I feel rather late to the party with this: everyone has reviewed Pollen Street Social and, given most of them have enjoyed the experience, I did wonder what I can add, but never one to let that deter me here goes!

It’s wonderfully simply decorated; for once the designers don’t seem to have gone over the top – cream walls, wood floors and those wonderful fish bowl lights that look like they’ve come from a 50’s sci-fi film.

The staff are fantastic, they seem to know and understand everything that is on the menu, get on with delivering with a minimum of fuss or intrusion and things arrive as expected without confusion. When one dish was sent back on account of it’s having truffles, undocumented on the menu and unwanted by one of our party, there wasn’t a second of difficulty.

The atmosphere is buzzy – some might say loud – and that’s probably the biggest downside of the whole experience. Tables are too closely packed and too many hard surfaces give lots of reflected noise – still I did learn how to negotiate a business deal in India via the table next door – so not all bad as long as I ever find myself doing business in India! Personally I’d rather they took out 10% of the tables and added 10% to the prices – they’d not lose out by doing it and the experience would be just a bit nicer.

But the key to dining out is really the food and that didn’t disappoint. The evening we went Jason Atherton himself was in the kitchen – a bit of a novelty for anywhere with a ‘celebrity’ chef as I think I’ve probably been in one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants more recently than he has been, but a very pleasant one.

I started, after the usual round of bread, pre starters (which are a slightly curious mix, tasty, but hard to deal with e.g. the lightest pork scratchings ever) with Jerusalem artichoke velouté, celeriac, chanterelles, wet walnuts (and those undocumented truffles) – it was fantastic, light and with every single flavour being distinct but working together rather than overwhelming each other. This was followed by Atlantic halibut “bourguignon”, bacon, mushrooms, onion, red wine – a slight mis-description given the onion was a shallot and the bacon was more akin to pork belly, a crisp, fatty square of heaven – but absolutely fantastic; often fish, even in Michelin starred restaurants, can be bland but here it was a star attraction. Dessert was White chocolate and coconut panacotta with mango, pistachio oil and lemongrass granita – again a whole mass of flavours but each one discernable and distinctive.

Value for money was perfectly reasonable – roughly £90 per head for 3 courses, wine, water, service and a drink to start. Would I return – yes 100%; it's fantastic food and service and not fussy, precious or obsessed with how clever it is – just please take a few tables out!

Foxtrot Oscar is, to some, a polite way of dropping the F-bomb. With an, I suspect fully knowing, irony it’s also the name of one of Mr Ramsay’s restaurants – and anyone who has seen him on TV will know he is rather keen on making extensive use of the 6th letter in the alphabet.

I’m clearly in a Ramsay mood following on from the triumph that was his 3 Michelin starred signature restaurant, but given I was paying the bill this time we opted for the far cheaper sibling a few doors down Royal Hospital Road.

It’s compact, vaguely bistro styled and slightly eclectic in décor, but just hope you don’t get asked to sit downstairs – we did and asked to move as it’s tiny and down a very narrow and winding spiral staircase. Noise is kept to a minimum upstairs by a very effective, but very ugly, acoustic ceiling (one of the joys of dining with a facilities manager is a discussion about ceilings!), though their choice of music is at best curious. Staff are friendly and polite and generally service is good, though less than polished e.g. reaching across you etc.

Food is perfectly pleasant but certainly not worthy of 3, or indeed any, Michelin stars. I started with chestnut veloute, served with crispy pork belly and granny smith apple; you get hot, thick chestnut veloute, which is curiously bland, poured at the table over a small portion of shredded porky belly and granny smith ‘croutons’ – which are a strange and unnecessary addition.

This was followed by a burger and chips. The burger was lovely – cooked medium, with cheese and bacon, it was properly handmade and really thick with great chips – hand cut, huge and thick, with crispy outsides and white fluffy centres. The bun the burger came in was slightly strange – toasted but more a glazed roll than a traditional burger style bun and perhaps the tomato relish was a bit over done, as it seemed to have been applied more in the manner of pizza topping.

