My daughter and I had a trip to London last weekend and decided to try Planet Hollywood. I am neither a fan of fast food or particularly enamoured by Hollywood, but I thought perhaps it would be a spectacle - I had in mind the restaurant that John Travolta and Winona Rider go to in Pulp Fiction. ... Read review
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: One of a kind, unique memorabilia Disadvantages: Overpriced, noisy
...weekend and decided to try Planet Hollywood. I am neither a fan of fast food or particularly enamoured by Hollywood, but I thought perhaps it would be a spectacle - I had in mind the restaurant that John Travolta and Winona Rider go to in Pulp Fiction. Looking at the website, it looked like it would be busy, especially on a Saturday so we decided to go for an early meal between lunch and dinner and see if we were lucky to get a table.
...this is the fault of Planet Hollywood, but it did mean that we arrived very tired and very hungry at about 4.30pm. I'd suggest that you get a better map than we had - Planet Hollywood is really only a couple of minutes walk from Leicester Square.
At street level there is a merchandise shop - I'm not so keen on wearing branded T shirts but if you do fall in love with the restaurant you can proclaim it by wearing one of a large range ... more
My daughter and I had a trip to London last weekend and decided to try Planet Hollywood. I am neither a fan of fast food or particularly enamoured by Hollywood, but I thought perhaps it would be a spectacle - I had in mind the restaurant that John Travolta and Winona Rider go to in Pulp Fiction. Looking at the website, it looked like it would be busy, especially on a Saturday so we decided to go for an early meal between lunch and dinner and see if we were lucky to get a table.
There is only one Planet Hollywood in the UK and it is in Coventry Street, close to Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. For some strange reason Coventry Street wasn't on the map that I had printed out, so I asked at an information booth in Leicester Square. As it turned out, this was a bit of a mistake, as the girl there was not a local (Spanish by the sound of it) and suggested that Coventry Street was probably a very small street so it didn't show up - only later did I think "Hang on a minute - Coventry St is a yellow one in Monopoly!" Anyway, her dodgy directions led us on a 45 minutes circular walk around Shaftsbury Avenue, China Town and Soho, before eventually getting much more useful directions from a helpful security guard in Fopp.
None of this is the fault of Planet Hollywood, but it did mean that we arrived very tired and very hungry at about 4.30pm. I'd suggest that you get a better map than we had - Planet Hollywood is really only a couple of minutes walk from Leicester Square.
At street level there is a merchandise shop - I'm not so keen on wearing branded T shirts but if you do fall in love with the restaurant you can proclaim it by wearing one of a large range of T shirts, or buy a branded glass, key ring - loads of choice for gifts. There is also a licensed bar next to the shop.
The 400 seater restaurant is upstairs. On the wall as you ascend there is a mural of paparazzi - with flashing lights to make you feel that you're being snapped - this is a nice touch and does contribute to the atmosphere. One at the top you're greeted and given a ticket, then wait to be seated. We waited a couple of minutes, but this was at 4.30. Half an hour later there was a much longer queue. It is possible to reserve a table, but some tables are always kept unreserved for those who turn up on the day. I checked the website about 3 weeks before our trip and there were no reservations left - so if you want to reserve for a busy time you'll have to plan well ahead.
As you might expect, the walls of Planet Hollywood are covered in memorabilia, different genres of films in different areas, although they do seem to overlap a bit. From memory, as we entered there was Grease (a T bird jacket) on the right and Rocky (boxing boots) on the left, apparently in total there are over 300 items. We were shown to a table in an area that focused on horror films - I was quite happy to see Jack Nicolson in the Shining grinning from a poster but less thrilled by the gory prop from The Naked Lunch that hung above our heads - not much of an appetiser!
From our table a "Bond Room" could be seen, but without wandering around the restaurant leaning over people's tables while they eat, you'd find it hard to really take in all the memorabilia in one visit. It might therefore be quite frustrating for someone Hollywood obsessed, for us it was mildly interesting. Needless to say, John and Winona were not in evidence, at least not in person, they may have featured on the walls. Instead the clientele were mainly families, as you'd expect from any fast food restaurant.
