Theo Randall
1 Hamilton Place, Park Lane (at the InterContinental Park Lane Hotel)

I treated myself a stay at the InterContinental Park Lane in London for 2 nights around Christmas. I figured a big place would be better than a small place for the holidays to get food and drink. I managed a booking at the hotel's top restaurant for the evening of Christmas Eve. Theo Randall is a rather celebrated chef in the UK, and his namesake restaurant has a good reputation, so I was more than eager to see what they can do -- even during this holiday period.

The restaurant is like a hotel restaurant with a big space, but it has a feel of a very modern and trendy location. I wasn't too impressed, but you have to do with what you have in a hotel. My corner table was fine and I had to cope with a dodgy-tasting bottle of lagrein...my usual favourite red, but perhaps too much scotch during the afternoon!

The service was excellent, which is rather rare in London -- even in posh places. That's the shocking thing about London these days, the poor service -- whether it is just indifference or lack of training/knowledge, this city is just poor on service all around.

The starter I chose the squid, which was not bad. Nothing exciting. The main was a rather indifferent lamb chop. I'm giving little description because there's little to add. Very bland, something that I could have received from any hotel's room service it seems, cooking school stuff.

I was very disappointed. The food had little real Italian vigour to it, despite Mr Randall's pronouncements. Perhaps it was the holiday season, but I left this place rather disappointed... I honestly think a lot of London's top chefs are overrated. Despite having such a wonderful selection of fresh ingredients (it's easier to get stuff from Italy to London than to New York), chefs like Theo Randall chose not to use the best of Italy -- instead, they use what they think is best for Italian food. And that is a huge mistake.

Food: B--
Atmosphere: B--
For Lone Diners: C+