No. 5 Cavendish Square

What a disappointment. I went here on Saturday 29th September 2007 for a special occasion with my parents and friends. I travelled from Cheshire especially for this. The service is diabolical - how hard is it to get 6 starters out at the same time? When all the dishes finally arrived they were luke warm at best. The main courses again arrived at different times, the fillet steak was like cold rubber, the vegetables arrived five minutes after the main dishes and were stone cold. We sent these back and when they finally arrived back some ten minutes later they were the same vegetables, still cold! At this point we gave up asked for the bill minus the food and left. Totally and utterly disappointing, without question the worst restaurant I have ever eaten in - I would not go back to this place for all the tea in China.
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T. Law
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Went to No.5 for our annaversary. The staff were attentive and charming and the decor was exquisite! Perfect setting for an extra special occasion! The food and drinks were great value for money compared to other west end venues. We will definately be returning and recommending to friends and family.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, October 02, 2007

We went last night and spent over £80.00 for two people. The Linguine starter was a small bowl of lukewarm spaghetti with a couple of small prawns and a few peas.

The guinea fowl main was on a bed of cold aubergine, diced. Served with polenta, lukwarm and tasteless. These items didn't go together and looked very plain and colourless on the plate, served without fresh vegetables, just potatoes. The guinea fowl came with a "dribble" of gravy instead of a proper serving of sauce which was needed to accompany it.

The Chocolate Fantasy desert included an unnecessary strawberry sorbet, a a hard white chocolate lattice basket, an egg-cup full of tasteless chocolate mousse and a boring chocolate brownie. Very, very disappointing.

A tinny music played from speakers in the ceiling and sounded like a cheap car radio. We had to ask for it to be switched off so we could talk. More appropriate to a greasy spoon.

The service was friendly, but this place is a major disappointment. The sad thing is that there are restaurants in London where you can get a good meal for this price for two people. The very nice Menu du Jour on their website was not available, and we were offered an inferior one. Check the Menu du Jour before you go, it could be a disapponitment.

The food was really, really poor. The place has a has-been atmosphere, with faded, worn carpets and saggy seating. We will never go again. I was very disappointed and incredulous at the low atandard of cooking and presentation, together with high prices. Maybe the A La Care menu is better, but the Menu du Jour is not up to standard. At least let the food me hot!
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Samantha
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Thursday, May 03, 2007

Went here for a catch up dinner with a friend and it was lovely!

- Very attentive waiters

- We chose from the special offer menu, which is reduced, but i still found things that were delicious. (Sausage and Mash starter, Cod main, Mille Feuille dessert)

- Beautiful decor

- Good atmosphere

Went to the bar downstairs afterwards, but, being a weeknight it was very quiet. (Nice to be able to get a seat!)

Would highly recommend.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Went to No 5 for a Christmas do. Had a beer and glass of champagne at the bar whilst awaiting our table. I was gobsmacked when we were charged £15 for this.

Paid £55 upfront for a particular menu. When we turned up, the menu was different and with much fewer choices. Booked for eleven, only ten places were set. This was met with a shrug, and the extra place was squeezed onto the corner of one of the tables.

The starters were unbelievably bad. The soup was lukewarm and there was barely any of it. The other starter available was Stuffed Beef Tomato. It was poorly presented and tasteless, and one of the tomatoes, served for the "extra" person, was tiny.

The mains available were turkey and fish. I can't speak with regards to the fish, however, the turkey was served cold. The mains were not served together; in fact I had finished my meager portion of turkey before the last person was served. There were not enough vegetables - two small serves for 11 people.

The wine was a rip off, poor quality and £30+ a bottle.

A "compulsory" tip of 15% was added to the bill.

All in all, the worst dining experience of my life.
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Andrew Murphy
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, February 17, 2007

Visited on a busy Saturday night on office Christmas do. Party included my Boss and Wife from America. We had pre booked the 3 course Christmas menu ay £55 per head. All food choices were made in advance.

Starters were fantastic. 2 of the party had Lamb Shank as main and were very happy. Rest of party had Turkey. All arrived cold and not together! 4 were sent back and after a very long wait again arrived cold! Vegetables were barely enough for 6 so more requested. These took a long time to arrive. Desserts were fabulous.

Considering all food was chosen in advance, we were very unhappy with the main course experience. I suspect a queue at the microwave!

Surroundings are gorgeous however having spent a small fortune on food and drinks, I will never return. Very poor value for money.
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Craig Nugent
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Friday, December 15, 2006

We went for dinner ytday and chose from the special offer. The potatoes and fish seemed to be from lunch time and the salad was not fresh. At least the dessert was good. No idea about the a la carte menu, but the offer was not good value for money. If the restaurant wants to improve occupancy by offering special menus, it should keep the quality of the food at good standards.
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We
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Saturday, November 18, 2006

We went along for the lunch time special menu - 2 courses for £15. The decor was charming and the waiters attentive. The food however was brilliant. My mouth waters just thinking about the thinly sliced Italian ham with courgette and feta cheese. The main course (lamb) was the most succulent piece of meat I’ve tasted. So full of taste and juicy. A fantastic experience. Highly recommended.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, September 01, 2006

Thursday night dinner, a company night out with my colleagues (on expenses may I add, so was keen to sample some of the dearest choices on the menu!). Loved the decor, the seating against the wall was extremely comfy, lavish decoration but didn't feel too posh. Very relaxing atmosphere considering style inside.

Service was excellent, smooth and efficient. Wine/water glasses always topped up when needed without asking. The wine was superb, good selection. We chose French, red and white. Lovely.

For starter I had smoked salmon and poached egg - something I could have prepared myself for a dinner party at home. Nice but not impressive - mediocre presentation and taste. And the roasted white asparagus? The smallest roasted asparagus I have ever seen, after it had been roasted to death, I was left with 3 spindly little things, smaller than half the size of my little finger. Would I have been happy paying £20 for this myself? Certainly not. I wouldn't have been happy paying £3.50.

I had the veal with foie gras and black truffle for main course (£30), covered in a very overbearing sauce, like the price, a bit rich. I decided that my colleagues fillet of beef looked more appealing, so we agreed to go half and half - and I must say, the beef was a much better choice. The selection of vegetables (chips, spinach, courgettes and beans) was OK, too much butter/oil was used, and combined with the very rich mains, made the course sit heavily in my stomach.

For dessert (because there is always room!) I had the chocolate fantasy, a nice light follow up (surprisingly, considering the name!) to a very heavy meal.

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the food considering how much it cost. I wouldn't go back in a hurry, there are plenty of other places in London I have been and returned to (numerous times) which have offered much better value for money.

A shame, becuase the menu looks amazing when you read it through, but just didn't deliver what I was expecting.
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Anna
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 3
Friday, September 01, 2006

Thursday night dinner with colleagues. Food was excellent, but decor, setting out to give an atmosphere of decadent luxury, just ends up looking louche. (Perhaps fitting, as there was definitely something of the "footballers' wives" side to the clientele.) As for previous reviewers, disco beat from downstairs (drowning out tinny musak in restaurant) destroyed what remained of the exclusive atmosphere after about 9pm. Probably a much better experience at lunchtimes, but don't budget on much under £100 a head.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, February 17, 2006