Dessert was the most disappointing element – caramelised banana pannacotta with gingerbread, which sounds great. Sadly the none of the elements ever met each other as the pannacotta came in a small glass jar, like a French yoghurt, the banana was a tiny potion served one side of the slate platter and the gingerbread, 3 small but warmly flavoursome pieces, the other.

The bill came to just over £50 per head, which for 3 courses, wine, water, service and a drink beforehand, is very reasonable; however, given the type of food you are getting and the service delivered for a similar price I’d recommend either Pantechnicon or the Thomas Cubbitt instead – both offer something similar, but in a nicer environment.

My first time dining at Gordon Ramsay’s signature restaurant to celebrate (?) my 40th birthday – incidentally it’s depressing, if clever, to see that I’ve now automatically become a ‘40’s male’ on Square Meal when only a couple of days ago I was happily a ‘30’s male’ – and it was an amazing, if costly, treat.

Clearly the venue comes lauded with praise from most who dine there, and its one of only 4 in the UK with the maximum 3 stars from Michelin and it’s the first time I’ve managed to attend one of these temples of gastronomy.

First impressions are that it’s compact and sleek, rather than massive and showy. Staff are simply wonderful – you get treated as though you are a regular and everything is achieved so smoothly as to be largely invisible, but you don’t wait, glasses almost appear to fill themselves, you get clear communication on what is on the menu and when one of our party who doesn’t eat shellfish was presented, unknowingly, with a lobster cornet as part of the pre starters it was replaced almost instantaneously with an avocado alternative. We also got a quick tour of the kitchen, which is cleaner than most operating theatres, on our way out.

Some people have noted that it seems to be one of those places you feel you should whisper – we didn’t get that impression; whilst there isn’t any music the atmosphere at 7pm on a Tuesday in January was fine – lots of conversation, but not noise and everyone smartly dressed.

The food is spectacular and it was the best meal I’ve ever eaten. You get a lovely selection of 3 pre starters, including the lobster cornet and a quails egg, each of which tastes perfect and which you’d neither add anything too nor take anything away from, each one having subtle but full flavours, and a delicious selection of bread (I can recommend the rosemary and the potato and honey) before starters of which you can get as much as you’d like.

I started with ravioli of lobster, langoustine and salmon poached in a light bisque with a lemongrass and chervil velouté – one single large ravioli with the lightest pasta I’ve ever eaten filled with a selection of flavours all of which complemented each other to perfection.

This was followed by best end of Cotswold lamb with confit breast and braised shank, navarin of winter vegetables and vitelotte potatoes – the only complaint was that you wished for more of it as it was perfect, the lamb pink and full of taste, with wonderful contrasts between the different methods of preparation.

In between courses was a pre dessert of a mango and yogurt milkshake – simply wonderful, even if getting the last little bit did entail some rather out of keeping slurping noises.

Dessert was banoffee pie souffle, banana and salted caramel crumble – the only minor quibble was this was just really good rather than wholly exceptional; it’s not better than the soufflé at the likes of Roux.

Overall it was wonderful – thankfully I wasn’t paying the bill though I’d expect something in the region of £150-170 per head given 3 courses on the a la carte menu are £95, then add wine, water, service etc – but it’s a truly magical experience and just about the only thing that made being 40 a little bit better. Hopefully I’ll get to return soon.

First time dining at Murano, we went for my mum's birthday. We went early evening and got off to a slightly unfortunate start when sat next to a table of well refreshed hedge fund managers who'd been out celebrating their work Christmas lunch, and probably spending part of a bonus that is around 10 times as much as my annual earnings! They were fortunately packed off shortly afterwards reducing the noise level by about 80%.

The first thing that strikes you about Murano, other than the hedgies noise, is that it’s grown up – I’m nearly 40 and for most of the evening I was the youngest customer there. It’s also a stunningly dull room – everything is beige and the combination of subdued lighting and slightly too warm heating wasn't conducive to a great atmosphere. All of which makes it sound like I hated it; but I certainly didn't.

Service is generally lovely, polite and effective – though they did seem to have a few initial problems with the drinks order and the bill took one request and one Paddington Bear style hard stare to make appear, but other than that it all worked as you'd hope, so perhaps they've sorted out the gripe lots of other reviews on this site seem to have had.

