The Wolseley

I went for the afternoon champagne tea experience at The Wolseley with my teenage son and was totally unimpressed. My tea consisted of finger sandwiches made from stale bread and shop bought scones. My son had hamburger which looked good, however was placed in a cheap bread roll and served with those disgusting thin frozen chips. The only thing I would recommend is the earl grey which was divine. Apart from that it's totally overpriced garbage, not a relaxed dining experience more like an expensive canteen.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, February 25, 2011

I had high expectations but The Wolseley did not live up to them. We were allocated a table looking down on the whole restaurant which initially a voyeuristic experience, meant that we were segregated from any atmosphere.

The food was beyond poor. My rib eye steak, requested as medium was still mooing when it arrived. The service was also poor and even though two bottles of wine were ordered, only 1 arrived and I had to request my bottle of red another 2 times! When requesting it a second time i was greeted by an eye rolling waiter and was made to feel that i was an irritation. I fail to see what was so special about this restaurant and certainly wont be returning nor recommending this to others. I have been to many fine dining establishments but this was not one of them. Having a bottle of ketchup 'plonked' down in front of me when requested was also another unpleasant surprise. Surely it could have been served in a separate dish rather than acting like a greasy spoon cafe!
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Paula Kirby
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Monday, February 21, 2011

This place is amazing on every level. Staff are right balance of attentive yet unimposing. Food is simply the best - never once had a bad meal in there and the atmosphere is buzzing.

Absolutely adore this place cannot recommend highly enough
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C.Harding - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Food was very nice, and the building is admittedly incredible, very magical. HOWEVER, it is very difficult to appreciate these factors when faced with the service which we received. It was absolutely appalling, the staff were incredibly rude, inconsiderate and all in all ruined the entire experience of dining here. I would never return and would strongly recommend others to go somewhere else as that attitude within the hospitality arena is entirely unacceptable.

Worst service I have ever received in my life, bad attitudes from the management to the waiters. awful. absolutely awful.
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2 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 2
Sunday, January 16, 2011

We had breakfast on friday for my son's 30th birthday, I had read it is the place to go for the best breakfast in London.

It was amazing, the building alone is fantastic it's so ornate, you are transformed into another world while you are there, we could have been in the 1800's. Although it was very busy the service was fast and efficient, and it did'nt feel as though there were around 150 other people there at the same time.

I had omelette arnold bennett and it was delicious, followed by various pastries and coffee, the full english my son had looked and tasted very good, we will definitely be going back.
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kym
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, December 13, 2010

for those only wanting to know what the food was like, it's not really worth writing home about so enough of that and lets concentrate on what the wolseley seems to do best.

beautiful dining hall (possibly the most wonderful place to dine in the whole of london), great atmosphere (the main hall was buzzy, energetic, totally alive and pitched at precisely the level i like), service throughout was fantastic (we were sat in the centre circle with lucian freud on a table to my right and joan collins on a table to my left. the waiting staff were excellent thoughout and couldn't be faulted, enough said), great wine(the wine list is short which aids the swiftness in making a decision but only if there is a wine there that one liked. nearly ended up choosing a tried and tested bollinger but eventually went with a brunello di montalcino which in time was deep, rich, smooth and sweet. a very elegant red indeed. i would choose this again without hesitation. it was a 2003 and for whatever reason the cork on the first bottle opened had broken, leaving unwanted bits of cork in the wine. second bottle opened fine after the first was returned).

my scoring for the food is low as the seasoning on the dishes that we had was poorly judged. there was certainly no need for the salt shaker on the table and the waiters never needed prompting in filling our water jug for which i am very greatful! the cooking is of good brasserie standard and once the over zealous use of salt is sorted out (all the staff should try out the dishes and make an opinion, your opinion is as valid as any other) will be perfectly acceptable but is unlikely to ever astound.
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8 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Sunday, December 12, 2010

Visited with my girlfriend on 14 June as a treat. Arrived a little early but whisked into tea rooms with a warm welcome and a pot of Earl Grey. We were politely informed our table was ready whenever we were and from then really enjoyed the whole experience.

Delicious warm bread and French butter, an interesting Vegetarian menu and good wine. As we had booked the early sitting and once we had finished we were moved with the minimum of fuss to a lounge just inside the entrance "More romantic" smiled the waitress. Drinks followed us. We sat there the whole night watching the buzzy atmosphere even on a Monday and could see how hard the staff worked. We'd forgotten about the remains of our wine but it magically appeared and dessert was ordered.

From start to finish a memorable experience with professional and friendly (but not too much so) staff and still incredibly good value for these surroundings. Will definately visit again.
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10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Truly one of the most wonderful restaurants in all London for afternoon tea the way it should be.

One inconsequential niggle is the lack of manners of their reservations staff, both on the telephone and in written correspondence they are over-familiar, they use your first name without invitation and they can't spell or punctuate properly. Such a shame.
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Giles Mellor
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, June 06, 2010

There is no value in simply repeating my standard super-complimentary review after a lunch with three ex-colleagues last week. The restaurant was as good as ever, the service was on the ball and caught exactly the right balance between formal and friendly, the atmosphere bustling, the managers calm and courteous amidst the hubbub.

A previous review of mine had commented unfavourably on my hosts’ oysters. Suffice to say that this time, I was assured, they were perfect. I thought May was out-of-season for oysters, but what do I know?

Since the sad demise of St Alban, and now the news that Messrs Corbin and King’s planned Covent Garden eaterie may not proceed, the Wolseley sits pretty well alone at the top of the London restaurant heap. Please keep going.
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James - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, May 28, 2010

With mother for a birthday treat. All fancy, up town for once and knew that this was the only place I could take her.

The staff are always wonderfully friendly and attentive (definitely one of the marks of the management) and the afternoon tea was reasonably priced and spot on. Sandwiches prepared with military precision, light and crisp scones and a lovely selection of cakes and petit fours.

No issues at all, we walked out with a goodie box and a big smile. At over £30 each it's not the cheapest in town but it's definitely worth it.
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www.grumblinggourmet.com - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Saturday, April 24, 2010