All reader reviews by Syracuse Rising

The Lady Ottoline

Visited here last week for after-work birthday drinks with colleagues and friends. The staff are wonderfully friendly and arranged for additional table service for our party, which was superb. The food is outstanding, especially the burger and pork chop. We will have to return to surely the best gastropub in London, without any pretension. Great atmosphere too.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9

Tufnell Park Tavern

The bar staff are lovely, friendly and know their beverage list well. The pub itself has been wonderfully restored since the days when you would not deign to enter simply to use the facilities for fear of contracting plague from the door handle. There is a pleasant beer garden too but sadly this is where the positives end.

For some reason the Tavern believes it necessary to charge double the price for everything by virtue of what? If you want to have a laugh, go in and order a pint of lemonade and gasp at what little change you get from a five pound note.

The worst part of the Tufnell Park Tavern is by far the "restaurant". Situated in the back behind an inexplicable velvet curtain this pretentious cove serves bland cuisine that even Jimmy Five Bellies would turn his nose up to. Again, for a jest, do try the mackerel starter which consists of stone cold (literally taken straight from the fridge) lump of mackerel put on a saucer. The rib-eye on the bone sounded delicious but was burnt to ciders and utterly inedible. The waiting staff in the "restaurant" are awful and ignore all customers (perhaps for shame of the food that will be served), to the point that we actually had to walk out from behind the veiled curtain and order from the bar. Inexplicably, the Tavern seems to think it is a Michelin starred restaurant and should, therefore, charge the same prices...two courses £45 per head.

In short, if the Tufnell Park Tavern is your local pub, walk to John O'Groats.

Dreadful.

Friday, February 03, 2012
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0

Quo Vadis

The most over-rated restaurant in London? Quite possibly. There's no doubting the fabulous kitsch decor within, however, the food and service were agonisingly slow and overtly mediocre and bland respectively. Having read the rave reviews from critics and those from this site, one was compelled ask whether there had been a change in management and chef.

Quo Vadis? Elsewhere.

Friday, January 06, 2012
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 4

Savoir Faire

We ventured to Savoir Faire for our team Christmas lunch and were delighted by the personal service and lovely food. We were surprised when we discover our table was situated in beautiful private room, which again highlights the owners, Irene and Max's experience and foresight in the making their guests feel special. As mentioned below the restaurant and staff make you feel completely at ease, indeed they had no qualms with us relaxing at our table long after our meal was complete. Perhaps the best restaurant in London to dine in as a group.

Friday, January 06, 2012
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8

La Petite Auberge

Due to Le Mercury being full I dined here last night with my boyfriend. I shall not be returning...

We were "greeted" by a surly waitress whose temperament did not improve throughout the course of the evening.

To start we had l'escargots, which were swimming in a hefty layer of fat and water, and frogs legs in tasteless tarragon water with a touch of cream.

Next we had rib steaks - tough to chew and quite unpalatable. Anyone who has had the gross misfortune to eat at an Aberdeen Angus Steakhouse will know the distress caused by attempting to eat a half frozen slab of meat. Le Petit Auberge is no different.

The offer of dessert was laughable.

Saying this, previous reviews of Le Petite Auberge on this website are markedly positive, so I can only conclude that a recent change of chef and staff led to the utterly ghastly experience of last night.

Thursday, February 03, 2011
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 0

Oliveto

From the outside Oliveto has an almost rustic tranquility, the olive green outside setting it apart from the multitude of restaurants in the immediate vicinity. Within minutes of entering this establishment the idyllic facade was stripped off faster than that of Roald Dahl's Grand High Witch.

In the chaotic hustle and bustle, we managed to eventually ask a waiter for a table for 3, to which we were given an almost contemptuous look, and told to come back in half an hour. My friend drew the waiter's attention to a vacant table directly in front of us, and he reluctantly allowed us to sit.

A full 15 minutes later a waitress (presumably the waiter had decided it was all too much) asked to take our order, though in a very polite manner, it was a bit of quandary as we had not even been offered any menus as yet.

Another 20 minutes later our drinks arrived, directly from Italy, no, but the whole 2 feet from the bar to our table. Curiously, the bottle of water we had ordered was taken away from us, something we took note of when the bill arrived. Of 3 different pizzas we ordered, 1 was edible, 1 was bizarrely water-logged, and the other drier than Jack Dee in the Sahara desert.

Though our waitress was doing her best and was very enthusiastic, the remaining staff, including the manager shot daggers at us throughout the meal, and were quite as miffed to be asked any questions.

In short, Oliveto is as charming as Richard E. Grant from the outside but as dank and pitiful as Withnail.

Monday, March 02, 2009
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0