"This is a stunning and historic venue, absolutely beautiful. However my experience as a vegetarian was of being very let down both in terms of food standards and service! The bill came to £400 for four people, (2 vegetarians + 2 non vegetarians). As vegetarians we pre-planned to have a cheese soufflé starter and artichoke/ chickpea main dish (advertised online )... we were told on arrival that sadly the only "main" was a cauliflower steak. Another reviewer had forewarned us the cauliflower is not a good choice.
Then we were told that the chef could make a mushroom risotto at £48 a head, as if this was a great big favour. But we didn't want cauliflower steak, and we don't like mushrooms. Finally the next great big favour was being offered a modified set menu, supposedly £29 per person (not what it ended up cosying). This set menu consisted of a tomato pastry as starter (quite nice, but not outstanding), the cheese soufflé, usually a starter but served as a main (quite tasty but not worth £10, let alone £100). Then there was a dessert (a stiff eggy cuboid of white foam, with a couple of raspberries alongside). All the plates smelt of egg. Unfortunately we didn't like and couldn't eat, and how ridiculous to charge so much money for so little. The bill came to £400. To be fair, this included a bottle of wine and a bottle of water. But the bill listed mystery fries that were not received. The non-vegetarians had their credit card refunded for this error, (vegetarians were not). Honest reviewers have mentioned how the wonderful decor is. And it is. Decor is definitely the main appeal. Some say service is great and criticise the food. My experience was neither food or service justify the cost. In truth, much as I love Cafe Royal for the wonderful setting, everything else was below average. Far from making vegetarian clients feel welcome, the waiter avoided eye contact, and was intent on addressing only the non-vegetarians in our party, when talking about vegetarian options, which is rude. The pianists were good. But if you are a vegetarian, and food and service are important to you, be warned, for vegetarians, can be a depressing experience. Writing this straight afterwards I feel sick, and need to throw up."
