Motcombs

I ate here out of desperation with a few friends this evening. We were seated right away and had to wait for a few minutes while the table was set. This was no big deal; however, things went downhill quickly. My friend ordered a mojito, which was subpar. The server brought us water but never asked if my other friend or I wanted something other than water. When we finally ordered our food (it took us awhile because we had our mouths set for something else, but the pubs were all really crowded), the server was very short and seemed really inconvenienced by our presence. I originally ordered the chicken parmigiana but changed my mind because it didn’t come with any sides. This is probably an American thing to have that dish served with pasta, but this one didn’t even come with vegetables. So after my second friend ordered a fish dish, I told the server that I had changed my mind and wanted the steak and frites (what I actually said was, «I’ll have the same thing that my friend is having,» pointing to my friend sitting beside me). She barely acknowledged that I had changed my order and didn’t even ask how I wanted my steak cooked.
Our food came out pretty quickly, but the server got our order wrong. She never put in that my friend wanted the fish and instead brought out the chicken parmigiana and two steaks. When she tried to give me the chicken, I reminded her that I had changed my order to the steak. She was very confused. My poor friend was so tired and hungry that she told the server to just give her the chicken if they hadn’t started the fish. The server confirmed that they hadn’t cooked the fish at all. She tried to appease my friend by saying that the fish could be cooked quickly, but it was too late. The steak was weirdly tender considering that it was thin and overcooked (I say overcooked, but for me anything past rare is burnt), but it was extremely bland. My friend and I put additional salt and pepper on it and even added some butter just because.
The only saving graces to this meal were that the service was already included and we found a lovely place just down the street for dessert. After several people cycled through the table next to us and were very friendly with the waitstaff and the owner, we realised after a little while at Motcombs that we were the only diners in the restaurant being treated shabbily. Our server even offered to take the coats and bags of a couple who came in and were seated at a table near ours. I suspect this is because we were Americans, but I really have no idea. There’s clearly something amiss at this restaurant. I would not go back, and I wouldn’t recommend it to others.

Solo meal on a business trip, recommended by the concierge. Service was lovely and a perfectly good spot to dine alone instead of room service or the lobby restaurant.
Dover sole special was tasty but overpriced. Tomato mozzarella avocado tower was good not great.
Service was a true delight though.

Ate alone here last night, seems like a very traditional English restaurant, almost feels like a club.
Nice bar area upstairs, some tables upstairs which seem to be kept for regulars.
I was seated downstairs, which was fine, a bit tired on the décor.
I had a steak and a green salad. Steak was good, well cooked, requested rare, but should have been rested longer. Salad was good, nice selection of leaves and well dressed. Staff were quite old school, but very nice.