The Sir Charles Napier

Understated , delicious, seductive fun.

Delightful Middle Eastern cuisine.

Italian - beautiful food and great service.

Best Persian food in London.

Outstanding food. Lovely service. Fun wine list.

if you want to wait an hour and a half for your main course this is the place for you... this is not the first time this has happened but the third appalling

My husband and I dined at the Sir Charles Napier on Saturday night, choosing it as the venue for our 5th wedding anniversary. Having eaten in many a fine dining establishment both inside and outside of London, including Heston's ‘The Fat Duck’, we were really looking forward to our meal. Given the experience we encountered I doubt we will ever return, which is a shame as the food itself was very good. Though I might add that ‘The Alford Arms’ in nearby Frithsden is probably just as good and a hell of a lot cheaper and friendlier. On our arrival at the restaurant we were asked to take a seat in the bar…however we weren't allowed to choose our own seats but told to sit in a tiny corner right next to a large group, which I have to say wasn't particularly romantic!! When I asked if we could sit somewhere else I was told no!! Not sure I've ever experienced that in a Michelin star restaurant before!! We ordered our drinks after a short delay and then were handed the menu. We placed our order and then waited for the manageress to come back and show us to our table…how wrong I was!! We waited and waited and waited and then finally, more than ONE HOUR after our arrival we were shown to our table with not so much as an apology or explanation as to why we had had to wait for so long!! I'm not sure I have ever in my life had to wait this long just to get seated when I have had a reservation…this certainly wouldn't have happened in any of the Michelin star restaurants I have eaten in over the years. As we had waited so long to be seated we were now playing catch up regarding time as we had to get back for our babysitter who had to go home at 11pm and we still had to make the 20minute drive back home! Starters didn't arrive till gone half nine and it was only because I managed to speak to a lovely waitress, who pushed through our desert order, that we were able to leave the restaurant at 10.30pm, having rushed our food and having paid £160 for the pleasure!! I didn't even have time to contest the service charge, though judging by the other negative comments I have read regarding service, I don't think it would have made any difference. Here is a restauranter who clearly doesn't care whether people have a positive experience of not as she knows that she has enough wealthy local regulars to make up for the negative reviews. They obviously get priority in this establishment!! We won't be returning that is for sure. I'll stick to the ‘Alford Arms’ for local dining and my regular London haunts for those special occasions from now on!!

Booked for Mothers' Day Sunday lunch – all seemed fine and pleasant. Several days later had a call requesting a deposit as a party of £30 per head as a party of ten had been a no show on Valentine's Day(!). Taken aback I reluctantly agreed to give credit card details as a guarantee of our arriving. On the day I went to the bar to announce our arrival (at the requested hour), where two staff members ignored me and carried on what they were doing. After a lengthy pause I was greeted. The bar was already crowded and four of us had to perch on a sofa for max three. We were given menus and after some minutes the proprietor came and stood behind where we were sitting and awaited our order, without saying a word. Waiting was not easy and we were pleased to be shown to our table, in the busy restaurant. Food came promptly and was mostly very good though far from generously portioned. A rare roast beef (no choice offered) was very difficult to cut with the ordinary knife, and so much of it was left. The waiter who took the plates showed no interest and made no enquiry as to whether there had been an issue. Desserts were delicious however. So to the bill, of which the worst aspect was the 12.5% service charge added without option. With drinks (just two glasses of wine, water and soft drinks) the total was a shade under £250. For that I expect something much closer to perfection – not provided. The Square Meal review captures it perfectly: “Sadly, ”‘offhand’, lackadaisical service can dampen spirits – especially during jam-packed Sunday lunches". Reading the other reviews on our return we can echo many of the negatives expressed: we will not return.

I have eaten here on a few occasions before and always had a good experience. However… I had booked a week in advance and informed them that one of our party (my wife) was a vegan. This was accepted by the manageress and no further comment was made. Upon arrival we weren't greeted and hung around in the bar for a while until we got somebody's attention. We were then given some dogeared menus and asked to wait in the bar whilst they sorted out our table. The manageress then came to take out orders. I reminded the manageress that when making the reservation I'd mentioned my wife being vegan. She then took one of our menus and disappeared off to the kitchen. Upon her return she was extremely condescending about what they could cook for my wife saying 'it's just vegetables' I tried to point out that we had pre-warned them and that maybe the kitchen could make something more than just vegetables. Almost immediately she became extremely annoyed and flustered and started asking my wife what she wanted. I made the point that we had pre-warned them and that they are probably the ones to suggest something. At this point she suggested we leave and that I was being aggressive! Her attitude was awful. I totally accept that the kitchen may not want/be able to cook for a vegan however if that's the case they shouldn't have taken the booking. Interestingly when we last ate here they created a fantastic meal for my wife so they are clearly capable of it. I presume the manageress had forgotten to inform anyone and wasn't bold enough to admit her mistake. There was absolutely no reasoning with her. We decamped to The Angel in Long Crendon who rustled up a choice of vegan dishes with only ten minutes notice. Having eaten at countless good restaurants all around the world (including plenty that deserved their Michelin stars) the only time we have encountered such hostility to my wife's diet was at a Pizza Hut in Portol! I'm sure plenty of people will read this review and think this is what happens when you are a vegan. That really wasn't the problem, the issue is with the manageress' well documented unprofessional, inflexible and generally nasty attitude. I'd suggest you check some other online reviews before dining here (square meal) If you do choose to eat here you take the risk that if dare to query, deviate or complain you're in for confrontation.