Prince Alfred & Formosa Dining Room

Had a nice early sunday evening supper there yesterday. It was the Euro 2008 Final so the place was empty... so lacked the ambience that this place I'm sure can generate on a regular weekend evening, but none the less...

Our food was well cooked and tasty. The chicken was great quality, but the belly pork, just had too much fat - even for belly pork! And the red cabbage (that came with everything) on a late June menu is a little strange, but was delicious even so.

The Aussie doing the waiting-on was perfectly charming, but was just trying too hard to be our new best friend... which kind of back-fired a little - but rather that, than have some misery throwing the food at us.

Wine - good. Try the El Coto - a great Rioja that we've had elsewhere. Yummy.

Not the cheapest of gastropubs, with the bill coming in at just short of £80 for 3x mains, wine, water and a basket of bread. But a great location and fab interior.
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James
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Monday, June 30, 2008

This was my second time at the formosa eating with different friends, I had really rated the restaurant the first time i visited and had forgiven the minor hicups that i had experienced with wine burnt bread and service etc because i live very close and like the idea of the restaurant and bar, however this visit sealed the fact that i will not return, upon arival there had been a mix up with the booking because i had called earlier in the day to change the reservation and the person taking the message had not relayed the change. my friends and i were shown to our table and given menus and wine list by a matre d that obviously wanted to be our friend, this in itself is flattering however the familiarity became waring. the wine recomendation was perfect and the wine well chilled, when the food arived the soup was perfect, however the main course was poor my twice cooked belly of pork really only needed cooking once, the vegetarian lasagne was tasteless and cold and the duck was rare to the point it could have been revived by a good vet. we complained and my friend was offered a free desert, the maitre d said she was glad we had complained and she would pass on the coments to chef after service, one got the feeling that this was a regular line she rolled off frequently. the derserts arived with all the bravado we had come to expect from this out of work actress that was running the restaurant, not bad but still disapointing, getting the bill was a struggle and we waited 30 mins only for the bill to arive incorrect, we complained again and were told that the till did not have the correct button for pork so it printed salmon instead........i was past it by this time and asked for the service to be removed, the actress asked me if i would like a calculator to work it out, i didnt quite hear her because the waiter dropped a plate at this point .....we paid minus the service and left.....about £80 for 3 people including the free desert.......next time il try the pizza place opposate it looked fantastic
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Paul Black
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Monday, October 01, 2007

sometimes i read these "reviews" and wonder - we have nothing but praise for this place. The food is consistently excellent and reasonable and the staff knowledgable and helpful. We also had the scallops which were succulent and flavourful, followed by the steak at £16. The portions were large and cooked just as we asked. The staff were very knowledgable about the wines and we ended up drinking a beautiful Albarino recommended by the waiter which is something we would never have ever tried

The pub area attached is beautiful with the original "snug" areas still in place. We love the contrast of the modern restaurant and traditional pub

We stumbled upon this place a few years back and keep coming back even though we have now moved away from the area. We can't recommend it enough!!!
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suzie22 - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, June 09, 2007

My wife and I stayed at the Cololonade Hotel just around the corner and visited the pub following a day at Lords. We decided to stay and eat in the Formosa Room. We sat down and I ordered a bottle of Aussie chardonnay which when it arrived was obviously not right. The wine was was very dark ,syrupy and almost sherry like ,the waitress insisted that this was the "character" of the wine. After taking the wine to a colleague for a second opinion it was agreed that the wine was off and should be changed she then told us that several bottles of the wine had been returned. So what was the problem and why the attempt to decieve your customer. My wife and I both ordered scallops to start which were quite good but expensive at £7 for three scallops. My wife then ordered soggy rice with mushrooms. Well that was what she got she had in fact ordered mushroom risotto believe me no one who has been within 100 miles of the coast of Italy would describe this as risotto. I chose the special which was veal chop the only thing special was the price of £21 plus veg plus12.5% service it was worth a fiver at best the soggy rice £2 and the attempt to decieve was worth legal action. Enjoy my £80 it is the last you will ever get. I blame myself for letting you get away with it in the USA, Australia and even Ireland they would run you out of town . I hope i have saved some poor sod some hard earned cash

Ray Barker
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ray - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Monday, May 21, 2007

My wife and i stayed at the little Collonade hotel just around the corner from this pub/restaurant . We popped in to the pub and decided to stay and eat. I ordered a bottle of Aussie chardonnay and found that the wine had gone very "syrupy" almost like sherry. What really upset me was the young lady serving us tried to convince me that this was the "character" of the wine . After taking it to her colleague to taste they agreed that there was a problem and went on to say that many bottles of the same label had been returned (why the problem then and why the attemp to decieve). My wife and i both had scallops which were quite good to start (but at seven pounds for three also quite pricey). My wife then chose mushroom risotto which could only be described as risotto by someone who had never been within fifty bloody miles of the real thing, best described as "soggy rice with mushroom".I chose the Veal Chop "special" the only thing special was the price of £21 plus vegatables and 12.5% service charge . I blame myself why do we let these people get away with this. My main course was worth a fiver my wifes £2 and the attempt by a member of staff to decieve us was worth legal action. In the USA, Australia or even in Ireland these people would never see a customer and they do not deserve to be in business. A disgrace. Enjoy my 80 quid you will never see any more and i hope i may have saved someone some hard earned cash. The thing is, i know that they do not even care

Ray Barker
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Ray Barker
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Sunday, May 20, 2007

I used to eat here a lot, i live practically next door so it was very useful. Alas as another reviewer has said it's become avictim of its own success. The prices have risen dramatically and the quality of food dipped to such a poor standard that frankly they should be ashamed of themselves. The staff used to be great but have all moved on and the new ones are surly. Gordon Ramsay is about to open at the Warrington around the corner, and the Formosa who have taken the locals for granted for too long will miss us when we're all eating up the road.
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Alexander
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Saturday, May 05, 2007

After being here twice, I remembered the food as being not particularly special, but nicely done. However, I was disappointed on my recent visit. The menu was very limited and the choices were quite plain. We could have made better ourselves and the desserts....well we could have bought better at the supermarket. For average gastropub-type food, this is very overpriced. We paid about £100 for 3 courses each and 1 bottle of average wine, plus the bread and olives that they charge for!
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Friday, February 02, 2007

I've stopped by for a few beers before but this was the first time I ate there - in fact, we ended up eating there twice in quick succession, once on Friday evening and again for Sunday lunch. Both experiences were much the same though.

The pub part is pretty cool but the formosa dining room lacks the character of the pub and feels distinctly tacked-on. The food was fairly tasty but distinctly overpriced and the service was a bit intermittent and required some prompting at times both to find missing side dishes and to get drinks.

It's OK but with so much more in the area I think I'll go elsewhere.
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Ratspants - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, January 23, 2007

We went just before Christmas on a very cold day. The pub and restaurant were both very, very cold. Service was below par and much of the food served was not very warm. The service was OK but no better and we had to wait for a long time for all courses, wine and coffee. Prices reasonable and food OK but spoilt by the temperature on the plate and in general. We didn't take our overcoats off all of the time we were in there. To be fair the management did give us a free bottle of wine and coffee but that didn't really make up for a generally below par experience.
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Steve D''Almeida
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Food was very good and portions were the right size.

Service was equally good. The staff didn't push us anything and didn't make us feel hasted which so often happens in restaurants these days. The place was fully packed on Tuesday so it shows how popular the place is.
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Patrick
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, October 25, 2006