The Quality Chop House — Restaurant in London

We find ourselves outside the Quality Chop House, having Lime biked from our friend’s member’s club, 180 Soho House. For a moment we find ourselves appreciating the wonders of electric bicycles. Weaving through Londons road has never been easier. The anticipation of a delicious meal attracted us to the Chop House 15 minutes ahead of our allotted table, with the hope they could accommodate. Unfortunately, they quash our wishful thinking and direct us to a table outside. Curb-side in Farringdon is never glamorous, especially with empty glasses. The service at their outside tables is pleasant but delivery terrible. Communication had broken down between the maitre d’ and the wait staff. We land at our table. I look at my watch, 7 minutes late. First impressions have not been good. Finally, drinks orders! Two glasses of house red and a glass of ‘fizz’ for our esteemed Soho House member. House red is the perfect litmus test for whether the meal ahead will exceed or underwhelm expectations. The blood of Christ was delivered in a particularly elegant glass for an order of low class plonk; the stem tall and thin, and the bowl inverted inwards. A good glass is key. The taste hits with more cork than grape, followed by a tinge of heart burn. Soho House seems to enjoy the fizz though. Food orders also go in, rapid fire. As they always do with us. By this stage we were reasonably pickled. In need of hydration! ‘Some tap water please’, ‘still or sparkling’ she responds. Incorrect answer. I admit, the appeal of Farringdon moderately improves in my mind by the thought of sparkling tap water. For a moment I think of the wonders of the idea! In the same manner of the quick fire food orders, the starters arrive at our table abruptly. Instantaneously, the tone of a sub par meal upgrades from brasserie to high end ‘chop house’. Crispy beef croquettes, crunchy and rich with a spicy mayo. Always a crowd pleaser. The mayo did lack the ‘spice’ it indicated in black and white on our menus. The highlight of the meal, the cep dish. A seasonal and tough ingredient to source in London. They speak for themselves. The taste of pure umami, obviously the flavour of mushroom but in the richest way that could be possible. The freshly baked bread was perfect to use to mop up the sauce from the cep dish. And my goodness, that bread could rival even a loaf from London’s finest bakery. At this stage we look at each other, slightly worried that we’ve gone too hard on the unlimited nocciola olives at Soho House and the starters. When the mains appear, we reminisce. There’s nothing better than a ribeye on the bone. A well seared steak with a thick well emulsified sauce. Delicious, but lacked age. 2 portions of thinly layers pyramid potato’s. Always an impressive side to serve. Our friend who couldn’t differentiate cavalo nero from spinach, of course, he ordered Turbot in a meat lovers paradise. Maybe he’s the ‘chop’ in the ‘chop house’. The chop, however, is in awe of the fish dish, covered in a velvety crab bisque. Even the carnivores could admit that it looked like a gastronomic feat. Plates empty. We catch the waitresses eye, to prompt her to relinquish us from the mains and take the plates away. There’s a communal feeling that we’re approaching the peak of the mountain. To make the final ascent, together, we’re in need of a communal chocolate desert. Team work is always key, we’re told. Chocolate mouse. It feels as though it arrives before we order it. When it arrives it feels like it’s finished before it was delivered to the table. Odd. Bill please. 8 … . 8 …. Looks okay for a decent meal. Tap tap beep on my Apple Watch. Okay let’s go!! Let’s lime home! There’s always a great feeling of convoying home with the guys. All of sudden we have split up and head our separate ways back to our longly anticipated beds. What a week. Last WhatsApp before passing out, ‘remember tennis at 11.30’. No...

Underwhelming is an understatement. The steak (bone in ribeye) was nice, however for £108 for 2 people without sides is definitely not something you choose for just a standard lunch (which is what it felt like). We booked the table as a special occasion which was totally ignored (my fiancé and I recently got engaged and we wanted to celebrate). We noticed that the tables either side of us had birthday cards from the restaurant so this felt a little disappointing. The meal also felt a little rushed, I'm sorry when paying over £100pp the last thing I need to feel is rushed. The tables are also very very close together. There was various other little things that just felt like the standard wasn't up to scratch (starters turning up before the drinks and the wine not being cold enough) and for the prices being charged this felt really annoying. We made the waitress aware at the end of the meal that we were a little disappointed that the special occasion note was ignored. To be completely fair to her she was great and sincerely apologetic. The manager came over and tried to blame my partner for not filling in the form properly and her whole attitude and disingenuous tone to fix the error made me feel even more infuriated. We decided to leave it at that and pay the bill. The waitress came back and apologised again and you could tell she was really upset for us which we really appreciated. She also discounted the bill which we thanked her for. Seemed like the waitress had better people skills and manners than the manager did. Lastly I went to the bathroom before leaving and while I was washing my hands a chef came out of one of the toilets and walked straight past me without washing his hands.... honestly what an underwhelming and unacceptable lunch for the prices you're charging. You might want to do a hygiene refresher course for your back of house team too, absolutely disgusting and in front of guests/customers also. Truly shocking.

I'm not usually one to write reviews, however I feel this feedback is necessary.

Please do better.

I don't expect you to reply because the last compliant/bad review was ignored, which says it all really.

Many...

Pretentious Establishment with an emphasis of getting you out the door ASAP.

Where do I start?

Minor complaint: Booked for a birthday, no free dessert or cake offered. Not even an acknowledgment of the persons birthday. I have listed this as minor as it can’t be expected but when you’re spending £55 per head plus drinks I think it’s a liberty and poor customer care to not even acknowledge it.

Food: The starters are… weird. Not very accommodating at all and the sea bass was just awful. I was expecting a small cooked fillet of sea bass and instead got raw fish drowning in citrus flavouring. Menu does not make this clear.

Main: Roast was outstanding, brisket a tad on the rich side but nonetheless cooked perfectly.

Standard potatoes were dry and nothing to sing home about.

Confit potatoes were far better but they charge a premium for this which is again, a joke considering it’s £55 per head.

Dessert: The choices are again… odd and nothing to get excited about. I get the feeling from this restaurant that they are simply trying too hard when all that is required is keeping to basics but elevating the winners. Who doesn’t love an apple tart tatin or a chocolate fondant/brownie? The desserts leave much to be desired.

Service: This has to be the biggest let down. Service is very slow. We received our starters before drinks which then arrived ten minutes later after we had eaten, for a supposed fine dining restaurant is a big no no.

Once we were finished our main, we were promptly given the dessert menu and ‘ushered’ to be quick because they said they need the table back. Whilst I understand they have bookings, we had barely been on the table 90 mins and this wasn’t due to us slow ordering, we ordered very promptly, it was simply the food that took ages to come. I found this quite disrespectful and I was blown back a little.

All in all, bill came to £280 for four people:

Was it worth it?

Personally I wouldn’t return. If you are going to charge a premium, you better raise...