I was debating whether or not to write this post, as to be completely honest I wasn't particularly enamored by Little Yellow Door. Lots of bloggers have been posting about LYD lately, so I was super excited to go, but left feeling quite disappointed.
There's no doubt about it, the food was excellent, however there were many downsides that I just didn't particularly enjoy, but a lot of it was personal choice.
We went on a Friday night, and the service was inattentive to say the least, not once throughout the entire meal did any of the servers ask if we wanted a drink, so we went through the whole meal without one. They were all rushing around so much that they had no time to ask if everything was OK and they were too quick for me to grab them and ask for a drink. Not only this, but we were so penned in against the wall I couldn't go up and get one from the bar.
Which brings me on to the next issue; the whole night I felt very claustrophobic. We were stuck right in the middle of the table against the wall, and I was on the leg of the table, so I was penned in by the table and the wall, on a very uncomfortable wooden chair with my bum hanging off the end of it, and my legs either side of this bloomin' table leg.
Surrounding us on our table (everyone sits on big long tables) were complete strangers in larger groups, which made it awkward to get out out to the toilet or the bar. It also made it awkward for sharing the food. All of the food is for sharing, you don't get anything 'just for yourself', which I'm not a massive fan of. You always have the awkward moment when a few people want the last of something and everyone's too British to just take it.
I'd imagine that the concept of Little Yellow Door would work much better with less people and with people who all know each other. If you're going to put a group of people together who don't know each other, at least give them separate meals, especially as when split between everyone you really don't get a lot of food (the starters and the pork belly in particular!).
I also wasn't a fan of the way they served the desserts. Rather than having them at the table, we all had to go up to the bar and the desserts were done canape-style rather than full on desserts, while all the tables and chairs were cleared away. As a dessert lover with a very sweet tooth, it would have been nice to have an actual full-sized dessert while still sitting at the table. The only decent sized portion of food was the tagliatelle!
We left quite soon after dinner, as neither of us really wanted to stay after the disappointing dinner. Like I said though, all of these are just personal preferences and the food really was amazing. It's such a shame I didn't click with the concept, but it would have been slightly better if we had been given more of the delicious food, and drinks would have been nice too. The inside of the 'flat' also felt very student-y, and just not really my thing. I'm 23, and don't really want to feel as though I'm back in student digs. This is probably a great place for a group of friends just wanting good food and a laugh, but the whole structure of it just wasn't for me :(
I feel awful having to write such a negative review, as I want my blog to be a happy place, but at the same time I don't want to lie to you all and feel as though it's important to tell you all how I really feel about it. Also the lighting inside is super yellow/orange, which makes it impossible to take decent photos even when adjusting the white balance, and let's face it, we all know how important good lighting is for us bloggers and instagram whores.
I'd imagine that the concept of Little Yellow Door would work much better with less people and with people who all know each other. If you're going to put a group of people together who don't know each other, at least give them separate meals, especially as when split between everyone you really don't get a lot of food (the starters and the pork belly in particular!).
I also wasn't a fan of the way they served the desserts. Rather than having them at the table, we all had to go up to the bar and the desserts were done canape-style rather than full on desserts, while all the tables and chairs were cleared away. As a dessert lover with a very sweet tooth, it would have been nice to have an actual full-sized dessert while still sitting at the table. The only decent sized portion of food was the tagliatelle!
We left quite soon after dinner, as neither of us really wanted to stay after the disappointing dinner. Like I said though, all of these are just personal preferences and the food really was amazing. It's such a shame I didn't click with the concept, but it would have been slightly better if we had been given more of the delicious food, and drinks would have been nice too. The inside of the 'flat' also felt very student-y, and just not really my thing. I'm 23, and don't really want to feel as though I'm back in student digs. This is probably a great place for a group of friends just wanting good food and a laugh, but the whole structure of it just wasn't for me :(
I feel awful having to write such a negative review, as I want my blog to be a happy place, but at the same time I don't want to lie to you all and feel as though it's important to tell you all how I really feel about it. Also the lighting inside is super yellow/orange, which makes it impossible to take decent photos even when adjusting the white balance, and let's face it, we all know how important good lighting is for us bloggers and instagram whores.
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*Our meal was complimentary, however as always my views are my own and completely honest