Please sir, can I have some more.
Last Sunday I went to the Princess Victoria in Shepherds Bush for my friend Amy’s birthday. Amy is currently pregnant with Mark’s baby. Lucky girl. Lucky world.
The Princess Victoria is a an old Gin Palace situated on the Uxbridge Road. It’s recently been refurbished and I had heard some really good reports about the place. The venue is lovely and spacious. Nice decor and nice looking people. Not too poncy.
The Sunday menu was what you would expect. All the staples with a promise of great quality meat, something that always gets my juices flowing. I opted for the pork belly over the roast beef, a decision that was vindicated when Mark’s main arrived.
He ordered the beef. When it arrived he got angry. So did I. Take away the king size Yorkshire pud and I kid you not, it would not even have made a sufficient meal for an anorexic tadpole. There were two spuds, approximately a quarter of a baby carrot, a piece of broccoli the size of a nipple and a single mouthful of beef. The above picture does not quite do it the injustice.
Of course Mark complained and even the waiter agreed that the portion was rather tiny, even by the Princess Victoria’s measly standards. He wouldn’t budge though and we had to get the management over. The manager tried to spin us the story that they served only the best quality beef blah blah blah. Eventually he agreed to supplement Mark’s portion and sent another slither of beef to the table. He refused to top up other peoples plates though, so in the end Mark was obliged to share his extra beef with those unfortunate to have ordered the same.
In fairness to the Princess Victoria the feedback from the beef-eaters was that the meat was good. But there’s limits to how far you can push the quality over quantity argument and quite simply they took the piss.
Verdict: Nice place for drinks and good to eat if you are wearing a gastric band.
