Roast

[jamiemaw]

The most compelling reasons that service is laconic in London restaurants, often in start-ups and at mid-price points, are lack of training and lack of incentive. To my jaundiced eye, the sum total often looks like early-onset Alzheimer's, where staff gaze into the middle distance, looking without seeing.

Edited October 28, 2005 by jamiemaw (log)

[battleofthebulge]

Back to the subject of Roast, dropped by last night on the off chance of a table. Place was completely packed out - all they could offer was a drink at the bar. FOH was very friendly (bit taken aback by the crowds, I think) - nice South African bloke. So no idea if service has improved since last week but if it hasn't they must have been in DIRE trouble last night!

So we went round to Cantina Vinopolis instead and had excellent fillet and morels.

(Tapas Brindisi and Glas were also packed out and the Wine Wharf was pretty much full.)

Sarah

[magnolia]

Bingo. Surreal eat state. Plus, a lot if not most of the money going into restaurants these days is coming from those fabled hedge fund managers with the multi million pound salaries and aggressive business sense.

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Which astounds me to no end. Having been a banker myself in a previous life, I know my way around a business plan. But this 'aggressive business sense' seems to disappear when it comes to deciding to investing in a restaurant - a sector that has one of the highest fail rates of any. Knowing several of these HFMs personally, I can tell you - pardon my French - that it's their little brain leading their big one when it comes to funding a restaurant; they want a place to show off to clients, a posh version of Cheers.

[magnolia]

Everything you describe is why I would never review on a soft opening, nor - and don't take this the wrong way - pay the slightest bit of attention to anything that I heard had occurred during one. No, it doesn't sound good. But they still have time to get their shit together.

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Clearly Jan Moir doesn't subscribe to the same policy. See today's review (not yet online...

[Andy Lynes]

It is now although its not clear if Moir went during the first week the place was actually open or the week of the soft opening.