Chocolate Pave
South Place Chop House

South Place Chop House

South Place Hotel 3 South Place London, EC2M 2AF, EC2M 2EF, United Kingdom

Steak • British • T-bone Steak • Casual Elegant


"Fawlty-towers-esque is the only way to describe our experience!! We were there for a business dinner, there were 8 of us. We arrived shortly after 6pm, sat down, and ordered some wine and food from the set menu (they mandated that everybody order from the set menu, or nobody could order from the set menu). After a short while, the person tending to our table began to approach the guests, one by one, in the most unusual fashion. His tactic was to lean in between the guests putting his forearm on the table. This was mildly comical. Each time he was informing the guest that their first choice for starter/main was not available. In some cases he told the guests what he would be replacing the dish with, and in some cases he asked for their opinion. This happened repeatedly over the course of 30-45 minutes. Almost an hour and a half later, still no food. We complained and waited a little longer, until it became obvious that no food would be arriving. We spoke to the manager one final time and he informed us that they the situation was due to an unfortunate event. Somewhat sympathetically I asked what the unfortunate event was, maybe the chef had been taken ill, or had a family emergency. Nope, the reason the manager gave was that they had a busy lunch service!!! At that point the manager offered us the opportunity to leave the restaurant, and gave us the wine we had drank for free (hence the high score for value). So off we went to Haz on Bishopsgate where they accommodated us, fed us, and we had a great time."

The Lion and Pheasant

The Lion and Pheasant

49-50 Wyle Cop Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1XJ, SY1 1XF, United Kingdom

Sushi • Pizza • Asiatic • European


"Beautifull hotel, I guess one can call it trendy , but I just don 't understand how they can justify the price £130/night and that most of the time will go to £160 as they run out of entry level ones. So I guess the answer is there because people pay for it! But let 's just make some relevant comparisons Birmingham Grand literally in the heart of the city, brand new, 5* hotel, with all recently decorated rooms to the highest standard is £135 15 for breakfast. Needless to say rooms are air conditioned, fully equipped and genuinelly very posh. Hotel has lifts, has porters and the service is top notch. The Lion is barelly 4* just for trendiness alone, but the actual quality of furnishing is closer to 3*, has no lift and you will be lugging your bags up and down mutiple flights of stairs (and I mean multiple like 8 going up and down) trought narrow corridors to mediocre room (nothing wrong with it just mediocre) which isn 't even air conditioned. Sorry, I just don 't get it. That said restaurant is good fully fine dining if you are into it. Althought in my oppinion it doesn 't fit into the rest of the hotel. So it is ~3.5* hotel which is very youghtfull and trendy and then you get 5* fine dining with very tiny portions for the dinner (which is not criticism of restaurant, it is very good on it 's own). In conclussion I just don 't get what niche this hotel is filling, who stays there and why. The price for the rooms should be £75 95 tops. Shreesbury is not exactly prime tourists destination either (at least shouldn 't). But it seems it is working out for them, I just would not recommend it, I would not stay in it again and it is definatelly not worth the price. Neither in isolation, nor in comparison."

Highcliff Grill

Highcliff Grill

79 Saint Michael's Road, Bournemouth BH2 5DR, United Kingdom

Fish • Wine • Grill • Steak


"At the bar, drinks were being served, but the cocktails took longer to arrive. The bartender informed me that they would be brought to the table. There were only nine people in the bar/lounge area, three of whom were men. After waiting for 15 minutes, I noticed some foldable napkins and asked for the cocktail. The bartender pointed to the bar where a server was busy with other patrons. It was quite odd, as he seemed completely uninterested and looked at me as if to say, "How dare you ask?" In the restaurant, which had about five tables occupied, my daughter ordered a gin and tonic with Hendrick’s gin. The server returned and said they didn’t have it, so we agreed on Bombay Sapphire instead. After the server came back again, she informed us that they were out of Bombay Sapphire as well. On her third visit, she regretfully said they had completely run out of gin. My wife requested black pepper, but the waitress mentioned they only had white pepper available in a shaker on the table. Halfway through our meal, we saw the restaurant manager rushing by and asked about the black pepper. She assured us she would get some. Eventually, after 80% of our meal was finished, a server finally brought a pepper pot to our table. She explained it took so long because they hadn’t realized how to open it. To our surprise, my wife showed her that it was actually a pepper grinder! Despite the good food and friendly service, it was clear that the staff lacked proper training. This experience at the Marriott Highcliff Hotel in Bournemouth did not reflect well on the Marriott brand. The atmosphere felt poorly managed, and no one seemed responsible or genuinely interested in providing good service. It was a rather strange experience overall."

