Offer Finder

  • Search Available Offers

Book with us & collect points to spend on fantastic rewards. It is that simple.
Learn more »?

Register here for your Square Meal Guides

 
 
(menu)

Steffi's Reviews

Steffi F.Over 60, Female, United Kingdom

Member since January 2009

Reviews written: 2 (1 voted helpful)

Hasn’t rated any restaurants this year.

Hasn't posted in the forum yet

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park (Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, London, London, SW1X 7LA)

I went to the restaurant on day three after its opening.
We were told to come at 12 noon which seemed a bit early. It was infuriating to arrive and then see an empty restaurant, so I hope this wont be a typical ploy for two eating sessions.
We were seated next to the windows giving a lovely view of Hype Park.
My husband had a vodka martini which at £15 I guess is standard hotel price.
The waiter was very attentive — in fact there were dozens of staff members with few customers so you felt a bit ‘watched’ as you ate.
I opted for the price fixed lunch — three courses for £28 (only available at lunch) which sounded like good value.
The starter I chose was a lemon and goat's cheese salad – plain but much too much lemon.
My husband had ala carte — the ‘rice and flesh’ which was like a risotto with calf tail and red wine. It was excellant.
For the main course, I ordered salmon – again off the price fixed menu — which was, as it said, salmon with beetroot. Nothing special. My husband ordered the pork chop (the turkey pudding which he would have ordered was not available). It was a bit on the tough side and again, nothing out of the ordinary – a grilled pork chop. he ordered french fries on the side which were nice and crispy.
They were pushing the tipsy cake for desert but it had to be ordered in advance so I opted for an orange buuter loaf cake with orange sorbet which was excellant and my husband had a lemon and caramel pudding with cream which was very good.
I think Giles Coren in the Times was a bit OTT – he worked with heston so I guess he is biased. I felt the meal was fine, nothing extraordinary, and certainly not the best new restaurant in London or anywhere else. I can't say any of it was a sensation on the tastebuds.

February 2011

Overall:8
Food and Drink:8
Service:9
Atmosphere:9
Value for Money:8
4 of 7 people found this review helpful. Was it helpful to you?
Request review removal

The Royal Oak (Paley Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 3JS)

we had great difficulty finding the town of Paley Street and the pub's own map on their website was inaccurate.
When we finally arrived, we decided not to order first courses to speed things up. I ordered Toulouse sausages and my husband ordered their belly of pork. We waited over one hour for the food.
Everytime we asked when the order would arrive, they would say “in five minutes'. If they had been truthful, it would have been better. They also should have warned us that as the kitchen couldn't cope with too many orders at a time, we should have had a starter to stave off our hunger.
When the food finally arrived, I got only one Toulouse sausage with some lentils for £12.95. My husband's pork belly looked like a nouvelle cuisine dish from the 1980;—.a tiny square piece of pork about 4” x 2". Not very much for £16.
The side order of chips were superb.
When we complained about the slow service, we were told that “too many orders had come in at the same time”. If you can't handle that on a Monday lunchtime, you shouldn't be in business.
I don't think people should be swayed by Sir Michael Parkinson's association to it via his son — it was overpriced and overhyped and I certainly wouldn't return..

January 2009

Overall:7
Food and Drink:7
Service:4
Atmosphere:7
Value for Money:4
1 of 3 people found this review helpful. Was it helpful to you?
Request review removal
Advertisement