THE WOLSELEY: Piccadilly, London 0

http://www.thewolseley.com/

From the moment you place your shiny red Louboutin sole on the marlbe floors of the lobby at The Wolseley you know you’re in for a very nice night…..

You can feel the history of this place oooooozing out of the walls…from car showroom to bank to restaurant, the building and it’s opulent interior is absolutely spectacular!

We arrived at The Wolseley to a warm welcome from the maitre’d – always a good start. We were then invited to have a drink in the bar as we waited for the other members of our party to arrive. In contrast to the stunningly grand main dining space, the bar is small and intimate but with the same historic ambience. We enjoyed a beverage there, and then our friends arrived….

I suppose something I should mention  is that as soon as I entered this buiding I trullllllly didn’t feel as though I was in central London…..well at least not central London 2009. I didn’t think spaces like this existed anymore – not with such authenticity anyway…..

Ok – so in summary……..

GREAT SERVICE – with a smile and highly efficient…..non-intrusive, but I guess when you’re serving celebs all the time you kinda learn…..did I mention we were seated next to Harry Potter – sorry, just had to throw that one in there – it’s true! Oh – now might be the appropriate time to say that you are not allowed to take pictures here – and we learnt this not because we were trying to snap HP so that our friend Rob could prove to his kids that he dined with the Wizard, but because as we were taking pics of our mains a waiter very discreetly informed us that this was not permitted!

DELCIOUS FOOD – Our table ordered Pepper Steak, Salmon, Schnitzel and Skate Wing and everybody loved what they ate. Mine was the Skate served with burnt butter and capers – DELICIOSO!!!! Absolutely drool worthy…..Fries, minted peas and french beans on the side – nothing out of the ordinary (OOTO) but great nonetheless. Dessert at our table was strudel, crumble, brulee, cheescake and treacle tart – again – three cheers all round…..althoughhhhhh you could say there were ”no surprises” on the menu ………BUT – in my opinion, doing the basics well is much better than going in for the shock factor and getting the wrong reaction – or, in simple English,  cooking standard things well is much smarter and more pleasurable for the diner than trying to be fancy and different and stuffing it up!

REASONABLE PRICES – our dinner, with some wine, 2 courses, came to £44 a head – in London, at a fancy schmancy place on a Sat night, eating top notch food, that’s not bad in my opinion……

We all left feeling very pleased with how the evening had gone…….it’s weird…..although I definitely wouldn’t say THIS IS THE BESSSSSSSSSST place I have been in London, probably not even in my top 5, I definitely definitely want to go back……

The Wolseley is a good example of how a ”great place to go for dinner” comprises somewhere where GREAT SERVICE, MEETS DELICIOUS FOOD, MEETS STUNNING VENUE, MEETS AFFORDABILITY!

For a guaranteed lovely night out………..and you never know who’ll be sitting next to you!