The Observer
Jay Rayner struggled in vain to give a generous review to this smart-looking New York-style steakhouse, which has earned a strong following over 22 years. His meal here was both inconsistent and painfully slow, the main courses barely arriving by 10pm when his party had arrived early for their 8.30 booking.
“The sense was very much of a kitchen trying and failing to cope. Rib-eye and sirloin steaks were served medium, rather than medium rare as requested. They were piping hot and tense, because they hadn’t been rested. Chips were undercooked. Steakhouses have to do a small number of things perfectly. Unrested, overcooked steaks at £30 a pop, and undercooked chips isn’t good enough.”
There were other problems. Café de Paris butter did not arrive as ordered (but appeared on the bill), the wine was hidden and to cap it all, the Caesar salad prepared tableside used anchovies preserved in vinegar instead of salt, so they failed reduce to a paste.
Jay Rayner - 2024-05-12Daily Mail
Tom Parker Bowles found great service at this grill, although the food was “something of a mixed bag” – mainly to do with problems of timing.
Cheese scones, served with Marmite-infused butter, were ”joyously light”; a searingly hot French onion soup was “eminently respectable”; and a prawn cocktail was decent, he reckoned – although “I do wish kitchens would step away from the tiger prawns. Expensive is not always best, especially when those traditional small pink commas are packed with so much more piscine punch.”
Of the main dishes, a bone-in sirloin steak had “depth and heft and grunt”, and beef dripping chips were excellent. But a porterhouse “comes medium rare, rather than blue. It has also been sitting on the pass too long, meaning the meat is on the cooler side of lukewarm and the fat has congealed.” A similar wait had left French fries “cold and flaccid”.
Tom Parker Bowles - 2025-02-02
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