We went out with a group of people (Norwegians) to have dinner at Simpsons-in-the-Strand yesterday, and even though someone else paid for the meal, we left hugely disappointed.

We started in the bar - and the (one) bartender was very good - knowledgeable and service minded, so no complaints at this stage.

But then we went downstairs to the main dining hall - and the disasters started.

- Ordering anything to drink took a very long time, and frequently did not turn up at all. I'm not sure why ordering beer should be difficult.

- The starters quality varied, from uneatable soup with bread-bits floating in it, to the very good trotters with quail egg.

- Some of the lamb meat was in such a state that you could not cut it with the supplied knives, and one of our party had to send his first plate of lamb away to be replaced by something that was almost as bad.

- The roast potatoes were cold, and delivered 15 minutes after the meat.

- The desserts were good - at least my bread and butter pudding.

- The service was appalling - with a main waiter we really had a hard time understanding, and who apparently had a hard time understanding us as a number of strange dishes turned up with the wrong people.

I'm sorry - I am not normally given to complaining about restaurants, but this is a famous, expensive restaurant, and I do expect a lot better food and service.

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