Riding House Fitzrovia — Restaurant in London

Christmas Prefix Dinner is Terrible.

We just left after having one of the worst meals I’ve ever had - especially for the price.

First off all, the portions are far too large for two people. Most prefix menus I’ve had at classy restaurants have multiple courses that are much smaller so you can enjoy a wide variety of carefully crafted dishes.

To start, the beef tartar had clearly been sitting out because it was dry and stringy. The prawns were in a seaweed soup that made the whole table smell like the sea and tasted overly salty.

Then the turkey was roasted to a crisp. So dry and flavorless. The stuffing and sausage tasted cheap and fatty. We also had the portobello and sweet potatoe Wellington. It wasn’t as bad but also nothing special.

It all came with an overwhelming amount of carrots, Brussels sprouts (hard and undercooked) and other random veggies. My wife and I are two normal sized individuals so I don’t understand how the average person puts down this much food.

Next there was a cheese board that we just skipped entirely to try and save room for the desert. They brought me the wrong desert (ordered the pudding, got the cheese cake) and so we just nibbled on the chocolate torte. Hard to mess that one up and it was decent. Skipped our pudding that was originally ordered because it was taking for ever.

The only things we liked were the things we ordered on the side (a nice run mmm & rhubarb cocktail and some fresh juice).

Overall, I’d say it was a waste of 200 pounds and damped out Christmas Day experience. I wish they would’ve offered to discount the meal as they saw we didn’t enjoy multiple dishes and downright skipped others.

Go to a local pub instead on Christmas Day or just skip the prefix menus...

The décor is a mix of old and new – wooden panelling and cabinets paired with modern windows that let in plenty of light. A good spot for breakfast; around 10am on a Saturday it wasn’t too busy, noise levels were low, and the music was barely audible. I’d booked, but you could have walked in without an issue.

I was greeted at the door and shown to my table. Staff were very friendly and professional.

I ordered the full veggie breakfast, which was good but a little inconsistent across the components. The standouts were the courgette fritter and the BBQ beans – both delicious. The halloumi was a bit odd; it didn’t seem freshly grilled and honestly felt more like paneer passed off as halloumi – it lacked the saltiness and gentle herb zest that proper halloumi has. The mushroom and tomato were seasoned nicely (the garlic on the tomato was a great touch) but seemed to have been sitting for a while rather than cooked fresh. The fried eggs were a bit limp for my taste but still perfectly fine. The toast wasn’t fresh and was slightly soggy; another slice would have been welcome, especially with beans and avocado salsa both needing something to pair with.

For drinks, I had a breakfast tea which was nicely presented but quite weak and grey in colour. I also tried the “gold” juice – orange, turmeric, coconut, and carrot – which was disappointing. The turmeric overpowered everything else, yet somehow the juice still tasted weak, and the added ice didn’t help. I suspect it wasn’t freshly made.

Overall, it was a decent breakfast, but I would have been happier without the juice. With the bill coming to £30, it wasn’t bad but didn’t quite live up...

This restaurant is in a very busy location, but for the price we found it a very disappointing experience. We have come on a Sunday, which we expected to be busy, so we reserved a table, yet it took 20 minutes for our order to be taken, and when it was, the waiter looked positively miserable. Again, I'm not someone that requires a "customer service smile" (I've worked in service for ten years), but every single server looked disinterested and borderline rude to the point we felt uncomfortable. Our drinks were handed to us in a brash manner (spilt tea and coffee on all the cups) and the food came hoisted on a waitresses shoulder?! (Is this hygienic?). When the waiter collected our plates, he didn't check whether everything had been okay, there was not much scope for communication. It didn't look like any of the staff wanted to be there and so we wondered if we should. The food was very tasty, yet nearly cold. It had clearly been left on the pass for a while before being taken by the waiting staff. A bottle of water for the table was £4.50, which was really crazy when you couple it with the service and food quality. 🥲 For a bill that came to £65 for three drinks and three mains, this is extremely disappointing. McDonald's provided better than this. This the first three star review I have ever left. If the staff are that overworked or unable to meet the demand of how busy it was, it would have been better to turn away customers or at least communicate with us their difficulties. They clearly have the capacity to do better, but it hasn't been the case. Sorry, but I...