Pacific Oriental

Unfortunately I have nothing good to report – the service was appalling and the food was average.

After reviewing the bill and working out that before we had even ordered our food we had accrued £30 worth of water, prawn crackers (that we had not asked for) and service charge!

We sat down at 12.30 – our starters came over a period of 45 minutes and then had to wait a further 45 minutes for the main course and did not leave the restaurant until gone 3pm!

Coffee and tea was offered complimentary to compensate for the late arrival of our food but it was cold!

It's a shame as I suspect the restaurant could potentially be great but some work needs to be done before they get there!

Having been here a couple of times before, my third visit definitely wasnt as great as the previous two visits. The restaurant itself is absolutely huge and god only knows what it gets like when it becomes full. I always eat on the ground floor where food is pan-asian and pretty decent. Everything from Nasi Goreng to Thai Green Curry, it tends to cover all bases for those who want a decent asian/oriental meal. The prices are a little unecessarily high, buts that the city for you, isnt it? Packed with overpriced eateries because £50 per head is a cheap meal to most City types, especially as most of them tend to expense everything, whether legitimate or not!

The service is a bit annoying, they are either smothering you or basically you are being drip fed. Rice… then curry… then that drink you ordered 20 mins ago… then cutlery. Its not as polished as it needs to be, but its a damn site better than Wagamamas formulaic venues, if indeed Pan-Asian food is what you are craving.

Cocktails are ridiculously overpriced and very badly made. Stick to spirits and mixers, keeping it simple. This is definitely not where you go to experience drinks made by skilled mixologists!

The food at PO is always of a high standard, and the whole ‘fusion’ approach doesn't spoil the fact that what's served is good quality food with strong hints of the Orient.

The platters for sharing are a great way to kick off a lunch, and if you haven't tried them before, check out the teas!

when the bar downstairs is busy, a real buzz is generated, and the venue lifts a couple of extra notches.

Took a friend there today at his suggestion.
Not my first visit, though could easily be my last.
Starters (sashimi / sushi / dumplings) were very good, though a bit of a wait.

My friend's main course was fine, but mine was more or less inedible.

Basically consisted of tough raw beef floating around in a (very!) sugary liquid with a poached egg and some almost-cooked udon noodles. Before I could eat the beef, I had to call for a plate and a sharp knife – but (in retrospect) I wish I hadn't, because it took a considerable quantity of green tea to take away the almost saccharine-sweetness of the dish.

The wine list is not cheap, and our first bottle of Cotes du Rhone (£35 !) was – though not corked – very dodgy. The waiter was not keen to change it, but the sommelier (after lecturing me about the problems of C-d-R in 2004) did agree to change it for a mediocre bottle of Rioja (£33!!!). I guess he was doing his best.

In the end, after a friendly conversation with the restaurant manager, during which I really did try to pay for the starters, I ended up only paying for the drinks.

Overall, a very valiant effort to keep me happy on a busy day – but if I had paid for it all, it would have been a very disappointing meal.

What a shame, its such an impressive and glorious setting, I absolutely loved the room but to then ruin it with overpriced cocktails (£15!!!), dreadful main courses and a huge screen showing SKY News seems bizarre. The starters were good but the main courses just had an odd mixture of flavours. The wait staff were lovely, knowledgable and efficient. Sort out the food and get rid of the TV screen and this will be a London WOW factor restaurant!

Palacial setting but why the huge screen showing sport?! Pricey menu and small portions but the sense is that you are paying for the location. Booths for bosses and secretaries to conduct their affiars are dotted about all over the place, making this an interesting place to people watch