Bedford & Strand

2 Reviews on “Bedford & Strand”

• David Mackintyre

  A good find. There are some other wine rooms to choose from in the area, but what set’s this one apart is the atmosphere. More wine drinkers and less cork sniffers. The staff are able and willing to guide you through a few glasses to find something you actually want to drink, rather than something you want to be seen drinking. This means that most people are there to relax and enjoy themselves. I really liked the old-style look to the place, and the pre-theatre dinner we enjoyed was top notch. The dishes are simple but tasty, which goes a long way in my book. We didn’t know what wine to match our meals with, but the waiter was happy to help pick one that suited and he was genuinely French. I’d definitely go again. One of my faves in the area.

  October 28, 2011, 4:10 pm

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• Highbury Girl

  Great food, dire service. Good food, good wine, awful service.Food: very good. Excellent smoked salmon and chicken liver pate to start, mains of haddock fish cakes and a Barnsley lamp chop respectively both great. Wine also very good. If a restaurant experience involved just the food, I’d have few complaints – great bistro food, in short.Service: terrible. At the bar, I waited around 5 minutes whilst a bar man/waiter hovered at the other end, having a sip of his drink, before he noticed someone who had arrived after me, and served him. Another bar man hovered in front of me, preparing a complex drink for someone, and although saw I was obviously waiting, made no attempt at communicating, no ‘I’ll be with you in a second’ or knowing nod of the head. I gave up in the end and sat down, with no drinks. We asked to be moved to our table, still at this point with no drinks, as it would hopefully mean a chance to buy some!At table: we were given only one food menu. I mentioned to the man who had sat us in the bar that I thought his bar staff could be a bit quicker; he muttered something in agreement, including the phrase ‘kick up the arse’. We were brought some bread – had to ask for it. The butter was hard, there were no butter knives nor side plates given to us. When I asked about this, the main man told me that it wasn’t ‘that kind of place’ and that even ‘the suits’ in the week weren’t given side plates. So we were meant to eat the bread over the paper tablecloth. I can appreciate that this is a laidback bistro, but when I’ve been to the real deal in France, or similar in Italy, spit and sawdust places, I’ve generally been given something other than the table to put my bread on. We were given some plates upon request, and a knife for the butter. Further flaws service-wise: waiter/waitress presence fairly non-existent for first part of meal, though this did improve as we went along. Service so disappointing that I would not go back. And the attitude of some members of staff was a little too ‘that’s the way we are, take us or leave us’.

  May 6, 2011, 10:35 pm

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