The Clerkenwell Dining Room & Bar

Reviews for The Clerkenwell Dining Room & Bar

• 2

  The Clerkenwell Dining Room & Bar

  69-73 St John St London EC1M 4AN uk
  

  More reviews by sue
  sue

  2nd July 2008

  Comical Service in Clerkenwell

  Current

  I really wanted to like The Clerkenwell Dining Room. Friends had enjoyed it, the menu sounded good, and I am a fan of their sister restaurant, The Chancery. I think I should have stuck to The Chancery.
  
  Ok, it wasn't all bad. For example, the starters were nice. We had the Octopus Carpaccio, braised baby octopus, squid, lemon and rosemary dressing; and the Crab chowder, crab dumplings, sweet corn and basil oil. The octopus was very well received, and the chowder was good but under-seasoned.
  
  Main courses we had were the Sea bass, scallop ravioli, artichokes, asparagus, tomato consommé; the Lamb Rump, provencal vegetables, samossas and balsamic jus; and the Rabbit saddle, potato puree, baby leeks, wild mushrooms and herb sauce. The lamb was really delicious… unfortunately I didn't order it. I had the sea bass which was disappointing - it sounded good on paper, but the tomato consommé was bland and watered down all the other flavours. Dessert was almost a success - the Lemon curd tart, lemon confit and coconut sorbet was nicely presented, but the tart was a little too gooey. Did like the sorbet though.
  
  While most of the food we had was nice, the service really put a dampener on the evening. There were about 6 staff racing about, all apparently serving the same tables which lead to confusion and duplications, not to mention endlessly annoying water top-ups. Many of the staff didn't appear to understand English, and stared blankly at us when a request was made. We were all irritated more and more as the meal progressed.
  
  But the biggest mistake was when they gave the remainder of our wine to another table… They had the white wine from all tables sitting in coolers to one side - I noticed them trying to write our table number on the label of our wine initially, but their system fell apart and our wine disappeared. At one stage they mistakenly bought over a couple of new glasses and then a half-finished bottle of someone else's wine. When we told them it wasn't ours they then took it to another table and started pouring.
  
  When the manager bought over our bill she asked how our meal had been. We then mentioned the issue with the wine and she looked shocked. She hurried off and we dug out cash/cards to pay the bill and prepared to leave. The manager returned with glasses of champagne for all of us by way of apology. To be honest I was horrified. Ok, it may have been a nice gesture, but we had finished our meal, and just wanted to pay and get out of there. Only one of us valiantly forced down a half glass of champers...

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• 4

  The Clerkenwell Dining Room & Bar

  69-73 St John St London EC1M 4AN uk
  

  More reviews by DavidMuir
  DavidMuir

  5th November 2007

  Eight Years

  Current

  I haven't been to this place for eight years. Was there on Friday. The cooking was exemplary, wonderful seasonal halibut.
  
  And very good value for really good cooking

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• 3

  The Clerkenwell Dining Room & Bar

  69-73 St John St London EC1M 4AN uk
  

  More reviews by squirrel
  squirrel

  27th October 2007

  The Squirrel dines in Clerkenwell

  Current

  We went here to take advantage of the 50% of deal, and ended up paying about £30 each, so under normal circumstances the place could be considered expensive, it's hard to tell, it depends whether you are a millionaire or a pauper.
  
  We were seated in a little corner off by ourselves, because there was a herd of newly qualified solicitors in the main dining room. Nevertheless, our armchair style seats were was incredibly comfortable, which made it all the more difficult, at the end of the evening, to get out into the cold, drizzly night.
  
  Now to the food and service.
  
  We tasted each other's starters, so I could offer an opinion on 3. But that could take forever. Suffice it to say that they were fine. Nothing to dream about and drool over, just good. And I wouldn't order the fois gras again - it was probably too cheap to be as sinfully good as fois gras can be.
  
  The warm bread served on the side was a great touch, and the butter was nice too.
  
  As for the mains, I ordered the halibut but was served the rabbit. The waiter (with designer glasses scarier than my own) was lovely and apologetic and I wasn't bothered as this would have been my second choice. So I stuck with the rabbit. I am not sure that it tasted particularly rabbity, but it was delicious. There was a hint of sweetness to the sauce (juice?) it was served with that went well with the meat. My friend had the halibut and seemed to be enjoying that.
  
  I didn't have dessert, but I did have a desert wine, and I have to say that this was my highlight of the night. It was just sweet enough, it was smooth as silk and it followed extremely well after the white wine we had had during the meal.
  
  My friends had to wait a long time to get their creme brulees, but they were very satisfied once they did arrive.
  
  I wouldn't be opposed to returning if someone else was adamant, but I wouldn't take others there. I would rather try new places.
  
  I would definitely return for the dessert wine though!

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• 0

  The Clerkenwell Dining Room & Bar

  69-73 St John St London EC1M 4AN uk
  

  More reviews by TrustedBot
  TrustedBot

  8th February 2007

  Current

  The two key ingredients to a successful restaurant operation are great food and superb service.
   
  With the two key players at The Clerkenwell Dining Room & Bar, which opened on 15 November 2001 at 69-73 St John Street, EC1, the stage should be set for success.
   
  Head Chef Andrew Thompsons background includes two years at The Square with Philip Howard, two years in New York at The Lennox Room, and the past five years at the Michelin-starred LEscargot in Greek Street, Soho, where he was in charge of the kitchens for the Picasso Room and ground floor restaurant. Business partner and General Manager Zak Jones spent two years with Anton Mosimann, followed by five years working for Marco Pierre White at Quo Vadis, Mirabelle, Criterion Brasserie, ending in charge of LEscorgot as General Manager.
   
  The site of The Clerkenwell Dining Room & Bar was Stephen Bulls for several years, and most recently a Belgo Bierodrome. A cosmetic refurbishment - mostly paint and fabric - has improved the interior mood with dark wood and warm tones of Oxford blue and mushroom.
   
  The ground floor restaurant can accommodate up to 80 for lunch/dinner complete with a separate cocktail bar for drinks before or after.  On the first floor a private dining room is available for hire and can accommodate from 20-40 seated or 50 standing.
   
  The private room at The Clerkenwell offers complete privacy from the regular diners, elegantly enhanced with its unusual architecture, it is the ideal venue for celebrations, client entertaining and other special occasions.
   
  The menu is modern European with occasional touches of Michelin-style, mixed with gutsy flavours and combinations, recently awarded two AA Rosettes.
  

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