Food was wonderful, though given the chefs name, the Michelin star and the cost (circa £110 per head for 3 courses, water, wine and a drink before starting) perhaps you've got a right to expect something special, though there are other venues with similar qualities that fail to deliver.

I started with pumpkin tortelli, sage butter and crushed amaretti; pasta is frequently, unless you're eating it in Italy, heavy going, but this was light and delicate, warm autumn flavours. This was followed by halibut, bread purée, pear compote, white onion fondue and scallop velouté – the fish was wonderfully firm, cooked to perfection and the range of accompaniments gave everything a warm sweet twist, the only slight oddity being the white onion, which could easily have been omitted without spoiling anything. To finish chocolate ganache, chestnut parfait, artichoke sorbet and mint – I admit I was jealous when others soufflé with caramel and fresh mint chantilly arrived but then I tasted the chestnut parfait and, if I weren't an atheist, I would have believed I'd discovered heaven.

I enjoyed Murano, great food, good service and value for money is reasonable, though the atmosphere needs something different. I'm not sure it would be ideal for a date, but for your mum's birthday it's great and I'd happily recommend it; though, given I paid the bill, it might be a once a year treat!

It was my first time at Daphne’s for about 15 years, but I won’t leave it that long again as it was a thoroughly nice experience.

We went on a damp October evening when it was dark and just a little cold outside and were seated in the conservatory, only this time of year the ceiling is tented and there is a lovely open fire and the room has a distinctly Mediterranean feel with warm yellow walls, tiled floors, trees, wooden seating etc.

The atmosphere is thoroughly pleasant; it feels like a local restaurant rather than the slightly precious air that some restaurants in the area can affect. All the customers were smart and professional, with the possible exception of the middle aged man with his Estonian ‘niece’ in her early 20’s – who had perhaps slightly misjudged the dress code.

The staff and service were great; everyone was polite, nothing needed to be asked for a second time, there weren’t any mix ups with orders, the bill turned up on time, there were no awkward or uneven waits between courses – in short it’s as good as anywhere in London and I can’t commend them enough.

The food is very nice, not truly exceptional but better than several places that have had a star from Michelin. One thing that does let every dish down is the un-inspirational presentation – nothing looks as good as it tastes. But in terms of taste I started with pumpkin tortellini which could have been startlingly bland but wasn’t; it managed to be light rather than stodgy with a warm taste of summer turning to autumn. This was followed by meatballs with roast potatoes and tomato sauce, real simple comfort food, accompanied by some deep fried courgettes – spaghetti thin strands in tempura batter that were wonderful. For dessert pear tart with Zabaglione ice cream – think tarte tatin with pear instead of apple and you’ve just about got it. My parents also both enjoyed their food, and they are people who eat out on a very regular basis, both rated the whole experience as at least 8 out of 10.

Value for money is pretty good (I paid the bill) coming in at £175 for 3 people, each having 3 courses, a decent bottle of Italian white wine, water, coffees and service at 12%.

I really enjoyed it and will definitely be returning and next time I won’t be waiting 15 years.

For those of you local to Wapping and with long memories Smith’s is housed in the ill fated Smollensky’s – that means a view through a wide sweep of windows across the Thames to Tower Bridge and the Shard, hopefully it doesn’t mean it will suffer the same fate.

The room has a spacious feel, with tables adequately separated so that noise is manageable and you don’t share the next table’s details of their day. Everything is clean and smart, if a little dark. It’s dominated, on entrance, by a wall of wine bottles and the view across the river is striking. Tables come with white clothes and chairs are those comfortable looking, but actually uncomfortable, ones that restaurants seem to like.

Atmosphere is mixed, it was never more than half full during the Thursday evening we ate there, and most of the clientele were suited and presumably on their way home from work to their over mortgaged flats nearby. Music is an awful soft jazz selection that some places seem to think adds class; it might if being played live but when recorded sadly all it does is make me feel slightly murderous.

