The Larder

The Larder in London had really friendly staff, nice open atmosphere with colorful decorative walls, and really tasty food. There were a lot of choices with the 50% menu for two courses and everything had great flavor. Favorite starters were goats cheese beignets & salt/​pepper squid, and duck and salmon for mains. The roast pork tasted good but was a bit dry.

Never eaten in the restaurant but occasionally frequent the sandwich bar next door. They make an okay sausage roll — warm and sligthly greasy (in a good way) — that works a treat with a hangover. Also make sandwiches to order with generous quantities of good quality fillings and decent bread. Not cheap but not a rip off. Service is quick — always a lunch time plus.

Really good deal with Toptable’s 50% off offer, and food was delicious, but then sadly, the process of getting the bill was a shambles — first we were told our bill had been paid (no it hadn’t), then we were brought one without the 50% off, then we were brought one that charged us twice for a dish and didn’t apply the 50% off correctly, and on the fourth try we were all so frustrated with it that we just paid and left with a somewhat disgruntled feeling.

With its trendy, bare-​brick interior and wooden tables and modern European menu, this place is nice enough, but nothing special.
There’s nothing actually wrong with it per se, but I don’t plan to go back either.

I wanted to like the Larder, the interior is spacious and its really close to the office but I can’t. The food is generally good but is expensive for what it is and the service is snail like. I read in, I think, one of the in-​flight magazines that it does more Gin based cocktails than any other Bar in London. I would like to try that more often but I am put off by the fact that service is so slow. We did try the private dining in the room at the back but again service was so slow as to be embarrassing. You do not expect to have to go and find someone to take your order after half an hour waiting in the private dining room.

I tried to book a table here at 7.30 and was told it had to be 7.45 as the restaurant was fully booked so I decided to try a walk-​in instead. When I turned up, it was fairly empty and we got a table with no problems. I had a scallop and king prawn dish with linguine which looked fabulous but was somewhat on the salty side. The nice thing about this place is that there is a reasonable amount of space between the tables so you don’t feel cramped, plus you can see into the kitchen which is quite nice. On the other hand, 2 main courses, a small carafe of wine and a still water set us back over £60. I have eaten much much better for less. Still, I wouldn’t have a problem going back if someone else was paying.

I only went to the Larder because there was a 2 hour (!!) wait for a table at Vinoteca. I left feeling that maybe I would have been better waiting the 2 hours. While my fish pie for main was fantastic there was something very wrong with my entrée of dover crab. The place has an industrial chic feel, however that also makes it feel pretty empty and lacking in atmosphere even when full. I won’t be back.