Reform Social and Grill

Ahh, my first free-​flowing boozy brunch London review. Let the games begin.
Perhaps I have been spoilt by the jaw (and champagne flute) dropping brunches of Dubai, but I was not hugely impressed with Reform Social. For a high end hotel in fabulous Mayfair, I had high hopes. Don’t get me wrong, nothing was actually super bad here. But I tend to judge deals and hotels on their genre and this was lacklustre. The most disappointing part was the reluctance of any of the waiters to keep the prosecco actually free-​flowing. We had to ask for a top-​up almost every time which is a sure fire way to get a thumbs down. I appreciate the fact that my boyfriend and I can be ridiculous drinkers but it you offer this, you have to honor it. Even a poor brunch is made good with generous offerings of bubbly.
For 54 quid (about 27 each), we got to share a Ploughman’s Platter, choice of British mains, and a trio of desserts, plus sparkling wine. This is objectively amazing value through Wowcher but the food was underwhelming (except for dessert). The presentation of the Ploughman’s was poor, with pots and slices thrown on a dish, which was less professional than what I serve at dinner parties. Also, although there was a good selection of cheeses, salads, apples and grapes, as well as breads, we were missing the salt beef AND the potted pickled herring. Major points lost here as these were the things we were most excited about.
They seated us in the wrong area for brunch and then gave us slightly different menus, so I got really excited about my rabbit and was told that it was not available. After a long wait to get served, my Ox-​Cheek Pie was a small and hard-​crusted. My boyfriend said that he had better steaks at Wetherspoons, which is worrying. It was cut up into small pieces?
I hear Reform is good for other deals but this one fell a bit flat.

When in London, one must have high tea at least once. As an uncultured American, my English born boy had much to teach me about the intricacies of all the weird little tools and such that go into an afternoon tea. But, since he is most definitely not the type that would be comfortable eating little finger sandwiches shaped like pink handbags, we opted for Reform’s much raved about «Gentleman’s Tea». The place is a little hard to find, we got lost more than once using our gps. The place was almost empty when we got there but was beautiful. Nice brown leather booths and fireplaces, a very manly, old school English cigar bar kind of feel, with only a touch of femininity (as everything in London has to some extent). As far as high teas in the city go, Reform is a deal. 32 pound for the unlimited champagne tea. Many of the other high ranked places go for twice that, and only one glass of champagne with those! Since we were there in the summer, we went for unlimited Pimm’s and lemonade, which came in (three, by the time we were finished), pretty pitchers with little berries and green things which, after three pitchers, are impossible to remember what exactly they were.
Before our tea, we also got a bellini, he had peach and I had raspberry. He has had more than one negative experience with champagne so it was impressive to see him actually love it. Then came the tea, for which we both got the pear caramel. It was delicious.
Unfortunately the food was not the best, the only real negative as the drinks and the atmosphere were almost without reproach. Definitely go for the Gentleman’s Tea here because the steak and snails sandwich and the sausage roll were both really delicious. The «fancies» were not really to either of our tastes. I am not really one for super sweet things and some of the cakes were a bit dry for my liking (but to be honest, by the time we got to the cakes I was so full of Pimm’s that it didn’t matter!).
All in all, Reform was a lovely experience, surrounded by some government workers in very expensive suits and posh accents, we both had the bougie high tea experience that we wanted.

The afternoon high tea was great! I highly suggest getting the vintage high tea option with the Reform Blend tea! It was delightful! The servers were kind enough to fill our tea pot with warm water free of charge! I suggest ordering extra scones, they are so good and tiny enough to not feel guilty from eating 2 :)

