Bentleys

Took advantage of the special offer of 4 courses and a glass of bubbly for £25 and took my wife to Bentley's on Friday night. We had a lovely time and a great meal. The set menu was really well balanced, we opted to pay a supplement for some delicious jersey oysters, preceded my a delicious warm duck salad and the main course was a lovely chili prawn linguine. The service was attentive and we had some delicious wine, an ausie semillon-sauvignon which was not overpriced. We pushed the boat out slightly by having a couple of glasses of desert wine with our Manchester tart. It was a really nice experience and Swallow Street is a much more attractive place since it has been pedestrianised. I would definetly recommend going to Bentley's and especially taking advantage of the great special offer.
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David Ginsberg
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, June 30, 2008

Two of us went to the oyster bar on a Monday evening just before 7pm, and there was no problem getting a seat. The place is almost too quiet when it is not busy and could do with some background music so you are not afraid to talk too loudly!

The food was delicious - a selection of fine oysters for starters, followed by a main of squid stuffed with chorizo and feta in a mussel sauce did not disappoint.

Good selection of wines to choose from by the glass, and the man serving us at the bar recommended some to go with our chosen dishes.

All in all, a great find and will be back on a busier evening later in the week.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

What a great atmosphere in this place! Bustling from 7pm onwards, the oyster bar was busy and full of characters. We sat at the bar so we could watch the shucking operation close up.

12 superbly fresh Jersey oysters to start, as recommended by the oyster guy. Followed up with thai-style monkfish for me - delicious, generous amount of fis hand giant prawns. My other half went for pollack, smallish quantity, but delicious as were the accompaniments. I went for vanilla ice cream to finish - really good, she went for a huge creme brulee. We also got a dessert wine each on the house as we had to wait a while for the oysters - we weren't bothered about this as we were enjoying ourselves anyway.

The food is not haute cuisine and in some ways that is a relief. It is superbly fresh and delicious, there are some real characters in there and the atmosphere is great.

We will be back frequently.
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Simon
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, June 05, 2008

Visited Bentley’s recently and enjoyed a delicious dinner with excellent service.

Originally I had intended to eat in the Oyster Bar, but upon arrival my partner decided she wanted to enjoy the more intimate atmosphere in the Grill upstairs.

I chose the shellfish cocktail which is akin to a prawn cocktail but far superior...as it should be with the significant additions of shrimp, langoustines, crab and lobster! Scrumptious.

My guest had a selection of oysters; a mixture of Natives and Rocks. She described them as the best she has enjoyed anywhere and, given that she eats out five nights a week, this is quite an accolade!

(A special mention must go to the charming Italian barman who made me one of the best Bellinis I can recall.)

For my main course I loved the famous Royal Fish Pie which, whilst hearty, had a perfect balance of seafood and (again!) lobster. What a find!

My partner went straight to the Wild Sea Bass which our charming waitress assured us had “arrived that day” from Cornwall. It was served with new potatoes, broccoli and Hollandaise sauce and was so delicious it needed nothing else.

We gave dessert a miss, simply because we were “stuffed to the gills” (no pun intended) and returned to the bar to soak up the atmosphere, chill to the pianist’s wide repertoire and relax.

Overall, I cannot recommend this restaurant enough and much look forward to returning. Thank you Chef Corrigan!!
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White Rabbit - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, May 16, 2008

Bentleys neon signage has always intrigued me on brisk walks up Piccadilly. Not at all what one expects from a supposedly 'smart' restaurant (Ramsay in neon? Not likely), but it just seems to work on this period facade. I have always assumed that this is a signature dating back through this restaurant's long history? Who knows.

Bentleys is now run by Richard Corrigan, of Lindsay House fame. We needed a dinner spot not too far from a party at the Royal Academy and I really needed to stop ordering steaks.

We arrived late, having made the most of the free bubbly and sushi down the road, but this was no problem for the greeter at Bentleys. Quite buzzy in the downstairs oyster bar, a guy tinkling the ivories, moody lighting. We are despatched upstairs.

We enter one room and are guided on to the next and deposited. Is RC in the kitchen we ask? No, he is sampling wines in Italy. Hmmm. Nice work if you can get it.

We order a half bottle of sancerre (not much topping up required!), half a dozen mixed oysters (menu offers 3 varieties, only 2 appear - no explanation/apology received...). L detests oysters so I suggest she orders the stuffed squid, principally because of all the positive reviews here. Oysters were absolutely top notch, super fresh, loosened from the shell, proper condiments, excellent! But extremely expensive at close to £15. Squid disappointing - very small portions and that combo just didn't work for us.

