Ellie 's Reviews

We visited here for the 2nd time at the weekend, and I so badly wanted to like it. We visited before when it first opened and were left with an impression of distinctly average and unsatisfying.. this was a while ago, and we were hoping that maybe since then it might have improved?

Sadly this was not the case. When you first walk in, the interior is super trendy, and it looks like the perfect place to spend a nice brunch or lunch. And the menu offers an appealing variety of food. The food even deceptively looks nice, all presented in a quirky style, or on boards. Someone has clearly put some effort into the concept, so why is the food so bad?!!

We ordered the bread board, and it arrived and looked like a nice selection of breads, but they were all stale. I'm not just being picky, they were all hard, and going white around the edges, they were old.

Next arrives my main, chicken club sandwich, pretty small average looking sandwich, could have been nice if our good friend the super stale bread hadn't made a reappearance. It was supposed to have chilli jam on the side, but it was actually thai sweet chilli dipping sauce…very strange combination?
I also ordered truffle fries with grated parmesan (I had them previously in Jamie Olivers restaurant and they were delicious, so was very excited when I saw they had them here too). They weren't fries, but more chunky chips, they were totally soggy, covered in grease and oil (no taste of truffle whatsoever), then covered in chunks of sweaty cheese. Not edible.

My partner ordered the Beef stew, which again tasted average, very bland, and the mushrooms were disgusting. It just tasted cheap.

The service was average, someone previously used the word ‘vacant’ which pretty much sums up the staff. I asked if they did a side salad with the sandwich's, the reply was ‘errrm, no’.

We complained about the hideous food, and they took the sandwich off the bill, after I poked the stale bread in front of him to proove that it was, in fact… More

If you're thinking of coming for the famous brunch then best to book a table as it can get filled up pretty quickly, although sometimes you can get squeezed in at the bar at the back if you're lucky.

I've always loved the food here, simple American diner style food, but cooked well with quality ingredients. I’m always on the lookout for the perfect poached egg and the Egg Royale here is a definite contender, cooked to perfection with the perfect balance of fresh salmon and flavourful hollandaise sauce is a must have on the brunch menu.

If you’re considering pudding – which you should! Then you can’t go wrong with the pecan pie; crumbly pastry with gooey toffee filling, topped with pecans and served hot with cold vanilla ice-cream.

The atmosphere varies depending on which part of the restaurant you are sat in. At the front the décor is darker, with leather seated individual booths, lit by candle light at night makes it a nicer area for a more romantic evening meal. Whereas if you go for brunch it’s nice to sit at the back of the restaurant which is deceptively large, and a lot lighter and airier.

I’ve always found the service to be acceptable here; it’s definitely not the smiling friendly American diner style you might get at other cheesier places, it’s more in fitting with the stuffy Mayfair vibe, however I’ve always found the staff to be helpful at finding tables etc. and once when we were cold they switched the air-con off for us without any problems.