The Phoenix

I used to love this place and on my recomendation we stopped in for lunch on Saturday and quite unexpectedly the dining room was empty except for one other table of two. Based on this you would expect the service to be outstanding as the bar was not overly busy either. We were seated by a lovely man who actually greeted us in the bar and showed us through to our table, he then took our drinks order, which was the only point we received what we ordered from then on.

Our waitress who clearly had no interest or understanding of hospitality then took over. She took our order of Gorgonzola burger and a chicken sandwich, not exactly a taxing order and then disappeared. The next time we saw her was bringing her own lunch in and sitting on the table next to us to eat - which in an empty dining room I really don't think is appropriate. A while later our food arrived served by the very nice man who had shown us through initially. The order was wrong but my companion magnanimously said he would have it instead, this was until he took a bite and realised it was stone cold. We then sent it back to await his original order, which arrived as I was finishing mine - which also was not entirely hot. I can only assume our waitress had placed the orders and then forgotten to take them to us as she was so eager to eat herself.

Having finished our food which we had then consumed at entirely different times, not really the idea of eating out toegther, we asked our waitress (now back from her lunch!) for the dessert menus and two more drinks. About fifteen minutes later our drinks arrived served by a different staff member. We asked him if he could get us the dessert menus, as they had still not appeared. Whilst waiting for him to return we realised the drinks were wrong for both of us this time.

When he came back, he kindly informed us that the kitchen had stopped taking dessert orders 5 minutes ago - 10 minutes after we had asked for the menus?!

To be honest at this point we were both so amused by the sheer inability of staff that the situation became laughable. So it was no surprise to then see our waitress appear from the back in her own clothes ready to go home. Realising she had passed over to no one eventually I had to get up and go into the bar to find someone to bring us our bill.

I now fully understand why the dining room was empty on a Saturday lunch when it used to be buzzing. If this is the level of service they offer all their clientele I would be surprised if they last much longer. This really is a shame as this place used to be excellent. I hope the owners/management read this and someone rescues it please!!!
Comment on this reader review

Christie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Monday, May 19, 2008

Five of us had a meal on Saturday evening and were very disappointed, given that various articles had reported that the food was outstanding. We ate early so were surprised that two starters we wanted had already run out. The chicken chasseur was served in a tiny bowl, on the bone, so not only was the stock very greasy and tasteless it was also incredibly difficult to eat. The accompanying potatoes looked and tasted like they had been sitting around. Given that it is a very small dining room you would expect the services to be excellent, but unfortunately it wasn't; it was slow, we had to request the wine list and our main meals were not served together. We did get reimbursed for one of the chicken chasseurs but that is not the point, the meal was spoiled. We did not get value for money and would not return.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Monday, April 28, 2008

Inept service, cold and tasteless food and bad service.

A group of nine of us booked a table for lunch last Sunday. We arrived, but they had given our table away claiming that a six foot two guy with a beard did actually look like his name was Nina...

The meal - most of us ordered the sunday roast (beef with yorkshire pudding) and I ordered the pork. The beef came out at different times, was cold and the vegetables arrived even later (if we'd waited for them before eating, the beef would have been positively arctic). The pork was served with yorkshire pudding and gravy from the beef, plus some apple sauce and given to someone else as the beef dish (luckily they weren't kosher or a strict muslim). One of my friends ordered the mixed grill and for £16 got one sausage, the smallest steak I had ever seen and an anorexic lamb's chop, it arrived cold and the new potatoes took another 15 minutes to arrive.

All in all it was a complete shambles with wrong food arriving at the wrong time and out of sync and no apology from the mangagement.

Fortunately we were all in a good mood, so found it hilarious, but I will NEVER eat in this pub under current management and if anyone who reads this review does, I say in advance "I told you so"

On the plus side (and for the sake of a balanced review) the bloody mary was actually quite good.
Comment on this reader review

Olly Dixon
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Monday, December 10, 2007

This place used to be great, but has really gone down hill since my last visit. Perhaps the kitchen was having an off day, but at Sunday lunchtime the roast rib of beer was tasteless and the meat platter mediocre. Service was friendly, but I was not pleased at the arrival of an admittedly well behaved but smelly dog at the table next to me. I didn't even know dogs were allowed in restaurants. The place could definitely do with a lick of paint and more attention be paid to the food. It's a shame, as The Phoenix used to be one of the few good places to eat near the King's Road.
Comment on this reader review

Zoe
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Monday, November 05, 2007

We booked a table for ten ahead of time but it still took more than half an hour for the orders to be taken. Although it was Friday lunchtime, it wasn' t actually that busy, but we were told that there weren't enough chefs to cope with us and another large group.

The food was tasty, but the long wait to order meant I had to take my unshelled prawns with me as everyone else needed to return to the office. In addition, my vegetarian friend ordered eggs benedict without the ham, only to find ham in it - the waitress wasn't particularly apologetic. I ordered a side salad as there was no mention of greens with the prawns on the menu, only to find there was already salad with it - I think they could have pointed this out. It's a nice setting but the staff couldn't cope with a very average Friday lunchtime level of busyness and the service was apathetic - I won't be going back.
Comment on this reader review

Anne
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Friday, November 02, 2007

Great place. The Phoenix remains for the time being relatively unknown even to most people in the neighborhood...which is a good thing given the size. The food offering is excellent and continues to be refined, combining semi-standard local choices (sausage and the like) but also healthy stuff. The service can at times be spotty but on average it is terrific. The atmosphere is better than other comparable places in the hood and generally sports a ratio of 1.5 - 2x. If you've been there you know what I mean. The only thing that can get better occurs when the smoking ban kicks in!
Comment on this reader review

Chet Lemon
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Initial impressions of decor, atmosphere & clientele were favourable.

I was served the last portion of lamb, which I think was described as lamb steak. What I got was a 9mm thin slice across the bone of 50% fatty, 25% meat & 15% fat. It was curled up & overcooked.

Our waitress wrote “service is not included – thank you” on my bill. We noticed that by the length of time taken to get out order taken – I had to ask for this 3 times, then our 2nd round of drinks was overlooked for 10 minutes – hardly impressive service.

Maybe it was a bad/unlucky experience, but I won't rush back.

I was served the last portion of lamb, which I think was described as lamb steak. What I got was a 9mm thin slice across the bone of 50% fatty, 25% meat & 15% fat. It was curled up & overcooked.

I have been a regular diner at The Builders’ Arms, but will not return to the Phoenix.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 5
Thursday, August 10, 2006

The phoneix is a lovely little restaurant with a good atmosphere and pleasant surroundings. The choice of beer and ale is original compared to most London pubs and the food, although not outstanding, is generally very good with regualarly updated specials.

It is almost always bustling which adds to the general atmosphere but can make finding a seat hard! Booking is available which is advisable for the seperate dining area.
Comment on this reader review

John Dunley
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Thursday, June 01, 2006