All reader reviews by Anonymous
Quaglino's
Went for dinner with 4 friends on Tue 23rd Oct. Pre-booked the 2 course meal +glass of wine for £14.99 per person. Given what we paid, I though the food was really pretty good. I had the chicken liver, bacon and poached egg salad - not a lot of it, but very well prepared. For main I had the Barnsley lamb chop with puy lentils, a decent sized piece of lamb that was pink and tender. The free glass of wine with the meal was not too bad either.
Unfortunately the one thing that let the meal down was the service. I know we were in the "cheap seats" but it really was disappointing. We had two plates taken from the table while three of us were still eating. When the next person finished that plate was taken too. After the remaining two had finished we sat there with two plates for twenty minutes trying to order pudding and more wine, but then could not attract the attention of the waiting staff! We eventually gave up and asked for the bill. That took another 20 minutes to settle. The bill came to £96 for five, which is very good all things considered. If we'd paid full whack, it would have been a lot more and we would probably not have been happy.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Balans (Soho)
Had dinner on Thur 13th Sep 07 having not been for 6 months. First up were delicious cocktails (inc a very good Bloody Mary) with bread, olives and some lovely creamed goats cheese. Straight into the main course and the famous "Balans Burger". It was absolutely foul. It tasted like an economy/no frills quarter pounder and when cut open looked like cheap fatty processed meat. Gone is the fresh ground beef that you expect for a £10 burger. I made it half way through mine before giving up and complaining. We had a bottle of wine (£13) taken off the bill which was nice, but did not quite make up for the three burgers (£30) that then repeated on us all night. It's such a shame as the burgers are usually one of the best in town. Bring back the old meat supplier I say.
Service is as ever fun and friendly, though sitting up at the back we felt a little forgotten and did not get our wine until we had almost finished our main course.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Overall rating 
Food 5 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Marcus Wareing at the Savoy Grill
It's a personal thing, but I normally always prefer winter menus filled with game, roasted meats, rich sauces and hot gooey puddings. All the more reason to be very pleasantly surprised by the tasting menu I enjoyed last night at the Savoy Grill.
We safely avoided my pet hate restaurant trap - aperitifs (£25 for two 125ml glasses of Champagne) and went straight for the wine list instead. Ended up ordering a bottle of Champagne anyway that went very well with the first three courses and a superb, Sommelier recommended, bottle of 2003 Montpeyroux for the meat and cheese courses.
The food really was excellent with very well combined summery flavours. There is a real streak of the Mediterranean with the prawn and salmon ravioli on fennel, the monkfish & clam Provencal and the vegetables & olive jus served with the lamb main course. I think what really stood out apart from the execution of the dishes was the obviously high quality of the ingredients.
Highlights: the food, environment and a very friendly & helpful Sommelier who did not turn his nose up when we said we were price sensitive when he was recommending wine
Lowlight: the food service felt a little rushed, so rushed that we ordered the extra cheese course to slow things down a bit and relax (very good cheeses BTW, but slightly rushed service)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Le Retro
Recently opened and managed by Vincent the impeccably coiffured Maitre D that locals will recognise instantly from Monsieur Max. The welcome is warm and friendly. Whilst the menu is limited it had changed between our two visits. The food on both occasions has been delicious, uncomplicated and perfectly executed. I had a pear, walnut and baked goats cheese salad followed by a risotto with poached haddock and poached egg. Both items stood out on the menu as dishes that I really wanted to eat and I was not disappointed. My fiancé ordered from the specials and had a Daube of Beef that was just amazing.
There is a totally French wine list with a really good choice of reds and whites to suit all tastes and budgets. The Muscadet and Corbieres we had were both fantastic. One thing I really liked is that every wine on the list is available by the glass, 50cl carafe or by the bottle, so we were able to choose wines to compliment each course.
I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough!
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Le Retro
Recently opened and managed by Vincent the impeccably coiffured Maitre D that locals will recognise instantly from Monsieur Max. The welcome is warm and friendly. Whilst the menu is limited it had changed between our two visits. The food on both occasions has been delicious, uncomplicated and perfectly executed. I had a pear, walnut and baked goats cheese salad followed by a risotto with poached haddock and poached egg. Both items stood out on the menu as dishes that I really wanted to eat and I was not disappointed. My fiancé ordered from the specials and had a Daube of Beef that was just amazing, we ended up swapping plates half way through the main course!
There is a totally French wine list with a really good choice of reds and whites to suit all tastes and budgets. The Muscadet and Corbieres we had were both fantastic. One thing I really liked is that every wine on the list is available by the glass, 50cl carafe or by the bottle, so we were able to choose wines to compliment each course.
I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough!
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
The Oratory
What a find! Had dinner here with 5 friends on Saturday 8th April 2006. We had three courses, coffee, port and 6 bottles of wine (oops!) and the bill came to a bargain £208 including service! Astounding value for money compared to many other places to eat locally.
The food is really quite good. I had an exceptionally tasty mushroom risotto and followed it up with a burger covered in blue cheese and crispy onions. Simple food, yet perfectly executed. Best value is the wine list with the house wine at £7.50, we went for a very pleasant Argentinean Malbec at £9.50 (hence the 6 bottles!)
It's not Michelin star material, but then neither is the bill. Thoroughly enjoyable and I will go back!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Aberdeen Steak Houses
Joking and Dave Burnside's hilarious review aside, this is quite simply one of the worst dining experiences you could ever imagine. This a tourist hell hole that no self respecting Londoner would even contemplate eating in, but amazingly there is a constant stream of lemmings throwing themselves through the door to an uncertain future It shames me to admit that I have eaten here. The food is dull, unimaginative, poorly cooked and expensive, The standard of service equals that of hygeine… very very poor. I would seriously recommend Burger King for a better gastronomic experience.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Overall rating 
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Squiffy's Restaurant
This realy is the only decent restaurant left in the Hampton area if you don’t want Indian or Chinese. I have eaten here a number of times and never been dissapointed. The menu changes regularly and reflects seasonal produce. There is a good mix of meat and fish on the menu and there is a good variety of reasonably priced wine. The service has suffered on one of my visits as they do get quite busy, I would also recommend booking in advance.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
The Capital Restaurant
I wrote a review in Oct 2003 of my experience of the Menu Degustation at The Capital. Sadly I walked away slightly disappointed by two of the courses that I felt were not particularly "sumptuous or decadent" (veal steak main and chocolate brownie dessert). The rest of the food, wine and service were exceptional though.
Not put off entirely, I went back for lunch on Sunday 8th Jan. All I can say is that it was absolutely superb. The 3 course menu for £29.50 is absolutely stunning value for money for such an outstanding dining experience.
I did find it hard to choose a wine near £35 so my advice is: don't be embarrassed to set a budget and tell the sommelier. Aperitifs before dinner came to £25 inc service, cheekily the Champagne offered was £15 a glass inc service! Next time I will forego pre dinner drinks and enjoy wine by the glass with each of the three courses. Can't wait to go back!
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
