The Main Event
OXBO Bankside

OXBO Bankside

Hilton London Bankside 2-8 Great Suffolk Street London, SE1 0UG, United Kingdom

Fish • Local • Coffee • British


"I left this review for a while in order to reflect as I dont like giving bad reviews. After taking my team here, I was hoping it would be good as they deserved a good meal. Unfortunately it was marred by the service. It was simply awful. It's sad as there were a coupe of people working there that were very friendly and knew what service was, but there were some that just ruined it. We ordered steaks of different cooked levels (Rare/Medium/Well Done etc. . When they came to serve the steaks, they started putting them down on the table and didn't care about which steak anyone got (as long as it was the right type of meat . I asked which steaks were which and they didn't know. Afterwards another person came and started to serve the same plates again without knowing which ones were which. Again I said that we needed to know how the steaks had been prepared, the response I got was a dirty look and attitude. After more people came they then started to try and work it out. Then someone came who knew which ones were cooked correctly. Unfortunately not all the meals were correct as some medium rares were cooked more than the mediums. The service was very slow and trying to find someone to take drinks orders during the meal or ask for the missing sauces for the food, was near impossible. In the end I had to get out of my seat and go and chase. The food itself was fine but with so much choice in London for somewhere to go, thiis place will not be somewhere I will return to. I didn'tt thing I cared about service so much until I was letting my whole team down. I suppose if you are dining in smaller groups it will be a better experience. That'll be up to you to decide."

The Bell Inn

The Bell Inn

Bramshaw, SO43 7HE, New Forest, United Kingdom

Steak • Vegan • British • European


"In the approach to Christmas, at the time of goodwill to all men, I feel hesitant writing this review. We 've had meals at The Bell before, probably on three occasions, and they have been fine with good service. This time we met friends here and had driven a long way through driving rain and were hungry! The restaurant was full, and so was the waiting area. I think the other half of the room was being used for a meeting or conference maybe, so perhaps the restaurant floor area where we normally sit was reduced. We were greeted reasonably and shown to our table and sat down, We were presented with the Festive menu. We preferred to order from the main menu. After about 15 minutes, we had to ask for these from behind the bar. Our drinks came pretty quickly our waitress was courteous and friendly, and our food order was taken. After over an hour, and noting that other tables who arrived well after we did were served before us, we enquired as to whether we had been forgotten. We had to go and find someone to ask. After 20 minutes more, our food did arrive. The bream, liver and fish and chips were OK. But I don 't think the chef knows how to cook the basics, unless a work experience person or the like was given responsibility. Mashed potato was cold and getting solid. Saute potatoes were few and far between, overcooked, small and cold. The salad was a dozen olives thrown onto a couple of lettuce leaves. The waitress offered to have the mash replaced, but we didn 't have another hour to spare. The waitress was full of apologies, but said she had asked about the delay from the kitchen. The food isn 't cheap here, so quality ought to have been reasonabe, not partly sub standard or unenjoyable. We apologised to our friends for recommending this venue. Although the bill was adjusted, we 'll probably try somewhere else next time. Shame, because we love the area and the decor."