Old Shades — Restaurant in London

I had lunch at Old Shades last Saturday. The pub accepts bookings online. It is located 10 minutes walk from Westminster and 5 minutes walk from the National Gallery. This makes it a very handy stop to have lunch and a pleasant break, especially after a long walk in Trafalgar Square.

We were very happy with food, service and decor. I will start from the food first and then move on to service and atmosphere.

We ordered King prawns, Fish and chips (haddock) and chicken schnitzels (see picture). There is a set menu, also visible at their website. Dishes were well presented and ingredients were fresh and combined effectively to increase flavours. King prawns were pleasantly barbecued and accompanied by herbs and sardough bread. It was a tasty starter. Perhaps, the sauce in which the prawns were marinated could've been slightly richer to make a punchier dish. Fish and chips was finely cooked and haddock was delicious. Chips were hand cut and sauces were made from scratch. Mashy peas, in particular, was much appreciated. Chicken schnitzel was served with a fried egg, herbs and chips. One could appreciate the fresh ingredients and the quality of the cooking - well cooked and crispy, chicken was delightful. It was a much welcome meal.

Staff was caring, professional and polite. We were looked after by the gentleman at the bar, who took our booking. He kindly walked us to the table and ensured this was sanitised and suitable. Regina, the waitress, did a good job in looking after us too.

Finally, atmosphere. Decor is traditional and there's good illumination coming from the windows at the rear of the pub and from the ceiling - a luminous circular opening on top of the bar allowed an interesting illumination. The combination of colours, tapestry and flooring (this was mostly in wood in the dining area) made the experience more enjoyable and conveyed warmth and relax. I felt the stop at this place was restoring.

It was a lovely discovery in the hearth of Trafalgar Square. A cosy little pub to have food and relax. I...

A deeply unpleasant experience, verging on racism. During the last leg of my trip to London, I made a reservation to have a sunday roast at this restaurant. I was seated at a window table near the entrance, and two other customers were seated at the table next to mine. Shortly after my food arrived, a middle-aged female server with short hair stood next to me and began a conversation with the customers at the adjacent table. The tables weren't far apart, so her back was right next to me. At first, I thought she would just exchange a few words and leave, but she didn't; she stayed there for almost my entire meal, talking loudly.

​I was very bothered throughout my meal, but I tried to be understanding. When I finished my food and asked for the bill, she again had a few words with the people at the next table before taking my plate. Furthermore, when she brought my bill, she didn't come directly to me. Instead, she asked the neighboring table if they needed sugar, and only after they said no did she finally hand me the bill. Isn't it common courtesy in any culture to attend to a customer who has requested service first?

​I wanted to ask them to remove the service charge. If she behaved this way out of ignorance, she needs training. If she did it knowingly,...

A large Whitehall pub with a good selection of ales. A little too noisy for my liking, especially the choice of sounds, most of which came through as a repetitive and very annoying distraction. We'd pre-booked a table (11 of us), which was available early. The food, in general, was fine. However, my shepherd's pie (made with hogget) was a bit of a disaster. It was served up in a dish (not a problem) but just looked bland and uninteresting. In my book, the top should be raked with a fork and then put under a hot grill to develop a brown, crunchy texture. Also, what you can't see in the shot is some boiled, white cabbage, and a pot of gravy. The worst aspect was the chef's love affair with salt. Either he has no taste or else holds shares in a salt mine. Every element of the dish was far too salty. A pity, because I don't often see hogget on menus. The service was excellent. Both our waitress and the manager were friendly and willing to fulfil our additional needs (which happened to be Irish coffees which weren't...