I live out of London and whenever I have to come up for work, La Gaffe is the only place I want to stay. They are so welcoming, are always prepared to go the extra mile by making sure I have a meal waiting no matter how late I get back and go out of their way to ensure that being gluten intolerant I am always catered for. It’s like coming home, in fact, I call them my second home!
The rooms are clean and comfortable and equipped with all the basics needed for time away from home.
I cannot sing their praises highly enough and if I need to make a reservation and find they’re fully booked, my heart sinks.

Family run gorgeous restaurant with an old time feel! A good selection of dishes and very friendly staff!

The place has been here for a long time. Traditional, old-time. Not your typical hotel restaurant. Some of the items on the menu are very tasty - try the liver or lamb. Fair prices, not high markup on wines. Friendly and quiet. Would take a friend here to have a bit and talk over a glass of wine.

I was so pleased to see that La Gaffe had reopened and even more delighted that they are taking the COVID precautions seriously. Hand sanitizers everywhere, staff wear gloves and mask, tables are sanitized after each guest. While these new precautions initially take a bit of getting used to, the ability to enjoy another meal at La Gaffe far outweighed the necessary changes. I have eaten here twice this week and enjoyed both meals. As with most places, the current menu is scaled down but with excellent choices. The first night I had the steak and mushrooms. I like my steak medium rare and it was cooked perfectly. Last night I had the fettuccine with prawns and the sauce was lovely and fresh. I asked for capers to be added, just because I love capers in anything. Really enjoyed it. It feels like coming “home” to be able to eat here again, and after what we have all been through, that feels good. If you haven’t ventured out yet, this is an excellent way to start feeling “normal” again.

Having lived locally for over 30 years we finally decided to give this place a try on the Eat Out to Help, having previously thought it looked both tired and rather over priced.

Perhaps we were unlucky but even the very pared down menu ( a fraction of what is represented on the webpage) was incomplete so, avoiding Veal, we were down to a choice of about 2 mains and 3 or 4 starters. Most were unappealing.

After waiting nearly an hour (!) for our starter I had pate that looked as though straight from a packet in Sainsbury's accompanied by a slice of cucumber and a quarter of a tomato - with absolutely no dressing whatsoever . I honestly wouldn't serve something that blandly at home . I might have expected something similar in a provincial cafe about 35 years ago.

My sons endured whitebait that was definitely past its best, leaving a strong tangy aftertaste even after they had finished their meal. And that was at £10 a plate !

Mains - after another hour or so !,- were an over cooked lasagne and a couple of chewy lamb steaks with far too much rosemary at £20 apiece on top of which we had to pay another £4 for each of the vegetables.

I appreciate Covid issues and the staff seemed genuinely concerned to make us welcome but 2 hours to be fed food that was well blow par and expensive to boot !

Sorry, La Gaffe, but we waited 30 years to sample you and wont be back.