Restaurants

Housed in a spectacular Victorian pumping station, often with a backdrop of stimulating contemporary art, Wapping Food should be a wonderful venue for a night out. Sadly a combination of indifferent service, uncomfortable seating and hit-and-miss cooking made our recent visit a disappointment. On our arrival, the front-of-house seemed more interested in her computer screen than showing us to our table. Three types of bread were delivered with no explanation as to what they were. We ordered a £26 bottle of Cascabel tempranillo from the all-Australian wine list (with nothing under £20), but the one our waiter ‘opened’ at the table was only two-thirds full, and when this was pointed out, he simply mumbled ‘Someone in the kitchen…’. Still, a starter of creamy foie gras with toasted almonds and toast was delicious, as was a beautifully tender main of lamb with accompanying pile of potato and parsnip and an anchovy ‘parfait’. Purple truffled potatoes served with swordfish looked gorgeous, but were dry and overcooked. Apart from some over-solicitous wine pouring, service was so slow that a two-course meal took almost three hours. Desserts, if we’d wanted them, could have included balsamic ice-cream with berry compote, or Valrhona chocolate fondue. This is a great venue and some of the cooking is very good, but it’s not cheap so there’s no excuse for laurel resting.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009