Clissold Arms

Bland and over-priced

18 Aug 08, 09:19 Below expectations

I'd read a few good reviews (on other sites) of the food in this recently gastro-ized pub so I gave it a go.

The decor's bland, the food blander. I had the vegetable lasagne and my compadre had the gorgonzola macaroni. Both lacked flavour and were comically over-priced. Maybe we picked the token vegetarian dishes but that shouldn't be an excuse. My starter was an expensive asparagus, hollandaise, poached egg combo. It looked like it had been throw together without a care and was tepid by the time it reached me...

... which brings me on to the service, which was generally poor too. With chefs calling "SERVICE PLEASE!" to the point of exasperation, waitresses unsure as to where dishes were going and the head waiter struggling to keep control. The restaraunt wasn't even full :(

One final point - the tables are packed into the dining room at the rear of the building and too close to each other for comfort. It's hard to hold a conversation because the background noise is too overpowering.

I can't imagine I'd be going back to The C Lissold Arms to eat again in a long time. Especially since the Bald Faced Stag down the road is a much more pleasurable (and much more VFM!) experience.

God-awful

04 Apr 08, 16:09 Well below expectations

Recently re-opened, I can't imagine how bad it must have been before to deserve this makeover. Soulless, reeking of glue and mdf and with a price list that my friends and I thought was an early April fools, I really wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy. I paid £4 for a thimble-full of wine which - and I may be wrong - tasted like it had been watered down, and the atmosphere inside the pub was akin to a very small funeral. They had also placed a dining table right next to the ladies' toilet door, which seems excessively unpleasant. Please don't go here. It's cheaper to pop into the Majestic wine warehouse next door, buy a case of wine and drink it on the street outside.