Goring Dining Room

Has anyone on this site tried the English breakfast at The Goring as it is absolutely dreadful!
Comment on this reader review

John Sparrow
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Monday, April 21, 2008

I dined at the Goring yesterday evening with my wife and her former headmistress, who is a regular there. At first I found the atmosphere rather stuffy, being more used to dining in less formal places, but the staff were very attentive and professional, the dishes being explained in an unpatronising manner. I would particularly commend the Sommelier for pointing us towards a delicious Spanish white. The food was delicious, my smoked eel to start was especially (and unexpectedly) delicious, something that would certainly tempt me back to the Goring to eat again. Steak and Kidney Pie was also delicious, I didn't find that the portion was too small. Dessert of raspberries and vanilla ice cream was unpretentious and let you enjoy the flavour of the raspberries to the full.

I wouldn't recommend the Goring to someone who was looking for a complicated fusion of tastes. To my mind it is made of excellent ingredients cooked simply. Unfussy and delicious.

The room was fine, the chandeliers a bit unusual. Not necessarily a place for romance as it is open plan and spacious. A good place to meet friends or talk business.

The set menu was good value at 44 pounds for three courses, but beware of the extras if you're on a budget!
Comment on this reader review

Geoff Levett
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, September 24, 2007

I am fortunate enough to live close by the Goring, and am therefore a regular visitor. It is a well run privately owned family hotel.

I have dined in the bar, on the terrace and also in the main dining room (recently refurbished by Lord Lindley). I have yet to be disappointed with the traditional british fare on offer.

The Beef Wellington is the best I have ever tasted. You can accompany this with reasonably priced (for a hotel) wine from their extensive cellar. I have always encountered impeccable service.

I see one review on here ranked the food as a zero after admitting walking out without eating - go figure! All I can say is give this place a try; based on my regular experiences there, you will not be disappointed
Comment on this reader review

Gareth Llewelyn - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Sunday, September 23, 2007

My husband and I were visiting London for the first time and our concierge recommended "The Goring" and made our reservation. We arrived on time and were asked by the hostess if we were staying at the hotel, we were not. She then proceeded to take us to a table next to the swinging door of the kitchen although the restaurant was quite empty. After five minutes hearing the clang of the silverware station and door opening, we got up and left.
View/Add comments (1)

Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, July 16, 2007

I had visited The Goring a number of times a few years back, and my lady friend had often voiced a wish to dine there - especially after the refurbishment to the dining room. So I treated her this week.

Although the clientel is mainly "suits", The Goring still retains that quiet, civilised, and most pleasant environment in which to dine and converse. However, we were both very disappointed in the Main Courses. She had the "Dish of the Day" - Steak & Kidney Pudding - whilst I had the Steak & Kidney Pie from the menu. Her comments were that the pudding was mushy, with very little meat or suet crust. The pie, obviously prepared in its own dish, also contained very little meat or kidney, and was luke warm - not helped by being served on cold plates. On this point I would have expected an establishment like The Goring to have been able to arrange for the plates to be heated up before serving.

The service was efficient and friendly, but what was supposed to have been a delightful dining experience (built up by many glowing references from me before) turned out to be something of a disappointment.

However, I think we will give it another try some time - albeit not for a while.
Comment on this reader review

Anonymous
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Thursday, May 10, 2007

I had dinner at The Goring on Monday 11th December with three others and enjoyed the classic British food in the gorgeous Linley-designed dining room. I had a delicious blue cheese and walnut starter, followed by their famous Steak and Kidney Pie which was real comfort food that took me back to my grandma's cooking. The dessert menu included old-school items like knickbocker glory with some festive choices for Christmas. The service was attentive without being intrusive, and the low lighting made the room feel more intimate and cosy. With a huge wine list to accompany all this, we passed a very enjoyable evening there and hope to return soon.
Comment on this reader review

Lulu
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Thursday, December 14, 2006

I was a little disappointed that, given the £85 per head cost of lunch (£32.50 for 3 courses, plus wine, water, coffee, aperitif, service, etc adding another £50), our coffees weren't accompanied by petits fours, but I thought that the Goring was otherwise pretty good. It's certainly not a place for a stag party - at 29, I was the youngest diner in the room by at least 30 years, and a chap at the next table who had removed his jacket had made himself conspicuous by doing so - but if it's good quality British grub in sophisticated surroundings (as opposed to yet another gastro-oub) that you're after, this is your place.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Friday, December 08, 2006

My expectations of The Goring were undoubtedly inflated by the pens of over enthusiastic newspaper critics. Having had lunch at the restaurant today, I felt compelled to straighten the record and publish an accurate account of my experience on London Eating.

Whilst the Linley-designed dining room is quite charming and the staff attentive, the food is utterly forgetful. It is not that the cookery is sub-standard or even that the dishes lack relative polish. I think what really came home to me was just how poor a choice British cuisine is, particularly for lunch.

The whole experience was exacerbated for me when a cursory eye across the dining room revealed an audience largely comprised of ruddy-cheeked businessmen complete with blazers and ties, sat bolt upright at their tables. The whole thing seemed to vault the dusty memories of my 1970’s Edwardian Grammar school dining hall forward into 2006. Not the first on my list of most desired recollections I can assure you.

At £35 per head for three courses The Goring certainly represents reasonable lunchtime value … I only wish the brief issued to the executive chef matched that given to the interior designer … there are certainly many better modern gastronomic British traditions to savour in London than this.
Comment on this reader review

James from Richmond
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 6
Saturday, November 11, 2006

The dining room is stunning, the food is well considered and a good example of what British means. I wonder if we just caught the staff on an off day. Mostly they were, individually, top notch, but as a corps they lacked fluidity. Maybe they were understaffed, but too often we felt ourselves left unattended. One of us wanted a glass of wine as an aperitif, but they wouldn't give us just a glass without selecting it - and then we were left without the wine menu until we asked for it again! Little things added up to more serious reservations - as frusting because they were close to getting it very right. Curiously, some fellow diners felt the need to wear their coats and scarves ...

Overally, it's a very good restaurant but not quite worth what the bill eventually came to.
Comment on this reader review

unsliced - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, November 01, 2006

My friends and I visited the Goring on Sun 27th Nov for dinner and we were very impressed by the fine examples of British cuisine. The service was attentive but not over bearing and portions were fulling. Every mouthful of the starter watercrest and advocado salad was throughly enjoyed and the sticky toffee pudding was the best the best I have ever tasted. The bread and chocolate which came between courses were pleasant additions. I wouldn't normally select British cuisine when dining out but my experience at the Goring has certainly educated me. The only down point was my fruit cocktail drink which reflected badly one the quality meal that followed.
Comment on this reader review

Steve Simon
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, November 28, 2005