Mitzie8cake's review of Theo Randall at the InterContinental Hotel

Having read previous reviews of this establishment, I booked with high hopes of finally finding a worthy hotel restaurant and chose it for a special annual pre Christmas meal. Upon arrival, service was courteous and friendly but within minutes it was clear that this night was not going to be an easy dining experience.

The first irritation came as we sat down and I noticed that the bags and coats we'd left to be put on the cloakroom were sitting unattended on a chair in the bar area. Given I'd done something valuable shopping I'd kept my eye on it from the table, for a full five minutes before it was finally put away. Not good I decided. Then came the food, slowly followed by the service, also slowly. It was clear the restaurant was understaffed and overbooked, this was visible with staff flying around and the manager pouring wine. Unfortunately it meant we also had to pour own own wine, ask for the dessert menu twice and then be given the set menu options when we were ordering a la carte.

On top of this, food was mediocre with authenticity akin to any Mediterranean style restaurant in any hotel,
surprising for a restaurant that had won Italian of the year. With such poor service and an experience that was slowly dwindling down to average in a soul-less space, we refused to pay service (something which I haven't done since my disastrous visit to Gilgamesh some years ago). Thankfully the frank yet courteous manager admitted short staffing was indeed the problem and accepted our point and made a good effort in trying to get us to visit again. But I'll certainly think twice.