This was my first ever time at one of Unilocal’s unofficial boozy brunches. The premise: find a place with unlimited prosecco and get stuck in. The group chose Reform Social and Grill. Set in a fancy hotel in fancy Mayfair, it’s really not somewhere I would typically choose to go by myself. But I’m glad we did.
I thought the deal with pretty good, two hours of prosecco and a 3 course Sunday roast for 32.50. It was a good deal, if getting drunk was any indication as we did. They cleverly sat us in a back room to ourselves and the staff were fantastic at topping up our glasses. Every time I looked my glass was full. Deliciously dangerous. We got louder and louder as the day went on and they were very gracious about it.
In terms of the food, as Grant mentions, it wasn’t great. I chose ok for my starter, two pieces of goats cheese on salad rolled in some kind of nuts. It was fine. But I had food envy of the cauliflower cheese soup. We ordered extra bread and butter to the starters, I wasn’t too fond of the bread selection, it was a bit bland for a hotel.
The main course was quite disappointing in terms of a roast. It was two slices of pork and some roast veg. A very substandard roast dinner. It was supposed to come with cauliflower cheese which is my absolute favourite, but the only sight of this I got was a single piece of unadorned cauliflower. We had ordered side dishes of cauli cheese too and this was literally cauliflower with melted cheese. That is not how this dish is made.
Disappointing.
The dessert of a crumble baked inside an apple was ok. Not amazing.
All in all, I had a nice time with loads of prosecco and some very friendly staff. So no major complaints.

Infinity Brunch Club Outing #3: Reform Social and Grill
I booked Reform Social and Grill so we could have a nice boozy brunch/​lunch with a Christmas theme, and to be honest, on that level, they didn’t disappoint. They had Christmas Crackers ready for us in a private dining room. They probably put us there because they realized we were going to be loud, obnoxious, drunken idiots, but it wasn’t bad having our own room either. I also figured that we should go on the cheap side as December is full of parties and spending money, so a three-​course meal with two hours of unlimited Prosecco for £32.50 seemed like a great deal.
A few days before our reservation, we had a bit of a change as someone couldn’t make it, but we found another person to take her place. Then we added another person (and I was told it was going to be okay, as I got a confirmation email about it saying both of the new guests were confirmed).
When we arrive, they seemed to think our reservation was at 3:00 as well. Which it wasn’t, as I emailed them specifically to confirm the time as 1:30. Then when I saw the pre-​order list, they had forgotten the new person, so we had to make sure to get that order in as well. It’s just little things, but they seemed really disorganized in regards to large bookings.
People were late (as usual), but we started the Prosecco when about seven out of ten of us were there. Then when everyone showed up, we told them we were ready for our starters. The starters took about 25 minutes to arrive. (And we had pre-​ordered. And the starters were basically soup which is premade and grilled goat’s cheese salad which basically involves grilling some goat’s cheese and slapping it on some salad, no where near 25 minutes.) The starters were actually surprisingly good. The cauliflower cheese soup was more of a cauliflower soup with a sprinkling of cheese on top, but it was really tasty.
Unfortunately the food went downhill from there. My main was sad and disappointing, and all the veg was poorly cooked. There were two miniscule slices of pork belly on the plate. But I was drunk and hungry so I ate it. My partner, on the other hand, didn’t put up with it and sent his back. They made him a new one and it looked much better than the rest of the dishes, but he still said it was fairly mediocre. The sides we ordered sounded really good, but weren’t that great. The cauliflower cheese was just some cauliflower with melted cheese on top. The spring greens and beetroot was green beans and beet root. It was just a disappointment.
Dessert was better, as I liked my toffee apple crumble (which was basically a roast apple with crumble shoved in it), but a lot of people seemed to leave most of their apple behind.
They didn’t kick us out afterwards, and we ordered a few more bottles of bubbly after our time limit had expired because we wanted more to drink. Apparently they ran out of Prosecco though, so they had to switch to Champagne. So while the drinks were really free-​flowing, the poor quality of the food and the disorganization really put a damper on the experience. I can’t say I’d be back again. I think there are many other places in town that do infinity drinks that are likely to be better.

We enjoyed a great Sunday dinner at the reform social and grill; we had the place to ourselves for the most part and for only £32.50 we had three course and truely free-​flowing prosecco.
The starters of spring salads; salmon for me and goats cheese for my other half, were delicious and light. The roast beef and pork belly were very tasty and well cooked, but the roasted veg was a tad underdone for my liking. The sauces were excellent — I’ve never had an apple or horseradish sauce that compares. The dessert was a revelation; a toffee apple crumble inside a roasted apple with brown bread ice cream — just yum.
The service was amazing and we will be going back to try out their afternoon tea and their main menu in the near future.

