J Sheekey

My husband and I visited J Sheekey for my birthday last weekend. I have an avid interest in food - eating, cooking, reading about food - and I've been wanting to go for a while to see if it lived up to the hype. We've eaten in many fantastic (and not so!) restaurants in London, so I was intrigued to see what this place was really like...

We were seated as soon as we arrived and asked what we'd like to drink straightaway - fine if you know what you're after I suppose, but I like a few minutes to read the wine list thank you. Anyway after deciding what to drink, nobody seemed to return for our order so my husband had to collar a passing waiter instead. Not a great start :-(

Anyway, on to the food: I had the gravalax to start which was sublime - the slices of salmon were generous and tasty and the accompanying dill mustard sauce was lovely. The supposedly pickled cucumber on the side didn't have very much flavour but did add a good crunch to each mouthful. My husband went for the pickled herring with potato salad. It was a very generous portion - perhaps a bit too generous for a starter - with two meaty fillets and had a lot of flavour which got the thumbs up. He also had three oysters (they're on the menu at a minimum order of six but they were happy to oblige with fewer since I don't really like them) which he said were possibly the best he's ever had, and he's had a lot! They were the least expensive of the three varieties available too.

Main courses: for me, it was the trout with surf clams and bacon. The portion of fish was good (much more generous than a recent trip to Bentley's) and surf clams tasty but surprisingly, a distinct lack of any bacon?? Instead the fish was on a bed of fondant potato and accompanied by samphire. Not sure if it usually comes with these (it wasn't included in the menu description) or if it was a distraction from the absence of bacon but it was still good dish, if perhaps a little bland for my taste. My husband said it was lovely though. He had the much tastier (in my opinion!) pollock fillet on a white bean and chorizo stew with mussels. It was a very good dish and the fish was cooked perfectly.

Dessert: I had the iced berries with white chocolate sauce - nothing to write home about but a nice light dessert to end the meal with. He had a cheeseboard which was accompanied by homemade piccalilli which was a nice touch. Disappointingly, the cheeses weren't introduced by the waiter (as they are in most places) and although we can recognise the difference between a blue and a cheddar for example, it would have been nice to know what each one was and perhaps where it was from. I believe they were named on the menu but by this point the menus were long gone. Not a big deal I know but if we're being picky...

Overall the meal came to around £145 which included a bottle of wine (a shade over £30) and service - a pretty good deal for what was an enjoyable meal with good service. When booking they tell you they need the table back after around two hours which is bit offputting but in the end that was longer than we needed anyway and they certainly weren't rushing us out of the door - service was quick (apart from the wine incident!) but not unpleasantly so, I'd much rather someone attentive took away my finished plates rather than just leaving them to fester between us on the table!

As I mentioned earlier, we recently went to another fish restaurant, Bentley's which is generally quite well regarded however, for better food, better service, a better ambience and better value, I would say that J Sheekey is streets ahead!
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SJP
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, August 06, 2010

Have visited J Sheekey's several times and always found the food to be excellent as is the service, it is somewhat hurried given that it is a theatre land restaurant with a lot of people either going to or coming from a show. If however you do not fit into this catagory then it may not be for you.

For similar cost a more relaxed meal can be enjoyed elsewhere, perhaps they should consider a long stay section!!
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andyf - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, April 22, 2010

Friendly attentive service, top notch seafood cooked as it should be. Can also be better value than you'd expect with judicious ordering, given the stylish "scene" atmosphere. However, injudicious ordering could send the bill spiralling out of control
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, April 18, 2010

I've eaten here several times over the past few years and I think its a great place. Not a cheap night out but I've found the food and service absolutely top-notch.

Last time ate in the oyster bar. Not being an expert on oysters I asked the waiter for his reccomendation....he said that considering the season the cheapest ones on the menu were as good as the dearest and he'd go for those.

Not often you see a west-end waiter pushing the cheapest thing on the menu!
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loz
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Thursday, January 21, 2010

I organised a meal for my father's 60th birthday, just 5 of us on a Friday night. A few of my colleagues had recommended this place for it's fish speciality (my dad is a particular fan), so I booked this expecting service to be of a high standard, based on the recommendations.

Unfortunately, the first thing that greeted me at the door was a polite yet slightly stern member of staff who had informed me that my guests were waiting at the table and the champagne I had requested for the table had already been served. I arrived a mere TEN minutes late to the restaurant due to traffic. This was a disappointing start because I didn't get to join in with the surprise for my dad. As soon as I was seated my sister informed me that the waiters failed to listen, despite requesting they wait until I arrive. Anyway, so no big deal I thought - it's not the end of a good night yet! However, the service we continued to receive at the table was a clumsy and thoughtless (leaning on us to serve plates, pushing my mum out of the way when pouring drink and non-accidentally dropping cutlery onto the table). The waiter who attended us, seemed slightly put out whenever we requested something and so all things considered, it didn't make for a comfortable atmosphere.

Redeeming features of the restaurant? The fellow diners were polite and friendly, the food was excellent and they did remember to bring out a small dessert for my dad with happy birthday piped in chocolate around the edge. My dad had a great night (we kept him distracted), so we were happy. Being a regular diner in London through my job, I had a preconceived expectation of the service standard for this place, but it really was a sore disappointment. Great food, poor service. I would not go again.
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SD
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Sunday, January 17, 2010

I think it is a very wonderful place for dinner.The seafood is fresh and delicious and thank you for the quick service.
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İsmail UYGUNER
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Had a quick dinner of plateau de fruits de mer for two and some wine. Generally good, could have been better had they not 'bulked it up' at the base with cheap shellfish eg. cockles, etc.. Service was on the brisk side.
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Me
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, January 03, 2010

We thought the food good not great. We had the lunch menu option and 2 of us chose salmon steaks - delicious, 2 others had fish pie, tasty but lacked variety in the fish- just salmon as far as I could tell - so lost interest quickly. Service correct to the letter but without warmth. Not sure I'd bother again.
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7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Saturday, January 02, 2010

food tops one of the best restaurant we have been to service and staff are great, the 1st class menu goes so well with the wine list .. the worst thing about dinning at J Sheekey is trying decide what to have ..and always leave thinking when am i going back.. J Sheekey is also great for a pre-theatre dinner.... it gets a 10 out of 10 from me.
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Mike Ross
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, November 28, 2009

The crab starters were excellent as was the Cornish fish main course and the ice creams with chocolate sauce were memorable. We were visitiing a theatre after dinner so had limited time . Staff were most attentive without being too obvious.
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Jane and Colin Harrison
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, November 08, 2009