All reviews

I would really recommend Gilgamesh as I had a lovely birthday meal there on a Friday evening. We started with cocktails that were beautifully presented and very unusual. We were taken to our table by a very cheerful Maitre 'd. Our waiter throughout the evening was diligent and helpful in answering our questions. We ordered quite a few of the gorgeous Pan-Asian dishes and they each tasted delicious, cooked to perfection. I was very impressed with the restaurant as a whole and would very much recommend it.

This was a rare pleasure.

We stopped for a quick meal at 6.30pm before our train, not really knowing what to expect. As it turned out it could not have been better.

Everything about the restaurant is done perfectly. Along with the rest of St Pancras, the interior is beautifully crafted, drawing on the grand days of rail travel, but still felt contemporary. The service was attentive without being prying or condescending. The staff were swift to take our order, but we never felt rushed. It was relaxed but classy, and the meal was impecible (better than many places double the price). We began with warm flutes of bread with creamy butter (we ate all of these and were give more… and then more again without even having to ask) with (unusal but delicious) wine by the glass. The food superb and excellent value. I had bubble and squeak, full of flavour, moreish and baked crispy, with a melting poached egg and hollandaise sauce.

There was of course the ubiquitous 12.5% service charge but on this occasion, I was for once, almost tempted to make it more. Really wonderful.

Albannach manages to combine all that is risible about going out in central London.

There is so much to dislike it is hard to know where to begin, but let's start with the 12.5% service charged added on to everything …even a standard bottle of wine, ordered at the bar had appreciated in price by £4.50 by the time the cork was removed. The prices generally are high without the cache of one of the more luxurious drinking experiences in London such as The Blue Bar. The cheapest 175ml glass of wine is £5.00 and it was moderate.

However, price and sneaky service charging is not the main reason to avoid this bar. The worst thing about it is the depressingly poor effort to make the self-styled ‘Scottish’ bar in any way authentically Scottish. Having lived in Scotland for five years it did not resemble any bar I ever visited; neither the old fashioned drinking dens, the festival haunts nor the high-end grand hotel experiences around Princes Street. Even if the idea was to recreate some of the rich atmosphere and culture of the country, it still failed. The whole bar is over conceptulaised, with pretentious wrought iron, moody photos of Scotland and a paper machie deer and although it was packed with a post-work office crowd when we went, it still managed a relatively lacklustre atmosphere.

If you are seeking an authentic Scottish experience go elsewhere. If you are seeking a loud, post-work bar with atmosphere go elsewhere. If, however, you really don't care how you spend your money or your free time and care nothing for Scotland, this could be the perfect bar for you.

I cannot understand why people queue outside this place to be insulted by an extremely rude staff. OK, the food is good, but not inexpensive. But the service is appalling. We were a group of 5 to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Two of us had a business commitment and could only go arrive when the other three were already halfway through their main course, hoping to have dessert with the birthday girl. The manager was very fast to announce that there was a minimum charge of £19 per person and we said that was not a problem. We were going to spend more than £100 among us, including the drinks it would cost even more. The manager replied that we had ALL to order main courses and since there people waiting outside, the last 2 arrivals had to go out and wait for another table!!! Even if they were not taking anybody’s place (the 5 of us squeezed in the table previously occupied by 3) and if nobody was going to wait more because of us (we just wanted to join our friend’s birthday celebration with a dessert!). The only reason the two left and we did not argue more was because we did not want to spoil our friend’s birthday even more. I have never heard of a restaurant that forces everyone in a group to eat even if they are not hungry! Stay away from this restaurant!

My friends and I visited Yauatcha last Wednesday to discover the menu had undergone a revamp, with the dim sum selection significantly reduced, excising many of our favourites such as the spinach cube, char sui cheung fun and prawn and date dumplings, only to be replaced by a larger selection of starter and main courses. A confusing choice considering its reputation as one of the best restaurants for dim sum in London.

However delving into the menu revealed a number of highlights, with old mainstays like the baked venison puff supplemented by excellent dishes like roast duck and pumpkin dumplings and pear and taro croquettes. Indeed, it would appear that standards, which had slipped of late, are back to form, with everything receiving a bit of a polish, from the inventive ingredient combinations to the new spin on established dishes, notably including the mango spring roll now done in batter rather than pastry. Unfortunately the diver scallops, having had the fortune to eat on only a handful of occasions, remain elusive as ever, and we were informed that a number of our selections were not available either. A shame, but one that I assume to be a result of the relative newness of the menu.

The service has been variable in the past, but on this occasion the staff were pleasant and accommodating, offering up alternatives to the unavailable dishes. All in all, this still remains one of the go-to places for dim sum. However, if anybody at the restaurant does read this, I have one request: please bring back the char sui cheung fun.

Update on my last visit (shown below). We went in February. The food was fantastically good as usual and the service was improved beyond recognition. You must try it.

Previous review. I went with a girlfriend on a Saturday lunchtime in November. It was quite quiet but even so the service was not that good. I had chicken for my main course and this had a garlic sauce which tasted garlicky of course, but my husband could not tell that evening. Chocolate pudding with lovely runny inside was fabulous. £15 plus 10% plus drinks, which I though very good value for money.

Average but overpriced food coupled with poor, inexperienced service a Squaremeal Two Star does not make. I'm off to the Cinnamon Club.

The traditional North Italian food and subtle ambience inspire loyalty; Riva is why I love zabaione. Like leaving a holiday, I always find myself planning my next visit on my way home.

This aptly named restaurant is a good alternative to T5's overcrowded lounges. Attentive service and well cooked food, but prices are steep.

Always drop-in for the signature “steak frites”, although prices are increasing!