Restaurant Spy

don't think Ognisko's has much passing trade, because if you didn't know it was there you would walk right past it. The imposing entrance looks like the portico of an East European embassy, which it almost is. It is in a building that was donated by the then Duke of Kent to the Polish resistance during the Second World War. It now houses the Polish Club whose attached restaurant, Ognisko, is open to the public. You enter the restaurant through the club-like bar, which is set about with portraits of bewhiskered Polish officers, the two being separated by a wall of plants. The restaurant is large and magnificent - all pink walls and pillars - with an impressive collection of portraits gazing down on the diners below. I thought one was Zsa Zsa Gabor but was soon put right on that - it was the wife of a famous general. The rear of the room gives on to a splendid terrace but that was shut when we went, Autumn having just arrived. The tables are well spaced with proper linen napkins, candles and flowers. The food is, not surprisingly, Polish and slightly pricier than average, but you can have a three course set dinner for £11 so I had that. The food quality was patchy. The chicken consomme was OK and the pudding - pears - were out of a tin but the main course was good. I had pork, potatoes and pickled cucumber which was plentiful and well worth the money - the pork's sauce was particularly excellent. My companions had, among others, borscht, which was the real thing and good and a very fine liver dish. The house wind (French) was very palatable too. Service was excellent, by proper Polish ladies and one of them was kind enough to tell me the history of the place, which is fascinating. So although my £11 bargain was a bit of a curate's egg, it was unusual and interesting and a good and enjoyable night out. I would certanly go back. Harry

I have often gone past this place, seen that it is full, and ended up somewhere else. Having now been I can see why it is always full and discovered that there is a downstairs section as well. So it it not always as full as it seems - if you see what I mean. It deals in Pan Asian cuisine and is quite, quite excellent. I had Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese dishes and there were probably other countries represented as well. My three were wonderful - fresh zingy flavours, good portions, reasonable prices. House wine was excellent, service unobtrusive and professional. The decor downstairs is worth a mention too. Bright red exotic fish and several turtles swim about. Not only this but there are several almost life size wooden ladies dotted around the place striking strange Pan Asian poses and finally, when I went, a superb beautifully painted dragon-type figure which may have been wood or possibly paper mache. Whatever it was, it was almost worth the visit just to see it. All this and at the top end of Dean St. I will be back. Harry

This was the first of an award winning chain of bars which I'd never made it to before. From the outside, it looked like the main gig was that all their food came in a bowl. I was already in a filthy mood and being confronted by "bowl cuisine" instantly raised the rage levels. Fully expecting to be confronted by a series of unpleasant experiences, I puffed my feathers and strode in.

Sadly, when I got inside and made my way down to the lower level bar (the restaurant at ground level was full) I was confronted by a series of quite pleasant experiences instead.
Really good atmosphere, probably aimed at late twenty somethings (which I cling to with a parnoid desperation as my 30th approaches), vast range of drinks and very helpful and accommodating staff.

This one is useful to know if you are in the Covent Garden area and want somewhere relatively peaceful, civilised and unrammed. The restaurant is on the first floor of the Marquess of Anglesea pub, which usually is full to bursting but because most people don't seem to realise the restaurant is there the first floor is like another world. The street door does not look like the door to a restaurant - more like the door to a cellar. Maybe that's the reason. It is on the corner of Bow St and something else and the views of the streets below from the big picture windows are wonderful.

On Saturday night (September 6 2003) I went with my boyfriend and his parents, who were visiting from abroad, to T*******. We wanted a special night out at one of the best restaurants in London, and had been lucky to land a reservation at 9:15pm. However, when we arrived at the restaurant, they had no record of us in the book, from which they deducted that we had not made a reservation at all, or made it at some obscure Italian restaurants with the word “*******” in their name. They could impossibly have made a mistake, and even if we asked them to investigate further, no one had any recollection of taking the reservation. Of course we were disappointed, but figured we had been bumped off the reservations list to make space for a more important guest, and left feeling very rejected and offended by their accusations and flawless self-perception. Surprise, surprise, today they called us to apologise. Apparently they had taken our reservation in the “wrong” book, and hence our “missing” reservation. And of course they were very sorry, though there was no question of any compensation, whatever. “But make sure to quote my name next time you make a reservation”, said the manager. Yeah, right, that will be of really great help… The food may be great there, but I don’t think we shall ever attempt to go there again. Their prices are sky-high, and they know that people dine there for an exceptional experience. However, if they don’t know how to live up to this responsibility by compensating people for spoiling their special evening, then I have other, more responsible, restaurants to give my hundreds of pounds to. Mads

Having visited T********* on previous occasions in large numbers and received wonderful food and good service i decided to take four visiting friends to experience something other than their usual curry.