Service is also mixed, everyone is polite and helpful, but they do seem to be sadly lacking in co-ordination or organisation. Twice we got the wrong bottle of wine with them seeming incapable of grasping what we wanted even when we gave them the number of it. Gaps between courses were uneven, but always too long, plates left sitting empty just long enough to be annoying and our apologetic waitress said sorry on at least 2 occasions for the delay with our dessert order as “a big table has just had their food go out” – kind of makes you wonder how they’d cope if they were full? But, despite all that, it’s funny how much politeness helps smooth things over and, due to the staff’s attitude, it all seemed less of a problem than it could have been elsewhere if the staff were as bad as, say, Wheeler’s (see my review for details).

Food is fine – not inspirational but all very well cooked and strangely for London everything is really hot when served rather than just warm. It’s largely fish based – the slogan being ‘famous for fish’ – and so we all ate fish as a main course and I had mushrooms with garlic crumb to start and bakewell tart (which looked to have been the worst choice made amongst the 3 of us – nothing awful, just that the apple tart looked far better as did the roasted pineapple) to finish. Sadly, they committed one of the cardinal sins I really hate in restaurants of everything being extra e.g. order fishcakes and what you get are 2 fishcakes, no veg, salad or potatoes and if you want any of those things you pay for them. That has the unfortunate effect of ramping up the bill very quickly – your £15.50 fishcakes (which were very nice) suddenly become £22 when you add chips (fantastic – properly hot, crispy outside and white and fluffy like pillows inside, just about everywhere in London could learn from them) and spinach making it seem over priced by about the entire cost of the additional side dishes. Value for money isn’t good but also isn’t horrendous; its central London prices rather than local prices at £165 for 3 people before service (or £185 afterwards – though at least the service is not an automatic addition), which was for 3 courses, wine, water and everyone having a gin or vodka before starting.

Reading this back I seem to have been quite harsh, but in truth I quite liked it and will return – partly there is a lack of options in the area but also I think they deserve another chance, if they could just sort out a few details this would be a really good option.

As one extra detail the two people I ate with then went to Smith’s in Ongar at the weekend – apparently the food is as good there but the service there is far slicker.

First time here and I suspect the last as well; it was a bad choice made partly due to the association with Mr Pierre-White unduly raising expectations and also partly as it happened to be near work for the other diners – sadly it wasn’t for me and it felt like a thoroughly wasted journey.

There isn’t a lot to recommend. Food is fine, with massive portions, but it’s also remarkably unimaginative, think decent gastro pub rather than fine dining; for example, fish and chips, steak and chips, fish pie etc. nothing wrong with any of that but you would perhaps expect something a bit more adventurous.

I ate Parma ham with avocado to start – nothing wrong with it, but its exactly what that suggests, some very nice Parma ham with half an avocado sat on top – and followed this with roast rump of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes – again exactly as described with massive portions, so large in fact that we didn't bother with desserts, well that and the fact we were bored with the whole experience by then and just wanted to pay the bill and go.

Other than food though there is not a lot to recommend this and many reasons not to.

Firstly the room is depressing – it’s badly designed, curiously decorated, feels massively dated and the booth seating round the sides is horrible, its like being in standard class on a long train journey, you feel squeezed in with no arm or leg room and having to lean forwards as the seats are so upright.

Secondly the atmosphere – there isn’t any and it only got 1 as I can't award 0. On a Thursday night at 7.30-9pm a substantial venue had about 10 people dining there and the only things we could hear were some discordinate background jazz (which at best I hate) and a table of rather loud American tourists who thought that it was very exciting to be in London, otherwise we could have been in a morgue

Thirdly service – frankly the staff were all utterly disinterested, which would be bad enough, but they weren't short on numbers just on knowledge and motivation. Getting everything seemed to take ages and when asked a question they didn't have a clue what the answer was nor made any attempt to discover it, in fact you were made to feel like a thoroughly unpleasant imposition on their time for having asked it – one of those moments when Google on your phone produces a better response to the question “what is Lardo”

Value for money isn’t too bad in terms of food, though the whole experience is so depressing that it is made to feel far less so. I don’t see how this can survive given its desperately poor number of customers and its hopeless staff; getting the food right isn’t the only thing that matters. Give this a miss.

First time eating here and I suspect the last as well.