Entrees - I had the mixed grill - I'm a sucker for variety. And it was OK. A bit fiddly, and the waitress didn't talk me through the plate, so some fish remained unidentified, but it was OK. L had smoked fish - fine, but we probably do it better at home, but then it's done exactly to our taste.

No puddings, too full, too drunk and we are on a tight curfew with the babysitter! Plus, alcohol having weakened our resolve to limit carbs after breakfast, I had devoured the (excellent) bread basket. Damn. That's another few k's on the miserable treadmill.

The bill, a few pennies under £100 - hooray, probably the most satisfying part of the meal. Other guests - assorted internationals, a few tourists, a few lardy retired types. A bit stiff for our liking.

Service friendly, but a little slow and not particularly attentive. A request to turn down the AC was dealt with immediately. BUT a big final gripe. We head downstairs, the usual nods and thank yous. And then we have to wait 5-10 mins to receive our bits and pieces from the cloakroom. A real shambles - no one knows what is going on. A queue of punters ahead of us and behind. LOUD americans complaining and generally making the situation worse. What I would expect in Giraffe en famille on a busy lunch service - this absolutely should not happen here.

Would we come again? Not for dinner. Oysters on stools at the downstairs bar? Possibly.
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Blue Skies - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Got a table in the oyster bar of Bentleys on Saturday night and had a great time.

Food was good, Asparagus & duck egg, fish soup & pollack the highlights.

Tables are really packed in here but I felt this gave the room a great atmosphere.

Service from the reception to the barman was good but it was our waitress (Katie)who stood out, she was simply great!

Value for money was not bad, good selection of white wine in 250ml carafe's let us try several wines at a decent price.

And to top it all were sitting next to Hugh Grant!
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, March 31, 2008

I went to Bentleys with such high expectations but was so disapointed with the service and food that i recieved.

The food was average (prawn and egg to start, fish pie for mains) but i was most disapointed with the service.

I was sat at the bar but still had to wait for drinks and plates to be cleared and i didn't really feel like the staff wanted us there.

with a lot of places in london this one place i won't be re-visiting.
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M Clarke
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Friday, March 07, 2008

I went to Bentley's with a friend last night and had a wonderful meal. We ate upstairs in the restaurant, which is a beautiful room with William Morris fabric covered walls and well spaced tables. Unlike another reviewer, we found the service absolutely charming. There was no attempt to sell up and they were more than happy to give us a jug of chilled tap water rather than an expensive bottle of mineral water. It's not a cheap place, but the quality of the ingredients and the cooking justify this.

We shared a dozen oysters (the cheapest ones) which were some of the best I've ever had. They were at the perfect temperature and there was the traditional choice of tabasco, freshly-squeezed lemon juice or shallots in red wine vinegar to flavour them with. They were plump and very fresh. Delicious.

I had royal fish pie as a main course. It didn't look like much when it arrived, but underneath the mashed potato were big juicy chunks of lobster, langoustine, salmon and scallop. No cheap filler here. My friend chose undyed smoked haddock on smashed potatoes with greens, which was finished with a perfectly poached egg and mustartd sauce. Again, high quality ingredients prepared simply to create a memorable dish.

All through the meal the service was attentive and helpful without being over-bearing. After 2 course each, a bottle of chablis and a couple of glasses of wine after the meal the bill came to £124 including service. I've paid more in London restaurants for a far inferior experience.
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BH
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, December 14, 2007

As Londoners my husband and I were really exicted about going to Bentleys as we had heard great things. We ordered a glass of wine each we were then subjected to a massive up sell to a bottle from a waiter, we eventually convinced him that we really only wanted one glass.

The continual selling came with the oysters we chose, again being pushed into a more expensive plate. When we asked for recommendations for main we were immeidately directed to an expensive special.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was fantasic so we sat at the bar but the waiter kept talking to us, asking where we were from etc.

The food was good, although I have had better squid & chorizo and the fish soup was disspointing.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Monday, November 05, 2007

We stopped in for a few oysters and ended up spending the evening here. You're in safe hands with the staff, very knowledgeable. This is a restaurant that stands or falls on the quality of it's shellfish and everything is EXTREMELY fresh. We had a variety of oysters, clams, jabugo (sp?) ham and a dish of squid stuffed with feta and chorizo that was so delicious we had to order another one immediately. We drank the Muscadet which was crisp and refreshing. There's a very convivial atmosphere, even if some of the clientele can appear a little stuffy. I certainly stood out as a scruff but the pianist made my night by playing some Hawkwind. An excellent night out.
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Boz
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 15, 2007