Jay Rayner's review of Inn The Park (The Observer)
Inn The Park reviews
We rang the restaurant when they had just closed and they waited 15 mins for us to get there. The service was absolutely lovely, the food was the best we had in our whole time in London (Michelin-starred places included). I really recommend the children's menu. It was great to get proper food for them instead of deep-fried crap. I can't wait to go back the next time we're in London.
by shellyd, 30 Apr 2008We went here for breakfast on a Saturday. On the plus side, it does have a lovely view of Horse Guards and the rear of the buildings on Whitehall. However, service was no good and the architect/designer needs to be lynched (the chairs are uncomfortable, and the toilet walls look like a colour-blind test). To be fair, the quality of the food wasn't bad, with the marmalade of particular note, but the chef/staff forgot one meal and the rest of us had finished by the time my friend got his. Oh, and the drinks were beyond abysmal - a tea was served as a cup of hot water and a tea bag separate!
by stewybabe (2 reviews), 18 Mar 2008The setting is the only thing worth visiting Inn the Park for. The restaurant itself is disappointingly overpriced - £100 for 2, for mushrooms on toast followed by fishcakes accompanied by a bottle of Cote du Rhone is not good value, whatever the setting. And let's not forget that Inn the Park is half posh restaurant, half self service cafe, so if you are in the posh bit you feel doubly ripped off. Oliver Peyton should know better.
by A customer, 08 Jan 2008Went with two friends last week. Beautiful setting and ambience, better than average food, but the service was really terrible. It wasn't that the staff weren't friendly or helpful, but there seemed to be no channels of communication, no one leading the service. We had to wait ages for everything, no one knew about the wine list, and generally I was disappointed as I was expecting great things from Oliver Peyton.
by rachel8571, 17 Aug 2007Went for a party with a pre-set menu. There was nowhere near enough food for the number of people. The food was poor quality and overpriced. Better off with a sandwich from M&S - tastier, more filling and better value. The manager was rude and unhelpful, the serving staff sour faced and inefficient. Will not go back and would not recommend to my worst enemy. Poor establishment, which is a shame as the setting is fantastic and it has heaps of potential.
by barnetro, 14 Aug 2007Definitely not recommended. The location and view are amazing but otherwise a big disappointment. Despite being only the second or third table occupied at 9am for breakfast, we waited over half an hour for our food, and even when it arrived we had to wait longer for the toast, which was cold when it did get there. Pretty pricey but would have been worth it if the food and service matched the location. Sadly, they did not.
by citygirl148, 27 May 2007Fantastic! Everything was so great - service wonderful, roast lamb cutlets and garlic nuggets to die for, even the bread melted in our mouths. At the end I actually cried with gratitude.
by Tif, 19 May 2007Visited the restaurant recently with several friends to celebrate a birthday. Easter Sunday we found it under-staffed, toilets dirty and uncared for (obviously being used as a public loo).
Food generally was disappointing and am amazed that we had to pay a deposit to reserve a table that was not prepared for us or necessary as it was empty!
I've taken my mother there for brunch, been there for cake with my friends, and had the most incredibly romantic dinner there on the terrace one nice night. I love the place.
Yummy food, cute waiters, the dreamiest chef that I've ever seen in my life. My Australian friend Kate assured me he's huge Down Under..
Inn the Park is a perfect dining choice for the summer, and combines a relaxed experience with good simple English grub. Not sure though whether the glass front and decking might make it too chilly a choice in the middle of an English winter!
by capital girl "top london reviewer" (59 reviews), 16 Jan 2005Excellent restaurant. During a brief London break we ate at St John Bread and Wine, Blueprint Cafe, The Cow and Inn The Park. We considered Inn The Park the most enjoyable with Blueprint a close second. The Cow was ridiculously expensive and the magic of the Ivy I'm afraid passes us by...
by terence p, 27 Jul 2004The food was excellent - and good value too. The views are stunning, the atmosphere relaxed - all in all a lovely way to spend an evening in London. We found the service very good actually - but I think we were lucky as our Italian waiter took a real shine to my mother and seemed determined to take good care of us. Will definitely be going back - it'll be fabulous in autumn...
by Chris Joseph, 22 Jul 2004I have now visited Inn the Park a number of times and can't find little to fault. What fantastic service, food, location... this should be a must visit for all visitors to London. I paricularly recommend early mornings as the sun rises over the lake and the Great British breakfast.
by Anonymous, 10 Jun 2004Delicious food and lovely setting, but the waiting staff still need improvement - surly to say the least. Also - any restaurant must realise by now that toilets are very important to ladies. Overflowing waste bin, broken door - they are in the process of being refurbished, but that's no excuse not to check periodically and tidy them.
by Cornelius, 08 Jun 2004Agree with the comments below which are fairly critical of the service here. Everything was pretty slow - 20 minutes for our wine to arrive, etc., but fortunately we were in no hurry. After the meal the restaurant was much quieter - and requests were handled quicker, so it seems like they're just understaffed or not able to cope with large numbers of covers.
However, the food was reasonably priced, well prepared and used good quality English ingredients. And design and location are absolutely great.
The food was good and the location wonderful but where did they get their waitering staff from and why have they not been trained? Watching our waitress struggle to uncork a bottle of wine was so painful we did the second ourselves...
by Anonymous, 27 May 2004Decided with the lovely weather this would be the place to meet a friend for a drink. When I arrived a lot of overseas visitors were trying to ask questions of the very pregnant lady at the front desk, she was very rude to them and extremely impatient.
I approached her and without opening my mouth i was told " We are full!", i then asked if there was an area to have a drink, she then pointed in the general direction of the terrace and informed me it could be a wait as that was full as well.
I waited patiently for a table to appear. I ordered a bottle of water and asked to see the wine list, I asked the waiter to recommend a good white wine but not a Chardonnay, he shrugged his shoulders and said he would be back to take my order in a few mins.
My friend arrived and I had to track a waiter down to place my order, i asked what snacks were available and told none.
Once we had recieved our wine no one came near us for the next two hours and again we had to chase someone to pay the bill, which we could have easily left without doing so.
I appreciate that this is a new opening but as a responsible licensee myself it is best practice to offer some type of food with drinks and the staff should know the wine list along with some form of good manners when greeting guests at the front door.
As I sat there a large proportion of those drinking were from local business which wil be your mainstay during the winter months but only if something is done about the staff and the products on offer.
I will not go back for a while, but only then to see if there has been an improvement, It has the potential to be great but it has a long way to go.
Good food, well selected wine list, value for money and above all wonderful location. Only bad point was service obviously stretched, but will put this down to teething problems.
by Anonymous, 18 May 2004Have we missed a great cafe in London? Let us know.
Photograph © Inn The Park
Stuart PhillipsCovent Garden »
Paul EdmondsKnightsbridge »
JLTFitzrovia »
