Celeriac
Franklins

Franklins

157 Lordship Lane London, SE22 8HX, United Kingdom

Pubs • Steak • Drinks • British


"I went to Franklins to treat my Mum to a Valentine’s Day dinner. Staff, particularly the waitress serving us, were initially friendly and we were seated quickly. Our orders were taken quickly but it was downhill from there. We had to wait over 20 mins to receive our drinks and I noticed the couple next to us that were seated a good 15 mins after us were already drinking from a bottle of wine. We waited over 45 minutes for our starters and were only served after we asked (the couple next to use were served their starters before us). Similar to our starters, we had to wait over 30 mins for our main and we had to ask for updates twice. We were told the kitchen were having issues and I was offered a glass of wine. We were finally served our main (again, the couple next to us were served their main before us) to which mine was bland. After over 20 minutes waiting for our desert (during which the couple next to us left after finishing their desert and paying), I asked for an update and I was told the kitchen was busy today. After discussing with my mum we decided to cancel the desert so we could leave as it had already been 2 hours since we had been seated. The waitress explained the deserts were ready but I insisted we leave as it had been over 2 hours since we had been seated. The waitress then brought the bill. It had no discount on the set menu (I expected they would’ve applied this automatically based on the constant delays) and it included service charge. After I requested the service charge be removed, the waitress walked off visibly agitated in a huff. After returning with the new receipt she then asked me “have you ever worked in hospitality?” This is unacceptable. My mother and I were clearly subjected to very poor service and to be asked that question after I, rightly, requested the service charge be removed is quite frankly rude. Being busy is not an excuse for poor service. Accept the number of diners you can handle whilst still providing good service. This ruined dinner with my mother. I would not recommend this restaurant. Update: The owner has since contacted me, apologised, offered me a full refund and an opportunity to return with some drinks on them"

Oldroyd

Oldroyd

344 Upper Street London, N1 0PD, United Kingdom

Wine • Cheese • British • European


"The restaurant is small, the tables are small, they serve in small plates style... but they are all big on flavour and quality! We squeezed into our little corner table and managed to devour a couple plates of food in between the catching up! Who says bloggers only focus on the food?! The pork belly and pea croquettes were an excellent way to start the meal, though simple they were simultaneously meaty and light, and quite delicious. We also enjoyed the special of sardines on toast with a tangy chutney type sauce, the lamb and almond meatballs were not at all stodgy as meatballs can be, and came in a fantastic romesco sauce which I would happily pour over everything. Including the crisp and skinny courgette fries. The highlight of the meal was the cornish crab tagliarini; so much crab flavour packed into this plate... it was creamy, the tagliarini was soft and light... I probably could have eaten the whole thing on my own if I'm being really honest. As we were too busy chitchatting, we'd forgotten that Oldroyd only give you 1.5 hours at your table... so get those plates rolling in thick and fast. We'd run out of time... but the staff were really lovely about our faux pas and moved us into the two seats at the tiny bar so we could have dessert. The chocolate mousse was absolutely worth teetering precariously on those stools for (as a shorty, bar stools are not my friend... . We only really scratched the surface of the menu so will be back again for some of the more meaty, richer dishes perfect as autumn and winter roll round!"