Pretentious with 2nd rate food. Very small portions too.
My wife went to this establishment set in the heart of Bishopsgate. Using a Virgin Experience voucher. We were looking forward to the acclaimed '5 course gourmet meal'. We had booked for midday and were one of the first people in. Very impressed by the atmosphere and decor...definitely a cut above your normal restaurant.... but then a 'gourmet meal' deserved the setting. The cocktails arrived...very nice. The first course and 2nd and 3rd course were small in portion size...and somewhat pretentious in the offering. The main course was the steak (medium rare requested) We were told it came with nothing but the sauce...so ordered a single portion of chips. (£8) The waiter suggested it wouldn't be enough and to order the 'sharing portion'....cost £12. Steak came as did the chips. After a couple of bites, my wife said ..this is very chewy...I was struggling to cut into mine with the knife provided...and found it equally tough....not exactly the 'cut though like butter/melt in your mouth' steak we had been anticipated! We had a 7 oz steak...and 30% was inedible and fatty or tough. In addition, the chips were over-salted! When the waiter came and asked how was our meal ....I said 'I can go to Aldi and buy a superior steak to this for £6'....and having done so many times I was telling the truth. The waiter asked if we would like fresh steaks....which we decided against. Likewise the fries. The dessert was at best adequate...the wife had brandy snaps which were SO hard...difficult to break into and chew. This was a premier steakhouse - supposedly......and the cost of the meal was between 45-50 pounds. I have eaten better steaks for less than £10 at Greek taverna's down Green Lanes in Harringay! They did deduct the cost of the chips off the bill...but with the additional cover charge (!!!) and service charge I still ended up paying £8.89 for the abysmal experience! . And what is this with up-market restaurants ....serving portions that wouldn't fill a cat ! After that 5 course meal....we had to get a top up 3 hours later! A non-pretentious burger and fries from a popular outlet!







