An expensive London hotel charges £16 for a bread basket and you can imagine how well that goes down.
The Dorchester’s rooftop restaurant, Polo Lounge, based in affluent Mayfair, London charges guests the hefty sum in exchange for a Sea Salt Pretzel, Butter Brioche and a Garlic and Cheese Baguette. Cajun butter and chive cream cheese are also included in the price, so that’s fine then.
People are outraged by this but this is just one crumb in a wider tale of anger, triggered by a viral review of the restaurant that was published at the weekend.
Restaurant critic Jay Rayner eviscerated the hotel on Sunday in which he listed the astronomical prices of some of the menu items and provided damning images suggesting that it wasn’t even that nice.
Writing in The Observer, he branded the hotel’s offering as “cack-handed food that’s a gross insult to good taste, manners and commercial decency”.
He added: “The bread basket is £16. The salads start at £28. A bowl of pasta is £38. A steak is £135. Certain items are described as Polo Lounge “signature” dishes. Prime among them is the McCarthy salad.
“It costs £38, and arrives looking like someone with an organising compulsion has been at the Garfunkel’s salad bar.
“There are separate sections for chopped beetroot, skinned tomato, bacon minced to a paste, chicken breast with the texture of value-range cotton wool, cubes of sweaty, squeaky cheese, shredded egg and, on top, an avocado that’s been halfway through an egg slicer.
“Once it’s been mixed with an over-emulsified, over-sweetened balsamic vinaigrette that looks like congealed gravy, I know where it should be tossed.”
Damning stuff.
I’ve posted all my pics from today’s review over on Instagram where I’m also @jayrayner1 but have a few here: the pre tossed £36 salad, post the toss, the dressing like gravy, and the menu to gawp at. pic.twitter.com/u30U0knm0s
— Jay Rayner (@jayrayner1) August 15, 2021
So, having elevated people’s awareness about the prices, people on Twitter reacted to the various horror shows, £16 bread included.
Hilarious review - I laughed all the way through it:
— Jane Lomas 💙 (@completelyjane) August 15, 2021
'According to the menu these dishes are meant for sharing. I apologise to my companion for doing so.'
The Polo Lounge at the Dorchester Hotel: ‘Dismal food at inexplicable prices’ - restaurant review https://t.co/Xs49nFLWAa
There are so many memorable lines here it's hard to choose one. But let me commend the reference to Alex Salmond...
— Tom Doorley (@tomdoorley) August 16, 2021
The Polo Lounge at the Dorchester Hotel: ‘Dismal food at inexplicable prices’ - restaurant review https://t.co/lbpxusZYbO
People living on the streets and the Dorchester Hotel charges 84 quid for a £14 bottle of wine. There is something very f*cking wrong with this World.
— Matthew Payne (@Matthew82069336) August 15, 2021
Millions reliant on food banks.
— Sean (@StaticKing) August 15, 2021
Children going hungry during school holidays.
Meanwhile, at The Dorchester, £16 for the bread basket please. https://t.co/kMtqaO5oV5
So just a steak and a bottle of wine for £225? No chips?
— Hawksmoor (@HawksmoorLondon) August 15, 2021
I could do you 4 steaks, 4 chips and a bottle of rosé for £220 in Seven Dials, no view but you could spend your remaining fiver on getting public transport to a nice park?
Do any of the lovely staff there need jobs? 😉
42 quid for a paillard is quite a flex
— Janine Gibson (@janinegibson) August 15, 2021
If you fancy eating at the Dorchester, you can also enjoy a bowl of soup for £16, or a side of chips for the same amount. Terrifyingly, the menu also declares that “all dishes are designed to share”.
We’ll pass.
