2014 YELP 365 CHALLENGE - 229/365
I had NEVER heard of this restaurant before coming here a few days ago. My dad and I wanted to dine at Steak & Lobster across the street, but they were fully booked for the evening, so the employees there directed us to Scoff & Banter, their sister restaurant located across at the Radisson. My dad and I didn't really know what to do since the people at Steak & Lobster almost forced us to eat at Scoff & Banter since we couldn't get seated at their restaurant...so that was a little strange.
I don't know anything about this restaurant, but it definitely had that newly-opened restaurant vibe to it. I'm not sure if it's just because it was attached to a hotel, but it was definitely on the emptier side and I felt like most of the people dining there were just people staying at the hotel who had wandered in. They had lots of tables (at least 20), and only 3 or 4 seemed to actually have people dining at them.
I think the main reason why my dad was ok with staying at this restaurant was because they had a giant projector where they were playing Wimbledon. My dad is a huge tennis player (we actually came to London to go to Wimbledon this year), so he basically just sat and watched the screen the whole time.
Decor is somewhat trendy, and had a lounge feeling to it. They were all either red velvety soft booths or chunky red swivel chairs.
The waiters definitely seemed really inexperienced. Our waiter was ok, but he had a really thick accent and I felt like we both had a hard time communicating with each other. I ordered a strawberry daiquiri and I felt like he had no clue wtf I said. When he told the bartender they made one for me, but it was almost like some sort of martini when I had expected it to be a strawberry blended drink... I sent it back and just opted with a Coke because it was much less of a hassle.
I ordered this massive English burger which came with a LOT of stuff on it. Too much, in fact, that it was nearly impossible to eat the burger in a somewhat tidy way. Out of all the burgers I've eaten in my life, that particular burger goes down as one of, if not THE messiest, burger I've ever had. Everything kept spilling out of it, and even when I divided it into four pieces I still had a hard time eating it. My dad got a steak which came with an egg on top and a side of fries/chips. He didn't really comment on the food, so I'm assuming it was just mediocre, or he was too engrossed in the tennis match on TV that he didn't have much to say otherwise.
The prices were a little expensive...I think my burger was just under 20 pounds and it was one of the cheaper items on the menu.
Overall...I think this restaurant may just be starting out, and really needs a lot of polishing to do. I found out that it's a chain, so maybe this particular location just hasn't been around for awhile because everyone seemed rather awkward and inexperienced. I will most likely not return. read more