A huge TV screen dominates one end of the restaurant, on which adverts for upcoming events are shown, as well as excerpts from films. There is also a stream of Happy Birthday and similar messages. "DJ Mugsy" was on site to read out celebration messages and to play music requests in between the films. For me, this was like eating with a noisy TV on in the corner. The restaurant tries to foster a "party atmosphere" and is not somewhere for an intimate meal. (Although I was surprised to see one of the announcements was a wedding anniversary.) We were interrupted several times by a request for the whole restaurant to sing Happy Birthday to a child, and the DJ controls a camera that swoops around the restaurant, so that he can feature any diner on the big screen at any time. My daughter pronounced this as "a bit school disco". A big fuss of birthdays is made, with cakes available to order at £25.
Once seated we were given menus, and it was at this point that I realised I should have checked it out before hand, as Planet Hollywood is clearly not bothered about catering for Vegetarians. There was one solitary meal that was vegetarian - being a veggie burger with fries. I ordered this, and my potato loving daughter ordered potato skins with cheese (having to ask for the bacon bits to be left off) and an extra portion of fries. We each had a glass of fruit juice.
The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time and was passable. It certainly wasn't exciting in any way and the burger I received was the standard unimaginative mashed up veg type, available from places like Iceland. The fries were good. Nothing was served in huge American portions, and the prices were pretty steep. Looking around at other diners, I think as a meat eater you may fare much better. There was a good choice of steak, fajitas, burgers etc. Prices range between £10 and £22 for a main meal, with appetisers at about £6 - £12 and desserts all £6.25. The "hand dipped" (?) milkshakes did look good - but at £4.95 they'd have to be! There is also a children's menu at £7.50.
For dessert we chose banana cheese cake and raspberry sorbet. Both were perfectly passable. The bill came to just over £40, including the "discretionary" 12.5% service charge that is added automatically. (Not keen on this idea but that is a rant for another time!) This is much more than I want to pay for a mediocre meal.
This is an ideal place to go for a kids' party or family get together - the atmosphere is very child friendly, although the memorabilia is geared towards adults and the content of some of the film clips wasn't ideal for children. For a noisy, bustling party I'm sure it is great - but then so is Pizza Hut or similar - you have to decide if the decor is worth the price hyke. However, if you are Vegetarian, don't bother at all.
Special mention should go to the toilet attendant (in the Ladies at least), who has a dazzling array of perfume, deodorants etc to offer her visitors. The toilets themselves are very boring - I was expecting a theme!
Advantages: Kids seem to like it Disadvantages: Expensive, Food not that great .In need of decor
We went for a special day out but left a bit disappointed.I would not rave about it or recommend it to others. Food was pretty expensive (and nothing special).I had Lasagne which is different from normal and to be honest not as nice as traditional Lasagne(It was literally 4 large pasta funnels standing up on a plate with beef & cheesy stuff inside & tomato sauce around it on plate.very strange! ) .
Service was quite friendly and good. Lots of noise ... ...DJ (so if you don't like loud places it is not for you here). Our meal for child meal, adult main meal and 2 lemonades and 1 dessert was £36(included automatic £4 tip which i would not have left as service was good but not that amazing.)
Bar is a bit non descript that you sit in to wait for your table. Needs updating as place looks a bit in need of a decorate. Toilets not very nice, quite messy (woman in there expecting a tip for her rationing your ...
mandles 24.02.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Planet Hollywood, London
Advantages: It's different, atomspheric, friendly Disadvantages: tad expensive
...to try something different. Planet Hollywood in London is just off Leicester Square and easily accessible via the Leicester Square tube station serviced by both Piccadilly and Northern Lines. It is near many of the theatres as well so a good choice before the show starts! We looked in some of the other eateries and they did seem a little quiet with limited atmosphere but when we walked through the doors of Planet Hollywood it was a different story. ... ...film props and memorabilia on the walls and ceiling. The restaurant is on the first floor and as you go up the steps flashbulbs go off which are surrounded by pictures of Paparazzi - fame at last! The restaurant itself is entered via a queuing system - we went straight in as it was around 5:30pm but it is worth noting there was a considerable queue when we left at around 7pm.
