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, December 09, 2008

I had a date with a guy that took me here. Very nice decor, the staircase evoked a sort of old school glamour feel to it - all I was thinking was that I hoped I didn't trip up whilst walking down in my 4 inch heels! The food was fairly good, the only disappointment was the dessert (go to Eight over Eight - their chocolate cake and green-tea ice-cream was to die for!).
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Abida Mian
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, December 07, 2008

When my colleague said he'd booked Quaglino's for dinner I was caught between emotions. Underwhelmed because the former Conran palaces are a shadow of their former self in both quality and popularity. I was also a little nostalgic when I recall a few great nights in the bar surveying the restaurant and it's glamorous customers.

Well, the overall look and feel is still the same and equally impressive. Sadly, the cigarette girls are long gone and as are the indulgent customers that are now propping up the bar at the latest fabulous place. The customers appear to be out of towners who want the feeling of a big night but don't really want the big expense of it.

The menu is appealing and the food was fair. My terrine...could have been a little more flavorsome but still OK. The partridge was a little overcooked (but that could just be me) although still a reasonable dish. The Cheesecake was a little underwhelming. The wine list was also fine.

Ultimately, it was fun to reminisce and the food was just OK. But when was Quag's ever really about the food ?... it was all about the fun, which it still is.
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Gregory
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Thursday, October 16, 2008

My partner and myself had lunch at Quaglinos on 10 September 2008. I had been given Conran vouchers to the value of £150 as a present and was very much looking forward to having a first-class lunch.

The decor is very impressive and we had a couple of drinks at the bar. i was very surprised that we were not offered any complimentary olives or anything else with our drink.

We ordered from the main menu and I was a little disappointed with the choices. I asked the waiter if Chateaubriand was on the menu and he said that it wasn't.. I ordered mussels to start and we both ordered rib-eye steak for main course.

The waiters were very good and continually topped up our wine and water glasses. The starters were very nice but the chef obviously did not allow for the fact that I was eating mussels to start (which took quite a while to eat) and our main courses were ready to be served as soon as I had finished my starter. The waiter did apologise but it would have been nicer to have had a short break before the main course. I thought this was very bad practice for a restaurant of this standard especially as there were not very many diners in the restaurant.

The steak was not particularly tender and a little disappointing.

We had 3 courses in total, 2 drinks at the bar and 1 bottle of house wine - the bill came to around £146.

We were very full by the end of the meal but I did not feel it was good value for money.
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Lesley Carter
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Sunday, September 21, 2008