We went on a sunny August evening but the room is funeral – the Adams family would feel at home. It’s like a slightly tacky nightclub in Romford, everything is black – walls, floors, ceilings, tables, staff uniforms and really dim lighting – the only thing that breaks up the single colour is the ‘cow hide’ chairs which are uniquely itchy and uncomfortable. It would be far better if someone was issued a 5 gallon tin of white Dulux emulsion and some 100 watt light bulbs and it also gets very noisy as it’s got low ceilings and some of the clientele seem to think they are in that Romford nightclub.

Service is good, polite, swift and helpful though points off for 1. Introducing you to your dinner – the only time I want to see my steak is cooked and on my plate, I don’t want to see it raw and be told its name was daisy and it enjoyed running round the pampas 2. The merciless up-selling of wine – the sommelier was very polite and really knew about her range of Malbec, but really attempted to push you into paying more.

The steaks were excellent – the fillet was just about the best I’ve eaten, but sadly the rest wasn’t that good and its really poor value; £31 for a steak is not cheap but its fair enough till you realise that chips – which incidentally are horrible, thin, cold and overcooked till they are like shrapnel – and sauce (of which you get all of 2 teaspoons) are both extra and by the time you’ve had something like spinach on the side your £31 steak has become more like £41 and let’s be honest main courses at that price are the preserve of places with at least one or more Michelin stars. Fishcakes to start were also around £10 and tiny, all be it they were delicious. After adding desserts (which are not very good), water and that expensive wine the bill came to over £260 for 3 people with service (they don’t add it on which is a novel touch for anywhere in London); it’s just not that good and value for money is bordering on the desperately bad – go to Galvin La Chappelle or Patechnicon instead, both are far better food, far better value, far nicer rooms and you won’t come out blinking into the late evening sunshine. I really can’t recommend this to anyone.

Service and value seem to be the general issues with the Cinnamon Club. Personally both were fine for me.

I went for lunch with 2 friends and the set lunch option at £19 for 2 courses was fine value; even allowing for wine, water, service and side dishes our bill came to under £40 per head; it's not quite as good value as Roux, but still reasonable. Service was also very good – in and out in an hour and a quarter, no long waits, the right food and drinks (which were topped up in a non-intrusive manner), the bill arriving quickly when asked for and payments being taken, staff being polite and friendly – basically everything you could want.

Food was average – main course of Thai chicken curry, fine but not special and no better than a number of alternative venues, followed by chocolate and cherry pudding, again OK but certainly not one of those wow moments that you sometimes get served up.

Atmosphere is quiet but pleasant and business like for lunch – the old library seems to have the effect of making people very quiet, almost as if you expect to get told off for talking too loudly. Tables are spacious and reasonably spaced, seating comfortable, everything clean and tidy, the room looks exactly like the pictures, but its not stand out in the same way as you get with other venues e.g. there is no view and the room doesn't make you feel as special as, say, La Chappelle.

It’s a nice option if you are around the Westminster area – personally I'd rather go to Roux – but I'm sure I'll return here.

Zucca is hard to book – its not quite as bad as Scott's or The Ivy but in its own way its on a par; the online option is hopeless, at any normal time you'll be looking weeks ahead and even phoning up several days in advance is normally met with an offer of tables either very early or late. But in this case it reflects the fact it’s very popular (rather than being absorbed with its own self importance), and relatively compact, so there is always a stream of people wanting to go – and I fully understand why.

As other reviewers have commented value for money is brilliant – starters at around £4.50, mains at £12-£15, desserts I'd be guessing as bizarrely there is no dessert menu (more of which later), but add wine and water and three of us ate for £96 – though that didn't include the really excellent service.

Service is right up there with the best in London – things just happen, quickly and with absolutely no fuss. Rather than get a single waiter throughout whoever is passing deals with whatever needs doing, so plates are cleared, glasses refilled etc almost instantly. The only disappointment, and I’m not sure whether it should really be included under service, is the dessert menu – or lack of. Having eaten two courses (starter of pasta with artichokes – a warming taste of pure sunshine with slivers of silver artichoke, followed by a bit piece of roast salmon on a bed of peas, mint, courgette and broad beans – tasted wonderfully fresh) dessert was ordered via the waiter reciting a list of options – personally I like to have a bit of time to think, not that the eventually choice of blackberry and almond tart wasn't perfectly fine, just I’d like a bit of paper to read whilst making my choice and interestingly all of us either took the first or last option offered, showing how poor our recall is.

