No. 5 Cavendish Square

The service was wonderful and the restaurant has a classic feel to it. Comfortable and warm, I found the environment to be quite intimate. A great spot for a romantic interlude.

The wine list whilst not the cheapest is stacked with plenty of quality. And let's be frank, if you are big on reading the right side of the menu you are in the wrong place.

The service was pleasant, if a little underwhelming but suited the atmosphere more than an in-your-face TGI Fridays waitress would.

Food was exquisite, the Duck Ragout Vermicelli was incredible, hearty and rich with a home made pasta that was velvety in texture. And although a somewhat heavy meal, which was perfectly seasonally suited was very moreish.

Veal Tournedos Rossini is a signature dish and a half. The veal was cooked to the second, nice and pink in the middle and melt in the mouth tender. Topped with a generous portion of Foie Gras and first class white and dark truffles. All this was finished with Chat potatoes roasted in duck fat and drizzled in a Veal jus with seemed to harness the essence of pure flavour in itself. Such a selection of rich decadence doesn't just come together, it would be easy to overdo and if any of the elements were sub-par could ruin the dish entirely. Chef, could be considered an under classification for the preparer of this meal, Artisan would be more appropriate. Would the unfortunate situation arise, this, would be my 'death row' meal.

As I mentioned before if cheap eats is your fancy then you have come to the wrong place. If you do choose to dine here you will be reminded that cost and value are two separate things as the value here was incredible.
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Bam McGuinness
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, July 25, 2010

I was so looking forward to lunch last Friday at this highly recommended restaurant but was sadly put off after the meal.

The presentation of the salmon starter was very poor and taste. The main course was extremely salty and the dessert poorly presented.

Never again.
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2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Thursday, July 01, 2010

"No.5? More like just 'No'. Never again."

(I quote - & only wish I had read before going & wasting not just money, but 2 hours of my life I will never get back).

The luke warm 'cheese fondue' curdled even before it hit my stomach, washed down by rubbery veal drowned in bisto & a tesco value chocolate pud. The bread basket however, was quite a highlight.

I must add, there was one saving factor- the comedy value of pure "velvet opulence" & the waitress' hair extensions.

Never again...
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CDC
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Friday, March 05, 2010

I would like to say I am very shocked by most of the reviews I have read below.

I went for a meal in the restaurant at No.5's about a month ago for my wife's birthday and thought the food was superb and excellent value for money given the location! I am an experienced chef by trade so would like to think I know what makes a good meal!

The wine was not cheap and we chose one of the cheapest bottles of wine on the list which was a £22 bottle of Merlot and it was superb and served at perfect temperature.

The staff were polite and professional and I thought the whole experience was very pleasant.

After the meal we went downstairs to the club and partied the night away. I must admit, the drinks are priced more than a little steep but then I have gone clubbing in most of the west ends top nightspots and they are not really any cheaper. Don't go clubbing in Mayfair and expect to get away with £3 drinks!

This has long been one of my favourite places to dance the night away in and following the superb dinner we had before we will all be back for my 33rd birthday in a few week.
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Justin d''Orville
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, August 19, 2009

No.5? More like just 'No'. Never again.

All I wanted were 3 cocktails - the girl who served me was on her first night and despite obviously not having the first idea about how to make a drink, thought she would try knocking out one of my orders which turned out to worse than a bad vodka cranberry. The other two, she had to get the bar manager to make, and then they both left my drinks on the other side of the bar and walked away. After managing to get their attention, I finally got my drinks.

The charge? Just under £30 after they had added on a 12.5% 'discretionary' service charge. Lord knows why we stayed any longer, but in any case we did and I thought I would opt for a safe glass of white wine. FYI - when I asked to see the wine list I was told they only have 1 red and 1 white wine. Fabulous. Anyway, the white wine was warm so they had to replace that. The only member of staff who was polite was the new girl.

It's a great location, a nice enough building but completely spoiled by shocking service (oh and did I mention the normal member base appeared extremely chavvy? No? Well, they are).