There are TV screens all over the place so it makes no difference where ...
amtallen 12.01.2008 (14.01.2008)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Planet Hollywood, London
Advantages: Fantastic Film Artifacts Disadvantages: Extremely Pricey for a burger
...be rude not to visit Planet Hollywood at least once.
Environment
The surroundings are clean and well decorated. The movie items on display will keep children and husbands busy for hours while your waiting for your meal. You can actually wait sometime for your meal, even if the resteraunt isn't busy. ( Presumably as everything is cooked fresh.) Pop videos play on giant screens all over the resteraunt. On each of my visits it hasn't been particularly ... ...quite a wait for a table
Menu
The menu is fairly extensive. Burgers aren't the only order of the day, although most people tend to go for the burgers and there are several differnt types of burger coming in at around £10. Other items on the menu are a little more pricey. There is a childrens menu for under 12's. The dessert menu is not as extensive as one would hope , but the banana Fosters cheesecake is to die for.
Service
The standard of service ...
altontowers97 19.03.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Planet Hollywood, London
Advantages: Good surrondings Disadvantages: Wait to get in
Planet Hollywood is a great place to eat out compared to other places to eat in London. When you walk in you have a nice bar to have a drink and watch a bit of sport. Also when you walk in you can see Will Smith's hand prints and also a Terminator model. The wait to get in can be up to 3 hours so it is best to eat around 4:00 - 5.00 pm when there is only a 15 minute wait when you can have a drink at the bar while you are waiting.
Once you are inside ... ...which is in the middle, the bond room and another bit which is quite small. When you are indise you can see all the famous memorabilia including Indiana Jones's whip, Forest Gump's top and Grece Lightining's coat.
The menu is very like an American DInner Menu with ribs and burgers etc.
The toilets are of very high standered that is why you have to pay to get in there but it is worth the money as they are really clean and decorated well. The food ...
mad.man.560 19.06.2008 (20.06.2008)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Planet Hollywood, London
Value for Money
Standard of Menu
Atmosphere
Standard of Service
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Planet Hollywood, London"
which is mainly t-shirts, caps, glasses, jackets, soft toys, lots of things to say you have vistied. I haven't bought any since I live here and there is no point but with PlanetHollywood I have all of the t-shirts and I have an Orlando one and London one. They update all of the time but I like my collection.
If you are in a big group you are usually recommended to book but in a three or four you will usually get a table. In day time for lunch it can be quite empty but I have always been at night time when it is busy and it gets noisier as it gets later. Lots of parties are going on and it is a very busy environment but at the same time a fun one.
You choose smoking or non-smoking and are then handed menus. I always like to sit at the best seats with all of the good objects on the wall. By this I mean famous belongings or props from ...
Advantages: Interesting things to look at. Disadvantages: expensive
I went to planethollywood twice while in new york once for drinks on the first night and then another night for dinner. We didn't have any wait to be seated and our waiter was very polite and helpful. We did wait a while for him to fetch our beers but he seemed to have to serve half of the resturant alone.
Decided on the captain crunch chicken for the appetiser and it was really nice but for the price you only get 3 strips for about $8. For the main course i had the chicken parmagaina it was a ok dish but nothing special. my sister had the vegatarin pasta dish and was happy with her choice.
With drinks our bill came to around $70 which for 2 of us seemed very expensive for what we had.
PlanetHollywood is the same which ever one you go to be it london, paris ,orlando the displays might be a little differant but the general ...
Advantages: A Great city full of life and fun Disadvantages: Expensive
's Diner can come highly recommended.
PlanetHollywood is also nice to eat and not as busy as the one in London. Tables are not a problem.
Down at Fishermans Wharf and Pier 39 there are many nice Seafood restaurants. Quite expensive but very tasty if you like fresh seafood.
Shopping.
---------
If you want bargains, DONT come to San Francisco. Go To Florida if you want that.
Here are some of the more fine shopping district. Not bargain basement malls.
You will find Macy's on the Square offering all sorts of fashions and accessories. In the lobbies of many of the hotels you will find Versace, Gucci and other fine shops.
Tipping.
--------
OK. So tourism is their main source of income in San Fran and they rely on your tipping to make ends meet and pay their rent. Be generous if you feel they have earned it. You will find everyone ...
