Pan Fried Salmon
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."

The Queens Head Inn

The Queens Head Inn

High StreetLittlebury, CB11 4TD, Saffron Walden, United Kingdom

Pub • Pubs • Drinks • British


"Visited with a friend for a Sunday lunch she had booked but given most of the other reviews, we must have drawn the short straw. We were put at a table just inside the door that was not the best location nor very comfortable but a good view of the bar and comings and goings. We both ordered roast. On top of, and covering the whole plate sat half of a huge carrot and half of a huge parsnip, underneath was lamb, so called roast potatoes and soggy Yorkshire pudding all sitting in gravy. Somewhere amongst this insipid pile was white cabbage (no sign of fine green beans as described on the menu). It looked totally unappealing and did not taste much better. I ate half to be polite even though had been saving myself for a nice roast; I couldn 't face eating any more. Price point probably was indicative of quality at £9.95 (Sunday roast). Soft drinks, 1 tea and 1 cappucino that looked more like an instant coffee with a bit of froth bobbing on the top. A couple next to us came and went and then I saw a cloth being pulled out from behind the bar to wipe the table. Not sure what it had been used for but I was pretty horrified. I didn 't think the place generally had a particularly clean and hygenic feel to it aside of it being dark and oldy worldy/chabby chic inside. The small outside seating area backed onto the car park and was popular with smokers. Upside was staff were friendly and accommodating but unfortunately I will not return on that basis.Littlebury itself is a small village/road just outside Saffron Walden a nice church and setting but really nothing in particular to stop for except for this pub that happens to serve food."

The Clermont Restaurant And Bar, Charing Cross

The Clermont Restaurant And Bar, Charing Cross

The Strand, London, United Kingdom

Tea • Wine • Coffee • European


"After booking a table at the restaurant (17/02/18) because the reviews were quite good it is always disappointing to be someone who didn't get a great experience. We arrived on time and were taken to our seats after a few minutes of waiting. Nice atmosphere a dozen people around us some with and some without food and a lovely view of the strand. Unfortunately the view was the best bit, by a long way. After waiting over 20 minutes to get a drinks order (I had to flag down a waiter) and then another 10 minutes to receive 2 glasses of prosseco, a pint and a large glass of wine we had our food order taken. With a waiting time of just over 30 minutes for a starter it was a long time to wait for a mediocre dish. The scallops were average, nothing special. They were meant to be seasoned with spice but tasted plain. The other starter we had, the pea and crab chowder was more a soup with tinned peas poured into it and a few pieces of crab meat occasionally appearing within. Not a great start considering other people around us had food that came quickly and looked and smelled great. Another wait for mains, not as long as for starters but still noticeable, where even the waitress came over and told us she would check on our food. The lamb rump tasted ok but had clearly been left under a heat lamp as it was just warm when it arrived. The salad that came with it was missing half of the things from the menu! The other dish we ordered, Quinoa and grilled portobello mushroom salad, was the saddest and most dissapointing looking dish if ever seen. It was literally a hand full of quinoa a few salad leaves and some cold slices of mushroom atop it. Again missing ingredients that it stated on the menu. After taking into consideration the wait and the poor quality in the food and long wait times we left paying only for the drinks and starters and more importantly hungry. Still after only drinks and a starter it came to roughly £47, less than impressive for value. Dissapointing!"