Scruffy comeback

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Despite the PR puff, it was closed at lunchtime so I was forced to eat in the main bar. If you were feeling particularly charitable, you might describe the room with its distressed, cream-painted wooden tables and chairs as characterful - but scruffy would be more accurate.

A nervous young barman/waiter, left by the owner to manage the demands of seven tables single-handed, didn't inspire confidence. 'How would you like to start?' he mumbled while slowly shaking his head, as if in disbelief that he was actually going to have to serve me. Returning to the table twice to check the order was irritating; leaning across me to clear a glass while I was eating was plain thoughtless.

A fibrous terrine of smoked mackerel arrived 35 minutes after I'd sat down and had the appearance and texture of loft insulation. Slow-cooked pork belly featured leathery skin and meat as dull and dry as a Gordon Brown speech. Spinach, with unappetising stalks left lazily intact, had been cooked to the point of vapid limpness. Only a glass of Linda Domas Rose from the imaginative and reasonably priced wine list made the meal bearable.

A meal for two with wine, water and service costs about £70. 7 Shepherdess Walk N1. Tel: 020 3119 3011. Tube: Old Street

William IV
Shepherdess Walk, London, N1 7QE