Bistro One Ninety

i felt compelled to write a quick review on Bistro 190 after eating there last night, I just wanted to say that the whole experience was a delight, the menu was interesting (in a good way) and the quality and presentation of the dishes was outstanding, the staff were attentive without being familiar which I really appreciate. The decor and ambience worked very well and the wine list was well thought out with the house selections being great quality wines without being prohibitively expensive. All in all a truly memorable meal and I would definitely go back and would recommend Bistro 190 to others.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, July 03, 2011

I would like to express my gratitude to Bistro 190 for making my 40th birthday so special.

We started the evening in the Bar for some pre drinks before we all sat down for dinner. We had a very charming room at the back of the Bar called the Gothic Room we was exclusively reserved for my party (at no cost).

After a couple of rounds of drinks we headed into the Bistro where we had a table of 16 people reserved for us. After the first 30 minutes I fell in love with the atmosphere and character of the restaurant. The staff were extremely helpful and there college of the wine shocked me.

I will for sure return again in the future!
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Sally Cook
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Thursday, February 24, 2011

I would like to say that I had a fantastic time at Bistro 190 last month.

I was going to the Cirque Du Soleil and was looking for some time for a restaurant close by to the Royal Albert Hall and stumbled across this gem.

We booked in at 17:30 giving us plenty of time to sit back, relax and enjoy the fabulous food.

For the main course we had the Pan fried market fish wish was cooked to perfection.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant and will be dinning there again next year for Totem again.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, February 24, 2011

I have eaten at 190 a number of times, when going to a Prom. From their point of view, it has the advantage of being in a restaurant desert at that end of Queens Gate, so that it has a more or less captive clientele who are on their way to the Albert Hall round the corner. I have never eaten well there, though never before so badly as to make it worth the bother of complaint. But my experience last week needs to be recorded.

We had not booked, but a table was found for us in a friendly enough way. I arrived before my companion, and was given menu and wine list promptly. But once my companion arrived we were left alone until we could attract attention. As the rest of the meal demonstrated, 190 is the kind of restaurant where the customer has to keep an eye on the waiter, instead of the other way round.

My first course was a pleasant little salad, which I really enjoyed; my second was duck ravioli. Three cold discs arrived, with another little salad rather oddly on top, on a cold plate. No parmesan was produced for the pasta, so after some minutes waiting for it, I attracted the attention of a waiter and asked for some. he seemed frankly bewildered, but after some minutes returned with some shavings of pasta in a little dish. I told him that I meant the customary grated Parmesan . He looked even more surprised, but after another wait he came back, this time with some cheese (?Parmesan?) which had been put through one of those rotary graters, and come out in little worms. It was in a small dish, with no spoon to sprinkle it with, and so was quite unsuitable for the purpose. I gave up. It must be the only restaurant in the kingdom since 1950 where neither waiters nor kitchen know that Parmesan is invariable offered with (non-fishy) pasta and how to do it.. Bizarre.

A small glass of mediocre house wine at £6 hardly improved matters; nor did the fact that a bottle of water, two coffees and an unearned 12 1/2 % doubled the cost. The food was not all that bad, but its quality and the service were wildly at odds with the restaurant's pretensions and charges. The waiters were smiley enough, but were the kind who think their main task is to ask you every now and then if you are enjoying yourself. Somebody in management needs to get a grip on this place, and help it realise the potential. its situation offers, I wish them well.
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2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Saturday, August 07, 2010

Unfortunately I have to add the long list of negative comments and disappointed customers of Bistro One Ninety. On 10th August 2009 my wife and I booked a table for two for 29th August. Our meal was a birthday celebration and we were combining it with visit to the Proms. Our acknowledgement slip from them stated that they look forward to welcoming us to 190. This turned out to be some welcome indeed !!!

