Tony Tobin at The Dining Room

Clearly I ate at a different restaurant from some of the people below. I live in Reigate where the restaurant is based and have eaten there three times this year - each time exceptional. They have had a £19.50 three course set menu that has been running since February. It seems to change every couple of weeks but I think to get a celebrity chef's cooking with 3 courses for under £20 is great. The portions aren't huge but this isn't a gastropub or steak house. It is a genuinely good restaurant with well-presented delicious food. Tony Tobin himself was there on one of the nights when we visited, greeting and chatting with guests. There are not many 'celebrity chef' restaurants where that happens and particularly not when the food bill is just £20 per person. I would strongly recommend it.
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Penny Thomson
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, May 07, 2008

My fella and I went on a whim last night and felt so shafted by Tony Tobin and his crew that I just had to register to vent my spleen!!!

Cold greetings and ushered upstairs to the loft bar where we waited 15 mins for recognition and service, got served a limp martini and hopped down the the main restaurant.

Chicken parfit was approx 2 ins x 2ins total, nothing else on the plate I was horrified and registere a complaint -n partner had goats cheese parcel, equally as poor/small and covered in a red puree goo - horrible!

Main course was a severe disappointment and so tiny on the portions it felt really uncomfortable, my partner was losing it as he plundered through a lifeless turkey steak. It is not good enough and I shall call the place to moan, but will anyone take any notice as this place seems to thrive on a lot of faces just wanting to be seen eating there - no style , quality or value - bill £125 for meal and glasses of wine - disgusting rip off
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LOLOA - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, December 22, 2007

As a previous devotee of this place I used it for many years for entertaining clients and staff and it always came up trumps. Over a number of years we spent thousands of pounds at The Dining Room and never had a bad experience.

Since we moved offices I haven't had as many opportunities to visit it over the last couple of years. I went back last year and was disappointed with a very average meal at a very high price. I went back again this month (Aug 07) and it just confirmed for me that this restaurant has had its day and is now past its sell-by-date.

I've always had a lot of time for Tony Tobin's cooking as, unlike many TV cooks (Ainsley, Nigella etc), he is a fully trained professional. Having worked for Nico Ladenis at 3-michelin-star Chez Nico you just know that he can cook.

However it's clear that now that he is a "personality" he has taken his eye off the ball and the quality and attention to detail is no longer there. There is now a distinct feeling of being ripped off by extremely average food at extortionate prices.

Our meal for 3 cost £192 with one bottle of wine (at £34). At £64 per head you would expect some decent nosh but the meal was a disappointment right from the start. 3 tiny scallops as a starter were followed by the driest piece of overcooked fish (Brill) that I'd had in years. Even an amateur cook like me knows that you've got to cook fish with a light touch otherwise it becomes chewy. When I visited here regularly in the past I would always order the french fries as they were one of the best side dishes anywhere. Thin crispy fries cooked perfectly. This time they were beyond bad. They were undercooked soggy miserable excuses for fries. They were clearly just out of the freezer and hadn't been cooked properly. This is shameful quality at this level.

The only highlight for me was a superb passion fruit mousse which just served to remind me that when Tony gets it right he can turn out top-notch food.

My colleagues meals were equally disappointing and the 3 of us left feeling that this is one restaurant we will not be returning to. It really is a shame to see a good chef let things get this bad.
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PS
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, August 08, 2007

I have to agree with a lot of the negative comments about this restaurant. We have eaten at the Dining Room twice before and the food and service have been excellent, which prompted us to go again for my husband's birthday, but we were very disappointed. We had the Tasting Menu, the food was very average and we felt that we were rushed through every course. Even when we asked them to slow down and give us a breather in between courses it didn't make much difference. Our bill came to £130 - for 2 people!!! I certainly would think twice about going back.
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EAW
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, May 01, 2007

My girlfriend and I recently decided that for an extra-special Easter treat, we'd visit a 'posh' restaurant in the Reigate area.

I phoned the restaurant three or so days before our intended Good Friday dining experience. The person who answered the phone didn't even say the name of the restaurant and, judging from his inarticulate grunts, I feared I had misdialed and had reached the local mechanics rather than one of the area's supposedly superior diningspots. Anyway, the table was booked andI was told that I was wise to reserve because the place regularly gets packed.

When we arrived, (fifteen minutes early for hour 8.15pm booking) we were the only diners - and in the hour or so we spent at the restaurant, no more than six more diners appeared.

