Rowley's Restaurant — Restaurant in London

Visited Rowley’s on Valentine’s Day. On arrival the restaurant was quite empty, the waiter was polite but there was quite a long wait for him to come back and take our order. It became apparent that service was slow but we couldn’t make sense of it because the restaurant was not full and there were 3/4 waiters plus a manager on the floor. The food arrived in good time. Food was very tasty. Small menu, all good options. It again took a very long time for someone to clear the table, and then again to give us dessert menus and take our orders. This took about 30 minutes. I ordered a crème brûlée but the waiter brought me a chocolate ganache. When I explained that I didn’t order that, his first reaction was one of disbelief, as if his colleague could not have gotten the order wrong. I explained again what I ordered and even that wasn’t enough so I looked at my partner who had to say yes I remember her ordering the crème brûlée, only at that point did the waiter say I’ll put the order in. In my opinion, a mistake like that should be met with an apology and an offer to either take the item off the bill or to leave the incorrect item whilst waiting for the correct item (I would have preferred the later as I do not want to take money from the service industry that’s already struggling). Neither were offered and instead I faced another 20 minute wait for dessert. After dessert, and with full awareness of how painfully slow service was, I went to the loo and hoped that the bill would have been settle by the time I got back. It wasn’t. We both had our coats on. My partner then also went to the loo. I turned to face into the restaurant and tried to catch a waiters attention. I saw a waiter standing there and he looked at the guy on the table next to me and asked if he was okay, he nodded yes, I was sat inches away from him and there is no doubt that the waiters naturally peripheral view meant that he did see me. He awkwardly turned and did not look at me. I felt very embarrassed at this snub and even the guy next to me turned bright red at how awkward this was. It was very unprofessional and felt so violent and targeted. When I did get someone’s attention, it was the manager. She asked me how the meal was. I said the food was great, the service not so great. She said yes service is slow, would you like the service charge removed (lack of accountability on the restaurants part and again I don’t believe in taking money from restaurant staff, even when service is bad). I said no, I’m quite unhappy and I explained to her what had happened. She said she would speak to him but didn’t ask who it was so I’m very doubtful that a conversation took place or that there was any concern that a member of staff could be so unpleasant and...

Oh how Rowley's has fallen.I think I can speak confidently on this; I've been going to Rowley's for about 5 years now, and were I writing this 5 years ago I'd be going off the wall about how the place is fantastic, the service blindingly good and the food sublime.But I can't. For whatever reason, Rowley's has enjoyed a decline (queue tactical use of oxymoronic statment). Mostly in service to be fair, the food does still taste really good, but bad service can really screw with the overall experience.A good example is the unlimited fries thing. I'm not a glutton, but the first few times we went here, the second your fries were done there were more on your plate. It was a passive thing that you had to stop if you were full. Recently it's like the unlimited fries are only unlimited if you hound the waiting staff for more, and even then it's begrudgingly done. I really hope this is the inside view, and that i've just been on slow days recently, but i fear that this may have become one of those places near Piccadilyl circus with the price tag to match but the quality lacking.

UPDATE YO!

Alas, I feel I have been too harsh in my words above. We went here again this year and all the shortcomings of the past few visits had been redressed and surpassed. The service was once again lightning quick and back up to scratch with a cheeky sense of humour and smiles in abundance. The portions were back up to strength and the unlimited fries truly unlimited (light, crispy and moreish - indulging in seconds is not frowned upon!). The steak was perfectly cooked (don't forget if you like yours bleu to first give yourself a pat on the back for being AWESOME and second to take yours off the plate as soon as it arrives for fear of overcooking it) and the Rowley's blue cheese butter sauce was as decadent and ludicrously indulgent as it always has been. I would even go so far as to call it sexy, if you can call a sauce sexy.

I don't know why I ever marked the decor down, in fact on the basis of my previous review I must have been in a bad mood. I love the styling in here; mirror lined walls frame an intimate space lit by oil lamps on the tables and inoffensive lighting around the edges. Simple tables with clean, bright table cloths and clean implements of consumption put you at ease that you're in a classy establishment. The wine list is great too, and the malbec goes down a little too nicely!

So to top it off I am sorry, Rowley's, for ever writing you off. All your past transgressions have been vindicated. Thank you for a...

Very friendly waitress, menu appears to be much closer to the classic Rowley's. Burners at other tables gives me hope. Bread not provided before the meal, but is available to order. Wine list looks to cover all tastes (I'm no expert so I won't comment further). Berry Brothers Good Ordinary Claret, no longer available, but head waitress seemed enthusiastic to learn of some of the old favourites and said she would pass it on to the owners. I have hope that the old house red will return in the near future.

Atmosphere is great, I walked in at 6:30pm on a Wednesday and there were a good number of tables filled and throughout the evening it filled up almost completely. Booking is an absolute must if you want to guarantee a table.

Starter arrived quickly. Smoked Salmon, celeriac remoulade, capers, cornichons, with some toasted baguette. The smoked salmon was delicate and paired very well with the tangy remoulade. A perfect light starter.

Main arrived after a short wait, entrecote steak with unlimited fries (of course). The Rowley's classic returned to form. Comes with a burner on the table and the famous Roquefort butter to melt over it. Delicious tender steak and the fries as good as ever. Combined with the warm melted butter poured over everything, there are few things better under the sun, trust me. The table burners are a very welcome return as these are integral to the Rowley's experience. They no longer offer a second steak at a discount, but they do offer a chateaubriand for those with a big appetite. The unlimited fries aren't quite as forthcoming as the old days, but when asked they don't take long to arrive. Overall I'm very pleased by the return of many of the old ways as they are what kept people like me coming back over and over again.

Finally the dessert. Tarte Tartin with vanilla ice-cream. No one comes to Rowley's for the desserts, but that being said they don't let the side down at all. A delicious french classic done very well indeed. If I had to nitpick I would have made the tarte slightly sweeter, but I do have an admittedly sweet tooth.

Overall I can say that Rowley's is well and truly back! Almost everything that made it special has returned and I'm hopeful that the management with continue along this path. The wait staff are attentive and friendly, and the food is back to it's very high standard. I would recommend a trip to Rowley's to anyone, it's a (not so...