The Frontline Club

Heard a lot about the Frontline from my friends who regularly attend the Club's media events - as Frontline is also a club for journalists. A really interesting place indeed! Great interior in the restuarant with some fantastic photography. Very mixed crowd in a nice buzzing way - young couples, groups, some internationals. Lovely, friendly service - very smiley, polite and attentive. And can recommend brilliantly how to match appropriate wines to the meal - and the food!!! - straight from their own farm, naturally grown, simple, honest with beuatiful flavours. I def recommend the place, especially for an evening out of the ordinary.
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Olivia
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, July 02, 2009

We found this place by accident while trying to find our hotel. We're not "city types" or big diners-out, but we know what we like and we didn't like the look of the other local choices of £4 Chinese buffet or overpriced steak house. As we perused the window menu, a friendly blonde lady inside smiled us in and within a couple of minutes we'd been found a table in the warm bustling chatty restaurant. Money being a bit tight and with so many choices, in the end we opted for the 2-courses-for-£10 offer, not expecting much.

What actually turned up was a wonderful thick, fresh, not-too-salty vegetable soup, after which I had the 3-meat-mix (which turned up with an egg on top!) and the other 'alf had the lamb and barley stew. It sounds basic, but everything was done to perfection; the lamb especially was "silky smooth".

As for the wine, we couldn't work out why it was so cheap. Again, budgetry constraints found us with the second-cheapest soft red and low expectations. I can't remember what it was - it cost around £14 but was soft and enjoyably drinkable.

Although very busy, the waiters were very attentive and the atmosphere warm and friendly. I can easily feel a bit stiff and formal in some restaurants, but this one had me enjoying the food, wine and company.

We went into Frontline knowing nothing about it and came out determined that the next time we visit London, this is where we eat. Might even build a special visit to London around it!
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Jonathan Harris
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, March 07, 2009

Frontline is a very unique restaurant. The ambience has a photo-journalist feel and the photos they have mounted on the wall sparks interesting dinner conversation. Having dinner here also gives you entry to the club upstairs for specified documentary screenings. Very cool.

The wine list is amazing. In a city where everyone tries to gouge you with 3x mark-ups on their wine, Frontline is refreshing to have some top class wines at only small mark-ups. The list is also experimental with several tasty representations of some up and coming wine regions. Whoever put the list together has a passion for wine and it shows.

The food was a bit mixed though. I had a lamb curry special that was very delicious, but the monk-fish starter had no flavor. One member of our table had an excellent lamb kebab, really great, but the salmon was too bland. This restaurant could be really fantastic if the chef blind-tasted some of his dishes and worked on the critical ones to give them more flavor or replace it with another dish. That being said, because I think of wine as food, I ended up rating the food highly.

The service tries hard but you may be kept waiting from time to time. They are super nice though. As long as you are not pressed for time and order something from the great wine list, you won't notice.

The best way to enjoy Frontline is to use this site and others to find out which dishes are really good. Then go with a group of friends to have great conversation, over some awesome wines with an ambience that is relevant for our times. Order only the good food items on the menu and go again and again.

Did I mention they have a great wine list?
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Omar - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, August 10, 2008

I ate here for an early dinner last Saturday and was pretty disappointed with the food and knowledge of the waiters. The starters were hit and miss, the chicken liver was great, so too was the prawns but the coronation chicken was fatty. The mains again were inconsistent, the shepherds pie was delicious yet the steaks were a struggle due to the toughness of the meat. Wouldn't want to rush back.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Sunday, July 13, 2008

I found Frontline to be a lovely restaurant with good ambiance and good food. The wine list was extensive but reasonably priced. Staff was attentive and did apologise for leaving us waiting at one point (we had not noticed).

I had a lovely pear, stilton and walnut salad for starter which was a bit on the hefty side but apart from that perfect. Mains were good but not extraordinary. I will return!
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Anna - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, July 04, 2008

Frontline is a very, very good restaurant - food, atmosphere, service and wine list were all expemplary, and prices perfectly reasonable, especially for wine. I went with two friends last night for dinner, and thought it was one of the best dining experiences I have had in London in a very long time. I eat out a LOT, and get quite fed up with overly ambitious menus that are not pulled off competently, surly and self-consciously hip waitstaff who seem feel that you should feel privileged at receiving their service, and wine markups and final bills that make you question whether it was wirth leaving home for. Frontline is none of that. The food was good modern British with some accents from other cuisines and all of it was excellent (the thai curry being a particular standout - like no thai curry I'd ever tried before and utterly delicious). Our waiter selected out wines after hearing what we were in the mood for, choosing first a wonderful £20 soave and then a complementary £23 alsace wine - such a bargain and bang on selections by our waiter. The service was gracious, halpful, friendly and patient (we were a table of wafflers, and we didn't fee at all rushed). And finally, the room and atmosphere: the decor is tasteful and inviting, and the lighting just right - low enough to be universally flattering and not too low to see your food. Big high brick walls, large windows, amazing wartime photography, comfortable seating, good acoustics - it was just all really well done. I am perplexed by the poor reviews - maybe they had off nights - but I would personally recommend this to anyone very confidently. Two thumbs way up.
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JW9 - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, March 14, 2008

This is the second time I have been to this restaurant in the last three months. Both times I have been with large groups (8+) and the service has always been terrible. Not only do you have to ask a number of times for water/ wine/ bread etc but we have waited on each visit for 45 mins plus between courses. The food is lovely - generous and beautifully presented- however the time delays you have to endure make the whole experience a painful one! The restaurant seems understaffed and often those working try their best to avoid eye contact! Come here if you have lots and lots of time to spare to enjoy the fantastic photographs. It is a beautiful restaurant but really needs to sort out the service- the 12.5% compulsory service charge is a joke!
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

I just had to leave a review after reading the others this place is local to me and I have been here on many occassions for lunch and once for dinner. I have always found the staff very helpful and the female maitre' d was charming. I just didn't recognise the place from some of the recent reviews. The food is English with a twist, flavoursome and portions are very generous and I feel it's excellent value with a fantastic wine list.

Perhaps they just had a couple of off evenings lately but I adored it and would always go back.
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Lorraine Mistry
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, July 12, 2007

Went on a Friday night. There were a few empty tables. Very hard to rate this as nothing was bad but then again nothing was really good. Our fisrt choice wine was not available. The waiter didnt really know the menu but he was very friendly. 3 scallops for a starter certainly not worth the money. Main courses just ok. Strange atmosphere, i think music would have been much better. 135 for 3, 1 bottle of wine. Wouldnt rush back.
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nick crispin - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Sunday, July 08, 2007

I went there for lunch with someone from work expecting to have a lamb shank as I had looked at the menu on-line. When I got there and ordered, I was told that they did not serve lamb shank! The waitress said that she had worked there for over a month and the menu had not changed! I was a tad disappointed, that said I chose something else which was good but they forgot my mash potatoes! In general the food is OK although I would have prefered to choose something off of the menu on-line. Would I eat there again yes because the staff are nice enough and the food is OK.
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Eric Pritchard
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, December 21, 2006