Highcliff Grill

Highcliff Grill

St. Michael's Road, West Cliff, Bournemouth, United Kingdom

Steak • Grill • Lunch • Cheese


"At the bar, drinks were being poured and the girl mentioned that the cocktail would take a while to be brought to the table. There were a total of 9 people in the bar/lounge area with three servers. After 15 minutes, I noticed the bartender folding napkins and asked for the cocktail. He gestured towards the bar where the girl had been standing before serving other customers. The bartender seemed disinterested and gave me a look as if to say, "How dare you ask?" In the restaurant, which had 5 dining tables, my daughter requested a Hendrick's gin and tonic but the server had never heard of it. She suggested a Bombay Sapphire instead, but they were out of that too. My wife asked for black pepper, but the server claimed they only had white pepper in the shaker on the table. Midway through the meal, the restaurant managers ran by and inquired about the missing black pepper. Eventually, a server brought a pepper pot to the table and mentioned that it took so long because they didn't know how to open it, but it turned out to be a pepper grinder. Despite the food being good and the service friendly, the staff seemed to have no idea what they were doing. This particular location, the Marriot Highcliff Hotel in Bournemouth, does not live up to the standards of the Marriot Group. It lacked a sense of responsibility and interest, giving off a poor impression overall. A bizarre and disappointing experience."

Silk & Grain

Silk & Grain

33 Cornhill City London, EC3V 3ND, EC3V 3NF, United Kingdom

Beer • Wine • Steak • British


"Located in the heart of the city near the Royal Exchange is Silk and Grain. Split over two tiers with a ground floor bar and a first floor restaurant you can drink, dine or both! Silk and Grain specialises in top quality 35 day aged Scottish steak which is supplied by East Lothian independent family run business, J. Gilmour Co Ltd. Mix the steak with an innovative cocktail menu and you have a winning combination. We loved the Panky Club Cocktail: Barrel-aged gin-based Hanky-Panky with raspberry, lemon, egg white. The staple of Silk and Grain are its cuts of Tweed Valley Steaks. However, there are a selection of other dishes on the menu ranging from Duck Confit and Rack of Lamb to Sea Trout and Smoked Haddock. We started with the Potato Gnocchi: Parmesan, girolles, truffle oil. This was one of the best gnocchi dishes I have tasted! The parmesan and truffle oil worked well and it was not as heavy as I envisaged. There are a number of steaks to choose from on the menu including Rump, Sirloin, Cote De Boeuf, Rib Eye and Fillet, as well as sharing steaks. All prices include the choice of any side (including sweet potato fries and truffle mac and cheese) and any sauce (including bearnaise and peppercorn). This makes a refreshing change from other competitor steak restaurants where you pay for the sides and sauces separately. The Fillet Steak was a fantastic cut of meat, cooked medium, with sweet potato fries – as you would expect, not fatty and all and naturally flavoursome. The Silk Grain Burger: Brioche, pulled brisket, lettuce, Swiss cheese, smoked chilli mayo, fries was also impressive. We were asked how we wanted the burger cooked which is always a good sign – it was exceptionally meaty and we added bacon for extra flavour. A fantastic steak and cocktail menu at Silk Grain restaurant in the City with reasonable prices and a good level of service. Tip: Go for the Express Menu at lunchtime. Soup and sourdough plus 200g Sirloin Steak fries and peppercorn sauce for just £25 per person."