House of Legends, Newport
Matt and Cat reviewed the House of Legends when it first opened. Having given the venue time to overcome its teething troubles they made a return visit, as it seemed as though things had changed - and they had. Sadly, by the time M&C went back for a third time, it was all going wrong again. So this review is unusual - it presents a positive visit (Nov 2010) and a negative one (Aug 2010). In short: Legends seems to have the ability to do well, but rarely delivers it. See the comments to find out how others feel.
November 2010
Having watched the heavy duty building work that went into the creation of House of Legends, Matt and Cat were surprised to see the place close for refurbishment soon after it opened. After a couple of days of intense activity the doors opened again and Matt and Cat popped in for coffee to see what had changed. The bar had been relocated and they noticed a DJ booth but otherwise things looked the same. However, the coffee was cheaper than before; had the Legends management revised their menu as well as the structure of the interior? Apparently so.
Review continues:
Tea £1.50
Cappuccino £1.99 (altho shown on the menu at £2.75)
Eggs florentine £5.50
Legends burger £9.50
Mini donuts £5.50
Total £23.99
The good news is that House of Legends has definitely smoothed off the rough edges - this is now a venue that Matt and Cat can recommend. Take the eggs Florentine that Cat ordered. Piping hot, absolutely fresh, and just what she wanted, for only £5.50. Or Matt's burger. Last time he'd been disappointed - not this time. A thick and meaty burger, a far cry from the textureless leather he'd chewed on before. Alongside was a decent pile of what could only be fresh-cut chips, with the skins still on. Tasty and with a good texture, these at last were chips that justify paying restaurant prices. And of course the Legends' service. This time it could hardly be faulted. The place was busy - a good sign - but the diners still got an impressive level of personal, cheerful service balanced with only the minimum of interruptions to their lunchtime gossip. A huge improvement - House of Legends is to be congratulated.
August 2010 review
At the eastern end of Newport High Street are the vertical drinking establishments; bars that offer cheap booze and basic nosh, fortifying evening revellers as they stagger towards the bright lights of the William Coppin.
Joe’s was one such establishment which also managed to do well during the day, with its moderately sophisticated menu and extensive range of coffees for the lunchtime office crowd. However, when it briefly became the Mill Bay II, it lost some of its panache. In the blink of an eye, its doors were closed once more and the windows whitewashed.
So it was with interest that Matt and Cat watched another refurbishment of this market town behemoth. The innards of the old beast were gutted; the Mill Bay II’s shiny new carvery station was decommissioned and in its place vast dining booths and half a Volkswagen Beetle were installed. Newport has a new venue and its name is House of Legends.
Shortly after it opened, Matt and Cat scoped out the House of Legends. As it was just a quick lunchtime recce, Cat ordered two heart-jolting coffees. It was not the caffeine which caused her old ticker to judder but the price, which was just shy of five quid. As Cat was ordering her coffees, she shared the otherwise empty bar area with a greasy tramp with a plastic bag on his foot. Probably not the sort of clientèle the House of Legends owners had in mind when they spent what must have been a skipload of money on the refurbishment…
However, two cups of pricey coffee do not a review make so one evening Matt and Cat re-entered the venue. They were greeted by a friendly waitress standing guard dutifully at her podium, and then led to a table beneath one of the many massive TVs. The duo’s polite request to be seated away from the flickering box was courteously accommodated and soon they found themselves in one of the expansive booths under a glittering mural of San Francisco at night. Certainly nobody could accuse the House of skimping on the décor - the place has been comprehensively 'done up' - and, with its cabinet of promotional trinkets, it's a Hard Rock Cafe pretender. Also, it isn't entirely clear what counts as a 'legend', and one could argue that The House of Legends has confused its celebrity categories, or maybe set the standard of legendariness a little low. Is it a shrine to rather specialist film memorabilia ("Hey you guys", check out the genuine replica Goonies prop map)? Or Tangoed pop tarts? Perhaps they are just trying to cover all the possibilities.
As well as the in-your-face-branding (House of Legends wet wipes, anyone?) the staff at the House of Legends seemed eager to please, in fact at times over-eager to the point of pestering. Moments after they had parked themselves in their seats M&C were asked what drinks they wanted and were given menus, a brace of ‘Guess the Legend’ placemat quizzes and a loyalty card form each, and careful instruction on what to do with all of these. This relentless attention continued throughout the evening.
