Holborn Dining Room — Restaurant in London

There are good points and bad points about Holborn Dining Room. It wasn't massively busy when we arrived, and we were put in a corner on a tiny table which had to be moved every time one of us wanted to get out as it was so close to the one next to us. There was another table the same next to us, which was less than 6 inches away from ours, and again they had the same thing. In all honesty, we may as well have been sharing the table! We were seated first, and 3 groups of people subsequently refused to take the table next to us, and the people who did finally get seated there were offered an alternative by a manager in the end (which they didn't take) as it was clearly very cramped and unnecessarily on top of fellow diners. We could probably have moved if we wanted to, but we didn't think it would be too bad initially. In hindsight, I wish we had.

We had to send the beer back as the handle was so sticky you couldn't touch it. They were very apologetic. Cocktails were delicious, but quite expensive (£15) We were offered bread "before your starters" We had to chase it up, and it eventually arrived half way through the starters. We started off with the scotch egg which was delightful, and the rabbit, bacon and pistachio pate en croute. This was nice, but was a small portion for the price. The mutton in the pie I had for main was melt in the mouth. The pie was excellent, pastry wasn't too heavy and it had a great flavour. The mango went really well with it. Portion of chips was huge- I would suggest sharing. The spinach on the other hand was incredible, but 2 spoons full! Dover sole was nice, and the brown butter sauce well done. They asked if you wanted it fileted as well, which not all places do.

Dessert was, for me, the stand out. The praline and salted caramel Paris Brest was amazing. Sweet and salty and the same time, but without being too overpowering. It is definitely one of the best desserts I have ever had; I would probably go there again for just that! We also ordered a tawny port. Ruby was delivered, but as my husband enjoys both, he didn't bother to correct it.

All in all, it was a nice evening, but as I have seen in quite a few reviews, there are just little things that let them down when it comes to the service. The staff are very friendly and polite, but it just needs to be a bit more flowing. Oh, and they charge even if you ask for tap water, which would be...

We went there with a group of 4 friends. The food was actually quite nice. We ordered scotch eggs and the celeriac salad for starters, the fish pie for two people (puff pastry), fish pie for one (mash potato top), pork pie. Then for dessert the roasted pineapple, sticky toffee pudding and apple cake.

Food wise- it’s alright. Not mind blowing but quite homey regardless. I would saw the chocolate mousse (will elaborate) had too much dates for my liking

Facilities wise - the main dining room is fine but not luxurious. Bathroom was disappointing as it was London pub like

Service wise - honestly, I expected better. So I was 10 minute late compared to my friends. We were looking at the menu when a waiter came over and pushed us to order. We wanted to get the pies in first since since on the menu it said this would take 20-30 minutes.

We ordered our fish pies with the guarantee that the puff pastry too will be served to my friends. We also ordered some starters specifying who wanted which dish as one of my friends is sick. It was unpleasant as we were basically forced to order starters when we’re not ready. We then ordered fries to go with the meal with another waiter after.

When the starters came, who ordered what was clearly not written down and I had scotch eggs served right in front of me and I was uncomfortable with eggs.

When the mains came, the puff pastry top fish pie was not served to my friends. The fries also were missed in the first round. The sides were also not re-explained. When the original waiter came to check to check in I mentioned that we struggled. But he said he was half way across the room taking an order, so he couldn’t help.

Then we ordered dessert. They showed up with a chocolate mousse we clearly didn’t order. None of the wait staff could answer what it was. When they confirmed it was the wrong order and left with the dessert, they came back 2 minutes later saying we can keep it.

Overall, I would say it’s quite a disappointing experience for an institute like the Rosewood. This is one of the top five star hotels in London and we have experience with other Rosewoods worldwide. Even though this is not the luxury dining restaurant, I still found the experience to be quite poor. It felt rushed, stressful and unwelcoming. Furthermore, the service charge is 15%. So for that amount, it is hard to justify the...

My friends and I stumbled upon this place in search of the now defunct Pie Room. Although we were disappointed to find that what we were looking for no longer exists, I believe their pies and Wellington was absorbed into their daily menu. However, that is where our luck ends.

The table ordered a pie to share while I ordered a steak. At no point did our server ask if I wanted sides with that. Also, when he asked what sauce I wanted, I had a question about whether or not the peppercorn was a demi-glacé. Our server, who I shall call J, did not know, nor did he bother to ask on my behalf. He did, however, recommend it nonetheless. It wasn’t my favourite sauce but I did enjoy the ribeye.

Our server, J, after confirming our order twice, still forgot to put an order through, even though we wanted to order it as soon as our server got to us. According to J, he was going to “put the pie through first along with the starters,” and that we would not have to wait long since the pie will be done in 20 minutes. It clearly didn’t come in 20 because he never put it through.

When confronted with this mistake, not only was there no apology- he tried to gaslight us and tell us he confirmed we didn’t want it and then asked if we would like to add it at the end of our meal. We declined and asked for the bill instead.

At the end of the bill, we had a mandatory gratuity of 15% IN ADDITION to a voluntary donation fee tacked on despite us not appreciating the level of service we actually received, nor were we asked if we’d like to make said donation.

We paid it nonetheless since we know the cooks in the back deserved the tip much more than both our servers at the end of the day. Especially since they took our half full bottle of still water that we paid for and never brought it back. When we asked for their names, the female server was reluctant to provide it because she could sense something was wrong.

Tl;dr, if you’re looking for a good place to eat with decent service, you should probably find someplace else. Some of the servers were absolutely delightful. But more often than not, I just found that the majority of them could not care less. This includes the manager who walked by several times but didn’t say anything. I just wouldn’t take my chances...