London Chop House

**Mind field** · August-31-13, 05:28 PM

Wondering if any forumers have eaten here and what your impression of the place was. I would like to go but hate wasting my hard earned money if it's not worth it.

**rb336** · August-31-13, 06:50 PM

Haven't eaten there since Jimmy Schmidt was there

**DetroitPlanner** · September-01-13, 11:41 AM

I can remember smelling in from the alley. It smells great. LOL Well better than how the alley used to smell anyways.

Is Jimmy even at the Snake anymore?

**mikehamm45** · September-01-13, 12:55 PM

The place is decent. Nice vibe. Service was good. Food was good. Overall a decent value. This in Chicago would have costed 25-50 percent more. I liked it. Would go there again. I found it better than the suburbs. Then again. I am partial against dining in the suburbs.

**rb336** · September-01-13, 05:27 PM

Jimmy is the exec chef at Morgan's in the Desert in La Quinta, CA. Fonseca instead of T-F 20 yo port. yuck

**Lowell** · September-01-13, 06:56 PM

Pricey but excellent.

**p69rrh51** · September-01-13, 07:52 PM

My wife had her own house account there back in the day. She ate lunch there at the beginning of the summer and raved about the food and complained about the prices.

**gnome** · September-02-13, 08:35 AM

This is not a value, it is an experience. You will drop $200 on dinner, but will not regret a single penny. I am sure you could spend less by being a right-side-of-the-menu reader, but why? This is a classy joint, dress up, put on socks and wear a tie. You'll impress yourself and your bride.

**Downriviera** · September-02-13, 08:50 AM

Can we wear our un-washed Detroit jeans here?

**rb336** · September-02-13, 11:00 AM

Do any restaurants around here enforce a dress code?

**Smirnoff** · September-02-13, 06:14 PM

Who said you have to wear a dress?

**swingline** · September-03-13, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by gnome

This is not a value, it is an experience. You will drop $200 on dinner, but will not regret a single penny. I am sure you could spend less by being a right-side-of-the-menu reader, but why? This is a classy joint, dress up, put on socks and wear a tie. You'll impress yourself and your bride.

x2. You can get away sans tie. But wear one anyway, you'll like the way you look.

I wish I could dine at the LCH more often. Last time was in May. The restaurant is outstanding. A real gem for Detroit.

**Honky Tonk** · September-03-13, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by Smirnoff

Who said you have to wear a dress?

Again, you're absolutely correct, Smirnoff. An evening gown would be more aprospos for formal dining.

**Detroitnerd** · September-03-13, 02:09 PM

Jimmy Schmidt worked out a deal with the owners of the building three years ago. Details may have changed, but Schmidt was still "executive chef" in the sense that he helps plan the menus, but that was it.

Honestly, Schmidt was the doyen of fine dining for a long time in Detroit. He has to follow the money, you know? Downtown Detroit's dining scene is on a trajectory toward comfort food, casual dress codes and affordable-looking trappings. And that's a good thing, for the most part. Frankly, with corporate accounts declining and the shrinking "middle" class, the fine dining crowd in metro Detroit probably consists of the same few thousand couples who go out several times a week. A lot of restaurants survive on catering to make up the difference. If that can't do it, they close, like Opus One or Tribute. The ones that can adapt gracefully do fine, though.

**drjeff** · September-04-13, 12:57 PM

I took my lab group there for a holiday lunch last december. It was very expensive but well worth it. Food was excellent, service was excellent, ambience is fantastic. It's worth it if you can afford it.

**Pazen Hingree** · September-22-13, 12:03 PM

has it been busy when anyone's been there?

**Spartan** · September-22-13, 07:32 PM

I went last week with a group with a restaurant week type event [[3 courses at $40). I was relatively unimpressed. Service was ok, food was ok and small. With 3 courses, I still barely felt full. We didn't have a steak option on our menu, which I thought was a bit silly for a chop house. The ambiance down there is definitely very nice though. I likely won't be back except for Happy Hour.

**buzzman0077** · September-24-13, 08:14 AM

Went for a dinner there woth my wife last winter, great food and atmosphere and a solid wine list. No cheap, but worth it. Actually enjoyed it more that Roast.