The menu was straight from any franchise steakhouse you can name: featuring buffalo wings, chicken Caesar salad, various steaks, burgers and pasta. Cat prevaricated before picking chargrilled breast of chicken marinated in lemon and basil oil with chilli jam. Matt decided that to put the House through its paces he'd go for a burger, but so as not to be too conventional he chose the Italian burger from the various burger nationalities available - it was billed as an Italian style beef burger marinated in basil oil and topped with crispy pancetta, mozzarella and vine tomato. To start, Matt asked for 'a taste of old Mexico' - nachos with tomato and coriander salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Helpfully this was available as single or sharing portion, and priced accordingly.
The nachos arrived shortly, borne to the table by none other than the proprietor himself, Mark. Matt and Cat knew this because he wrung their hands and introduced himself, and as the waiting nachos slowly cooled, they heard a blow-by-blow history of all the troubles he had overcome to open this new venture, down to the price of the oven - £14,000. No, seriously, he spent £14,000 on an oven. Matt and Cat were duly impressed. But were looking wistfully at the nachos.
Eventually the diners managed to get a moment alone to polish off a pretty good plate of nachos which, at £3.95 was not bad value and despite being the single portion was plenty for two. 'Hey you guys', said the waitress on one of her regular visits, 'just give me a shout when you've finished and I'll tell the chef you're ready for your mains'. Matt and Cat hardly liked to mention that it was actually her job to predict that moment - indeed, one of the most delicate and arcane secrets of the server's art is how to anticipate when your table is going to be ready for the next course. As it was, of course, she came back anyway to see if everything was alright and if they wanted drinks refills, so there was no necessity to give anyone a shout unless it was to be an entreaty to 'Please, leave us alone for five minutes'.
The main courses duly arrived. Cat's chicken was a flat piece of char-grilled meat, served with a bowl of lettuce-leaf salad and some chips. A little pot of chilli jam came alongside, which Cat gingerly tried and discarded - it was OK but she isn't a great one for chilli. The chicken proved to be pretty arid, and whilst it had a hint of the promised lemon and basil oil, it was only a ghost of a taste. The chips pleased her less; they were crispy on the outside but the soft potato centres had been mainly displaced with oil. At least the salad looked good, and Cat enjoyed her cos lettuce leaves flavoured with fresh torn basil, until she discovered that underneath the salad had been bulked out with pale, watery iceberg pieces. Overall a meal that didn't fully deliver what it promised.
Nachos £3.95
Lemon & basil chicken £12.25
Italian burger £9.99
Sol beer x 2 £5.60
Water and lime cordial £1.00
Coffee x 2 £4.30
Total £37.09
Matt was looking forward to his burger, which actually looked pretty good. Instead of the promised vine tomatoes, a mighty slab of beefsteak tom peered out from underneath the bun - definitely a better choice, and a change that Matt approved of. Oozing mozzarella was below it, and the burger itself looked sizeable. How the cosmopolitan marriage of American and Italian cuisine might turn out was something Matt was intending to discover. Alongside the burger came the crispy pancetta ham, which oddly enough was served in a little bowl, and seemed to be a little more chewy than crispy. Perhaps thin slices of ham, bacon-style, might have been more suited to a burger. As it was the ham, though harmless, added little. The burger itself was a grave disappointment: a textureless and bland specimen that could have come from anywhere. Matt began to understand what M&C reader Alan Winkleman meant when he said that House of Legends burgers "had a taste of sausage about them that was most disconcerting".
Sipping coffee after their main courses, Matt and Cat were perplexed by the eating experience they had just undergone. The effort and expenditure that has gone into the House of Legends is quite extraordinary. The demeanour of the staff teeters alarming on the divide between touching over-enthusiasm and desperation. Given this, it seems all the more remarkable that the very fundamental of a good restaurant has not yet been perfected. The sad truth is that House of Legends is not yet able to produce food that is good enough for the venue that has been created for it: nor to justify the prices that running such a venue necessitates. One cannot avoid the conclusion that it might have been better to start such an audacious venture in a slightly more modest way, thus saving some of the cost of capital works and allowing a bit more to be spent on ingredients and experience in the kitchen.