I planned an afternoon tea party for my friend’s birthday party. There was about 12 of us and they had to split the tables up so we weren’t really able to talk to half of the party. There were mixed girls and guys and most of the people at my table ordered the gentleman’s tea, which is great if you eat meat. I had the vintage tea and it was amazing. Everyone was so impressed with the quality of the food and the free flowing champagne! I have been to almost every afternoon tea in London and this was one of my favourites and at such a reasonable price. I would give it 5 stars easily if it was not for the rude Frenchman who was serving us and the fact that when I go to a place with free-​flowing champagne, I don’t expect the glasses go empty for such a long period of time.

I had a Groupon, and so I was restricted to the Steak/​Lobster with a glass of Wine.
First impressions were that this place was nice. Upon arriving, I had already made a reservation, so assumed that the venue knew I had a Groupon, based on where we were sitting (which was a bit earlier before all the other Groupon diners started arriving) it was clear had they know, we’d have been sitting on some of the not so nice tables. Not the nice red leather lounge tables we were taken to.
Service was excellent. The waiters, came around every so often offering a variety of breads, it would have been nice to have some dipping oil to accompany this, but butter sufficed.
Food wise, was a case of know what’s good. The Pork Belly Pressing was AMAZING. I’ve eaten a lot of pork belly, and I’ve never had it presented like this. It was like a pork belly cooked to perfection, finished off with breadcrumbs and artfully sandwiched over small pieces of bacon which an apple chutney. This is a MUST TRY. The Duck scotch egg has a perfectly cooked yolk, but was extremely bland (almost like the duck and black pudding were sandwiched into the meat casing) the apple sauce could not save this dish. Again, go for the Pork belly.
The Steak main asked for should have been medium rare. Instead this was half well cooked and the other half near rare. Very strange. Likely the result of the pan not being evenly heated when being cooked. The snails accompanied were tasteless and the garlic sauce lacking any taste. On the other hand the lobster burger was fab. Extremely meaty and filling.
To finish off we got two cocktails and desserts (not incl. on the Groupon). The cocktails were strong if a little pricey. the desserts (Reform Mess) completely flooded with cream. The Chocolate and Blood Orange pot was small, but extremely rich and pleasant. So again, a mixture in quality.
To recap, would I eat here again at full price? Never. Is it worth the price of entry on a Groupon, yes. The service was excellent sure, but the food and drink average apart from one amazing starter. A starter which I would like to try again…

Spring! As the first rays of life-​giving sun hit your upturned cheeks and the nights recede into long placid evenings with the promise of chilled rose wine. A thousand BBQ’s rumble out of garages, the long forgotten, rusty and oil stained armoured vanguard of summer. Spring! A time of salads and green and the lightest of touches. Spring! The perfect time to visit a gentleman’s club inspired grill restaurant then… ah. No. sadly not.
I’d had the Reform Social highlighted to me by a number of people back in the depths of winter (i.e. various points in the last 12 months) and the reports had all said broadly the same thing. Pretty decent food, if heavy on the meat and puddings, and a dark, clubby, cocoon of a space with snug leather seating you could drown in.
In summary, ideal for a long gentleman’s luncheon before the weather breaks for the better… Well I’m no follower of fashion (just look at my wardrobe) and that’s why I’d waited until the first fragrant days of warmth and light before pulling on my crushed velvet smoking jacket, adjusting my monocle and finding a saucy young slip of a gel to entertain.
Slotted underneath the Mandeville Hotel just off Marylebone High Street, the hotelish (and not entirely in a good way) bar was our first entry point. The way robustly blocked by a florid and fully padded post work crowd enjoying a discount deal on fizz we squeezed uncomfortably through to the dining room at the other side of the lounge.

