Butler's Wharf Chop House, London, 05.11.11

Butler's Wharf Chop House has an enviable position on the river firmly in the shadow of Tower Bridge. A previous visit several years ago comprised of a generous steak and kidney pudding sitting outside on the terrace. Today's visit was a chillier affair in the cloudy November Saturday gloom.

Lunch service seemed to tick over with plenty of tables picking over oysters and steaks in relaxed fashion. Diners are given the choice of different menus in the bar or restaurant areas. We chose a restaurant table alongside the set menu (two courses £23, three courses £27). Service was prompt and delightfully friendly if a little lost in translation at times.

To start, the mussels were a simple but comforting affair with a straight-forward white wine and garlic sauce that boasted great depth of flavour. The portion was adequate but shell after shell appeared empty and there were no survivors at the bottom of the bowl. A starter of game terrine was good ole slab but was underseasoned and lacked real flavour.

The fish pie was excellent- hearty chunks of fish and boiled eggs with a lightly toasted potato mash topping. The whole plaice came decorated with samphire and capers ( advertised "sea vegetables") but was a little soggy and over-buttered. The ox cheek was enormous but could have benefited from substantially longer in the oven. It was rubber-textured with unsavoury gelatinous seams- all this could have been improved with the slow cooking it deserves. A few sides of vegetables would have been welcome, especially with a £27 menu.

With half an ox cheek declined, there was room for sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream. It was a mediocre experience- a little dry and lacking in stick.

Altogether we were left feeling a little deflated by the Chop House Experience, and had wished we had gone with the appealing bar menu. Our mood was alleviated by the low pendant light hanging off centre over our table. Multiple head bangs later (diner number 1) we were sent off chuckling into the afternoon drizzle.