I went to the Mayfair Lounge and Grill but left before dessert

I was gifted a three-course meal with bottomless prosecco for two at The Mayfair Lounge and Grill at The Cavendish through Buy A Gift.

While the experience does have an impressive 4.5/5 rating on the site, we didn’t get to see a side of the Mayfair Lounge and Grill that many happy visitors were able to.

Instead, we were left reminiscing on a disastrous meal that we didn’t even see the dessert off, and worst of all we were left starving.

I went to the Mayfair Lounge and Grill and was left hungry

Taking it back to the start, I will admit that I was slightly concerned from the start when booking the meal seemed to be more of a hassle than anything else.

Using the voucher code and pin from Buy A Gift was simple enough, but with instructions to email or call the Mayfair Lounge and Grill to book my meal, I was met with unanswered emails and calls to voicemail.

The menu of The Cavendish Mayfair. (Image: Newsquest)

But, after a week of struggling to get in contact, I did receive a reply explaining that I would need to book via the Mayfair Lounge and Grill website, which luckily was simple enough.

Nevertheless, I went in with an open mind, dressing up for what should have been a nice experience for myself and my deserving mother.

Throughout the meal staff were pleasant, kind and very helpful, taking our coats on arrival and greeting us with a glass of prosecco.

As we looked over the menu, everything sounded amazing, from the Pan Fried Scallops, Steak, Warm Apple Cake and more.

We both picked our three courses, I went for the Pigeon for starters, Honey Duck for main and lastly the Warm Poached Rhubarb for dessert.

My starter of Pigeon. (Image: Newsquest)

My mother picked the Poached Egg, Pheasant and Cheese on Toast for her three courses.

One thing that is worth pointing out about the menu is how a lot of it does come with a supplementary charge, including chips for £6.5 and sauce such as Garlic Aioli for £5.

As we waited for our starters, we took in the surroundings noticing that everyone looked to be enjoying their meals and that the dining room was nice and clean albeit loud.

We waited a little over 20 minutes for our starters enjoying our prosecco that was constantly being topped up and when they arrived, they were both very tasty and well-sized.

With no complaints for the starters, we were both very excited to see what would come of the mains.

However, that’s where the meal at the Mayfair Lounge and Grill began to take a turn.

'The Mayfair Lounge and Grill was not smooth sailing'

When you book your meal you are made aware that you have a 90-minute slot that covers your prosecco and meal time.

But, as the wait between starters and main grew, as did the amount of prosecco we drank, time moved closer to what was supposed to be our ‘end time'.

My main of Honey Duck. (Image: Newsquest)

When it got to a 40-minute wait between meals I asked our helpful waiter how long it would be until we received our mains, who informed me it would be just three minutes.

Happy to wait just three minutes, we relaxed and continued chatting enjoying our prosecco.

However, when three minutes became 30 minutes and we’d run out of prosecco, my mother politely asked when we could expect our mains, as she was informed it would be out very soon.

After only waiting a few minutes more, we received our mains but at that point, our three-course meal was supposed to be up.

The mains looked very pleasant, however, my mum was left disappointed when she discovered that her Pheasant, a meal she’d eaten often growing up, was still raw, we saw very little hope for the rest of the meal.

My mothers main of Pheasant. (Image: Newsquest)

My meal of Duck was not at the standard I was expecting for a place as well established asthe Mayfair Lounge and Grill feeling slightly too raw to eat.

The very apologetic staff came to us asking if everything was okay, to which both my mother and I had decided it was best to call it quits.

Apologizing to the staff, we thanked them for their brilliant service and wanted to make it clear that they were at no fault for the slightly disastrous meal.

Deciding to end the meal, my mother and I were not angry or upset by the experience but we were disappointed.

RECOMMENDED READING

• I tried Brigit’s Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus Tour in London
• I went behind the scenes of the Tube's Baker Street Station

It seemed that we were not the only table getting the wrong end of the experience while most visitors at the Mayfair Lounge and Grill seemed to enjoy their meal, some were in the same boat as us.

Although our three-course meal at the Mayfair Lounge and Grill was not smooth sailing, it was something I’ll have trouble forgetting.

But, there was one big positive, we got to drink a lot of prosecco.