Oysters
Raven’s Ait

Raven’s Ait

Raven's Ait Portsmouth Road Surbiton, Greater London KT6 4HN, KT6 4EX, United Kingdom

Pizza • Sushi • Cafés • Asiatic


"The island was open from 12 noon and our table was reserved for 12.15 pm as we planned to do something else later in the afternoon. However, the food was only just being set out and cooked, so was not ready until well after 12.30 pm. As it happened, this did not matter as our plans changed for the afternoon and so we could relax and spend the afternoon on Ravens Ait watching the world go by. The staff were nice but harried to start with in getting everything ready. Some didn't seem to know what the arrangement regarding the food was, eg whether tea/coffee was included or an extra charge. The food was generally good, but the hot containers did a poor job of keeping the food hot, and we were amongst the first to be served, so not sure how I would have liked eating later and getting a colder meal. The gluten free loaf of bread was a poor relation, gluten free rolls would have been a better option. I was told that gluten free rolls were taken by non g/f customers so that was why they did not have them. rather a lame reason to have a cheap alternative I felt. Also, the variety of cold salads was nothing special, being gluten free, a rice salad should have been included, not just the pasta, and I think there was a couscous but it is not gluten free. Overall, more imagination is required to make this a better eating experience, but of course the location will always attract customers."

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."