Reviews of Restaurant in the Jew's House, Lincoln
Review by Mike Gamble on 20th April, 2008
Add your review Date visited: 19 April 2008
"Oh!" exclaimed our host, "You're very early". Such was our greeting when we arrived at 19:15 for a 19:30 table reservation on Saturday 19th April at Restaurant in the Jew's House. Switching deftly from affronted to long-suffering this was followed by "I suppose you could have a drink in the lounge if you like". Generous!
Unfortunately this was just the first off-key note in what turned out to be a very unharmonious evening.
Our expectation, given the reputation of the restaurant, was that we would be able to enjoy a pre-dinner drink in reasonable comfort while perusing the menu and making our choices. This is not really encouraged by the lounge. I can understand it being a small room, but the fact that the furniture is even less hospitable than our initial reception is less easy to forgive. By the host's own admission the small settee on which I sat is so low down and uncomfortable it is difficult to get up from.
Never mind we consoled each other, things will improve once we go through to our table. Sadly this was not the case. We ate at a table in the upstairs part of the restaurant. This is a room devoid of character or atmosphere. Overly warm and too brightly lit, with unattractive Ikea style furnishings totally at odds with the age of the building.
Once seated, the discomfort with which I was to endure my meal became clear. The tables are so close together that in order to sit a reasonable distance from my plate the back of my chair was pushed against the chair of the person behind me. This kind of physical proximity to other diners may be acceptable in a fast food restaurant, but is not what you expect when paying over £100 for a meal for two.
Never mind we thought again, the food will surely be more than adequate compensation for the surroundings, although we couldn't share this thought due to the impossibility of enjoying a conversation with any privacy whatsoever. Unfortunately this too turned out to be a false hope. I had expected a gastronomic tour de force, but would classify the meal as no better than "Ok". The meat was not particularly tender, was rather short of flavour and was not even particularly hot by the time it arrived at our table. Unlike the radiator, which continued to emit enough heat to contribute to global warming.
As you may have gathered, this was not a great evening. I suspect that had we eaten downstairs then the atmosphere would have been better, but this would not have improved the food, or presumably the curiously grudging nature of the service. Not only will we not be back, this is not a restaurant I could bring myself to recommend - to a friend that is!
Mike.
Review by Richard on 9th July, 2007
Add your review Date visited: June 15th 2007
Great food, Great Staff, Nice old Building, Good value for Money.
Will be returning in the near future.
Well done.
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