Upon arrival, they had no record of our reservation even though I had proof of the reservation with me. Little was made in the way if an apology . However, since the restaurant was only half full ( which , for a Saturday evening should perhaps have been a worrying sign) a table was hastily made available for us. After a while , some menus were produced by a waiter who made no attempt to engage with us or to make us feel welcome . We then proceeded to sit for the next 15 minutes with no offer of any drinks and certainly no effort being made to take our orders and to see that were comfortable. During this period we observed other customers coming into the restaurant and being waited upon ahead of ourselves. Because I had failed to catch our waiters eye during this entire period (I believe that he was deliberately avoiding eye contact) I went to the bar area and told him that were ready to place our order. He told me to sit down and that he would be straight over. No such luck however. He proceeded to serve the other guests ,some of whom had arrived after ourselves. In the end we left without having a meal and very upset that our celebratory evening out had been spoiled by such poor service.The only good thing to say about the evening is that the concert was superb.
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David Gill
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, August 30, 2009

There is to my mind nothing worse than sitting down to restaurant food that manages to be both unimaginative and badly cooked. Although the staff were friendly and the general ambiance ok, the overall taste experience wasn't dissimilar to a bad episode of Come Dine With Me.

Best avoided.
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Alexander Soulsby
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Monday, August 10, 2009

Despite directing this message directly to the management of Bistro 190, I have neither received an acknowledgement nor an apology/explanation:

"Following our visit to your Bistro 190 tonight, I would like to bring to your attention the unacceptably bad customer service my son and I have experienced. The lack of attention, better described as non-attention, started from the outset.

On arrival, one of your reception staff just directed us to the restaurant where we were left standing. Although I had reserved a table for two more than a week ago, we were left to our own devices to actually select a table (like in a self-service restaurant). There was nobody to take our coats and actually made sure that we had a suitable table.

The waiter mumbled a few sentences which I could not understand. When asked to please repeat, he just mumbled in the same manner as before, directing his attention to my son instead who also had difficulties deciphering his utterances.

He took the order in a completely stone-faced and surly manner, showed no interest nor apparent knowledge when asked about the wine-selection nor the food order. He had to be reminded to bring the ordered side-dish which eventually arrived when we were nearing the end of the main meal.

Even for the bill we were left waiting and had to ask twice, considering that your restaurant was more than half empty at the time. It was a very disappointing experience altogether that should not have happened. The price of the meal, which should have guaranteed a first-class customer service, was therefore totally unwarranted plus the service charge of 12.5% included in the bill.

We have been to your restaurant before, the last time in June of last year, when we had first-class service. Because of this, we chose your restaurant tonight. Unfortunately and sadly tonight's experience does not justify a repeat-visit. It actually left me very angry".
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E. Ott
4 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Thursday, March 12, 2009

£21.50 for the two course menu and £23.50 for the three course menu should have warned us to stay clear of the desserts and be done with the measly portions we'd had till then and cut our losses. Sadly we didn't and had they given desserts free, knowing now what I wish I knew then, I would have not touched them with a bargepole, but more of that later. For its charm, ambiance and style, this place shines, but for providing good food efficiently and with value for money, the experience was truly disappointing. This was the preview to a night at the opera next door at the Albert Hall. Not being an advertising executive, but merely a lowly paid teacher, I would have thought a promotion, on the night Carmen is being staged next door, would be a real crowd puller. After all, West End restaurants have been doing pre-theatre deals for years. Instead the set menu, with the exception of some excellent perch as main course, was dull, poorly cooked and barely children's portions in size. Desserts? Are simply dreadful and no honest chef would admit to making the chocolate brownies with chilli and sweetened tomatoes?? Wouldn’t be surprised if heavy duly plates were used to serve this dollop!! The poor waiter was stretched, wines on the wine list did not exist and had we waited for the coffee we ordered, the opera would have probably finished!! Simply not good enough. God knows upon what reputation this place is built but I would not recommend it to anybody, quite the opposite!!
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curleysue - View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Sunday, March 01, 2009

So dissappointing. Went after the Cirque de Soleil on a Saturday night. It was a birthday party which I had mentioned when booking. The restaurant was almost empty, but we were stuck in a corner. I had a starter of sardines. One small sardine without head or tail, stuck on top of a slice of soggy French bread, which was then stuck on top of a bit of salad. Loin of pork which was completely school food, and then chocolate cheesecake which tasted as if it was made from a packet mix. Miserable portions. Expensive wine. Lovely waiter. Desperately overpriced. I certainly would not recommend this restaurant. Such a shame, I remember it under AWT as being a terrific place with a real buzz.
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Crispin - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Thursday, February 12, 2009