Strand Terrace @ Thistle Charing Cross

My partner booked us into this hotel for my birthday and i opted to save time and get even more spoilt to book us into the restaurant for our evening meal.

The service was good we were reguarly topped up with our wine. However my partner did tell me that the wine we chose was actually a few more pounds more than what the menu said, but he didnt question it. silly sod.

The starters came out in a good time after we were given a couple of pieces of bread to nibble on. My cod and potato cakes were to die for and very filling. My partner had scallops which he never had before and enjoyed. We both ordered the lamb and was cooked to perfection. lovely!!! we didnt do desert as we had a show to go to but it look very nice.

I will say that the menus that they had in the lift were not the same as the ones in the restaurant though. Otherwise, a very quiet and very pleasant evening spent indeed.
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kalcide - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Having spent some time searching this site for a restaurant with good food and service, I had some hope for this restaurant - supported by the Thistle name. Unfortunately the Strand Terrace delivered neither.

Our party of six shared the restaurant with another party - of 10 - and two couples. Despite this quiet evening it still took our starters over half an hour from ordering to arrive. My lavishly described terrine of duck with mushroom served with focaccia was nothing more than a slab of average pate with a too small chunk of cold, flaccid focaccia. Customers ordering the salmon rosette may be surprised when it is accompanied by slices of undercooked potato. The goats cheese starter was served without bread and to our astonishment the kitchen had run out of rolls so we were eventually offered some cold toast instead.

Unfortunately the main courses did not improve things. Two of us ordered lamb and despite one of us requesting it be 'pink' and the other 'well done' the two dishes appeared identically cooked. The accompanying risotto had more in common with rice pudding than risotto in my experience. The herb crusted cod needed a steak knife to cut and was slathered in olive oil to no positive effect. Although the filet steak was largely as requested, the sirloin steak was both rare and tough. At least it made the vegetables feel at home since the kitchen appeared to have forgotten to cook them to any noticeable degree.

Puddings fared a little better, the creme brulee was palatable, however the cheeseboard was poor - cheddar so mild as to be tasteless and brie which was entirely rind. The celery which was meant to accompany the cheeses was clearly too ashamed to make an appearance.

Although the wine was reasonably free flowing and the liqueurs were free after we complained about the food, the service was otherwise quite poor - once taking over 10 minutes to bring a coke to the table from a bar 10 metres away. Given the quality of the food, perhaps it was for the best that no-one saw fit to replace our candles when then expired just as the main courses arrived.

We were surprised that a hotel of this size would have such a small dining room (seating no more than about 30) but on the basis of this showing I can't suggest they plan to increase capacity. The only reason they might wish to do so is to make the room warmer - a large, single glazed conservatory with inadequate heating is no place to be on a cold winter night.

On the positive side, the chandeliers were pretty.
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Nik Halton
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Sunday, January 29, 2006