We ordered five dishes to start with and share which were delicious and served quite promptly. To follow, we had ordered three racks of lamb and two pork wrapped in filo pastry. The lamb was received promptly and consumed a good ten minutes before 1 pork dish arrived. When the pork dish did arrive we informed the waiter, who we later found out was in fact the manager, that we had ordered 2 pork dishes. He apologised that he had not written down the 2nd pork dish and asked what we would like instead as the pork takes time to prepare. Whilst i can appreciate this i was disappointed that the chef was unable to prepare 5 dishes that could be eaten at the same time. I asked for the dish that was the quickest and would be given to us free of charge given the error and the earlier lateness. The waiter agreed and said he would bring the chicken dish. In the meantime myself and my sister who had both been expecting the pork shared the 1 pork dish. It was delicious. A few minutes later the chicken dish arrived and i set about cutting it up so that my sister and i could share it. I was shocked to see that the centre of every chicken piece was red raw in the middle. It was so raw that at first we wondered if there was some kind of jelly filling in the centre. There was not. We promptly brought over the waiter/manager again and pointed out the problem. He swiftly whipped the dish away back to the kitchen. Fearing that he would bring us another dish equally as uncooked i followed and asked to have a word. When i told him that i was not willing to eat any more of his food and that we wanted a reduction in our bill for bad service and for being served uncooked food, he became aggresive and refused to discuss it. He stormed off and left me standing there. My sister then tried to explain the situation to him calmly thinking that i had perhaps approached the situation badly. She soon found out that i had not when the waiter/manager swiftly became aggresive with her as soon as she broached the subject. After discussing the situation further with my friends the waiter/manager approached the table again. Again he became aggressive when we tried to discuss it and point out that he had served us uncooked chicken. This time he shouted at us all to shut up! At this point the whole restaurant was watching. He then ordered us all to pay up and get out. Of course this did not go down well and i told him that if he didnt calm down then we would just leave. This seemed to do the trick and after a few more minutes i managed to calm him down and he agreed to remove the dish that we received late from the bill along with the uncooked chicken. When he brought the bill over he had had the cheek to add a service charge of £4.00 (not a lot but its the principal!). We all thought this was unecessary and crossed it off. In the end we paid £64 for our meal.

This is a copy of a letter which I sent to W********** Customer Services. ( to date no reply from them )I see from the local papers they are advetising for new staf ie chefs.!!!!! I and two friends decided to visit your W******** Restaurant in Lancashire on Sunday 24th August before going on holiday and can only say that the whole time we were there it was a complete disaster.

On entering, a waitress showed us to a table, then someone else suggested we wait at the bar to be seated, I don't know why we had to wait as the place was nearly empty and now I know why. I then went to the bar to order drinks - a Gin and Tonic which when it arrived was a glass with Gin and filled up to the top with tonic, no question as to how much tonic I wanted or would I like draft tonic or bottle ? That was replaced to my liking. Then the meal, three starters, 3 main courses were ordered. The 2 soups which came were very nicely presented, but stone cold, how can that be? After complaining they were returned to us - warm !. On complaining again they were eventually returned edible, with apologies. I ordered 2 steaks and another dish for main courses. 1 steak was ordered well done, but the second (mine), was ordered medium rare but when they came, the well done one was only just edible as it was very tough and dry. The second (medium rare) was past well done and can only assume that whilst our soups were being repeatedly warmed up, the steaks were being cooked and left and warmed again. Apologies again were given and an offer to replace my meal which I refused as by this time the other two friends had finished their meal or what they could eat of it and so I ate the tough dry excuse for a steak. What was left ( most of it ) I took home for the dog, which even she turned her nose up at. One main course was deleted from the bill We left very disappointed and can say that the restaurant should not be named after a great ********* but that of Roland the Rat. Sitan Eatwell

Frank would NOT approve! Made reservations for 6:45 on a Saturday night so we could begin our meal when the live piano music started at 7:00. We were seated in the middle of the restaurant at 6:35 (we were early). Background music (Sammy Davis), was so quiet, you couldn't hear it. What little art they displayed was set so far away from my table, I couldn't see any of it. For all I knew, sitting there with no music, I could have been anywhere. So much for atmosphere. Our dinner was ready much too quickly and was horrible. For the prices, I would expect a lot more. It's not a good sign when half of the lamb chop is unchewable gristle and fat. Not that I could see what I was eating since it was so dark. Piano player was late, and mediocre at best. I can cook better food myself, and should have stayed home listening to their "Live at the Sands" album for better food and atmosphere. Overpriced, Overrated, and definitely not worthy of the R******** name. Avoid at all costs. F. Sinatra

General Comment first ! I don't know why but most places I have been in recently I would certainly not return. Date 26th September L*********** - I know it is only a Tea Room but ---- the menu said Home Made Vegetable Soup, I thought it was in fact a packet soup with bits added in. The Hot Beef Baguette with gravy and horseradish was tasteless with bought in sliced beef and a stale tough dried up baguette and the home made cottage pie my friend had was also tasteless. It all sounds very good on the menu at first glance. Sitan Eatwell

Having had a wonderful day spent walking across Hampstead Heath trying to dodge the occasional shower, we then had the day sabotaged by a restaurant that couldn't have done more to infuriate if they had actually tried. On Saturday night, I had possibly my worst ever experience in a restaurant in London, or anywhere else for that matter. What was particularly disappointing was that I was with a friend who was planning to return to Poland for a year or so, and that I was hoping that the meal would be at least memorable, which I suppose it was after a fashion.