Latest reviews: Date review written or updated

I wanted to LOVE Giant Robot but I just ended up liking it. Maybe it was the fact we went on a Sunday afternoon and missed the brunchy buzz, but I felt that they were just serving Americanised Italian classics that could have been done better elsewhere. The decor was very cool – all exposed brick and vintage light fixings.

On the meal itself… meatballs were pretty average, but the piadine ROCKED (flatbread with gorgeous melty gruyere, mushrooms and spinach.) The much vaunted ice cream sandwich was a massive let down – a homebaked (they assured me) cookie which tasted like something I'd get from a service station was sandwiched around the vanilla ice-cream, which again was just not very special.

Bloody marys, on the other hand, were delicious! You'd get better for the price either going to a proper Italian restaurant or an all-out American diner. Or maybe just sticking to cocktails when you're there!

What is it that restaurant staff find so difficult to manage nowadays? Don't they recognise that they are in the service industry and that looking after customers is their priority? Today I endured a meal at Brown's in Kingston-upon-Thames that typified what is wrong in catering in the UK today. Why are workmen fixing fittings during times when customers are in the premises? Why cannot this be managed before customers arrive?

Why are staff so busy when the place is half empty that it takes more than five minutes to order a round of drinks?

Why does it take more than 50-minutes for a simple food order to arrive? Why do I have to ask what the reason is for the delay? There is no excuse when enquiring why there is a delay to be told that a large previous party ordered just before you placed your order. An attentive manager would have noticed the delay and apolgised for the service problems.

Why do the kitchen staff then deliver food that is plainly inedible and which should have been consigned to the bins rather than given to waiting staff to deliver to your table? Do they think they can get away with serving poor food because so few others complain?

When asking to see the manager I was told that they were busy in the office doing paper work. This is no place for a manager during peak hours. Their job is surely to make sure customers are taken care of and that their staff are doing their job.

I did eventually see the manager who could only apologise for the service. There were offers of vouchers for future meals and much more that I politely declined.

A manager should be on top of their job, directing staff, caring for customers and making sure quality service is delivered. If head office insists on the paperwork being completed at the expense of customer service they should be fired immediately.

I visited XOXO this weekend (26 May 2012) and was appalled by the service and value for money.

The actual surroundings were very nice, decor was modern and they had a DJ playing great music… however, the staff were extremely rude and non-attentive. I asked 3 different members of staff for a glass of tap water and eventually had to visit the bar myself in order to get it as I was waiting so long. The other downside was the tiny portions, we had a set menu which had many delicious dishes but they were so tiny we left there starving.

The customer service and tiny portions really let this establishment down which is a shame as it has great potential in the right hands. I would suggest new management with more of a customer focus and bigger portions.

Unfortunately, I would not revisit this restaurant.

All a bit underwhelming to be honest. We went here on a Telegraph offer – 3 courses plus a cocktail, £69 for two. Despite making all the usual pre-notifications during the booking, there was a distinct reluctance to accept the voucher on arrival, something that I've never experienced at the likes of Petrus, l'Escargot and even the Savoy. They then carved out all the bone-in steaks on the menu (the voucher only mentioned 3 of the 5) and didn't even suggest they could be ordered for a supplement. They then did not bother to bring over the cocktail menu so we missed out on that too…

As mentioned by a previous reviewer, there is so much competition in the steakhouse genre in Central London, that this would have to be amazing to even get on the same page. Unfortunately, it does not. The substitution of individual Yorkshire puddings in place of a bread basket was interesting but not sure they needed to be stuffed with cheese at the beginning of the meal. The starters were granted very good but portion control was somewhat haphazard. The crabcakes were bursting with flavour and there was enough to (begrudgingly) share a forkfull; the scallops were tiny in size and limited to just three – himself thought they may have been cut from the same mollusc but even then it would have been a very small one at that. The steaks (ribeye and fillet) were ok but nothing out of the ordinary. Sides of triple cooked chips, bubble and squeak and spinach were again ok, but suffered from portion control. Too much bubble not enough…chips! Whilst waiting staff seemed to be in sufficient numbers, they certainly lacked on the attentive-ometer. I lost count of the times we had to ask for wine and water top ups – this is fast becoming my biggest gripe in restaurants. If you cannot be bothered to refill empty glasses, at least leave the wine and water within easy reach of the diner! On the upside, it did save us the expenditure of another bottle…

