Lamb Loin
Harvey Nichols Restaurant

Harvey Nichols Restaurant

The Mailbox 65 Wharfside Street Birmingham, West Midlands B1 1RE, B1 1RS, United Kingdom

Bars • Beer • French • Coffee


"I booked afternoon tea for as a gift for my mum for mother’s day. We arrived slightly early but the restaurant wasn’t busy so we were seated. The host who took us to the table did not tell us anything, just sat us down. We waited for about mins for a waitress to ask if we wanted water. We were then asked by separate members of staff if we had any dietary requirements. We then waited another minutes and another waitress came to take our order without us having received any menus. We ordered, we were told we could have tea, champagne or a cocktail. We waited, our drinks took another minutes to arrive, and came in separate parts. We were then told our menus were being printed, which seemed bizarre having ordered and being sat there so long. When the menus arrived it transpired you were able to order from a selection of teas, coffees and various cocktails. It also showed the dishes. There were a couple of things my dad didn’t like, which we asked to swap. I was told that maybe this would be ok, if we were quick, as the order had been rung through. It was at this point I reminded the waitress that we had been expected to order off a nonexistent menu, so what did they expect? The food came, it was ok but nothing special. The service was just terrible. There seemed to be no communication between the staff, no desire to make us feel welcome and no attention to detail. For something which was meant to be a treat, I was very disappointed and would not waste my money going again"

28-50 Marylebone

28-50 Marylebone

15-17 Marylebone Lane London, W1U 2NE, United Kingdom

Soup • Steak • Seafood • European


"We had high expectations for 28-50, and chose it for our one night in London. Sadly, it disappointed in every way. Although they had 30 by-the-glass options from many different regions, the majority of the offerings were a sad representation of mass-produced product. The service, though, is what really destroyed our experience. I try out wine bars in every city I visit as I’ve been in the wine business for 20 years, and put on dozens of tastings a year. This place was the bottom of the, err … barrel. The evening started fine enough with a decent cheese platter and passable. Chablis. But the strong start went rapidly downhill from there. One member of our party ordered a red, a simple Bordeaux, which was served lukewarm. It is unforgivable for a wine bar to not keep their wines at the proper temperature! But the biggest faux-pas came when the second glass I ordered, the Tuscan blend, showed up with a very low pour. It was certainly less than 2.5 ounces. I asked the server if they thought I had asked for the 75ml taster size, and instead of replying, they sent over the sommelier, Simone. He looked at the crappy pour in my glass, and said “let me check for you”. We just assumed he would return with the bottle and top it off correctly, but instead he went back to the bar and played around for several minutes with the glasses and pourers. He returned and proclaimed, “that was my mistake, I gave your companions too much wine in their glass”. (Believe me, NONE of the pours were generous). The four of us (three who are also in the hospitality business) were entirely dumbfounded that he would think this was the correct way to deal with things. From that point on everything went downhill. The food was borderline inedible. Seared tuna was just a mushy piece, with no sear. The tomato salad was made with low-quality tasteless produce. The steak was equally low-quality and incorrectly cooked. We left so much food on our plates, but the undertrained servers just swept them away, never asking if there was a issue. So this is the place to go to if you want bad food and boring offerings of wine priced 4 times what it would cost retail, some served at the wrong temperature, and get ripped off by underpours. Most of the wines on the list are $20 bottles sold in the supermarket. For example, La Crema (by Kendal Jackson) for Pinot Noir, or Lucas for Bordeaux. Other anemic offerings (although served at the correct temperature) were the bland Nebbiolo and Super Tuscan. Their highest priced, top-shelf wine at 28 a glass, is a ultra-modern Bordeaux by Kendall Jackson, Lassègue which tastes more like a cheap Napa Red. Those of us in the wine industry consider that wine a joke. As is 25-80."

Crown Hotel

Crown Hotel

8 West Street Blandford Forum, Dorset DT11 7AJ, United Kingdom

Sushi • Mexican • European • Fast Food


"I would like to start my review on my first time at the Crown in the greeting when we first arrived was good evening sir and madam this was from the manager who wore a suit with shirt and tie, shown to our table...introduced to our waitress for the evening who was well presented in a smart white blouse and black skirt, the food was top notch and the service was excellent. Now let's review my last visit in the greeting hi guys can I get you some drinks we looked at the menu and ordered our food from our table server who was in a creased polo shirt black Jean's and white trainers, my wife wanted the chicken ceasar salad but asked for the anchovies to be left out, food arrived well presented but the ceasar salad had no dressing on it so we asked for the dressing but apparently the dressing is with the anchovies so if you remove the anchovies you lose the dressing, being from a catering background I found this to accept but was told no separate dressing now what sort of kitchen does not have any kind of dressing I will tell you it's the crown st Blandford, my side dish of broccoli with cheese and garlic was missed off so arrived late, when you read on a menu broccoli with cheese and garlic I would expect it to be like a cauliflower cheese but no it's just broccoli with with some parmesan shaken on it. What did surprise me is that the manager was in Jean's and an opened neck shirt, this casual look obviously reflects on the casual way the staff work. The Crown used to be the flagship of the brewery but alas this is not the case now."

Old Granary

Old Granary

The Quay Wareham, Dorset BH20 4LP, BH20 4LR, Purbeck, United Kingdom

Asiatic • Mexican • European • Fast Food


"My husband and I dine here often, but after dining there last night. I don't think we will be back. We had a booking for 7.45pm and we arrived a little early. Our table wasn't ready, so we were moved to another table that was close to the doors to the terrace... it wasn't the warmest of places to sit people, especially when that door was constantly in motion. When we ordered our food, we were told that you had no roasts left... so we ordered the salmon and the duck... after a short while, the waitress told us that the kitchen had also run out of those!! We settled for cheese burger and fish and chips in the end, as this was pretty much our only choice left on the Sunday menu! However, when it arrived, the fish was really greasy, the chips inedible as they looked like they'd been cooked in dirty fat and for far too long, and the burger was really dry. It's a real shame. We don't usually mind paying a bit more as the food there has always been lovely, but we paid £66 for 2 meals, and we didn't eat most of the main. The only good thing about it was the larder plate, which we shared as a starter. I wish I'd taken photos of the food to show how bad it was. We left not long after our food arrived. When I paid for the bill at the bar. I wasn't asked if everything was OK with the food. Otherwise, I might have had this conversation with the staff. My only advice to tourists is to try other places. The Quay Inn does quality food and for a reasonable price. You can always find space to sit and eat or just have a drink. It's the lure of the quay that makes the Granary so busy!"