Le Pont de la Tour

horrid horrid & horrid - food very bland - staff faulse and charge HIGH ! will no go again - thank you so much for spoiling my 40th birthday celebrations.

Been twice and on both occasions the same: good food in a brilliant location (the views of Tower Bridge are stunning) but absolutely terrible service - extremely long waits for the food, eventually served by unattentive and disinterested staff. For this high price category, you really should expect better treatment. The service ruins what would otherwise be a lovely experience. There won't be a third time.

Le Pont de la Tour Bar & Grill is a disappointment. Very small portions of food at very expensive prices. My seafood arrived overcooked. Service started well but as the meal progressed our waiter forgot about us and went to work behind the bar.

I would not recommend or want to go back to this place other than to look at the river views.

Attracted by a special offer in a London evening newspaper and the prospect of entertaining a foreign diplomat with marvellous views of Tower bridge and the river, I thought I couldn’t possibly go wrong.

The setting is spectacular and the restaurant decor is good with comfortable chairs and white-starched table cloths.

When we arrived, we waited around for a welcome of some kind that was not forthcoming and were taken to our table with little more than an obligatory grimace. Not exactly off to a good start I thought, but I was on my best behaviour and decided to give it a chance. The stuffy atmosphere prevailed throughout the lunch in more ways than one – an overheated restaurant and surly staff, with one exception, an obliging waitress with a sense of humour.

The managers parading around in the black suits, white shirts and black ties were utterly devoid of charm and hovered around us with an affected manner until our orders had been placed.

A brilliant glass of Piper Heidsieck champagne included as part of the special meal raised our expectations and was a great start until my Lobster bisque arrived. A teaspoon of minced shellfish that I assumed was lobster was placed into my bowl with grated fennel, followed by the bisque. With an overwhelming taste of cream and possibly sherry, it was disappointing to say the least. My guests left most of what was on their plates too and I was too embarrassed to ask them at this early stage if there was anything wrong. And neither did our waiter bother to ask, who whipped away the plates of food without noticing the food had barely been touched. My roast pork Middle white fillet slices and mash which followed looked fine on the plate, but was overwhelmingly flavoured by honey and was in all honesty indistinguishable in taste from any other cut of meat.

My pear tarte tatin comprised luke-warm pastry, a delicious pear and accompanied by a ball of ice-cream resting on a bed of bread crumbs, which I have a suspicion was supposed to be something else.

I couldn’t wait to leave and even that was difficult as we had to ask for the bill three times. I was embarrassed and annoyed by my choice of both venue and the food, reminiscent of an average London restaurant experience ten years ago. I managed to contain my disappointment, which is probably just as we let ourselves out without the appearance of any manger of member of staff being present offering us a courtesy of any kind.