Usually I wouldn't bother giving feedback after a bad experience at a restaurant and would simply not go back but in this case the experience was so poor I will do both. The 3 course Christmas lunch set menu was £35 (drinks excl) - 21 Dec 2011.
Table
We had booked a table several weeks in advance and if a table for 7 was beyond what the establishment was able to handle they should have let us know then. Giving us a round table for 5 and then patching a small table on the side for 2 is not what I would expect in even an average restaurant. The fact that the table for 2 resembled a children's table and was a good 10cm lower than the main table didnt help.
Meal
I had the turkey which came with brussels sprouts and potato. It was at best average, where volume trumped quality. I'm sure that it would have gone down a treat for anyone limited to one meal a day or on a building site canteen but as part of a 3 course meal in a central London restaurant it was not up to standard.
Desert
5 of us ordered the Christmas pudding. I've have had this dessert dozens of times before and each time have had it with brandy butter sauce or occasionally custard. The sauce that it was served with on our visit was simply icing sugar mixed with water and alcohol of some sort added to it. The cake it's self actually didn't seem that bad but none of us could eat it with the awful sauce.
Service
The service was non-existent. We per selected off the Christmas menu a week in advance. No one at any stage came round to enquire about the food or as to why no one ate their dessert, or to top up a single wine glass. I am therefore perplexed as to what the 10% service charge was for.
Decor
Old, musty and worn. I'm sure it looked good in the 60's.
The mouse that one of my colleagues saw scampering around while sitting at our table was the cherry on top.
Orpheus serve a variety of English dishes at their restaurant and can cater for private parties of up to 100 people in a private function room.