Giles Coren's review of The National Dining Rooms (The Times)
The National Dining Rooms reviews
I ate in the cafe last night. It was HORRENDOUS. I have never walked out of a restaurant before, but we walked out of this one.
It took 15-20mins to get some drinks (a bottle of water) despite the fact that there was ONLY ONE OTHER table. I could see the 4 waiters standing at the bar flirting with each other, chatting on their mobiles etc. They only started getting us our drinks when my partner went over to ask for some, and they were then surly with us for the rest of the night.
10 mins after this, the food arrived. It was inedible. My partner had ordered the National Burger medium-well. It was burnt on the outside but raw in the middle. Not pink, but RAW. Even the waiter admitted it was raw. My Salad Deluxe had lumps of uncooked vegetable (swede?) that were inedible, no cheese as promised, and actually drowning in burnt hazlenuts.
The waiter asked if the food was fabulous, and we said unfortunately not. He agreed the burger was raw, and then took both the salad and the burger away. 10 mins later he came back and said it was going to be another 15 minutes for food - despite the fact that the ONLY OTHER table was already on dessert. We were appalled and left, paying for drinks and bread.
I will never eat here again. Go to Pret a Manger across the road, or any good restaurant 5 mins walk away in Soho. You're less likely to risk food poisoning (raw hamburger meat is a health and safety issue), you'll get your food in a reasonable time, and no surly staff.
It's a shame because it is a good location - but bad cooking and poor waiting can never be excused.
by Jane Kingsly, 07 Feb 2007
It took 15-20mins to get some drinks (a bottle of water) despite the fact that there was ONLY ONE OTHER table. I could see the 4 waiters standing at the bar flirting with each other, chatting on their mobiles etc. They only started getting us our drinks when my partner went over to ask for some, and they were then surly with us for the rest of the night.
10 mins after this, the food arrived. It was inedible. My partner had ordered the National Burger medium-well. It was burnt on the outside but raw in the middle. Not pink, but RAW. Even the waiter admitted it was raw. My Salad Deluxe had lumps of uncooked vegetable (swede?) that were inedible, no cheese as promised, and actually drowning in burnt hazlenuts.
The waiter asked if the food was fabulous, and we said unfortunately not. He agreed the burger was raw, and then took both the salad and the burger away. 10 mins later he came back and said it was going to be another 15 minutes for food - despite the fact that the ONLY OTHER table was already on dessert. We were appalled and left, paying for drinks and bread.
I will never eat here again. Go to Pret a Manger across the road, or any good restaurant 5 mins walk away in Soho. You're less likely to risk food poisoning (raw hamburger meat is a health and safety issue), you'll get your food in a reasonable time, and no surly staff.
It's a shame because it is a good location - but bad cooking and poor waiting can never be excused.
by Jane Kingsly, 07 Feb 2007
I ate in the cafe with a friend and we had a lovely time. The food was simple but well prepared, the staff friendly and the ambiance pleasant. It's nice to get out of Soho and the same old hang-outs once in a while. My only gripe is the fact that I wanted a table in the restaurant, but no one answered the phone for me to book it. Still, the cafe turned out to be just the job!
by Tidy (7 reviews), 17 Oct 2006
by Tidy (7 reviews), 17 Oct 2006
Beautifully designed space in a stunning building and the food was enjoyed by all. Bit of a shame it's not properly open at night - it closes with the gallery, except for pre-theatre meals on Wednesdays.
The other notable aspect was how different the crowd was from any other David Collins designed restaurants - much older and lots of tourists as you'd expect, not that this bothered us.
Will go again and would certainly recommend it for lunch in the area.
by tekka (34 reviews), 01 Apr 2006
The other notable aspect was how different the crowd was from any other David Collins designed restaurants - much older and lots of tourists as you'd expect, not that this bothered us.
Will go again and would certainly recommend it for lunch in the area.
by tekka (34 reviews), 01 Apr 2006
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