Inn the Park

A friend and I had lunch here yesterday, and it was a thoroughly horrible experience. We arrived 15 minutes early for our table, but were told that wasn't a problem…well they obviously decided they weren't going to serve us until after the time of our booking, as nobody even approached us until 25 minutes after we were seated, and that was only because we called someone over as they passed us…he made the excuse that everyone comes at the same time for lunch…but that's not an excuse in my book…

our food eventually arrived 55 minutes after we were seated…the hand cut chips were cold and the side green salad was less than i'd serve to my 2 year old…

when we finally got someone's attention to get the bill, it came back with 2 wines at a higher price than had been asked for…my friend had ordered 2 rose at £4.75, but we were charged 2 at £5.00…now whilst this might only be a difference of 50p, we'd had such a rotten time that we challenged the waiter…he went away and asked what wine had been served and told us not to worry, we'd had the more expensive wine…we explained that that wasn't the point, we had asked for the cheaper one, so that was what we were going to pay…he then went away telling us NOT TO WASTE HIS TIME! then the bill came back £5 more than when it went to be adjusted by 50p!

i know wish we had taken the service charge of the bill…

horrible, horrible restaurant

Dos and donts

Do come here on a sunny day
Do get good service from very smiley waiters
Do use the nice and clean loos

Don't drive here you will have to park in Victoria practically
Don't come here if you are in a hurry – food takes forever to come
Don't expect value for money

The food was ok – nothing to get excited about, service was good but it had to be – food took so long it was embarrasing – I wouldnt recommend this place for an evening out (we had come for my mother's birthday) they were holding a large office party at the same time – they should have closed it for the office event as they couldnt cope with the party and the private diners.

Great location, lovely building – so much potential but just let down by the food – which is the whole reason you visit a restaurant, right?

Inn the Park is about 10 minutes walk from work for me so I've been several times. I've only ever done the self service buffet style option so I am not ideally placed to comment on service etc.

The experience is wholly average – it’s not good or bad, its just handy for me, but it can get really busy and noisy and most of the clientele will have a camera slung around their neck, so you can feel a bit out of place in a suit.

Its great to go on a sunny day; you can sit outside on the decking, enjoy a rare burst of sunshine and some lovely views of the park and if you sit upstairs (which isn't covered) you can even see the London Eye looming over the Treasury. Don't expect 5 star luxury (its more like 2 stars); the seating is basic, the tables are small and cramped (great to find out who saw what museum earlier in the day, or how badly the underground is perceived by Americans) and don't seem to be cleared as quickly as you'd like.

The self service options normally include cold choices like salads, sandwiches, cakes, drinks etc and some basic hot selections like sausage and mash or chilli and rice – the hot selections are OK, but reminiscent of a work canteen rather than a decent restaurant, nice cakes though! However, I do really object to plastic cutlery! Prices are a bit more than you might expect given what you are eating, but certainly not out of bounds – it’s more costly than going to Pret, but comes in around Pizza Express pricing.

It’s certainly not somewhere that you'd make a special effort to go to – and if you do you are likely to be sorely disappointed, but if you happen to be in the park anyway, or work nearby, then its better than sitting on the grass with a curly edged sandwich. I'm sure I'll go again, but I suspect if work was 5 minutes further away I'd never set foot in there again.

I went to Inn the Park St. James' on a quiet weekday evening.

We both ordered steaks, ketchup, bread, a glass of wine, a beer and table water. The ketchup and bread never arrived, despite reminding the waiter for them both. The chips tasted like they had been reheated, and had a smokey flavour like roast chestnuts (I do like roast chestnuts, but not with a steak). We decided against pudding due to our orders not arriving, and when our bill was brought to us I pointed out it was wrong, as we'd been charged for water and it didn't add up anyway (apparently this was because beer doesn't show up on your receipts). I asked for it to be corrected (to at least remove the water), and it came back wrong again. When I pointed this out you waiter then said, “****, I've brought you the wrong bill again”. The steaks were very nice, and the view of the park (which is really why we went) was nice, but the rest of the evening was a massive disappointment.