Never. Again.
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Maxwell Knight
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Monday, June 29, 2009

Alas, most of the reviews are accurate. I went to No 5 last night for the second time - big mistake. The decor is theatrical, the staff even more so. The food was mostly very good. However, the whole place is a rip-off. Two drinks at the bar cost £23 (a gin and tonic £9 and a Kir £14). The bottle of wine my friends ordered turned out not to be available and they were forced to buy a more expensive one. The waiting staff were friendly, though unattentive, forgetting to bring drinks until reminded - including the wine. Various hen parties seemed to be taking place as the evening wore on and it was impossible to make yourself heard above the noise. This is not being run as a restaurant, more an add-on to a shady nightclub. Beware!
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Sam
4 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Sunday, March 22, 2009

What a shame - this place has such huge potential as a classy bar and restaurant and it's completely let down by the staff. Went here for a drink recently with a view to booking dinner at a later date (I've been here before on a works do and the food was pretty good) but we've changed our mind after seeing the level of service we didn't get.

To be fair, the guys behind the bar were friendly and professional but the people on the front desk and especially the waitress we had were disinterested, arrogant, unprofessional and verging on the downright rude. Will not be coming back.
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Anna
4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Thursday, March 12, 2009

I have just read the review by Miss Feather and I think I was there the same night. I booked this as a treat to share with my Daughter to celebrate her 18th Birthday. Great venue is the best thing I can say. The waiters seemed to think they were providing the cabaret! I just want great, discreet service, not some chump who thinks he has to entertain us! The food was very ordinary. I too had the asparagus starter which was bland and cold. The steak was dry (Pre-cooked then re-heated?) the vegetables were cold too. Altogether a very disappointing experience. We had lunch at Balans in Soho, this was a much nicer experience. Better food and service.
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Jon
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, February 05, 2009

We went here as a party of 5 girls for my friend's 30th. It was an average experience, we had the set menu, I don't know whether this was the reason that the food was pretty ordinary, but there was nothing special about it at all. I had asparagus and quail egg starter which was bland and tasteless and then the steak which was a bit fatty and gristly in places and the veg that came with it was almost cold when it got to the table. My friends said their meals were OK but we had all eaten better. Also the waiting staff were irritating! One in particular, who thought he was funny by coming over and flirting and making random comments, we were having a nice evening out we didn't want to be hassled by waiters with strange senses of humour. Certainly no tip was left! Particularly as he opened the window next to our table as we were paying and let all the freezing cold air in!

This place doubles as a club downstairs so you have to pay to use the cloakroom even to just eat there, and then queue up to get it again at the end. Just not a good dining experience.

In summary, there are definitely better places to eat in London for this price.
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MissFeather
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Monday, February 02, 2009

We booked two floors of No.5 Cavendish Square for a christmas Party. What transpired on the night left us quite simply apalled and unlikely ever to return. Firstly the staff, some of the key people (with the exception of a couple of bar tenders) were rude, unprofessional and lacked any sort of comon courtesy. The cloackroom attendants were aggressive failing to assist when items went missing during the night. One individual was asked to enter and locate their own bag - after which they were told to leave immediately and physically shoved across the room to the door which was then used to forcibly batter them out until slammed shut. When a lady protested she was then told to leave by the General Manager who used the same tactic as before, forcibly pushing her and others out of the hallway into the street. The tables that were promised never materialised, the staff made but offered no apology or explanation and basically said it was our problem. The drinks hugely overpriced for what you get - one bartender was witnessed re-filling a bottle of 'Bombay Sapphire Gin' with another cheaper label. The party - despite agreed to end at 4am was cut short by an hour and no explanation was offered. When questioning the bar staff we were told to go away and then ignored. This is depsite spending several thousand pounds on drinks throughout the night. I've lived in London for years and I can honestly say I've never experienced anything like the low level of service and apalling management this place offers. I find it hard to believe that anyone could run a succesful business with such total disregard for customers and I shall not be returning again.
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Charly Arrowsmith
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 12, 2008