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And now to the ‘list of shame’. Here are London’s 10 most disappointing restaurants, according to the results of Harden’s 2016 survey of over 6,750 restaurant-goers.
Topping the Most Disappointing Cooking list this year was paparazzi hotspot the Chiltern Firehouse. Nuno Mendesʼs hotel dining room has the dubious pleasure of taking this title from the Oxo Tower restaurant, which has finally managed to escape the number 1 spot on the Ê»list of shameʼ (now at number two) after 15 years. The Hardenʼs survey not only awarded the Chiltern Firehouse bottom marks for food, reporters also decried the place as “full of Z-listers, models and wannabe movers-and-shakers” and “so over-hyped itʼs hilarious” – none of this is helped by “silly” prices and service thatʼs “confused (going on obnoxious)”.
Appearing on the Most Disappointing Cooking list for the first time is Jason Athertonʼs flagship Pollen Street Social (3). According to the survey, 2015 was the year the (until now) bullet-proof Atherton empire began to show signs of wear and tear. Complaints of “passionless”, “unmemorable meals” and “conveyor belt service” typified feedback and led to tumbling ratings. Has the restaurateur finally overstretched himself? The last 12 months have been busy – the opening of City Social (which got a name check in out Best for Business top 10 at number 4), the launch of Social Wine & Tapas and his forthcoming Japanese project on the former site of Turnmills, Sosharu. His Bernerʼs Tavern also took a nosedive in ratings this year, with food deemed to be “no more than competent”. Athertonʼs “trendy yet superb” Social Eating House in Soho remains a beacon of hope.
It appears alongside Heston Blumenthalʼs hotel dining room Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental (6) and Bruno Loubetʼs Grain Store (5) – another new entry in the unenviable top 10. Dinnerʼs popularity continues to wane year-on-year in the survey and its Olde Worlde dishes which “first seemed novel and exciting now seems boring” and “oh-so overpriced”.