Evidently from some other online reports (including almost all comments on Foursquare) this isn't an isolated incident. Indeed, the man on the table next to us appeared to be sending his food back as well. I was going to mention this to the greeter / maitre d' on exit, but nobody was to be seen (and the maitre d' who we spoke to on arrival appeared to be eating at a table on your veranda alongside several other guests and I really couldn't be bothered to make a scene).

Went here for Sunday lunch just the other week. The service was terrible, when we entered the attendant at the door immediately barked where ‘self-service’ was, which we declined, and were taken to our table by a surly waiter.

The only good thing about this restaurant is the setting. The mid-range wine we went for was simply ‘ropey’ – there is no other word for it, which would have been acceptable had it cost a third of what we were charged. The waiter was persistently moody and non-responsive, and when the food arrived it was almost stone cold.

I ordered the lamb lunch and it came with no potatoes and about two lbs of al dente beetroot. The meat was ok if a little fatty but was cooked well.

All in all for the prices they charge one would expect far better all round. We left accepting that we had been lured into a tourist trap. Such a shame – an eatery in the park should – and could be so much better.

Having been a regular at Inn the Park for over a year now, i have to say i am quite amused by some of the comments and reviews that i have read about the restaurant. I have found the food and service to be faultless.

I eat at Inn the Park at least once or twice a month, usually with work colleagues and also holding meetings there too. Every time i have been there i never found anything to complain about, until i read these quite unreal reviews of a restaurant that i would recommend to anyone. I don't normally write things on the web but i had to in regards to this matter.

C.A.

Please there are too many amature food critics out there trying to put people down far too easily!!!

I visited Inn the Park restaurant for the first time last week and was pretty impressed. The location was fabulous and we were fortunate to have some late summer sunshine so sat on the outside terrace. I had the Partridge which was well cooked, tender and delicious. My girlfriend opted for the Monkfish which she loved. The service was great – attentive without being obtrusive, we did have to wait some time for our drinks, but the restaurant was quite busy and overall we were well looked after. I have to admit, having read some of the previous reviews, I was quite reticent about visiting the restaurant, however I'm glad I decided to form an opinion for myself, I was extremely happy and will definitely be back.

A restaurant I have been to many times over the years, in different seasons, for lunch and dinner. The setting is of course lovely, and if you have children, space is not a problem (though be warned: a large portion of St James's Park is closer than the car you foolishly came in and have been forced to park somewhere near Bird Cage Walk). Usually it serves reliable, simple English fare with not many thrills – not terribly exciting, but good. But restaurants change management and change staff, and that’s not always a good thing…Inn the Park has been through a lot change recently and judging from experience none of it good. The only detail I will share from what was by some distance the worst dining experience I have had in quite some time – and I am including several meals eaten in Sutton – is that after waiting several hours for our main courses (and having had to re-order one because they had run out of something), the waiter returned shame-faced to the table and declared that the restaurant had ‘run out of chips’. (!!)

I went with friends on a Friday evening. Service was pretty dire, food unremarkable, and the staff started moving the tables and chairs out onto the outdoor patio at about 10pm, letting in a freezing draught and giving us the distinct message “We want you to leave”. I was left with the impression that, certainly at this time of year, Inn the Park is catering for large Christmas party groups, who will eat quickly, drink a lot of alcohol and leave early. It was overpriced, and I won't be returning.

18 Oct 08: Nice atmosphere, family friendly restaurant in lovely surroundings. However, although our friends were served their luke warm soup soon after we ordered, our main course only arrived 40 minutes later, after we chased it. The food was warm, almost hot. It was quite nice, but would have been much better hot. When we ordered desert, I asked for mine ‘warm’. It wasn't, but I then discovered that my friend's was – they hadn't asked who had ordered the warm desert, just put the plates down. As we finished our desert a waiter came by and said “You're finished – do you want the bill?” We didn't , we wanted coffee – again warm but not hot. All in all not a very good experience and most definitely overpriced.