I went to Pearl with my boyfriend to celebrate my birthday having walked past several times and liked the look of it.

The food was elaborately presented and technically impressive but the taste was only so-so. As for the atmosphere the decor is lovely, but the staff are snooty. My experience of expensive restaurants tends to be that the staff try to make you feel welcome. Not at Pearl, where one waitress in particular was patronising to the point of rudeness.

Perhaps Pearl's policy is to intimidate customers into feeling like they are in a smart restaurant, rather then providing the food and service that befits one.