The bar is lovely and if I had cause to be in this neck of… More

Four O Nine stands like a lighthouse in the midst of the sea of gastro mediocrity which otherwise characterises the bar-heavy Clapham High Street. Unlike most lighthouses though, it is a bit tricky to find for the first time visitor. The Infernos shipwrecked don't usually stumble in here looking for a kebab, and that's part of its hidden location (find the buzzer, up the stairs, through the mini-roof garden) appeal. There's none of the pretension of a secret restaurant here though. It's all about appealingly rustic, reassuringly traditional-sounding, chunky dishes. One delicious, Albarino-filled glass too many may have impaired my ability to remember all the flavour nuances of my meal but I think it involved a rather pleasant foie gras pate-y thing with a lovely artichoke sauce and then a rabbit pie, which I definitely polished off, along with some crunchy carrot and spring green sides, followed by a chocolate cake with a surprisingly punchy lavender sorbet. The food here never disappoints but you do pay for that reliability: starters are around £8 and mains from £16 to £24ish, so not that cheap for this area, but it is worth it. Despite the many windows which overlook the High St it is quite dark and cosy inside; low lighting and flickering table candles enhance the clandestine mood. The atmosphere has been described as “flat” but I would say it's blissfully subdued and relaxed compared to the carnage outside, as the clientele are clearly here for good eating and drinking, rather than raucous scoffing and boozing. Service is, as befits the venue, professional but friendly. Four O Nine is the perfect place for dates or for an intimate evening with friends and quite frankly it's the best place for dinner around here. Steer your course away from this one only to head for that other beacon, Trinity, if you're looking for something a bit more formal.

Another evening, another foodie queue. Thank god my companion got to Barrafina at 6pm on the dot and bagged us a pair of barstools because, despite the fact that normally only miners eat at this hour, about 5 minutes later the place is full. The eat-at-bar concept really suits the light, bright, informal atmosphere here and has the bonus/downside (depending on whether you're queueing or not) of discouraging lingering. It also makes it easy to catch the eye of the cheery servers behind it when you decide to smash through the recommended 6 dishes per pair, which is easy to do. The appealing menu is supplemented by a lengthy specials board and a selection of seafood on ice which shout Fresh Fresh Fresh. We sampled (amongst others) some well-executed classics like Pan con Tomate and Croquetas, delicious honey-drizzled courgette flowers stuffed with creamy goats cheese, paprika'd unchewy octopus and tender scallops. This is messy, finger-licking food. I pulled off a prawn head covering myself and my companion in a garlicky chilli oil. I think it was worth the dry cleaning bill (I hope she agrees!). We also smash through the average lingering time by going for dessert (a Santiago Tart, like Christmas on a plate) and coffees. The wine list is a Chardonnay-free zone (Hurrah!) focussing on Iberian wines. We had an Albarino: light and fruity, perfect for fishy fresh food. I was lucky enough not to see the bill, but I suspect it fell somewhere between Bit High for Relaxed Tapas Dining and Surprisingly Low for Central Trendy Yumminess. By the time we leave, queuers are waiting patiently the length of the sidewall and, for those not so patient, are being fed tapas passed over the barstools. The Spanish traditionally eat tapas whilst propping up the bar so perhaps us grumbling London oldies should just revel in the authenticity of it all and invest in some support tights.

The minute you walk into Barrica you feel somewhat Mediterranean walking on tiles in your Jesus sandals wearing your sombrero and open buttoned shirt whilst being greeted in Espanol by an Espanol waitress “hola” “hola señorita” minutes later I'm sat at my table with fresh bread to keep my pallet tickled in wait of deciding which vino bianco to wash it down with. On deciding the owner fast approaches attentively and returns with a bottle in an ice bucket cooly pops the cork out and pours a sampler, “good legs” I'll take it and we are ready to order our food too so we ordered the full tapas list to share and the señorita smiled and then walked towards the kitchen, me and my friend sipped our vino bianco and admired the Espanol decor, character and feature around us, “authentic without trying too hard” within five minuto on this busy sabado the señorita walked toward with the first dish “tortilla de patata” which is a personal favourite of mine and my Nonna from Sicilia has her own take on the dish so I was excited to try it, this “tortilla de patata” is highly Reccomended, rich in flavour, sweet and very “more ish” before finishing comes another three dishes to compliment and boy that's what this food and all it's components do best, “pimientos de Padron” the fried Padron peppers with a mouthful of tortilla con vino bianco is quite the combination “perfecto” enjoyed every component on the Tapas menu and the seven plates we had sit solid on the menu, the tapa del dia “ of the day” changes daily so you get a solid consistent tapas menu “ very popular traditional” and the new varieties on the “ of the day” menu which makes this place automatically invite you back to try some more new flavours for your tastebuds, as said before “ authentic without trying too hard” real Espanol cuisine served by real Espanol in a very homely Espanol almost house come tapas bar, did not feel rushed for one minute. Highly Reccomended … oh and they also play authentic musica …

Hands down the best Sunday roast I've had in London. They also serve an amazing bloody mary made with horseradish-infused gin.