Chez Gerard Covent Garden Piazza

Went to Che Gerad, last night for a work Christmas Party. The dinner cost £40 per head, which did not include even a complimentary glass of wine. It was very disappointing when on arrival we were greeted with a large sign that advertised a 3 course meal for £29.95, with a complimentary drink.
The food was mediocre at best, certainly nothing to rave about. The Christmas Crackers were cheap mini ones, which appeared to be bought on mass (not a problem) from a well know cash and carry.
The restaurant lacked atmosphere (no back ground music) and felt cramped at times. Although our table waiter was very pleasant (not French), other staff, a particular waitress was not very pleasant or customer friendly, when my colleague accidently knocked over a wine glass whilst putting her coat on and two of us tried to remove the shards of glass from beneath a fellow customers coat and seat. She abruptly snapped at us to stop pushing the glass under the table “It won't help pushing it under the table”.

Having looked forward to this night out for quite a while now; this is possibly our last meal together as we are one of the departments the government are planning to cut (School Sports Partnerships); Will a bill of almost £500; I was very disappointed with Che Gerad on a whole and would not return.

Had a mid week evening dinner. Food was excellent along with setting and general ambience – but service was very amateur – several minute wait at desk on arrival for host to appear, soup arrived without a soup spoon which took several further minutes to materialise and vegetables arrived several minutes after the main dishes. Also the champagne in kir royale was flat and far too much cassis was added.

Whatever happened to brand expectations? For half a lifetime Chez Gerard restaurants were the epitome of the classic French brasserie in London, reliable and delicious, with that distant yet efficient Gallic approach to service.

But in the past five years or more, the chain has gone to pieces. It has chopped and changed between dauntingly comprehensive and absurdly overpriced brasserie menus, until recently opting for a good limited selection. In between we have been insulted – many times – at the previously flagship South Bank branch by managers and frazzled greeters who, when faced with a dozen or more walk-ups after a National Theatre performance, tell you abruptly and without enthusiasm that there will be a half-hour wait, while many tables are visibly empty. Nearby, thank heavens, there are now many other eating options.

Two years ago at the High Street Kensington branch we were insulted by surly staff at every level of service including management, and witnessed fractious hostility between the ranks. The customer squirmed until an indifferent and often truly poor meal arrived, then charged at unwarrantable prices. We have boycotted this branch for more than a year after several freezing cold and rank visits – rank, because the dismal interior stank of drains.

What a surprise this week, then, to visit the Covent Garden branch perched in its attractive conservatory on the first-floor of the central market and to enjoy a delicious new menu and sympathetic service, having also shunned this venue for some years. Admittedly this week's tube strike meant that at 9pm on a damp evening the place was empty of the raucous bar-drinkers who usually ruin the ambience of this unique location.

The food itself surprised us by simply meeting expectations. Sea bass fillets in pastry served with a mussel sauce were unexpectedly light. The rare onglet was as French as you'd expect. A carrot and parsnip side order was crisply al dente. The Muscadet was OK, if overpriced at £8 a glass. Noticeably, the service was attentive and friendly. We're tempted to return to this branch, though the brand name Chez Gerard still makes one look for alternative venues, itself no longer a guarantee of consistency.

I enjoyed my experience throughout. Food, table and the service were really good. Would go back again for special occassion, business lunch, family dinner or to simply treat my wife. The menu had alot to offer and had dishes of very good value and interesting selection. A bit for everyone. Wine: We ordered the Errazuriz 1870 Merlot from Chile – reasonably priced.
Food: My wife and i decided to share the Chateaubriand 18oz, it was cooked to perfection and ample for two to share. This come with 3 different choices of sauces as well as Maris Piper potatoe Frites, new potatoes or a side salad. We also ordered spinach and french beans. Dessert: We settled for the fruit sorbet as we were full from the meal.
Service: The service was excellant, wine arrived within minutes, the food was served promptly, the service was not intrusive.
cleanliness: the restaurant was clean from the entrance to the restaurant internally as well as the toilets which were checked very 15 minutes (there was a tiolet checklist with signatures on the wall).
Could not fault this restaurant at all.

This was one of the most unpleasant evenings I have had in a restaurant in 10 years of living and working in London, and I urge every right minded person to never go there.

It does not over look the Royal Opera House as the name suggests. This is blatant false advertising. It is opposite the rear of the Opera House, meaning that it over looks the London Transport Museum, and some shops. That's it!!! The wall is too tall to peer over anyway, so your romantic view (as promised by the restaurant) is actually a wall!

Bread, nuts and olives were brought to our table without our asking. In any normal restaurant this would be complimentary. Not at Chez Gerrard. We were charged for this unsolicited food. They even had the nerve to put the discretionary service charge on the bill and instructed us that it was up to us to remove it. When we complained we were faced with a deeply unpleasant manager with all the interaction skills of a drone, repeating over and over again that this was corporate policy. You expect this kind of behaviour in Eastern Europe, not on your doorstep.

The staff are slovenly and uninterested. One could even be seen to slouch and yawn at 5:30 in the evening. The walls that line the terrace are littered with chewing gum, and the tables are so flimsy that you have to hold on to them in case a stiff breeze blows them away.

I cannot say this enough, but do not go to this restaurant. It is a thinly disguised fast food restaurant with pretentions.

When we arrived we asked one of the passing staff, presuming her to be a waitress, if we could order a drink. She replied that “she does not take orders” and that would “need to find our waiter”. Service was haphazard, cutlery not arriving when the meals did — we were even offered olives and peanuts between our starter and main ! No one seemed particularly interested in proffering wine and the wine listed was not available. The service was casual bordering on contemptuous — when I came to pay the bill the machine asked me if I wanted to add a gratuity even though service was included. When I raised that with the waiter he responded that none of the service charge goes to the waiting staff, to which I replied that if the service had been any good then he might have got something. He then came back to say that they had forgotten to charge us for the wine. I said that the service had not been good, to which he replied that there are 7 receptionists (i.e. the ones who do nothing) and only 9 waiters, so I asked to see the manager who sidled up in due course and pointed out in a rather unpleasant passive-aggressive manner that no one else had complained (i.e. I must be imagining things or a difficult so-and-so). I pointed out to him that since it was the first we had seen him on the terrace and he clearly was not walking around asking people how their meal was then it was hardly surprising that he had heard no complaints. He decided not to charge for the wine.

Chez Gerard is sitting on a gold mine at Covent Garden — if the service were better we would have stayed longer and spent more.

On a more positive note, the Chez Gerard food is consistently good value, and I was very pleased with the entrecote today.