the riding house cafe

all in all, a good find that’s handy for it’s central london (noho) positioning. they satisfy and tick comfort eating boxes in a big way. the service if a little naive, was pleasant and speedy.

4th time unlucky. my previous 3 visits were fine, with good food (sticking to the small plates) and good service. this time was different. a scrum at the door meant either a long wait for my coat to be taken, or finding my friend myself. unsmiling table service was a contrast to previous visits, and after our waiter had bumped into my chair 4 times i asked to be moved. we were unsmilingly accommodated.
the unsmiling waitress took our orders. the cheeseburger was overpowered by way too much mayonnaise, and the chips were greasy and oversalted. the lamp rump was gristly and fatty. we weren't asked how our meal was, so i pointed out that the burger and chips were both quite nasty. it was met with just a blank face and an "oh really". since there was no satisfactory response, i pointed out that i'd been before and the food had been fine - had the kitchen staff changed? reply = no. end of conversation.
my ex-favourite gingerbread dessert was much smaller than before, and dry. i don't mind paying £6 for a very small slice of cake with a scoop of ice cream if it meets the taste sensation test, but this didn't.
the bill was presented with no eye contact and no smile. the credit cards were processed in silence. lack of eye contact from staff had also been noted by my friend, who'd arrived earlier than me and who'd not been made to feel very welcome, in contrast to her previous visits.
the bar area was packed, the restaurant less so. they're clearly doing well and possibly feel they don't have to try so hard. the restaurant scene in london can be faddish, and if a restaurant wants to survive they need a solid base of good service and good food. the riding house cafe doesn't have that any more.


-----21 sep, 2011-----

lovely evening. i just came back from a lovely evening at the riding house cafe. between two of us, we had 4 small plates and a small squid/chorizo salad, all of which were excellent. they looked quite small (as described!) but turned out to be perfectly sized, since we wanted to try several things but still leave room for pudding.
the spiced gingerbread with cinnamon ice cream was sublime; i hope they keep it on the menu because i'll be going back again for that.

we booked at the last minute and agreed to give up the table after 1.5 hours. we didn't feel as if we were being rushed, but were conscious of the fact we'd been talking more than eating so asked if we could finish off our wine with cheese and coffee in the bar area, and the staff were helpful in moving us there. like the restaurant, it has a comfortable and buzzy atmosphere with plenty of space to spread out.

service was friendly and professional. the bill for two of us, with prosecco to start, a bottle of one of the cheaper wines (my friend hogged the wine list but i thought it looked on the pricey side), armagnac and coffee, came to £100 incl. service, which seemed very reasonable given the quality of food and service, and the roomy surroundings.

i'll be recommending this to friends and will be more than happy to return to try out the rest of the menu.

the place continued to fill up as we enjoyed our brunch, and despite the roast beef crowd moving in as we slowly sipped our smoothies there was never any pressure to slurp up and ship out. feeling just on the right side of too full we paid our (very reasonable) bill and made our way through the refined streets of fitzrovia, feeling fully sated and ready to deal with the chaos of selfridges on a sunday afternoon.

delicious juices and smoothies, great presentation, decor brilliant. make sure you're not sat too close to the entrance because it was freezing. great place - would definitel return (just with a scarf!).

doesn't live up to the hype. was really excited to try this place as have been reading about it for months.
we should have turned around given the noise level, but persevered in hopes the food would make up for not being able to hear each other across the table.

we went with a selection of small plates which might have been our mistake. you could barely get two bites out of each one, making sharing kind of silly. also, 3 of our hot small plates were served lukewarm or even cold. there was nothing that stood out, and we left hungry.

i tend to agree with the general opinion; décor is cool, small plates are miniature but i’d say the food is more than marginally above par.

