New £300 Platinum dining credit July 2022

[JapesGB]

AndyGWP wrote:

Hi folks – any thoughts or opinions on the Manchester restaurant offerings?…

Tripadvisor reviews don’t seem that complimentary about any of them about from Hawksmoor (which I noticed someone on here referenced as being a bit like a naff chain steakhouse… tho I can’t recall which exact one they referenced!)

Anyways, current selection is:
– 20 Stories
– Erst
– Hawksmoor
– Tattu
– The Ivy

I used mine in Tattu Birmingham and it was exceptional. As always, YMMV

[Michael C]

JDB wrote:

Launceston Place

Have you ever done the set lunch at Launceston Place, @JDB ? New
to me, thanks for the tip – looks excellent!

[JDB]

Michael C wrote:

JDB wrote:

Launceston Place

Have you ever done the set lunch at Launceston Place, @JDB ? New
to me, thanks for the tip – looks excellent!

Yes, it’s fantastic – the new chef is very talented. It’s also a nice atmosphere, very civilised and good service. Two minutes from Kensington Gardens for a walk afterwards. My son gets cheap vouchers for it from O2 / Virgin if you have access to those, although it’s still a very good deal without them.

[Michael C]

JDB wrote:

Michael C wrote:

JDB wrote:

Launceston Place

Have you ever done the set lunch at Launceston Place, @JDB ? New
to me, thanks for the tip – looks excellent!

Yes, it’s fantastic – the new chef is very talented. It’s also a nice atmosphere, very civilised and good service. Two minutes from Kensington Gardens for a walk afterwards. My son gets cheap vouchers for it from O2 / Virgin if you have access to those, although it’s still a very good deal without them.

Cheers – and saw it even includes Saturdays!

[KevinBeeManc]

AndyGWP wrote:

Hi folks – any thoughts or opinions on the Manchester restaurant offerings?…

Tripadvisor reviews don’t seem that complimentary about any of them about from Hawksmoor (which I noticed someone on here referenced as being a bit like a naff chain steakhouse… tho I can’t recall which exact one they referenced!)

Anyways, current selection is:
– 20 Stories
– Erst
– Hawksmoor
– Tattu
– The Ivy

I’ve eaten at the Ivy (asia) & Hawksmoor Manchester in the past and enjoyed both of them, 20 stories is also meant to be quite nice for drinks owing to the view across the city. There are better places to eat in Manchester for the price, but I think that you get good value out of the dining credit with those offerings!

[AndyGWP]

Thanks @JapesGB and @KevinBeeManc 👍

[sdahl38]

Anyone have a recommendation for Stockholm using the dining credit?

[Michael Scott]

AndyGWP wrote:

Hi folks – any thoughts or opinions on the Manchester restaurant offerings?…

Tripadvisor reviews don’t seem that complimentary about any of them about from Hawksmoor (which I noticed someone on here referenced as being a bit like a naff chain steakhouse… tho I can’t recall which exact one they referenced!)

Anyways, current selection is:
– 20 Stories
– Erst
– Hawksmoor
– Tattu
– The Ivy

We ate at Erst a last week and really enjoyed it although see my previous post about it getting credited.
Tattu used to be very good but recent reviews arent that great. Ivy Asia was also good but not sure if the Asia part is included in the dining credit?
We’ve not been to Hawksmoor but it’s one I want to try, it gets very good reviews

[Boltonsam]

Can someone please confirm or deny if ivy asia in Manchester qualifies for the Amex credit? Thanks

[Cat]

Hi all, not sure if this will be useful to anyone, but we just used the offer this weekend in Duck & Waffle. It was amazing, and is one of the few high rise restaurants in London where the food matches the views. From the current menu, the Duck & Waffle signature dish is incredible, as is Duck’n’Cheese (which may be my new favourite thing). One starter of Pigs Ears is enough for two people, easily, the cheese souffle is fab, the Lobster Roll is fantastic and their Duck and Stormy cocktail (a riff on Dark & Stormy, obviously) is an absolute banger.

Ask for a table with a view, obviously, and I highly recommend going on 5th November, because the views of fireworks displays across London are amazing!

The other restaurant I would recommend highly is Le Gavroche. If you’ve never been, this is a shocking oversight, which should be corrected as soon as possible!

Sorry if this is a bit London-centric!

[Ikaz]

I am glad to say that Japan is back on the list today 🙂

[mkdoc]

Would an ivy group gift card purchased in store be ok to trigger the cashback? Thanks

[ringingup]

I’ve booked dinner at The Colony Grill. I am counting on the two offers to stack up. They normally do. That would be a total of £180 off!

[malteser]

Do you need to use the £150 in one dining venue or is it cummulative?

[Vonnie]

Hey all,

As a londoner who isn’t a fine Diner, any recommendations of places to buy a gift card so I can give the £150 to friends/family?

I’ve tried the ivy, Gordon ramsay and a few others and none of them have physical cards, only online vouchers or they will only post you the card, which can’t be applied for this credit.

Thanks

[Gavin454]

Ikaz wrote:

I am glad to say that Japan is back on the list today 🙂

Thanks! Was hoping it would come back before my January trip.

It’s also still “pocket concierge” rather than individual restaurants, so still includes 800+ restaurants all over Japan.

Does anyone know if a restaurant can be booked and charged in advance using pocket concierge? If so, I could potentially use this year’s £150 credit, as well as next year’s credit. The FAQs seem to imply that your booking in charged in advance when confirmed.

https://help.pocket-concierge.jp/hc/en-us/articles/360000052881-How-do-I-complete-my-payment-and-what-do-I-do-when-I-am-leaving-the-restaurant-Pocket-Experience-

[SteveJ]

malteser wrote:

Do you need to use the £150 in one dining venue or is it cummulative?