Matt and Cat might have left this new place to settle for a bit before reviewing it, but having been invited by the owner herself, they felt justified in making an early visit. They most sincerely hope that the House of Legends is going to use its first few months to pull itself together. A stunning venue has been created, an ambitious management is aiming high and looking to get a lot of visitors to walk through those doors. It's early days and it's all to play for: so Matt and Cat will be keeping a close eye on the House of Legends.
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Visit the website: http://houseoflegends.co.uk
23 comments
On arrival, you are immediately taken aback by the amount of money that appears to have been spent on renovating this venue. It comes across as a national chain - and a very good thing for Newport generally since most of these sorts of places have, until now, avoided the Island like the plague.
We took our seats in one of the four luxurious booths that line the right hand wall of the main part of the building. Across both walls, which have been beautifully painted to represent New York (left hand wall) and San Fransisco (right hand wall), there are various (copied) artifacts and flat screen TV's playing MTV through the speaker system. There are a range of cocktails available on the menu - food menus are brought on request - and although relatively expensive - the outlook looked fairly sophisticated.
Weirdly thought, the whole facade seemed to fall over from then on. The waiting staff, whilst friendly, seemed no different from anyone you might find working in a local cafe. That is not to say that they were unpleasant, but one would expect more from somewhere that is clearly vying to raise the bar in Newport (as their prices would suggest).
The staff did not know what was available either on the drinks menu or the food menu. We ordered chicken wings as starters and, after an age (surprising, given that the place was almost empty) they arrived. These things were awful. Basically, boiled chicken with no remaining taste covered in a gloopy, bland sauce. One of the wings still had the parson's nose attached - eek!
For mains, we ordered the American burger and the French burger, and both were an immediate disappointment (at £10 each!). They were clearly either Ross or Birds Eye premium, deep fried, hard, overcooked and difficult to eat. Actually, they had a taste of sausage about them that was most disconcerting. We also ordered a milkshake which tasted okay, but had none of the frills and spills that at least one other venue in Newport can provide (see below).
In conclusion, we spent £48 on a meal that either The George or The Bargeman's would have made a better job of, and for less money. Admittedly, the price included a bottle of Pinot which was fine but, if you want genuine Americanism, friendly service and good food at a reasonable price, the only place to go in Newport is The Original Phil's Diner, situated at the top of the high street. There is room for a 'Legends' style diner in Newport, but seriously, this ain't it.
Our burgers are made by Haniltons and more lately our chef using a 100% beef from Kemphill Farm, again should he wish to view our HACCP then he is welcome to do so.
The comments regarding the staff I totally agree with and with all new businesses there will always be teething problems and they have been replaced or better trained. Dispite our chef going through the menu with them they are still getting use to it.
In regard to the chicken wings may I respectfully point out that the parsons nose is near the legs not wings and again these are sourced from Hampshire via Hamiltons. We have realised that the sauce is not quite right and have remedied this situation. We would have like the oppurtunity to have put things right on the night and we believe we can not be compared to Phils Diner. Or indeed the mass turn out of bland food served at the Bargemans, I have never eatern at the George so will not comment. We look forward to recieving Mat and Kat and look out for thier inpartial comments.
i have to say that i was most dissappointed with my visit. i arrived at half past 12, and didnt laeve untill nearly 2pm. this was mainly because of the speed of serivice. the resteraunt was not busy at all with only 6 other guests dining whilst we were in. the staff seemed to be inadequately trained and didnt seem to know what they were doing, infact at points they were tripping over themselves to serve us. i felt during the course of our visit that i was interrupted at the table to the point of harrasement. i also cant beleive the length of time it took to receive our meals and drinks considering how quiet it was.
on the plus side i will say that the food i had, pasta with chicken nd chorizo was very nice, although this was marred once agai by the very poor slow service, and the time it took to receive our meals. i would of thought that anyone popping in for a quick bite during their lunch break probably wouldnt return again.
i hope service improves drastically, as the cafe bar could be a real asset to newport. i probably wouldnt return or reccommend.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my comments. As an ex-chef myself, I know how time-consuming the early stages of a new venture can be and so I appreciate your interest in my views.
I note that, happily, you are making your own burgers on site but I would still query your choice of recipe. The comparison with Phil's Diner - on that score at least - is justified, since they make their own burgers on site and they are, frankly, of a much higher standard.
You do have good staff, in that they are keen and friendly - one girl in particular is very bubbly. However, as Matt and Cat point out, part of the experience of any good eating establishment is that the staff do their job, courteously and with respect to the customer, without you ever having to 'notice' that they are doing it. They should not, for example, interrupt conversation (except when bringing food to the table).
