Quaglino's, Prince Of Wales Room

A Stylish Evening at Quaglino's with Room for Improvement We visited Quaglino’s yesterday to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and it was certainly a memorable experience. The restaurant exudes a glamorous, speakeasy vibe with its stunning decor and amazing live music that adds an exciting touch to the atmosphere. The menu offers a fantastic selection of dishes, and the drinks menu is equally impressive, with plenty of variety to suit all tastes. We ordered steak and oysters, and the quality was exceptional – everything was cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious. It’s clear that the culinary team takes great care with their ingredients and preparation. That said, there were a few areas where the experience could have been better. The service, while polite, was quite slow – we waited an hour and a half for our food to arrive. Additionally, it seemed we always had to search for our waiter for refills or any additional requests. Unfortunately, this meant we only had one drink during our three-hour visit, which felt like a missed opportunity to enjoy more of their great cocktails. While the live music was truly fantastic and created a lively ambiance, it was so loud that having a conversation was nearly impossible. It’s a shame because the atmosphere is wonderful, but the volume made it challenging to connect with our group. Turning it down just a notch would make a world of difference. As expected for a restaurant of this calibre, the prices are on the higher side, so it’s worth being prepared for a more indulgent outing. All in all, Quaglino’s offers a beautiful venue, great food, and vibrant music, but a few tweaks to service speed and noise levels could elevate the experience to match its stunning setting. If you’re looking for a special night out, it’s worth visiting – just be ready for a longer dining experience and a lively (if loud) atmosphere!

The night was supposed to be special as it was not only the first valentines with my partner but also her birthday. When emailing about her birthday and the availability for a cake or similar this was coldly ignored and I just received an email back from the reservations manager that the deposit had been received. No response or acknowledgment of my request (even if it wasn’t possible). This should have been a warning sign on things to come. When arriving on the night we were walked to our table, and once sat realised our table was very wobbly - not the tolerable kind. We waited 20 minutes before my partner - on her birthday - had to go up to the front desk to report this and also ask for someone to even come and serve us water… about 5 minutes after returning from the front desk the server came and simply asked us “are you ready to order” without any greeting, we informed them that we haven’t even had water yet. The manager came to see us shortly after and tried to fix the table and kindly gift us a glass of bubbly each. The table still wasn’t fixed, I myself tried to fix it and then we had to get up to report this again, to which we were told someone would return which they never did. After waiting ridiculously long time to receive our starters we realized we were not severed our first course (amuse) and of course had to seek out help to report this again. No one checked in on us during the starter or main. We had one check in after our starter. Every interaction with waiting staff had to be sought after, I’ve never been one to complain and it pains me to write this but it was a horrible experience on a day that was supposed to be so special. After eating our lukewarm mains, a manager came to ask how we were and my partner had to let out her frustrations. With 10 minutes left of the set being performed we were seated at the front - which was nice for 10 minutes while having dessert - before having to wait again for 30 minutes to get the bill. My partner was ignored by everyone so she had to get up again to try and find some help. When we received the bill the deposit wasn’t removed, and indeed, the above average 15% service charge was left on that we had to ask to ask to be removed. Normally we are all for tipping above the average and we felt so embarrassed having to ask for this to be removed but it was the worst night I could have imagined. Also the man (I think one of the managers) when taking payment was rude and actually, scoffed at us. I would have taken more photos and videos but alas we just didn’t even get time to enjoy ourselves and have proper wine and drinks with our meal (as no one would check on us) it just felt like 3 hours of having to tolerate a dreadful service while waiting for food.