Flat Iron Victoria — Restaurant in London

I came to the restaurant to eat with my mother for mother's day and arrived at the place before my mother to ensure I had a seat. At first I was grateful for the man who took me to a table upstairs and requested that he gets my mother's name to look out for her when she arrives. Another lady came by and asked if I wanted any drinks while I waited which I appreciated.

Later on I get a call from my mother asking that I get her at the entrance since staff were ignoring her. I arrive downstairs and look for the man who initially guided me and noticed that he was busy. Totally understandable, it happens. What was NOT ACCEPTABLE was that my mother had been IGNORED by 3 other staff members at the entrance. A couple had walked in front of my mother and the male with the flowery button up shirt had enthusiastically welcomed them. My mother dismissed it and waited for him to come back since she had assumed that her presence, directly behind the couple, had been acknowledged. Wrong. Furthermore, the other staff members had walked away leaving her alone at the entrance. It hurts me to hear that my mother thinks that they were being racist to her since she was southeast asian. A terrible start to this experience on mothers day.

We order the food and the lady who took our order was pleasant. We have attended this branch before and we love the food. However, tonight's food was EXTREMELY SALTY. I was surprised and disappointed by the quality. The chips were very oily and salty I felt nauseous if I had eaten more. I was only able to finish the macaroni and cheese and the steak (with a lot of sips of water in between). Additionally, I noticed that our table was very secluded from the rest of the public so it was very difficult to get any staff member's attention since they had rarely walked to our area. I had to walk up to these staff members standing and laughing and asked for the bill politely.

My mother did not want me to complain so I had to bring this up online.

What frustrated me the most was upon leaving, there were at least 5 members of staff just standing around laughing and chatting by the monitor. It felt like we were isolated from both staff members and other customers, as if we were not worth acknowledging.

The cherry on top was the man with the button up saying "thank you for coming and have a nice day" when we were on our way out of the restaurant. How very forced and ingenuine to hear.

I hope this review is considered not to be as an earful to dismiss but a lesson to improve the service at the place. As a whole I do enjoy eating at flat iron especially from the branches in central. I hope no one else experiences...

Believe the hype!!

Was around Victoria and looking for a place with (actual) good food. A quick Google and we saw this restaurant rated 4.9 stars - very unusual because most places are 4.6 stars tops. Luv a good steak so thought, why not.

First experience, start to finish was 5 stars. In fact, a member of our group rated it 10 out of 5.

Let's start with the service. The staff were very attentive, constantly checking in to make sure your needs are taken care of. They all looked good, neat, light on their feet and happy to be there. Turnaround time from taking your order to bringing your food/drink was perfect. Not too long, and not super rushed like you're being served microwaved food from the fridge. They really deserve that service charge that's added to the final bill.

The drinks. We had cocktails which were delicious, well mixed, good portion sizes and you could taste the alcohol in them. Not like some restaurants where you get a few teaspoons of the cocktail with a full glass of ice - and you can barely taste the alcohol. Which is why this is rated 5stars and they're not ;)

Finally, the food. It's always a tricky one when asked how you'd like your steak because you never know what you'll actually get in the end. For so many restaurants, medium-rare is medium-well, and medium is well-done/overcooked. Not at Flat Iron. They know their steak and they cook the steak perfectly to your wishes. The steak is juicy, fresh and has a good but not too strong flavour. The medium-rare will melt in your mouth.

Bonus: The ice cream. On your way out after your meal, as a thank you, you are given 1 free ice cream per guest. The flavour is 'Tahitian vanilla and brown butter' and you can have chocolate flakes sprinkled on it as an option (free).

Hygiene: The restaurant is clean. The table tops are clean and not sticky. Same with the floor. There are no random bits of chips or tissue on the seats or floor. I don't know how long they've been open but it has that freshness of a place that's just newly opened.

Overall, I'm clearly really chuffed not to mention stuffed. Can't wait to be back! (and really hope they maintain...

Good things and not so good things about this restaurant.We had a 5:30 booking after a theatre matinee. Booking is probably a necessity, especially at busy times.

Pros. Great location. The food was good and came promptly. For London it was reasonably priced, although £1.50 for a tiny peppercorn sauce was steep. It is refreshing to see a restaurant that majors on a limited menu but does it well. Our waiter was attentive. The free popcorn on the table and the free ice cream as you leave is a very nice touch.

Not so good. The queuing system outside was chaotic. I appreciate it was a busy Saturday evening but attempted queue jumping by some individuals lead to animosity amongst those of us that had booked and turned up on time. This restaurant runs a very slick operation but at £35 per head for a main and a drink, the service was too quick and felt sometimes like fast food. We were done after 45 minutes. Our waiter was attentive but came back to check that everything was ok three or four times before the final ask for the five star review mentioning his name. I know this drives more tips for the server but there was already a 12.5% service charge added to the bill. I am perplexed at the reviews that describe the restaurant as cosy. It felt busy and noisy. More production line than cosy and intimate.

Overall: Conveniently situated outside Victoria station it is a good place for a pre or post theatre meal. Compared to many London restaurants it was reasonably priced and the food came quickly. However there is always room for improvement for any business and it felt too rushed as...