The chicken wing comment you make is quite correct - the parsons nose is located at the rear of the chicken, usually with the legs tucked into it. The point I was trying to make is that one of the chicken wings had something of a gristly nature attached to it - presumably neck skin that had been boiled - which resembled a parsons nose.
My references to the Bargeman's, and the George in newport, are simply to illustrate equivalent pricing in nearby venues. With either of these places, you know what you're getting. I am not a particular fan of either in terms of their culinary skills, but your Cafe Bar implies, by its very design and pricing structure, something more.
I, like Matt and Cat (whose reviews I always find very instructive) will, after a time, revisit your venue. It may be, as you say, that you have opened your doors before ironing out some of the teething problems but, in all fairness, at the moment you have a Rolls Royce look with a Rover 25 performance, if you'll forgive the analogy. With such a small catchment area, you have a limited time to rectify your apparent problems and I do wish you the very best of luck.
Matt and Cat respond: thanks for the information. We think this quite clearly means HACCP as that's usually how it's pronounced. We'll add a link and correction to Alexandra's comment to make it clear for those who may not be aware of this.
So, House of Legends, I read the reviews of your new place, natch, and decided to try it for myself. I have to admit to being a massive fan of the style you have employed and was rather dismayed at the somewhat negative comments that had been left here by previous patrons.
In the words of Jeremy Clarkson, all I can say is 'oh dear!' This venue has it all wrong. My girlfriend and I, with two kids, waited nearly two hours to complete our meal (!) I can't even realistically agree with other comments that the waiting staff were friendly/bubbly. They were useless. Seriously. The food was bland, and the prices were astronomical! My two boys both ordered pints of Coke, were delivered half pints, charged for pints and when I complained, we were told that there were unlimited refills - how does this work???
The atmosphere was non-existent - sure, the seating was comfortable, once we asked to be moved to one of the booths, but I have to concur with an earlier reviewer and say that Phil's Diner (which is the only other American place I've been to on the Island) beats this place hands down. Not that I'm a massive fan of that place either, to be honest.
£108 later, we left very disappointed, knownig that we had paid well over the odds for food that isn't really even better than, dare I say it, MacDonalds. Just in nicer surroundings. Have to point out that, during our long, long wait for lunch, at least three other couples simply got up and walked out. Catt and Matt at least had the 'pleasure' of listening to the owner's problems, we got the impression on our visit that nobody was in charge. There was some guy with a stubbly beard who spent the entire time chatting with friends in the booth next to us and occasionally wandering over and saying 'you guys okay with everything?' but if that's Legends idea of customer service then they can keep it. It's such a shame but I genuinely feel that most of their customers are going to be one-offs who then immediately return to wherever they currently eat. Someone told me that the management of Legends were bragging that their aim was to 'take out' Olivos. No chance, I'm afraid.
They loved the food and the service and we loved the price of £49 which included drinks.
Editors' note: this comment was received from an IP address registered to mgheating.co.uk.
But...freinds whom I reccomended it too did not enjoy there experience, witht he fault being in the food not being fantastic, just ok.
Best to find out for yourself i think.
I Have had a lot of things on the menu and they have all been stunning, I have noticed the menu has change since it first opened and the food has improved so I do wonder if Mat and Kat have visited since the new menu has been in place, I have a feeling they have a new head chef.
I think the service is brilliant and not over the top at all. I rather a waitress constantly check my table than not at all.
The place has a beautiful atmosphere and I will continue to go there.
Much love house of legends!
....
WE ALL ABSOLUTLY LOVED IT! 1 of the girls had a burger - 'I have never tasted anything like this before! It's better than mums!' Another had chicken and bacon pasta - 'This is like heaven' My daughter had the fajitas - 'Mum, when are we coming here next, I don’t ever want to leave! By the way you can never cook fajitas again because I will forever compare them to house of legends fajitas!' And I had the ribs and well they were absolutely to die for!
Thank you for making my little girls birthday House of Legends!
The first eight are clearly genuine; they praise the venue in part and criticize where they feel necessary. Then suddenly, in wades mgheating.co.uk (whose owners own the place!) and suddenly - shazam! - every review talks incessantly about "great venue, great atmosphere, great staff, keep it up House of Legends!" Hmm.
