The Clarendon

Been here twice now and thoroughly enjoyed both meals. The atmosphere is laid back and friendly, the staff attentive and the food very tasty, highly recommended!

All the food was perfect, fresh and tasty… good wines, great great staff, very friendly and helpful. good value for money. a lovely cosy environment, perfect for a lazy sunday afternoon

having done the BBC tour we went here afterwards for a late lunch. Based on Square Meal review I had suggested this place to my friends.
We were very disappointed. First of all it is not very welcoming. Only 1 of the 2 entrance doors was open, and the waiter behind it was blocking this. We asked if they were open and got a mumbled ‘;yes’.
We sat upstairs on the terrace. Only 1 other table was occupied, the rest of the place deserted. Throughout our meal the staff then rearranged the lay-out of the terrace around us for a big party later, this was accompanied by loud arguments over how to do this. Atmosphere was zero.

They had two nice and one not so nice (in my opinion) premium lagers on tap. I order a pint of my first preference: this was ‘off’. Got a pint of my second preference: was told it was the last pint of the barrel. So ended drinking my least favorite lager. This theme continued with the food. Two people in my party did not get the mains order they wanted as they had ‘run out’. (Or, as I suspect, were saving for the big party later…) Two of the deserts were also not available.

The food itself was in my opinion the worst side of gastropub – very simple food, not very well cooked or presented, very expensive. I has a steak dish, my steak was undercooked, my Bearnaise sauce had split. The home made chips were chunky and the best bit of my meal. My friends were also distinctly underwhelmed.

All in all a very disappointing experience, I would not go as far as to say awful, but certainly not to be repeated.

Have been a number of times since it opened and the food is always good and tasty. I can always recommend the chateaubriand. Service can be patchy at times if the sun terrace is open and busy as it seems to get priority to downstairs. Staff are always friendly and as long as the food is good we will continue to recommend.