The venue is relatively small, tables are quite close and it gets a bit noisy when full, but high ceilings help and everything is clean and smart, all be it that the white plastic chairs are a bit uncomfortable.

Overall it’s a good option, hard to book but worth the effort. I will definitely be going back.

My first time dining here, its only 10 minutes drive from my home but somehow it's one of those places I've always managed to miss.

Generally it's alright, though I find it hard to be quite as complimentary as other reviewers have been.

The good – well value for money for a start; 2 people, 3 courses, water, 4 glasses of wine and all for £95, no complaints about that (although some of the wine on the list is excessively priced and similar bottles are cheaper in Mayfair establishments than here). Food was also generally good – I ate haricot bean and roasted garlic soup for starters – tasted rather more like potato soup, but pleasant, thick and hot, followed by Icelandic cod fillet with saffron orzo, chorizo and roast cherry tomatoes – a really generous portion, nice thick piece of cod sat on a great, risotto style, bed of goodies – sadly the accompanying chips I had as a side dish were really disappointing – machine produced, overcooked and a mass of shrapnel like pieces, followed by baked hazelnut and ricotta torte raspberries, Grand Marnier tuiles – nice but certainly didn't set the world alight. Service was fine – we waited a touch too long for drinks at the start and there was a tendency to bring the right dishes but hand them to the wrong person, but otherwise no problems.

The less good – mainly the atmosphere; it was extremely noisy and very bad acoustics where you could hear the conversation 3 tables away but not be able to hear the conversation on your own table. Tables are also crammed in and very small so you've barely got space to move and the air conditioning didn't seem to be working so it was very hot.

Would I return – yes, but it’s not a place for a romantic dinner and I'd try and find a day when it would be cooler and quieter.

Inn the Park is about 10 minutes walk from work for me so I've been several times. I've only ever done the self service buffet style option so I am not ideally placed to comment on service etc.

The experience is wholly average – it’s not good or bad, its just handy for me, but it can get really busy and noisy and most of the clientele will have a camera slung around their neck, so you can feel a bit out of place in a suit.

Its great to go on a sunny day; you can sit outside on the decking, enjoy a rare burst of sunshine and some lovely views of the park and if you sit upstairs (which isn't covered) you can even see the London Eye looming over the Treasury. Don't expect 5 star luxury (its more like 2 stars); the seating is basic, the tables are small and cramped (great to find out who saw what museum earlier in the day, or how badly the underground is perceived by Americans) and don't seem to be cleared as quickly as you'd like.

The self service options normally include cold choices like salads, sandwiches, cakes, drinks etc and some basic hot selections like sausage and mash or chilli and rice – the hot selections are OK, but reminiscent of a work canteen rather than a decent restaurant, nice cakes though! However, I do really object to plastic cutlery! Prices are a bit more than you might expect given what you are eating, but certainly not out of bounds – it’s more costly than going to Pret, but comes in around Pizza Express pricing.

It’s certainly not somewhere that you'd make a special effort to go to – and if you do you are likely to be sorely disappointed, but if you happen to be in the park anyway, or work nearby, then its better than sitting on the grass with a curly edged sandwich. I'm sure I'll go again, but I suspect if work was 5 minutes further away I'd never set foot in there again.

The Orange is very nice and I can definitely recommend it.

Online booking is very simple and you get a conformation e-mail and a call on the day which makes the process simple; but it does get booked up quickly for peak times so either book a few days ahead or you'll end up going early or late.

The room has that carefully distressed look where all the woodwork looks a bit battered and all the chairs, glasses etc don't match – but you know someone has spent many hours making sure that they don't. The overall impression is warm and welcoming – like dinner at a friends house and the window boxes full of greenery are a lovely touch.

Service was a little bit mixed – swift, perfectly friendly and polite, but employing staff who don't always speak brilliant English is a bit of a drawback, with some confusion between steak and skate, though we got there in the end. I did also get a bill that included all the items we had, plus a drink that we didn't, though when I queried this it was removed instantly without quibbling.

