Louise (15 February 2004)

Strange shaped round tables. Had booked a table for 7pm for 3. 2 of the seats were on the fixed seating on the back wall, which is awkward on a round table. This meant 2 people sitting side by side, whilst I was sat opposite my friends, so quite awkward for me too. I found the noise level very load and ended up having to shout across the table to converse. I ordered scallops to start. To be fair, it did say it came with a carrot mash. I expected a smooth, buttery mash, but what came was a tasteless, barely 'mashed' mountain - enough for about 5 people! A strange accompaniment for delicate scallops which were, incidentally, very small and a dismal portion for £7. Main course was roasted cod, which was bog standard but OK. It came with tasteless mushy peas (not even as nice as tinned). Chips were fat soggy ones with that dark brown but not crispy 'you have burned the oil' colour. Pricy for £13, plus extra for the chips as a side dish. At 9pm a waitress asked us if we could leave our table! We were finishing off our second bottle of wine and enjoying our evening so this really spoiled the whole experience. To summarise, pricy, uninspired cooking, totally lacking finesse with uncomfortable seating. You can get much better and more thoughtfully prepared food elsewhere in the West End. Bill was £110 (3 starters/3 mains/water/2 bottles of house wine? I wouldn't go back.........