Crooked Billet, The

Caroline (2 September 2007)

I have just visited The Crooked Billet for Sunday lunch and was very disappointed. It started off badly when the directions on their website were incorrect and we therefore got lost. We eventually arrived, were shown to a small table which was cramped and felt like it was in a corridor as the waitresses were constantly running past us, hardly a relaxing atmosphere! Before we'd even managed to get our coats off and settled we were being asked what we wanted to drink and having menus thrust on our faces. The hummus we had to start was bland, as were the olives. The table was wobbly and we had to ask for someone to come and fix it. The waitress spilt beer all over my partner. The menus were so large you couldn't put them on the tiny table.

We had to ask for another menu as we couldn't read the first one now soggy with beer. We skipped the starter and both went for fillet of beef, the beef itself was OK, not good, but the foie gras accompanying it was badly burnt, the potato rosti soggy and very salty, the spinach gritty and the mushrooms undercooked. No-one removed our starter cutlery or brought us steak knives which I had to ask for as it was impossible to cut the beef with the ordinary blunt knives given to us. No one bothered to check whether we were happy with our meal, needless to say we weren't. We left the meals half eaten and didn't bother to stay to try the desserts. Not recommended - bad service, bad food and expensive. It was a complete waste of time. Save your money and stress levels and go elsewhere.

Ralph Rye (8 March 2007)

I visited the Crooked Billet last Friday for the first time, based on the principle that the London Street Brasserie is quite a decent gaff, so the Billet should be also, since it is owned by the same chap. We arrived on a dismal evening for an earlyish meal, and the restaurant was not busy. After 8.30 however, it started filling up rapidly. It is an odd building, an old pub which keeps something of its erstwhile life about it, with bands playing out back occasionally. The layout makes it a little awkward as a restaurant, being long and rather narrow, and consequently we were rather close to the next-door table-a-deux. This I find annoying in any restaurants, and one unfortunately repeated in the London Street Brasserie. I know the owners need to pay the mortgage etc, but 18" between tables is pushing the limits of punter tolerance to my mind. Admittedly, a couple in a place like this is a necessary evil when large and lucrative groups are also present.

As for the food, it was of a generally high standard. Starter of scallops, salad and artichoke worked quite well, although the sauce was rather strident and rather overpowered the (not cheap) shellfish. The mixed game platter also was a very good - meat and sausages simply presented, with a frankly sensational gravy. Pud was a treacle tart, and a bit ho-hum - rather doughy and not very syrupy. One imaginative note was the suggestion of various pudding wines to accompany them. A dying practice and a welcome one. My Muscat went very well with my wife's Eton Mess. Apparently.

Service by the two or three waitresses was efficient, informal and friendly, the lights did keep going off and on at one point, but this served to add character and amusement to the proceedings. In general, a cut above the average pub meal, bordering on a quality restaurant. £95 for 2 x 3-course meals and 4 drinks about right in this market. I would certainly consider also taking our children there for a lunchtime main course only. 7/10

See more reviews of Crooked Billet, The