Take Time Out from top eateries

Top London restaurants The Ivy, River Cafe and Nobu have all been criticised for unacceptable levels of service to their customers.

The Time Out Eating and Drinking Guide 2002 also criticises "mockney" celebrity chef Jamie Oliver for seldom making an appearance at Monte's where he is the consultant chef.

The service at Nobu, the restaurant where tennis champion Boris Becker famously romped with Russian model Angela Ermakova in the broom cupboard - an act which he claimed lasted five seconds, but is still costing him £3,300 a month in child maintenance - was described as "disappointing".

The guide says: "The service at celebrity haunt Nobu left a lot to be desired, which was disappointing bearing in mind the stunning and inventive food on offer.

"The poor show was compounded as a standard service charge of 15 per cent (on £100 per head) was added irrespective of the experience."

Big-name hangout the Ivy was slammed for its two-tier booking system which gives preference to the rich and famous. The guide says: "Arrive, say, with either AA Gill or Jerry Hall and a table is almost guaranteed to be secured no matter how little notice is given.

Call up as one of the masses and face an automated phone system, only to be placed promptly at the back of the queue - currently three months long." However, the guide concedes that if you are lucky enough to get a booking, customer service is "smooth".

The River Cafe, where Jamie Oliver started out before the heady days of his Sainsbury's adverts, and which offers traditional Tuscan cooking, did not fare much better.

"The River Cafe failed the simplest of tasks - answering the phone," the guide states. "Our reviewers were put on hold for up to eight minutes and given conflicting information depending on when they called and to whom they spoke. However, when and if a booking is secured, a top-flight meal is almost guaranteed."

Despite the failings at a number of high-profile restaurants, Time Out claims that London has joined the ranks of the culinary superleague alongside cities such as New York, Paris, Sydney and Singapore.