Come taste a savory creation at The Tasting Room. They are open at night all week. You can get there by car and public transit. The neighboring location is remarkable for its restaurants, merchants and parks. You may pay by American Express, MasterCard and Visa.
The wine was amazing! I ordered a glass of the Brownstone California. The service and food was great. The portion sizes you weren't leaving hungry. I did find it very dark and loud with the music. I was pretty much yelling across the table. Despite that I would go back for sure.
Having reviewed this restaurant before, but I wanted to try it for a second opinion. I went for lunch.
The place was crowded and noisy, but a table was found, cleaned, and I sat down, eventually I was given a menu, and that was it! I waited for a well-calculated 15 minutes, looked around for the server ... and walked out ... to Garlic's (next door).
I am just amazed at the popularity of this place. Do the white table clothes at 'Garlic's' next door put people off? Is the need for dinner reservations at 'Garlic's' too awkward for some?
Maybe, I will try it again ... next year, sometime. Meanwhile, you will find me next door.
After promptly being greeted at the door, we were shown to our reserved table at the front of the restaurant. Our window seating provided an intimate feel with an interesting snapshot of London's downtown area. We started off with the beef carpaccio and the steamed mussels. The carpaccio was extremely well balanced and the smooth texture of the horseradish cream complimented the tenderness of the carpaccio perfectly. Despite being uncharacteristically large, the mussel dish was a well executed take on the classic preparation, but nothing out of the ordinary.
For our mains we had the rack of lamb and the ribeye. Ordered rare, the lamb was perfectly crusted around the outside, however slightly overdone on the inside.
The ribeye, ordered rare was the best steak I have ever had - both in flavor and tenderness. The house made rub was amazing and the chipotle butter finished it off perfectly.
We finished with a complementary carrot cake, which was good but nothing inspiring.
Overall the service was good and the food was above average. The Tasting Room has a modern menu that is well executed, however not overly adventurous.
We have been to the Tasting Room a bunch of times and love it.
My wife won't stay the next time we have the older light haired guy as a server. He has been there for years but he is a terrible server. He has ruined 3 of our visits. We are not needy but this guy just doesn't take car of the customers. He even throws the rest of the staff off their game.
All the other servers are incredible.
This may be a good restaurant for a casual lunch during the week but should you choose to visit for lunch on a Saturday, be aware of its location next to the theatre. Of course, this is useful information for theatre goers, but others should be advised not to visit until after 1:30 pm, in order to avoid the noise, which is fine knowing that the restaurant remains open from midday through until midnight.
If you seek a quick, or light lunch, the menu offers a good selection of interesting salads and sandwich plates with a few reliable pasta dishes. The dinner menu is more comprehensive and should not disappoint.
I found the restaurant too dark for my liking but I guess that's just preference since we had an early dinner. The service was ok, lacking IMO for the calibre restaurant this is supposed to be. Staff should be more knowledgable about food and prep considering this is higher end dining -- disappointing. The food was pretty good and reasonably done. Presentation lovely. I might try it again but it would not be my first choice for upscale dining in London.
This use to be my favourite spot in London. Food was always great. Service was a hit and miss but becasue the food was so good we put up with it. Last night we decided to go to our favourite restaurant to celebrate our 27th wedding annivesary. Were seated right away, that was the only good thing. It took about 5 to 10 minutes before a waitress came to take our drink order. No the restaurant was not busy!! She made a very strange face at my husband when he ordered a beer, rude as a matter of fact. She never came back, sent a new waitress to serve us??? Have no idea what that was about. Ordered appetizers and our meal. When the apps came they were a bit on the burnt side and extreamly greasy, not what we had expected at all. Our main meals were VERY salty, like the chef open the jar of salt and poured it on our plates. Both meals were dry as well, cooked just a bit to long. This waitress was very short and boarding on rude as well. If we had the same type of attitude I could understand this reaction, but come on now we were there to celebrate our wedding annivesary. We were in a great mood and we were happy to be at what we thought was the best restaurant in London. With the cost of our meals you would think that they would make sure the staff were trained to be a bit more, let's say, welcoming!!
Like I said at the beginning, this use to be our favourite spot, we won't be back again.
My gf and I thought we would share a few apps since the last time we had dinner at the Tasting Room the food wasn't so great. We thought apps would be a sure thing. The food was just OK. The food at the Tasting Room used to rock my world but the last 3 times we've been there the food was just OK, and just OK isn't going to bring me back unfortunately. The service wasn't the greatest but that's almost expected there. It's too bad.
The food was really tasty - especially the chevre...
The food was really tasty - especially the chevre chicken. My partner and I make sure we tasted both dishes and his chicken pasta was also good but not quite as nice.
I had the scalloped potatoes with the chicken and they were only "alright". A bit dry and bland in the middle, dense. The stuffing in the chevre chicken was really nice. It hit that perfect balance between textures - creamy but not too smooth and bland. The sauce was also good with just a hint of wine and salt.
The wine flights were a little disappointing. I expected more variety. The Shiraz flight contained 4 Australian wines and the Merlot flight 1 Australian and 3 Californian wines. None of them were stand-outs.
