The Palm

Press Reviews (10)

• Matthew Norman (12th October 2009)
  
  Seldom will you be battered by such a perfect storm of cloyingly cutesy decor, astoundingly intrusive service, utterly abysmal food and extortionate pricing.” Let us simply say that the critic is not hugley impressed by this New York steakhouse, recently imported to Belgravia.
• Marina O'Loughlin (18th September 2009)
  2/5 stars
  
  Our well-travelled critic has been to the orignal Palm, on NYC’s 2nd Avenue, and proclaims its new Knightsbrige spin-off to be “a reasonable approximation”. Unfortunately, neither original nor spin-off is “a patch on Peter Luger” (the even more famous Brooklyn steakhouse), and the London prices are “outrageous”.
• Zoe Williams (17th August 2009)
  5/10
  
  The critic finds this Belgravia restaurant a “parody-cum-homage” to “an old-fashioned, all-American, flesh-tastic steakery”. She opts for the surf’n’turf, which turns out to be a “vampiric protein fest” of a “tender” and “unusually delicious” variety. The problem is that the cooking at this “steeply priced” joint shows “no finesse”, and “you’d need a good reason – profound homesickness, or some sort of obsessive disorder – to come here.”
• Lisa Markwell (10th August 2009)
  14/20
  
  The critic visits the Belgravia outpost of the US steakhouse chain, thinking that “comfortingly familiar dishes and a caricature-laden décor to distract youngsters” will make it the perfect family restaurant. Unfortunately, on her visit, the restaurant is “eerily quiet, and deathly cold” and there is no children’s menu. They do offer “a symphony of American greats”, and she is impressed by the food, particularly the steaks, but the portions are “enormous” and “dear god, the prices”.
• AA Gill (29th June 2009)
  1/5 stars
  
  Mr Gill comes to much the same conclusion as many other critics about this “much chewed-over American institution”, recently arrived in Belgravia. He finds the “qualifications” about the steaks – “their age, weight, place of birth” – “unnecessary”, and the meat itself is “bland, tough and miserably parched”. All in all, it is a “drearily disappointing” experience, that ends with a “very bullish” bill.
• Tracey MacLeod (29th June 2009)
  Food 3/5 stars, Ambience 2/5 stars, Service 4/5 stars
  
  The critic enjoys the American experience at the Belgravia branch of “[t]he granddaddy of New York steakhouses”. The staff are “the real deal” and the look – apart from the “startling” caricatures – is “standard steakhouse”. The steak, when it arrives, is “first-rate”, but the lobster has a “vacuum-packed quality”, and the starters and puddings disappoint too. Predictably, the “only part of the Palm experience which doesn't feel authentically American” is the “staggering” bill.
• Rachel Cooke (19th June 2009)
  1/5 stars
  
  Oddly perhaps, this Belgravia steakhouse, one of the major openings of recent months, is reviewed not by one of the two permanent reivewers – Fay Maschler or David Sexton - but by columnist Rachel Cooke. It’s absolutely no disprespect to this lady to say that just isn’t good enough – what’s the point of having regular reviewers if they don’t get to review the places people are going to be most interested in? Nor is it to contradict the ‘bottom line’ of her review – “[w]hy would anyone want to spend their money here?”
• Guy Dimond (19th June 2009)
  2/5 stars
  
  TO’s head man asks the key question about this first European branch, in Belgravia, of the American steakhouse chain: “is its grain-fed, imported, aged US beef worth the premium?” The answer is a resounding “no” – “we produce better quality” beef “for a fraction of the cost”, and the cooking does not “justify the high pricing”.
• Feargus O’Sullivan (5th June 2009)
  3/5
  
  The critic visits the first London branch of “one of America’s top steak chains”, in Belgravia, and finds that, “[d]espite its dull frontage... [i]t has its charm” thanks to the “old-school American decor”, and is “already busy with casual but minted-looking Yanks”. He notes that while the “US Department of Agriculture prime-graded steaks start at £31... you can get a generous two-course lunch for £15”. Comparing a USDA filet mignon with a cheaper, British version, he considers them to have “equal flavour”, suggesting the differences may only be appreciated by “a beef fetishist”. However, the “quick and friendly” staff “know their meat”, and deliver “exactly what we asked for”. “If you fancy an occasional meaty blow-out”, he concludes, “Palm’s formula works a treat.”
• Richard Vines (5th June 2009)
  3/4 stars
  
  Not quite a normal review, as the critic was interviewing one of the American steakhouse chain’s bigwigs, but the financial service’s man remarks that the establishment’s “accomodating” staff serve “big portions” of “generally good” food. The steaks, however, “fail to deliver the knockout blow you might expect at these prices”, and the chips are a “disappointment”. Though the restaurant’s main pull may not live up to the hype, such value-attractions as the £15 two-course set lunch and some “inexpensive” wines are noted with approval.