Richoux

I've been visiting Richoux St John's Wood on a regular basis (at least once a week) for about 7 years. Overall I was always happy but recently the service has been deteriorating. Yesterday it was really bad. They didn't let us to go upstairs (other customers insisted and managed to make them to serve them upstairs). They were very slow to take our order, slow to serve our food. They never came to ask us for coffee/deserts and at the end it was impossible to get the bill. We had to go ourselves and ask for the bill and pay on our way out.

We would like to hope that this was just a bad day but friends of ours had similar experiences in the last couple of weeks. I wonder what has happenned. Staff is polite and seem willing to do their job but simply they are not up to it. Food quality appears to be the usual.
Comment on this reader review

Thomas Manti
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Saturday, May 03, 2008

The richoux we went to was across the road from Harrods;

I went with my friend for dinner after recalling having lunch there a long time ago and enjoying the Beef Stroganoff. on checking the menu outside the restaurant i was distraught to find they no longer serve it. After pondering a little, we decided to go in anyway. The upstairs is quite cramped and uncomfortable-looking, so i asked to be seated downstairs, where i remembered being before. I was told the area was closed, so we were made to sit upstairs. There was only one person serving (the hostess) and there were people waiting to be served as well as seated; we saw 3 or 4 waiters coming up with food, but none were actually serving in the restaurant. We were seated in a rushed manner before the hostess began seating and serving other customers; we were not even given a menu! we had to wait about 20minutes before we were able to request a menu from a waiter who was bringing food up from the kitchens. Again nobody came to us, and we had to call for someone to take our order, which I found quite disconcerting; i even said to my friend; "if they don't come in the next 5 minutes, lets just leave and go somewhere better." Fortunately for them, the waiter who gave us our menus also took our order. The starter was lovely, and would probably have been even more delicious had we not been put in a bad mood. We had a Bruschetta topped with Caramelised Onions, Beef Tomatos and Grilled Chevre; it was fabulous. We also ordered a Mozzerella & Avocado Salad and a bowl of olives, which were nice; not sure what they were but I will try to find them; they were large black olives, seedless and not too strong. We sat for a while with the starter plates empty, about 15 minutes before having to call for the waiter again, to ask if the mains will be long. He replied he was just waiting for us to finish our starters, to which my friend turned and said "oh we shouldn't have taken so long finishing the starters then!" lol... luckily the waiter didn't hear. So the main came, we had a roasted lamb shank (Was slightly dry despite the gravy, and could have been more tender; I suspect it was not freshly prepared) and the Shephards pie. The mains were satisfactory, but not worth the wait. For Dessert we shared a Tiramisu, which is my favourite dessert. luckily we ordered the bill with dessert, otherwise goodness knows how long we would have had to wait again. All in all I would rate the service as unsatisfactory, and the food could have been better. The bill came to around £50 for the two starters, two mains and one dessert, and 2 drinks. The price is average for small restaurants in the area, but having tried most of them I could say with confidence this is nowhere near satisfactory in service. Apart from the one starter, the food didn't impress much either.
Comment on this reader review

Alyna
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Sunday, December 30, 2007

My friends came over from Wales and thought we'll have some afternoon tea after a day of shopping. It looked like a nice place to relax from the outside. We were utterly disappointed with the service. The hostess woman (I think she is the manager, as she is not in uniform) shuffed us in a corner and then forgot about us. 25 mins must have passed, before a waitress finally came to us. She was rude and made us feel like we are intruding on her. Food was OK.

I would never go back again. I think they only cater to the rich tourists whom they will not see again. I don't think they really care if you go back or not! Horrible service. Disgrace to the restaurant industry. BEST TO AVOID.
Comment on this reader review

pinkynana - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Monday, June 25, 2007

This place is a complete con. My girlfriend and I were looking for a place to take her parents for afternoon tea after having spent the day shopping on Oxford Street. We went to Richoux because the location and exterior promised luxury and fine dining. The whole experience turned out to be a major disappointment. My girlfriend's dad never got the waffles he ordered (and was very much looking forward to) - the staff also failed to apologise for this oversight. The cakes we ordered, at a baffling £4.75 apiece, were small and had a mass-produced texture and flavour. I am almost certain they are not baked on the premises or even on the day. The overall bill for 4 teas and 3 cakes came to £27. Even by London standards this is appallingly poor value. My advice is try to avoid this place - it seems to cater mainly to gullible rich tourists and you'd be a fool to go there.
Comment on this reader review

Stef
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Monday, January 22, 2007

the food is exquisite, the staff are superb, the service is excellent!.
Comment on this reader review

Aaron Dana
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 13, 2006