Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill, West End, London

My husband and I went here for Valentine’s Day once. It’s got a lovely old interior that makes you feel as if you’re stepping back in time. The food that we had was delicious - I remember I had the fish soup and a fancy fish pie.

My only complaint is that the staff were rushing us to finish our meal and a bottle of wine, which really did dampen what should have been an exceptionally enjoyable evening.

Now okay, I know it’s a seafood restaurant but I decided to try ot out from a slightly leftfield angle and opt out of all the seafood dishes and just pile up on chicken (what can i say, I didn’t pick it). To be honest though I actually quite enjoyed my chicken liver pate on posh toast, it was delicious. For mains I had roast chicken with mashed potato, mushrooms and soinach and it too was very nice but didn’t really rock my world which is what I was expecting from the interior of the restaurant. By far and away though my highlight of the meal was the wine, i’m not really a fan of white but the glass I had here may lead me to re-think things a little.

Falling for the old 'Give them whatever we can muster up if they are on a London Resteraunt Week booking’ mistake bently’s failed to impress. It really is simple- if you do a deal it should be to introduce new people to your resteraunt, people that will come back over and over because they tried it and it was amazing. To give out sub standard food is silly- you’re missing the point. That is what happened- they missed the mark entirely.
Which is o.k for me for now- I will with hold judgement until I get to try an Osyer there, after all if you take your name on an ingredient I would think it’s your best one!

We took advantage of London Restaurant Week offer to try out Bentley’s one lunchtime, and having had one of the most memorable meals of my life at Corrigan’s Lindsay House I was expecting good things.

We passed the less formal bar area downstairs as we came in and part of me wished we were going there instead as it looked like a cool place to sit and lose a few hours, but we’d booked upstairs in the restaurant proper. It’s a nice room, pretty traditional and the staff were really freindly even though we were there for the 'cheap deal’.

The restaurant Week menu was a bit limited though (why do restaurants do this - put your best dishes on display, not the cheap stuff, and we’ll come back!) with a chicken or fish option for the main and the starter, not very inspired.

And the food was… ok. I certainly wasn’t blown away, which is furstrating because I know Corrigan can be brilliant and I’m sure there are some gems on the menu that we just couldn’t get at, but after this experience I’m really unlikely to go back and shell out (no pun intended) to try them.

Maybe, just maybe, I’ll go and try the Oyster Bar and see if that restores my faith.

good stuff. decent service, night relaxed atmosphere and a small but varied menu. dishes were either well or very well executed. my fish soup was tasty, and the fish pie filling and flavoursome. it isn’t cheap - expect to pay a tenner for an average glass of wine, but the overall bill is reasonable given the execution and lively menu. this is really a 4.5 star place for me right now…

This place is great. Fantastically old school, but in a modern and stylish way. We sat at the Oyster bar, watching the guys crack open and turn over the oysters one after the other for hours - very therapeutic. After a glass of pink bubbly, I tucked into a fish pie, with spinach on the side. And oh my god, this fish pie. It is quite possibly the best fish pie I’ve ever tasted. It arrived and I thought I would only be able to finish half of it, but the sauce was so delicate and the fish so perfectly cooked, I finished the lot! Amazing crunchy mash on the top, not too heavy or salty, the fish melts in your mouth, it was incredible.

This is the kind of place to go for a special occasion or if you just love seafood and happen to be shopping in the area – it is after all right near Piccadilly and Regents Street, so a great place to stop off and recharge! And if you’re looking for a fish pie to beat all fish pies, this is your place! Good tip – eating at the bar is a lot cheaper than in the restaurant which is pricey. The fish pie was around £10 cheaper at the bar because it didn’t have lobster in it, which the restaurant one does…

Oh and lovely old school powder room toilets for the ladies (I’m not sure about the men’s!)

Excited to be taking part in London Restaurant Week we thought we’d sample one of the great restaurants the city boasts over lunch and to be honest I was a little let down.

Firstly they made the mistake many restaurants do with specials - rather than allowing the diner the opportunity to sample their spread and rave about them to friends (and on Qype), they had a bit of a lean offering for the 'special menu’. For starters we could choose between a salmon terrine or chicken liver pate and mains was either fish stew or a cooked chicken breast. Not what I’d been expecting after drueling over the menu all morning. The fish stew was mediocre, salmon starter was quite tasty but pate was better though very rich. Perhaps if we’d sampled some of their more notorious meals I would have more to rave about but alas.

Otherwise staff were friendly and restaurant had a comfortable ambience.

Oh and as smiley as the head waiter was, I wouldn’t advise telling him he looks like the Halifax guy as he apparently gets that ALOT.

What can I say, I love sea food and have eaten it all over the world. this was not just great fish it was a dining experience. Service, ambience presentation quality all top class.
Wine list to drool over. Ok Richard Corrigan@s restaurants were never going to be cheap but I truly believe for a special treat this is expensive but value for money.
try it and see!!

Dissappointing service from head waiter, disinterested, no chioce offered on main course veg, no one came to ask how our meal was, in fact it was VERY poor, tough steaks at £25 each, dover sole with a watery sauce..1 hour wait to be asked if we required a sweet, not what I have come to expect.

Owned by Richard Corrigan, who owns the fantastic Lindsay House, this place is a bit of a let down. I was expecting far more from the food and definitely from the service.

The chorizo stuffed squid starter was a winner. The fish pie main dish, dull. Now I guess the fish pie might seem a boring choice, but it takes a god chef to make a good fish pie, it ain't as simple as it appears. Anyway, it was a bit weak. I've had much better.

The selction of fresh fish, cooked in any manner you choose would probably be a better choice in a venue like this, and did get the thumbs up from my dining companions. Now for dessert. Yes, I chose the traditional option again, decided to play it safe and went for my favourite: the chocolate pudding. Now I know my chocolate puddings and this wasn't at all good. It was dry, not a hint of that steamed moistness you expect from a pudding, and didn't taste particularly chocolately. The accompanying custard was on the cold side of warm. Either give it me cold or make sure it's piping, not 'left on the side for 10 minutes' temperature', not when I'm payingf £100 plus a-head. I did taste a friend's apple tart, which was delightful, maybe I just chose the wrong thing.

Two particularly sour points about the evening: one of my dining companions was given the wrong dessert. The waitress merely shrugged and said if she wanted her original choice she would have to wait another 20 minutes. There was no apology.

Another friend was a vegetarian. And I know it was a fish restaurant but he didn't pick the venue, seriously, how hard can it be to have somethign other than goats' cheese (which he is allergic to) on your menu. We even phoned ahead to let them know and they said not to worry at all. Upon telling this to the waiter when placing our order, he was far from impressed and merely moved on to the next person ordering without uttering a word. Anyway, a vegetarian dish did arrive. Guess what it was? A bowl of pasta with cheese, brilliant. And it was overcooked.

Has a privaye room that sits about 14 too.

The lady at the cloakroom is a little gem. The best thing about this place.

Good business class fish restaurant; well located near Piccadilly. Quiet enough for business conversation, good menu, excellent wine list. Entrees were good quality but could have been better. Casual bistro and bar downstairs and a more formal restaurant upstairs