Lonsdale

I was dragged to this bar for a friends birthday, and must say how impressed I was. It was nothing like I expected, the staff were super friendly and the cocktails are some of the best I've had in London. The food looked amazing, and the taste I had off someone elses plate is ensuring I take my wife back there for dinner soon. I will gladly recommend this place to my friends.
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pure - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, March 20, 2008

Ate here recently. The entree, scallops, was superb and excellent value. Good, simple food in a good fun atmosphere.
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Jorge
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, July 05, 2007

I went to The Lonsdale on Easter Friday with a few friends, and was suprised by the well-prepared cocktails, athmosphere and friendly staff. The food has been better here as I can remember, but we had such a nice evening.

Well recommended
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, April 09, 2007

Last night was my first, long-awaited visit to The Lonsdale. The decor is definitely cool and our experience at the bar filled us with promise for everything else. Unfortunately we were sorely disappointed with all but one of our meals; two out of four main courses were sent back (one of these went to the kitchen twice for re-heating!) and I would say only one of the four was actually worth the £14.00 that it cost! The pannacotta that I ordered for all to share was fine but surrounded by burnt bananas that they had the audacity to call caramelised- three out of the four of us nearly gagged when eating these!

The service from our great waitress was fab and so it was actually with good humour that we then proceeded to deal with the the bill we had been left with. The bill had come to £250 which for four people seemed quite steep (considering one of us had had no main course, another had had no starter and we had had only one pudding and two coffees). After much wrangling with the very good-natured waitress we eventually got the bill down to £140....we had actually been over-charged by £100 which I think is a very careless 'mistake'. The excuse given by the management was that there was something wrong with the till, but when my friend told the manager of our experience he seemed to be implying that it is the customer who has to check bills-he really didn't seem bothered that we were unhappy with the food and subsequent problems with the bill- clearly he was off the day they did the customer service training...

It is a shame, as the venue is lovely and I love Portobello, but it was simply not good enough service for those prices and there was very little in the way of choice for vegetarians.
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Tanya
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Friday, March 30, 2007

I went to Lonsdale on Saturday night and had a really great time - the food has improved immeasurably since I last went a few months ago and the cocktails are still really good. The music got a little loud towards the later part of the evening (perhaps too loud) but was fun to have a dance around after dinner.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, March 12, 2007

This is possibly the worst run establishment in the UK. Trades on its initial glory (all be it brief ). Full of desperate wanabees. Drinks expensive and inconsistent. Food very uninspiring. Service rude and chaotic. Need I say more.
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b k May 2006
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Went to Lonsdale for dinner and drinks on Saturday. Amazing cocktails, delicious food, shame about the service. A bar like this should go out of their way to employ happy, friendly waiting staff, not just good looking ones. When we arrived at 7, we were not welcomed, merely checked off their list and told to "be off by 9". Quite a feat in any restaurant for a group of 10. It was nigh on impossible to get staff's attention to order drinks and/or food and then when half way through our mains, we were told we had to vacate our table for the next sitting, "as we were told when we booked". We were NOT told this until we arrived. Got barked at a few more times by waitress and then waited twenty minutes for them to sort out the bill, with finished, dirty plates sat on the table in front of us.

Such a shame... will never return or recommend.

J
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Jacqui
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Monday, April 24, 2006

Angry at our treatment at The Lonsdale on Saturday night, so just had to write a review.

I booked for a birthday meal for 10 people. We’re a relaxed bunch – happy just to turn up and treat ourselves to a friendly meal in nice surroundings on a special occasion.

Our booking was for 7pm. The moment we walked through the door the receptionist said “you need to be off the table by 9pm”. No welcome greeting there then. We sat down and although a friend was 20 minutes late, the waitress team certainly didn’t rush to come over and take orders for drinks or food. So we were astonished when around an hour and a half later the rudest waitress we have ever encountered came over. “You need to be OFF THIS TABLE” shortly she literally snarled at us when we were still halfway through the food they’d just served us. “Alright” we said “you’ve only just put the plates down”. Ten minutes later they were circling like wolves and the same waitress barked “You were told when you booked”. Firstly no we weren’t – we were told when we arrived. And secondly, why book a table of 10 people for dinner and then give them an hour to drink and eat max? The same waitress got so aggressive that we were astonished – particularly as were paying upwards from £50 per head – and were literally being shouted at before we’d tasted the side orders with our main course! There was no option to have dessert.

Funniest thing was that the row of tables behind us was empty and although “they’re booked, you can’t move”, no one sat at them for the entire duration. I understand if other people were waiting but they shouldn’t book people in at this time if they can’t accommodate, particularly as they have a whole restaurant upstairs. I have never been treated so badly in a restaurant. We had planned to spend the evening drinking expensive cocktails at their bar after the meal – we didn’t give them the satisfaction.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Monday, April 24, 2006

We booked a table for two but were not told that it was from 8-10pm until we got there - we waited a while to have our order taken - we had to usher the waitress over - but it was not until we had just ordered our desserts that we were told that there was 15 mins until they needed our table - we were told 'to enjoy our desserts but they needed the table back at 10pm' we even had to hurry the waitress for the bill to be off the table by this designated time. I appreciate that restaurants have sittings but others around us were not subject to this hassling - I had to ask for the hostess three times before she showed up for me to put my point across - having spent near to £150 we were not even offered a complimentary drink. I will not be going back there in a hurry!
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Diane
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Friday, February 17, 2006

I went last night and the atmosphere was fantastic. The ceiling is low but there is a central dome in the celing that absorbs noise so it can be packed and you can still have great conversation without it being too noisy. My friend is paralysed and in a wheelchair and the staff were really cool and helpful. Great food.

Would recommend for Valentines' day....food expensive ...but your worth it.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 5
Friday, February 10, 2006