Cumulative

[SteveJ]

Vonnie wrote:

Hey all,

As a londoner who isn’t a fine Diner, any recommendations of places to buy a gift card so I can give the £150 to friends/family?

I’ve tried the ivy, Gordon ramsay and a few others and none of them have physical cards, only online vouchers or they will only post you the card, which can’t be applied for this credit.

Thanks

mkdoc wrote:

Would an ivy group gift card purchased in store be ok to trigger the cashback? Thanks

If you buy in store Ivy will sell you a physical gift card and it does qualify, just make sure they ring it through the normal tills.

[TGLoyalty]

Any recommendation of somewhere on the list in Mayfair/soho/Covent garden with a good cocktail bar?

Amazonico is ok but prices excessive even for London lol

[JDB]

TGLoyalty wrote:

Any recommendation of somewhere on the list in Mayfair/soho/Covent garden with a good cocktail bar?

Amazonico is ok but prices excessive even for London lol

While it doesn’t meet your cocktail bar brief, perhaps the best normal restaurant on the list in Covent Garden is Clos Maggiore. Personally, I think that places that fancy themselves as cocktail bars/restaurants generally don’t do both well. If you are having a few cocktails, you will probably blow the £150 anyway so a cocktail at the Savoy or maybe Ham Yard is a good start.

[Owain]

Utterly bizarre experience at the Savoy Grill yesterday. When I came to settle the bill, I was told they couldn’t accept the Amex Platinum as the waitress was aware of ‘some sort of scam’ where people are trying to use it to get a free meal.
I asked to speak with a manager, but nobody was available (there seemed to be a very rowdy and drunken group at one table with a number of staff intervening, and some sort of an issue going on at reception), and unfortunately I couldn’t wait for however long it might take (an early curtain at the opera).
I ended up paying on another Amex, but feel pretty miffed – using the dining credit was a large part of why I had booked.
To add insult to injury, while most of the meal was very good, the main (Beef Wellington) was pretty bad – a beautiful piece of beef, marred by soggy, doughy, pastry, and a duxelles with the texture of leather and a strong smell of the truffle ‘flavour’ used in cheap truffle oil!

[Vonnie]

</quote>

If you buy in store Ivy will sell you a physical gift card and it does qualify, just make sure they ring it through the normal tills.[/quote]

Thanks SteveJ, grabbed it

[Harrods]

Owain wrote:

Utterly bizarre experience at the Savoy Grill yesterday. When I came to settle the bill, I was told they couldn’t accept the Amex Platinum as the waitress was aware of ‘some sort of scam’ where people are trying to use it to get a free meal.
I asked to speak with a manager, but nobody was available (there seemed to be a very rowdy and drunken group at one table with a number of staff intervening, and some sort of an issue going on at reception), and unfortunately I couldn’t wait for however long it might take (an early curtain at the opera).
I ended up paying on another Amex, but feel pretty miffed – using the dining credit was a large part of why I had booked.
To add insult to injury, while most of the meal was very good, the main (Beef Wellington) was pretty bad – a beautiful piece of beef, marred by soggy, doughy, pastry, and a duxelles with the texture of leather and a strong smell of the truffle ‘flavour’ used in cheap truffle oil!

It is always the minimum wage people that do the most…annoyingly

Would definitely follow up with management here. I guess one perk of Apple Pay is you can pay very quickly and they dont’ see what card you use…not that it should ever matter

[PeteM]

Owain wrote:

Utterly bizarre experience at the Savoy Grill yesterday. When I came to settle the bill, I was told they couldn’t accept the Amex Platinum as the waitress was aware of ‘some sort of scam’ where people are trying to use it to get a free meal.
I asked to speak with a manager, but nobody was available (there seemed to be a very rowdy and drunken group at one table with a number of staff intervening, and some sort of an issue going on at reception), and unfortunately I couldn’t wait for however long it might take (an early curtain at the opera).
I ended up paying on another Amex, but feel pretty miffed – using the dining credit was a large part of why I had booked.
To add insult to injury, while most of the meal was very good, the main (Beef Wellington) was pretty bad – a beautiful piece of beef, marred by soggy, doughy, pastry, and a duxelles with the texture of leather and a strong smell of the truffle ‘flavour’ used in cheap truffle oil!

We ate there two Sundays ago and were able to use our Platinum Amexes for the dining credit + AmEx offer. Overall, though, it was a very disappointing experience. £350 for two (two steaks, three sides, two desserts, two cocktails and two glasses of wine) felt quite steep for the quality of the food (the steak really wasn’t anything special) and lacklustre service. Would absolutely not be going back, with or without the offer!

[Gavin454]

Owain wrote:

Utterly bizarre experience at the Savoy Grill yesterday. When I came to settle the bill, I was told they couldn’t accept the Amex Platinum as the waitress was aware of ‘some sort of scam’ where people are trying to use it to get a free meal.
I asked to speak with a manager, but nobody was available (there seemed to be a very rowdy and drunken group at one table with a number of staff intervening, and some sort of an issue going on at reception), and unfortunately I couldn’t wait for however long it might take (an early curtain at the opera).

Very frustrating, I would definitely be kicking up a fuss. Perhaps they can refund your payment and re-charge you on the Platinum over the phone (or in person if it’s convenient for you).

If the restaurant won’t help, then maybe Amex can do something.

Also, thanks for the review – I will remove Savoy Grill from my list of potential places to visit with the offer!