a trip to the centre beckoned - i needed to buy a new winter coat and blai required some books from foyles. the pressure was on me to find someplace interesting to eat. looking at my map of places i want to try (i organise it all on a google map accessible on my mobile), i spied the riding house café not too far away from oxford circus. that's where we would go. this all day eatery was absolutely packed when we arrived (usually a good sign) and as we didn't have a booking, we sat at the bar when a couple seats freed up. after perusal of the sunday menu, we decided to split a few small plates as well as a brunch dish between us. the first small plate was salt cod fritters, red pepper aioli (£5). i can't say i was particularly thrilled to see that all my fiver got me was three overly salty fritters, each the size of my thumb. and i have small hands. from the cheapest price bracket came the smoked mackerel pate, horseradish, keta (£3). this was alright, a mild smoked mackerel paste wit

a menu consisting of many sharing plates priced from £3-£5, and with a decent selection of done-up homely style mains.

the riding house cafe has enormous potential, it exudes class and chicness in every aspect of its appearance, if only that level of attention could be paid to the food offer. i found it lacking thought and flavour. i think for now i will stick to the cocktails and try to blend in with the beau

the riding house cafe , north of oxford circus, is one of the most enchanting places i have been to in a long time. as an all day restaurant it comprises of a more formal restaurant corner, large shared tables perfect for brunch and comfy sofas for the afternoon coffee or pre-dinner cocktail. the overall decor and the attention to detail is remarkable. the generous room shows a number of different textures such as stone, steel, wood and tiles and is filled with antique mismatched furniture interspersed with modern pieces. wherever you look you can find charming accessories - a grandmother lamp, a weird statue or some other knickknack. particularly thoughtful i found that they disguised the dixon hand-dryer at the ladies' with a fake-antique metal cover. riding house cafe so nothing but praise for the interior of the riding house cafe. i just wish they had put as much emphasis on the food as they had on their design. this seems to be a common problem also of the other 2

fun if you can get a table!. having read glowing reviews in the telegraph, we thought we'd give it a try.
having made a reservation on a friday, we turned up promptly. admittedly, it's probably the busiest night of the week and were told our table was paying up and asked to wait by the bar. having ordered two bottles of wine between 6 of us, we hung around the bar for about 15 mins before asking how much longer our table would be. we were told that it was being set up so we headed back to the bar, expecting to be called at any moment. another 10 mins passed and still nothing. having approached one of the hosts again, we were told that it was going to be a few more minutes. i hate being lied to by hosts.
35 mins after our alloted reservation, we were finally seated at our table in the main dining room. the waitress did apologise for the wait before giving out menus.
we ordered a selection of small tapas-style dishes to all share and then main courses each.
the salted cod croquettes were nice but a little cold by the time it arrived. the roast pork belly was delicious - crispy skin and tender. the goats cheese curd (seemingly ultra popular and trendy right now) was also really tasty but the veal sausage was just so-so.
my main course was the chorizo hash brown with poached egg - more of a brunch dish in my view - but was very good with a perfectly poached egg on top. others liked about the foie gras burger (although one friend complained he couldn't taste or find the foie gras!!) and the accompanying french fries were top notch.
a good wine list and inventive cocktails as well as a smattering of classic ones, the drinks were certainly flowing.
in the end, we had a good time but perhaps that was because we were so hungry that everything tasted pretty good. still, worth a try, perhaps on a quieter night!

the riding house café is an all-day affair serving, as is the way so often these days, a format of small plates of food. it opened in may 2011 and is run by the owners of the bermondsey brasseries village east and garrison, and is near the site of what was the middlesex hospital. the premises are large, seating 140 covers at one time, plus a private dining room downstairs, and the place was heaving on the weekday night of my visit and was turning tables at a brisk pace. it ihas a casual atmosphere, with no tablecloths, wooden floor and old-fashioned lampshades, and was quite noisy due to the sheer volume of customers.

the riding house café is achingly cool.

all this was good, and avocado on toast reached a similar standard, but perhaps surprisingly, the best things about brunch at the riding house cafe were the drinks.

there are good vegetarian choices, including a delicious, hot artichoke dip with home made crostini.