The Engineer

I went to this pub recently after having heard so much about it. I have to say that its location and also building make it really attractive.

First impression when you get in: the atmosphere is nice and cosy but certainly due to the limited space in the bar. It is definitely a place where to have a meal more than just one drink (except maybe during the summer when you can enjoy the garden at the rear) as there are different dining rooms (a big one downstairs and a couple upstairs).

First shock: the unfriendliness of the bar staff. Not really what you expect from a 'gastro-pub'. The restaurant staff is a lot more friendly and helpful.

Then the quality of the food: although everything looked very appetizing on the menu (and in your plates as well), we were all a bit disappointed by the results. Very well presented and original recipes/mixes of flavours but disappointing, especially for the price. The beef carpaccio was tasteless and consisted in layers of raw beef, without any olive oil or lemon. Although the lemon sole (which was recommended to us by the waiter) came with an uncommon and tasty truffle sauce, the fish itself was more than average.

Then the wine, also recommended by the waiter (who seemed really into his wines) was even below average.

When I see the comments of their Manager below, I have got the impression that the whole staff is over confident. Of course they have a good reputation but you get a feeling that they rely on: their location, building, decor and garden, and pretend that all the rest is quality when it is NOT.

Friendliness of the staff is a MUST in a gastro-pub and instead of getting upset by their customers' complaints, they should start changing now or they will lose the category of customers that are ready to pay for good food and service and keep the ones who are too wealthy to care.

Today was a glorious Autumn Sunday in London - possibly our last for 2008 - and everyone was out and about making the most of the city, with smiles as bright as the sunshine. That's everyone except the staff at The Engineer, who were grumpy and rude and contemptuous from the moment we arrived.

We had a booking for a large group of 12, which we all understand can be more difficult to look after in terms of serving meals etc so we split our group into a table of 6 and table of 4 as requested - this pub doesn't do bookings for more than 10. The waitress 'looking after us' in fact told us that their kitchen can't handle tables larger than 6.

Our plan for the afternoon was to sit in the beer garden on this beautiful day, eat a yummy lunch (which it was), and share quite a few drinks with some friends but the staff at this pub seemed intent on making sure that didn't happen - we were sick of the treatment so left as soon as we'd finished lunch to go to another pub nearby for a few more drinks.

The staff at The Engineer don't seem to understand the concept of the hospitality business. They were anything but hospitable. I won't be coming back or recommending it.