The Roadhouse, Covent Garden (Roadhouse)

Member Name: catherine21

Product:	Roadhouse
Date:	23/08/09 (113 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great food, great drinks, reasonable prices

Disadvantages: Their organisation with bookings

The Roadhouse is an American themed restaurant located in Central London in Covent Garden. It's location makes it very easy to get to as it's just a short walk from Covent Garden station, although it's entrance means that it could be quite easy to miss. The entrance of the restaurant is just a set of doors with a sign over them, as the restaurant itself is underground.

We booked the Roadhouse through TopTable website, which allows you to take up really good offers in various restaurants as long as you book in advance and through the website. The offer that we had for the Roadhouse was 50% off all food and a free cocktail each, which was brilliant!

Unfortunately when we got there they didn't have any record of our booking at the door. I'd printed off the booking confirmation and taken it with me, so they still honoured the offer.

The restaurant itself certainly does the American theme well, the bar in the middle of the restaurant was very reminiscent of a typical American bar, with waiters juggling bottles as they made cocktails. The decor included a motor bike hanging from the ceiling, and there were booths all around the edge of the room, giving it a diner style feeling.

The service was very efficient and we had soon ordered our food and free cocktails. There was a huge selection of cocktails, and the ones we had were lovely! We had a starter to share which was delicious, but absolutely huge! I would recommend sharing starters rather than having one per person.

As a main course I had a steak which was cooked exactly as I liked it, with skinny chips and salad to accompany it. The menu mainly focused on steaks and burgers, but there were also dishes like fajitas and mixed grills.

There was also a very small selection of deserts, although given how generous the portions were, I don't know how many people would want a desert too!

Our waitress was very friendly and helpful, and very attentive to our needs.

The restaurant prices were not bad at all considering the location and the quality of the food. A burger was around £10, a steak around £13, and the cocktails were about £6 each. With our 50% off offer, it was a bargain!

After we left the restaurant however, I had a rather panicked voicemail message from my mum, who had made the booking for me. She said the restaurant had phoned her asking why no-one had turned up for the booking. She then tried to phone me, but as the restaurant is underground, I had no signal and she couldn't get through. They seemed to have got their lists mixed up somewhere, so when we tried to book in at the door they had no trace of us, but someone else thought we hadn't turned up. Obviously admin is not their strong point!

Another point to note about the restaurant is that it is strictly over 18s and there are bouncers on the door, so not somewhere to take children.

Overall, I had a lovely evening at the Roadhouse, the food and cocktails were wonderful, although their organisation of bookings left a little to be desired!

Summary: A fantastic restaurant - see if you can book it through toptable.com for a real bargain!