Berners Tavern — Restaurant in London

Beautiful space that feels like you’re dining in a rich Englishmen’s gallery. But the mains and dessert left much to be desired. The night started well, with two well rounded starters - the British pork pie and mushroom soup with poach heritage egg were rich, and delicately presented. Yummy.

However the two mains that followed were quite underwhelming, given the price. I ordered the Jacob’s ladder (a tender steak) and the Roasted lemon sole (the fish).

The Lemon sole was the most disappointing - dry, chewy texture and over seasoned. Quite salty. This type of fish if fresh, given the herbs and spices used (capers, lemon, parsley, brown shrimp) should stand on its own without much seasoning. However an over use of salt overwhelmed any sense of freshness and natural flavors of the herbs and fish. This combined with the dry chewy texture was actually quite unpleasant. For 35 pounds this was far less enjoyable than I’d had hoped. Warning also that the fish is especially bony. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Following this was the Jacob’s Ladder a slow cooked beef short ribs. This was so-so. Tender and the first few bites were quite delicious. But overall it was quite a boring and gets tiring a few bites in. More enjoyable than the fish but lacks character.

Finally the dessert. We hoped for a redeeming climax with the “Flaming Alaska”. A raspberry and yogurt dish with pitcachio crumble. It’s description was all so impressive but surprisingly besides its fiery entry, the dessert itself felt quite one dimensional and a burnt bitterness throughout the dish made the whole experience quite unpleasant. For 18 pounds this was perhaps the most disappointing finale I’ve ever had in any up-market dining.

The final price tally including service fee night for two was $134 pounds. Grossly disappointing for the price.

Closing thoughts: Ambiance: gorgeous interior that’s quite unique for a dining space. Impressively tall roof with tasteful art works scattered around the walls that gives you the feeling of dining in a royal space. The music and lighting in the evening makes this quite a special venue. Note that this is not a romantic setting given how loud the chatter echoes throughout the space, so avoid if you want a quiet dining experience. Noise levels has a lounge, bustling vibe. A contrast to the royal decor.

Food: Starters good, mains and dessert underwhelming. Dessert was very sad. Service: Was okay. Sommelier was friendly and knowledgeable. Waiter was nice too. However the lady at the front desk wasn’t the most welcoming. No smile, and quite brash despite having a reservation. When we told her we had a reservation she walked quite quickly which what appeared to be her leading us to a table. We followed then she turned around and quite rudely told us to stay put. So we did. Then she then called us over again to come to the table she’d found.

Final recommendation: For evenings, go for the ambiance, the starters and the drinks. It’ll be cheaper and more interesting. Avoid the mains I ordered, and especially avoid the $18 pound Flaming Alaska. I can only rate on my experience, which for the price tag I give a 3/5.

If you have a sophisticated palette, expecting a tantalizing dining...

Firstly I’ll start by saying, the setting of this place is stunning. We came for my partners birthday and immediately when we entered the room he was so impressed. We had been recommended to try here and were so excited to have a really special meal.

Service started fine, we felt sufficiently looked after. When we were ordering we were offered the specials by the waiter who informed my partner of venison Wellington, he was really excited to try this and decided to order.

Our starters came, which were really pleasant. I would recommend the mushroom on toast starter, my partner had the ham hock which was nice but lacking flavour a little.

Our mains arrived - I ordered fillet, which instantly I recognised that my request for medium rare was ignored. My steak was so well done I could barely put a knife through it. I sent it back which I never do, but I simply could not eat it. My partners Wellington arrived, but there were two dishes of everything. I watched as the waiter asked his colleagues why two dishes came as it was intended for one person. They proceeded to serve him all of the plates which I was certain was some kind of mix up. My second steak came - roughly a minute after the first which was a little concerning but I went with it. I still did not enjoy the steak at all, I barely ate half. It was still tough although rare this time and was just unpleasant. I didn’t want to make a fuss although I probably should have.

My partner then questioned a waitress was the Wellington intended for two, she said yes and asked if our waiter had told us, of course not. When we asked him what had gone on, he told us that yes it was intended for two but they can do it for one and that my partner looked like the kind of person who could eat the whole lot, which is insulting may I add. I then asked, well does that mean we are paying for a two person portion? He said yes the price is the same even if he had it alone. My partner asked what the price was - £90. So very irritated at this point, we caught a manager and explained what had happened. He had no issue in rectifying it, which was appreciated, however it obviously shouldn’t have happened in the first place. We then felt rather uncomfortable at what had happened and wanted to leave. I just couldn’t believe the waiter tried to tell us that he had made the judgement that my partner could eat a two portion meal alone. He was clearly trying to cover his mistake, but he dealt with it totally poorly. In total the meal cost £170 (with no alcohol, 2 courses) which in hindsight feels like a waste of money and unfortunately the evening felt spoilt by what had gone on.

The waitress who served us after was very nice and gave my partner a birthday desert, thank you. These touches are appreciated. It was such a shame because some of the food we had was really pleasant but we have eaten at Hestons and Adam Handlings restaurants and have had far superior food and dining experiences, which you should expect for the price we paid. After the experience we had, I would not be returning and would...

This was an especially important occasion and my second visit to Berners in six months.

I went with high expectations and came away beyond impressed but not for the obvious charms of the place which should not be doubted or under-emphasised, though; not least, the elaborate and stylish decor which is trendy without being overwhelming or overbearing.

Wine is first class, even a Malbec by the glass, that thrills the palette and keeps you feeling enriched without breaking the bank.

We ordered rib-eye steak (which I had enjoyed so much during a debut visit last December with a friend of mine who was equally ecstatic about her dinner). Whilst the fries that came with it were cooked to perfection, and the broccoli fresh and tasty, with only a touch too much salt in the seasoning, both steaks were, sadly, chewy and tough (though with delicious flavour) so, with the brilliantly professional assistance of our waiter, Nathan and, later, Fernando's help (manager or supervisor) we were offered a second serving of the steaks. At no time were we made to feel uncomfortable about registering our dissatisfaction.

The second series of steaks were also too resistant to the knife and hard to chew so, with embarrassment on our part, and profuse apologies on Berner's from Fernando, he explained the perfectly legitimate reasons why this can unfortunately happen (which is largely unforeseeable and mainly out of their control) and ran through alternative options.

We plumped for a different cut (fillet) and were not displeased with the tenderness, taste and speed with which these arrived. I should add that on each occasion, fresh fries and truffle mash, respectively, were brought (without any fuss) and complimentary top-ups of wine and sparkling water were provided or offered.

In all the years of dining in independent restaurants, or in hotels, around the world, I have never experienced such careful, considerate and expert levels of service and warmly courteous professionalism in remedying a sequence of problems as Berners demonstrated.

To say that I/we were impressed is a massive understatement. To say that the manner in which they handled the events and related to us were disarming and singularly spectacular would also be under-representing the brilliance of this establishment.

Errors can happen, problems can arise and food can vary from time to time and we should all make allowances for these fluctuations but the difference comes in how a restaurant handles these moments and that's where Berners really shined, as far as I am concerned, notwithstanding the wonderful flavours when the final dishes lived up to expectations from my first visit.

What happened last night, underlined by the laudable efforts and attitude of Fernando and Nathan alike (but mirrored in the team as a whole, I would venture to state) far from deterring me has galvanised my decision to return to Berners..

Well done and well done (and I don't just mean how I like my meat to be cooked)!!

Sterling...