The place has no atmosphere what so ever - which isn't helped by the use of MOR/AOR piped music which is the soundtrack for a pub or cafe but not an expensive restaurant. The decor is sterile and bland.

The Food? The starter (scallops and crab cakes with chili sauce) was lovely but it all went downhill from there.

The bread was dry and stale and the olive bread had no olive in it. Even if the bread had been any good, we were only offered one tiny slice each and we felt we had to beg for a second piece.

The main course ("organic" chicken breast, wrapped in ham and served on potato and veg) was a tiny portion (little bigger than the starter). The chicken breast was satisfactory but the tiny fried potato (yes, only one of them) and hint of veg were hidden beneath the chicken breast in a miserable pool of onion gravy. So basically, the main course was a tiny bland offering which sat in the middle of a massive plate (why on earth was the plate so big and the portion so small?)

The sweet? Again, pretty average stuff (bonoffee pie and chocolate fondant, both served with ice cream). The portion was once again laughably small and we had to wait ten-fifteen minutes for our sweets (if they knew about the delay, why didn't they ask for our choices when they took our order for first and main courses?)

The house-white wine was cheap and nasty (if bought in a super market, it'd cost no more than £3 and yet I was stung for over five times that price).

Our bill came to £105 (including £11 "service charge") and we left the place still hungry.

I wont be returning and I strongly advise diners to avoid this place like the plague.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Saturday, April 21, 2007

This is the sort of place that makes Londoners incredibly snobby about out of town restaurants. It is horrendously over priced, the menu lacks imagination and the execution is average.

My bouillabaisse soup was under seasoned and lacked any fishy depth... I had a Waitrose fish soup recently which was better.

While my steak was nicely cooked it came with a cauliflower tempura which was greasy and bland....and what was it doing there in the first place!

We were in a group of 6 and nothing anyone else had was much better.

To charge £38 for this was nothing short of daylight robbery.....it should be half of that.

What made me more angry is that the place was full...so the people of Reigate clearly think it is worth it.....my advice is to get a train into London and find either a good gastro pub and get better cooking at half the price or go somewhere like Chez Bruce or La Trompette and get an experience worth £38 a head.
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Ed
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

My partner and I recently had Sunday lunch at The Dining Room, which was disappointing. I thought (£35.00 for three small courses) was pretty steep considering that the main meal was a roast dinner and portion size somewhat on the frugal side!.

For the main course, which was a traditional sunday roast, you had a choice of pork, lamb and beef. I opted for lamb and was shocked by the mean portion size, two thin slices of lamb to be precise, covered in a tasty onion sauce, plus two small potatoes

(half of one potato) , a couple of spinach leaves accompanied by mange toute, nano/barbie sized carrots (3) and haricot verte. The food was tasty enough, but I certainly wasn't sated at the end of the meal. The ambience was very nice indeed and decor/interior very pleasing and warm, not forgetting the attentive staff. I won't be revisiting this restaurant on the grounds of the small portion size.
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Therese Higgins
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Monday, March 26, 2007

I visited The Dining Rooms last night with my wife for a Valentine night meal and I am afraid I was dissapointed.I have been before and could never fault their service or quality of food but I,m afraid last night was poor.

Poor service, poor food, but I have to say a great atmosphere.

This is a London Restaurant in Reigate.I parked right outside the front door for free.Its location is great and so is the Champagne bar upstairs.

It just didn't work for me last night.I think they over filled it and therefore struggled with the amount of people.

My conclusion : Yes for an intimate meal no for Valentines night.
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Thursday, February 15, 2007

My wife and I visited The Dining Room to celebrate our 1st Wedding Anniversary and it really was fantastic. One of the friendly waiters chatted to us as if we were his only customers whilst in The Living Room bar upstairs. Our order was taken before heading back down to our table and the service from there on was exceptional.

The food itself was the best we have ever eaten. The presentation was classy without being over-fussy and the tastes were very intense.

The meal was rounded off perfectly when Mr Tobin himself came over to wish us a happy anniversary, poured us each a complimentary glass of champagne and presented us with our petit fours placed on a glass plate with 'Happy 1st Anniversary' written in chocolate.

Will certainly be making a return visit every year - hopefully in between as well!
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Kieran Mitchell
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, August 14, 2006

As a vegetarian, its always nice when a restaurant has a separate veggie menu, and Tony Tobin has - and its a goodie. The food was good, the waiters attentive - they sorted out a mix up where I was served the wrong starter without a fuss (as it should be) and the setting is very pleasant. The banana dessert I had was a work of art.
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Gaz
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Sunday, February 12, 2006