Atmosphere was good – though it gets quite noisy when full. We went quite early whilst it was quiet, but by the time we left the noise levels had rapidly increased, though not to the point that they were unpleasant or in any way spoilt a good evening.

Food is very good: I started with pea soup with mint and pecorino gnocchi – a really large bowl full with a lovely garden fresh taste and properly hot (something many restaurants struggle with), this was followed by breast of chicken, white beans and chorizo with a side order of chips – it was just a bit bland, nothing wrong with it but nothing exciting, though lovely, properly hand cut, chips. This was followed by a distinct high point – orange caramel cheesecake with sea salt caramel ice cream – one of the best desserts I've ever had; a generous sized portion with a rich creamy cheesecake, candied orange and exceptional ice cream.

The bill came to £165 for 3 people with 3 courses, one bottle of wine, one bottle of water and a couple of extra glasses of wine – that’s good value.

Will I return – yes, definitely.

Early evening and The Thomas Cubitt was packed downstairs but upstairs in the dining room was far quieter – at least when we first arrived – more of which later. The dining room is very pleasant, rather like one of those grand dining rooms in posh houses you see in the property supplements of quality Sunday newspapers (which is really exactly what it is) and looking like someone has run through the Farrow and Ball colour card with some artful ‘distressing’ on woodwork and lots of wooden floors and furniture – its the sort of room that's very current just now but will look really dated in 18 months time.

Dinner was good, but not excellent and rather lower standards than are set in its little sister Pantechnicon. I started with Seared scallops, heritage apple, gingerbread, chestnuts – 3 plump, meaty scallops, nice thick swirl of apple and gingerbread crumbs, all be it that it had a slightly bland texture but the chestnuts were just a mistake; hard and overly chewy. Followed by Lemon & thyme crusted chicken, Somerset Rambler dumplings, pumpkin, pine nuts – almost there but not quiet; lovely chicken but the crust felt a bit like something you'd get in a cheapish hotel restaurant. Followed by Apple & sultana crumble tart where I swapped the promised clotted cream for ginger icecream – a nice twist on a fairly standard dish as the crumble was a small indidivual tart and the ginger icecream was great avoiding that cloying texture that it can sometimes have.

Value for money was fine, 3 people, 3 courses, water and a nice bottle of white burgundy for £155 so no complaints there.

Service was a bit random, polite but confused is perhaps the best way to describe it – nothing you could quite put your finger on but it seemed to fall apart a bit the busier the restaurant got, and it did get very busy. Whilst we started in a largely empty room it was very packed and very loud by the time we got to dessert and unfortunately with exactly the sloaney types you'd fear it might be given the area.

Online booking simple with a reminder e-mail, but followed on the day with a slightly odd call where I was asked “How long do you want the table for?” which got the reply “Till we've finished” – I don't have a problem with a 2 hour turn round, but why do it in such a haphazard fashion?

Overall its good, but there is little to recommend it ahead of Pantechnicon other perhaps than the chips which are a lot better at The Thomas Cubitt for being properly hand cut fat chips rather than what look like machine cut fries; it make a difference, but not enough to persude me from choosing Pantecnicon next time.

The views are wonderful, though sadly much else isn't.

I took a friend here for a drink for her birthday before going elsewhere for dinner. Perhaps a blunder to take a non-drinker to a bar that specialises in champagne, but I'm sure she can't be the only person ever to have asked for a non-alcoholic drink and been made to feel distinctly second class for having done so – not the best start to a celebration. Eventually the slightly surly waitress managed to arrange two of the most expensive cranberry and lemonades ever and we were left alone, with no one asking if we wanted to eat, have another drink etc during our brief stay.

If you like going somewhere that is somewhat dated and a bit tired looking and that is full of braying city types guzzling that champagne or fat business men trying to impress considerably younger women in excessively short and tight dresses (I'm sure they are just their nieces rather than rented for the evening!) then this will be right up your street, otherwise the only real reason for going is the view, and sadly that's probably not enough. It's a shame that a space this special cannot be used to make somewhere that really stands out.