The venue is well thought out and the recent change to the bar area clearly indicates that the management now realise that what they have on their hands is a late night bar that incidentally sells food in the early evenings rather than a restaurant that serves late night drinks.
My partner and I have eaten there twice and the food is lacklustre, the service is not bad and the atmosphere (despite all the money thrown at the walls) somewhat cold. What annoys me is that the last few comments are so obviously stooges. My only hope is that people who read these reviews see through this rather naff propaganda technique and go elsewhere. Apart from anything else, the tactic of applying fake reviews denigrates what Matt and Cat are trying to do. The building in which House of Legends is currently residing has always been cursed and a brief chat with the owner, Mr Goldstone Jnr, confirmed his fears that the place isn't taking enough to pay the bills.
I rest my case m'lud. And I won't be eating there again. And nor should you. 3/10.
I first went there with my boyfriend on a Sunday night to try something a bit different, and we absolutely loved it. The food was fantastic (I went for the cajun chicken penne with a side of chips, and my boyfriend had a cheesy bacon burger) and we were both very pleased. The chips were undoubtedly the best i've ever eaten, and the cajun pasta was divine - perfectly cooked pasta, generous strips of chicken breast, and a rich creamy sauce. The burger itself was made from good quality meat, and was also huge in size - it came with onion rings, chips, mozzarella dippers, and a side-salad too, so was great value for money! The drinks menu was also extensive with pages of delicious-sounding cocktails to choose from, which was a nice change since you can't find a decent cocktail in the whole of Newport!
We've gone back countless times since then, and been pleased almost every time. However, since about mid-September (I think) the menu has changed. Prices have increased, and my lovely cajun pasta is no longer available. Another pasta dish I was fond of has increased by almost £2, which is such a shame. Also, the cocktail menu has disappeared and drinks are more expensive now too. The one redeeming feature since this change is the staff. One particular waitress is excellent; very friendly and eager to help, and we are never left to wait for very long even during busy periods.
All-in-all food is delicious, service is great, atmosphere is relaxed, prices are a bit steep. 9/10.
Sandwiched as it is between Yates (the wine lodge, classy) and Hogshead (images of head meat, appetizing), you'd think that that any bar/grill worth their salt would do well. All you have to do is NOT try to attract the customer base that the immediate opposition is relying - nay - dying for and offer something a little, well, if not upmarket then certainly 'market'.
So we arrive, a party of six, on Saturday night. Being overners, from Lymington no less, we were keen to find something a little special in the Island's county town - something we could go back to our friends and say "well, think you know the Island ... try this...!" As it transpired, House of legends is indeed outstanding, but not in the way I;d hoped.
Interlude: Interminable. I've sat through quicker funerals (sorry). The wait for the starters went on and on. The main courses looked about our age by the time they arrived - and tasted about our age too. I know that's a generalisation but 1 hour for fried chicken? Pur ... lease! (And it tasted dry on arrival).
Price: Not horrendous, but not not horrendous either. Food wasn;t silly prices, but drinks were, particularly coffee and soft drinks (I know that's what mark-up was invented for, but even so!)
Atmosphere; Destroyed intermittently by local, ahem, 'over eighteens' quaint insistence on immediate service and enthusiastic proposal for further reduction in female staff clothing policy. Now I know we were there on a Saturday evening - in fact, we were the only people eating - and the management did at one point intervene. Nevertheless the atmosphere remained one of edginess for the duration of the meal (Guy Ritchie FINALLY meets Trainspotting, but not in a good way!)
Overall: Couldn't wait to leave and return to the sanctity of our Hotel. Wish we'd eaten there instead. Have some good memories of our overnight stay in Newport - ate following morning at Phils Diner (have also reviewed) and note with some pleasure that this venue gets a mention here (above). If Phils only opened evenings, it might find itself a true 'house of legends' in its own right!
Conclusion: House of Legends attempts to punch above its weight. A potential bulldozer, but on the Dinky toy scale. American Cops have a phrase : "Step back step back, there's nothing to see." To anybody hoping for a legendary experience at this venue, my colleagues and I can only proffer the same advice.
Matt and Cat respond: Thanks for your comments, Stephen. We think you summed it up when you said "House of Legends attempts to punch above its weight". Do you have any recommendations of places to eat in Lymington? We've been to the Angel and Prezzo plus a couple of decent cafes.
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