I recently ate at the Escoffier room and do not believe that hhrtmnn's snarky review is justified (and from the content of the review I am not sure if he/she ever ate there).
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But anyhow, I found the £25 five course lunch to be tempting and I had read good things about this place so I gave it a try.
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The dining room is quite cosy and the atmosphere is nice. I was probably the youngest person in the room so apparently this is a hotspot for local retirees, which I did not find to be very bothersome. The food was really quite good, perhaps not as refined as it would be in a gourmet restaurant but better than a lot of places in London. They offer a veggie and non-veggie menu but you can swap the dishes around if you like.
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It was quite amusing to sit there and watch the trainee waiting staff serve a room full of guests they were a friendly bunch but it does show that they are still in training (and also, on the day I was there, the waiting staff were actuallly trainee cooks so they were probably a bit more helpless than trainee waiting staff).
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If you are expecting slick service you will not get it here but if you can take restaurant service with a grain of salt you will get what is probably the cheapest 5 course lunch in London. They also offer the menu with corresponding wines for £48, which is good value..
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They are only open during lunchtime and booking is advisable it is a small room and often booked up. read more