St. JOHN Marylebone — Restaurant in London

Really wanted to love this place but unfortunately have to agree with the negative reviews.

Firstly the good: Our waiter was really friendly and we enjoyed his style of service. The bread and butter was amazing - the tastiest butter I’ve ever had. The house wine was reasonably good and not too overpriced for London standards.

The bad: We arrived for our reservation and waited for about 5 minutes before anyone acknowledged us - quite unexpected for a restaurant of this calibre and left us feeling like quite an inconvenience. It was our wedding anniversary and we mentioned this on the booking. Honestly we didn’t expect anyone to make a huge deal but we didn’t expect a) to be seated in the worst table in the whole place right next to the toilets and b) for literally no mention or acknowledgement at all that were there for a very special occasion. We really didn’t expect much at all but to not even receive a small mention was quite bizarre. The food was just okay. We were really excited for a super special anniversary meal but we found the food to be just above average. The squash was super salty and not very well balanced and the John Dory was really underwhelming. The crumble tasted exactly like the one from Tesco but 5x the price. The atmosphere was weird. The lights were super bright which made it quite hard to relax and we constantly had people standing next to us lining up for the toilet + right next to us was also the washing up room (where the door was open the whole time FYI) so our whole meal we were hearing people doing dishes etc. We also had people carrying trays of raw chicken past us to put into the chiller - it weirdly felt like we were sitting in the kitchen, but not really in a fun way. I honestly don’t mind seeing the inner workings of a restaurant but in this case it really felt like we were in a storage room rather than a restaurant. Our main waiter was lovely but there was another waitress who was quite rude. Our dessert was literally slammed down in front of us!

Overall for the price we walked away really disappointed. It’s not often we go out for a really nice meal and if I’m really honest we felt like our experience at St John was a waste of money.

For a causal lunch it might be okay, but if you’re looking for somewhere to celebrate a special occasion this is not the...

I want to start off by saying St John in clerkenwell/Farringdon is my favourite restaurant in the world. So I had high hopes trying the new branch having been to the other around 5 times.

Sadly it just didn’t quite really feel like the full St John experience. I left hungry and feeling like I paid the same price as the other branch for dishes about half the size. The food was excellent and the staff lovely, however, there were absolutely no carbs on the menu but bread so we had to order THREE baskets of it which was just silly really. I always get potatoes of some kind at the other branch or a pastry within a pie, so why can’t you here. I’ve not had to do that anywhere before and it was a frustrating experience having to keep topping up every dish with yet more bread. However, I should note, they gave us a basket free of charge for this reason and we appreciated it. They also gave us a free bottle of water as couldn’t provide tap water as the bottles they came in just came out of the dishwasher and were warm. Again, a nice gesture.

The pork middlewhite meat was very tasty and clearly great quality, but let down by the sauce it came in and was unbelievably bland (literally like brown water which didn’t add anything to the dish) . I felt really letdown with this dish, especially given it cost £26.

Me and my partner had a really nice evening, but we don’t think we would come back to this particular branch unless the reviews start to improve and we have confidence some things are fixed. Maybe it was just a small menu that day and we got unlucky. But I think a little work needed here and we look forward to visiting the flagship restaurant in the...

First time dining at this new branch.

This is based on a daily menu released just before service and sharing plates rather than standard orders and menu.

The venue is very traditional, which is what one wants - classic dining with a somewhat ordinary feel.

We were seated downstairs, although there were seats outside and upstairs.

Service was attentive but not overbearing - very helpful and knowledgeable, too.

Essentially, they suggest 5 plates, which differ in size. Meat, fish, and vegetarian options, but I suspect vegans might want to check beforehand.

Nose to tail emphasis, and we started with the ox tongue with horseradish that was sublime and took me back to childhood.

Opted for deep-fried rarebit, which, as a welshman, was irresistible. Served with the intention of you adding some Worcestershire sauce, which I highly recommend.

Next was the cold middle white pork salad. This lacked a little punch for me.

We had the lamb with fresh peas and mint, as well as the john dory. Get some bread for the juices here, I would say.

Finished off the bread and butter pudding made of everything, but. Croissants mostly. The custard was delicious.

Madelines were something they were known for, and these were stunning.

Also had a salad, which was perfectly dressed and a hearty core of lettuce.

Opted for a smoky and sweet Bretton cider, which was perfect.

Wine options are available by the glass, and the bottles can go well up in price here.

This is certainly superb, but of course, it comes with a certain amount of expense.

That said, it is highly worth it for a meal that will get you reaching for those ideas in your...