Here I was pleased to see a full crowd of mixed ages. My gentleman’s jacket wouldn’t have looked entirely out of place, but neither were we marooned in fuddy-​duddy land. The table of birthday partying hipsters and a gaggle of courting couples dining gave our section of the long dark room a gentle (and genteel) buzz.
Things started very well with a crisp, clean and perfectly cooked duck ‘Scotch’ egg, wrapped in a pliant and piquant black pudding shell. It clashed with an unnecessary trough of apple sauce, but solo was note perfect.
The mains sadly were less accomplished in their delivery. Both arrived on a generic root vegetable purée, hay cooked hake was a fine piece of fish, but smokier and saltier than a Glaswegian sailors mission. Stuffed lamb breast, a substitution for the stout sounding Angus rose veal chop I’d been salivating for, came as an underwelmingly small and fatty roulade filled with a fishy breadcrumb mix and topped bafflingly with tight and over-​battered scampi, an odd mix that did none of the constituent parts justice. A side of pumpkin with chilli and sage gave none of the flavour of either and was verging on undercooked to boot. There’s a good looking grill section here filled with some handsomely sourced cuts. I can only blame our ordering for missing them out.
Thankfully there was a knowing hand on the desserts, reason almost to return in themselves. My Bakewell Pudding, a crispy puck of choux filled with tart fruit and covered in thick vanilla custard the colour and consistency of whipped butter. A darkly decadent chocolate and blood orange pot was equally moreish. Given what I saw of the cocktails, I’m tempted to return for a lush’s afternoon tea combining the two.
On a slight negative note, there was a noticeable level of fractiousness among the front of house team, commands and critiques hissed not sotto voce enough to be unheard as the harried team flew around us. It wasn’t ideal. They were pretty good face to face, just less so when talking to each other.
There’s less knowing cool than at that other modern bastions of of ‘private member’s-chic’ like Dean Street Townhouse and Hawksmoor (both of whom definitely hosted planning meetings for this place) but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It doesn’t do it quite as well as the aforementioned, but does well enough at a reasonable price that you won’t probably shouldn’t mind.

As my journey of eating my way around London continues, my next stop was at the Reform Social Bar and Grill.
We had a groupon voucher for this experience that cost £39 for a 2 course meal for two with a bottle of wine. The main courses were limited down to either steak or lobster burger.
They do have an in house deal on for a steak main and half a bottle of wine for £14 per person which I think is very reasonable.
The restaurant has been designed in a way that gives the feel of an expensive restaurant but has a laid back atmosphere that makes it feel more intimate. I dislike nothing more than feeling on show whilst eating a meal and the reform did not disappoint.
Whilst we were greeted with very attentive staff, I cant help thinking that they are slightly disorganized. It seemed that there were 2 members of staff looking after us, and as one brought us menus, another followed with more. As one took our drinks order the second person followed to take it again… this happened with everything that we ordered. Which being very attentive and thoughtful… was a bit confusing for us, and the staff.
I ordered the pressed pork with apple purée for starters and then steak for main. My partner ordered the artichoke soup and the lobster burger. The food was beautifully presented and tasted delicious.
The steak was sliced into thin slices and served with crunchy chips, the lobster burger was served on a brioche bun and a little pail of chips.
After we ate dinner we headed to the cocktail bar which had exceptionally attentive staff (in a positive way) who provided table service.
The design of the bar was great too with sofas and tub chairs for relaxing in creating an environment not dissimilar to the atmosphere as an art deco gentlemens club.
All in all a thumbs up!

There’s a lot to like about the Reform Social — not least Giovanni and his team of staff, who were incredibly friendly and welcoming. Our waiter was happy to explain the menu and make informed recommendations which was really helpful. I decided to have a starter dish of duck scotch egg with black pudding instead of sausage meat — although I swopped the accompanying apple sauce for mayo (apple and egg? No thanks…) It was an excellent combination — the duck egg yolk was nicely runny and the oatmeal crust perfectly crisp. I had some cabbage on the side, just to make it more of a complete dish. My friend enjoyed his burger, cooked to order in a brioche bun. But the dessert and pudding menu was the standout. I could have happily eaten my way through all of them — from the saffron custard tart to the summer pudding — but we both had high hopes for the sticky toffee pud. And it didn’t disappoint — the texture was incredibly moist, with just the right balance of stodge to lightness — it had a beautiful toffee flavour, and there was plenty of toffee sauce. Job done. Now all I need is to go back and try the rest of that dessert menu… we’ve suggested they have a pudding club night, to showcase their creations…