Harden's survey result
For 25 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. This year diners have submitted over 60,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK.
Summary
“Discretion is assured” in this “smooth” and “comfortable” panelled chamber, whose “well-spaced tables” and “formal” styling have made it a power-dining favourite since time immemorial. Run by Gordon Ramsay for nearly 15 years now, the celeb chef’s operation puts in a middling performance: the traditional British fare is arguably “too expensive”, and can be “uninspired”, but is generally “competently cooked” and of “high quality”.
Summary
This “elegant” panelled grill room has for decades been a “prestigious” destination. Under Gordon Ramsay’s reign, the “heftily priced” British cooking can seem a little “short of its ambitions”, but most reports are upbeat, and the place remains a popular rendezvous, particularly for “a discreet business lunch”.
Summary
This “impressive” panelled chamber – once London’s pre-eminent power-dining scene – still looks the part, and can still deliver some “accomplished” traditional British cuisine; prices are “ridiculous” however, especially given the fairly “unimaginative” repertoire.
Summary
Once London’s unchallenged power-dining scene, this “elegant” room, now a Ramsay outpost, “still delivers the goods”, say fans; there are quite a few critics too, though, for whom the “fairly staid” British food “never ends up more than OK”, and – apart from the “great-value set lunch” – is “expensive” too.
Restaurant details
The Savoy Hotel, Savoy Grill Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Really enjoyed our visit here. Rather effusive sommelier was entertaining. Very traditional dinner room and menu - but delicious. Eye-wateringly expensive however, especially the wine list."
"Still an impressive setting, and some of their classics are worthwhile; shame they make no concessions for vegetarians"
"Very high quality service. Great ambience and nicely busy on a Friday evening. Only glitch was that the special was made with mussels - we were not told and my wife is allergic to them. However food sent back and recooked very quickly"
Harden's says...
The Savoy Grill WC2
A notably 'useful' relaunch of this handily-located Art Deco dining room, offering good (and very straightforward) English food at prices which are surprisingly reasonable, considering.
It's an ill wind' Snow clouds lowering over the capital allowed us to bag a last-minute table at one of the sell-out of the pre-Christmas season - the recently relaunched 'power' dining room of the world-famous hotel.
Initial impressions are that this is a room with a real '30s vibe. Second impression is that the banquette seating is far too low for the tables. How can anyone claiming to be a restaurateur (or a restaurant-designer) make guests of normal size feel like dwarfs? Corrective measures are apparently in hand but, in the meantime, cushions are available. Don't be proud - take one.
Thereafter, the meal was plain sailing. It really should have been, too: the menu is decidedly, well, plain. The most complicated thing on it was quite possibly the omelette Arnold Bennett, one of the house's historical specialities. We passed on that creamy delight, preferring to start our meal with oysters (decent size, nicely presented), and scallops (delivered period-style in-shell, and much approved).
Main courses of lamb pudding (rich, but a bit under-seasoned) and monkfish wrapped in Cumbrian ham (very tasty) continued a meal which almost invariably hit the spot; the same praise could be heaped on the bread, the vegetables (including chips) and the coffee too. Clearly, Stuart Gillies has brought the solid standards formerly noted at the Boxwood Café with him here.
We passed on puds: you'd need quite an appetite to get that far.
Service is one of the better examples of the modern London style. To the extent that there's nothing particularly 'period' about it (not necessarily, of itself, a bad thing), however, it may contribute to a certain absence of 'electricity' in the room: the feeling that this is a Special Place is curiously elusive.
Currently, however, prices could not be described as 'special' either. A good dinner with moderate (and modest) wine, from the extensive list, came in at £60 a head. Given the location, this is arguably something of a bargain (and clearly a better buy than the River Restaurant at the same hotel).
We must, however, end on a slight note of reservation: we suspect we enjoyed our visit here all the more because it was impromptu. Had we booked weeks ahead, expectations could have mounted to the point that the decidedly straightforward menu might have seemed a teeny bit disappointing.
Forewarned, however, is forearmed - if you're simply looking for a good meal in the heart of the West End, you're unlikely to do much better than here.
Strand, London, WC2R 0EU
| Number of Diners: | |
| Required Time: | |
Opening hours
lunch noon - 2.45 pm, dinner 5.45 pm - 11 pm
Last orders: 11 pm, Sun 10.30 pm
Best British, Traditional restaurants nearby
British, Traditional restaurant in Strand
British, Traditional restaurant in Covent Garden
British, Traditional restaurant in Covent Garden
Best similarly priced restaurants nearby
Fusion restaurant in Covent Garden
British, Modern restaurant in Covent Garden
Japanese restaurant in Soho