It was very busy and we were a little rushed as we didn't have reservations (Tuesday night) and were told that they needed our table in a certain amount of time. Not their fault at all. Service was good, attentive but not pushy, but perhaps a little rushed.
Overall I'd say that the food was flavourful and well presented in perfect portion sizes. I'd go back again.
We decided to head to the Tasting Room on a Tuesday night, when it wouldn't be as busy (or noisy, as another reviewer indicated).
We each ordered a salad and an appetizer, all of which were well-priced and are generously portioned. Both salads were good (not great). The onion rings were fantastic, and we even struggled to get through all of them. Unfortunately, the shrimp was not well cooked and was rubbery, which took away from what was a real interesting dish.
The only issue we had with the service was the timing of the food: we were only halfway into our salads when the hot appetizers came out, and the waitress tried too shove them all onto our table, which made eating the rest of the meal a little challenging.
Overall, a great menu and well-priced. Will come back to try more of the menu for certain.
My only complaint with this restaurant is that the noise level is extremely high, it's almost impossible to carry on a conversation during a busy time. I would recommend calling ahead, as it seems to fill up very quickly. The appetizers are phenomenal here, often my husband and I will order several of these as a meal. Very cosy and chic inside. It's a treat, but not good for conversation!
Some good, some bad. Busy busy night for them and we did not have reservations, but they did try to seat us- last table right by the washrooms...bad seat made worse by the crowded nature of the place- but, with a quick word with the hostess, we were moved to the bar- which we would have probably preferred anyway. Ordered a pint of Guinness which was served without settling, and a glass of a recommended red. The bartender was very busy and it took a while for us to order our apps and she was a little loud/informal for my tastes, but people seemed to like her!! Food was quickly out to us- ahi tuna, baked brie, and chicken satays. satays were cooked well and the hot sauce was brilliant. tuna was a little bland. Overall, there is just something about the place that is a little off- maybe it is the noise, or the feeling of being too close to others? I do enjoy the food usually and this time was no different, but if you are out for a quiet evening, might want a different spot...
My first experience at the restaurant was good, therefore recommending it to friends.
It was a last minute decision deciding to go there for dinner. Were surprised they had room for a large party, but only in the middle section of the restaurant. Everyone else who made reservation requested the front or the back of the restaurant.
We found out why. the middle section of the restaurant belonged to a inconsiderate, unprofessional and rude server!
She only had four tables but she forgot about our drinks, forgot one friends meal, took 30 minutes to get our bill, but to top it off she came back with a friends bill pretty much threw it back with a bad attitude towards them because she had MISCALCULATED the amount they gave her (which she included her tip into the bill, believing they had only left her a 60 cent tip)
the food is so-so not the same as the first time.
definitely price does not equal quality.
but if you are planning to dine there, request a table at the front or the back of the restaurant!!!!!
We went to The Tasting Room before going to The Grand Theatre. We started off the evening with a fantastic dinner that was cooked to perfection, The service was just great. Knowing that we were going to the theatre the staff made sure we had time to enjoy our meals and make it to the Grand on time. And we were not rushed,
The Tasting Room is just GREAT. I have nothing but good things to say about the Tasting Room.
We have been to this restaurant a number of times and have reccommended it to many people. The spring roll sare great and we get them everytime. Although the atmosphere is a little on the load side, the food is worth it. The only thing that I reccomend is that you make reservations, it seems to always be full (they need to expand).
I would have to say that the tasting room has been my favourite restaurant in london for the last few years-I would definitely categorize myself and my close friends as regulars. Having said that you're probably wondering why my ratings aren't all tens. I still really enjoy going there but I have found that the recent obnoxious crowds I've been seated beside and the lack of background music have provided a slightly undesireable atmosphere. More importantly, me and my girlfriends' three favourite appetizers have all been removed from the menu which is so devastating. Not that there aren't other really tasty things to snack on but seriously-the lobster and crab rangoon, the coconut lobster and the caribbean shrimp and banana curry were hands down the most delicious AND unique appetizers that you can't find on menus at other resturants. Why would you keep boring generic appetizers like bacon wrapped scallops, grilled tiger shrimp, bruscetta and chicken satays on the menu when you can separate yourselves from other restaurants with more unique options. Please bring back our favourites!!!!
We were warned when we made reservations that there was only one table left and 6:00 was a super-busy time if we wanted to get to the Grand by 7:30.
As soon as we walked in the door we were seated instantly. The wine and bread came minutes later. The service was consistently prompt and courteous.
As far as food quality, the ceasars were fine although the lettuce was warm which is not to my tastes (extra bacon next time please..it was great).Although the waiter did ask how the beef should be done he did not ask about about the pork, which ended up a bit overdone. A minor thing though considering the size of the proportions and that all the food arrived hot, which is something a lot of restaurants seem to have a problem with(?)
Definitely going back.........
i am yet to have a bad meal at this place i've been there various times and it is great all the time i've eat probably one of the best hamburgers in town and the buchetta well it is to die for. all that is needs to say is keep up a good work to management and staff tasting room is probably one of the top restaurants in london.
