The Don

I am a busy person but feel I should congratulate the team at the Don for continuing to deliver excellent food(I love the scallops en croute and tournedos rossini)in such a professional yet friendly manner.The service is consistently good and this is one of the few CITY restaurants I visit where I know I can be sure my clients and I finish on time if we have any time constraints.The staff are responsive and very efficient yet the quality and value is maintained.The table spacing is excellent so I have no concerns when discussing business.I love the building and recently was invited to a dinner in the private room(a vaulted old port cellar in the basement) which was so atmospheric and special.I congratulate the team there and am impressed that over the years the high standards and,in my view excellent value for money with good portion size, continue.The Don deserves recognition ..its more glitzy rivals may come and go ..yet it continues to present an excellent choice for lunch or dinner when food service and ambience really count.We may try the new openings around but we always come back and continue to be very impressed!

There must be something wrong with me. Two years ago I posted probably the only poor review for The Bleeding Heart in the past decade, and now I'm going to something similar to The Don.

Maybe it's the expectation, but my visit left me feeling like an ever so slightly average shag. You've tried to like it and you've performed some moves, but you just can't help feeling underwhelmed.

For a start the interior was all cooky, rather than the big booming City hall I'd hoped for. Tables were too near each other. Then my table had a pronounced list, so that each time I moved my arm, it jiggled my glass. Maybe I'm sounding like a junior grade civil cervant here, but at a restaurant where praise has been so lavish it's the small things which count. Then the sound of the flash frying twice made conversation all but difficult, resulting in a slightly embarrassed pause. Again, not a major problem, but they all start to add up.

The food, admittedly, was excellent – rabbit with wild mushrooms, bacon and lentils, however, the service was next to useless – constantly over-bearing and at one point, with the client conversation at a delicate junction whereby they could leave at any point, the bloody stupid waitresses asked us all three times whether we wanted any more water.

Sorry – not impressed. There are many other places for similar prices where the food is as good, but the overall experience far superior. But then again, maybe it's just me…