Episode 8 -- "OXO"
Right by the Black Friar subway station is the river bank. There is a building marked with “oxo” on its surface. The eighth floor has a restaurant equipped with a balcony where you could see the ‘London Eye’, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and other famous buildings. This is a place where a lot of trendy people tend to visit. There is also live jazz music later on at night.
We were meeting friends for 22 years at this restaurant for dinner. The setting was nice. There were direct elevators to conduct you to the restaurant. We made 
reservation and we were given 2 hours to have our meals. This is one rule I could not swallow, whether or not I received a reservation. If I was given the allotted time, I should have the liberty to stay as long as I want. Different people have different eating habits and eating speeds. When you are in conversation with an old friend, you do not want to be rushed. It sounded exclusive but on second look, it was not as good as it looked. We were first put outside on the balcony section. The wind was strong that evening and you could see people shivering. The wind would bring cold meals. I came for the food and not the scenery. We requested to be put in the main dining area away from the cold. Part of the dining area was closed. Management claimed the servers had not started their shift yet. We got stuck with a table not far from the door to the balcony and also not far from the band stand.
We ordered. The wine was mediocre. White wine needs to be crisp and fresh. Luke cold white does not do any justice. 
The presentation was good but the ambience of this whole place was down-graded by its cafeteria looking décor and the food losing heat fast before it was served. The crazy jazz band behind us was blaring with its saxophone and then a table nearby [must be friends of the band] jumped at every note the band played and kept toasting the band. This transformed the whole place to a rowdy university food hall. We did not have coffee at this restaurant. We went out and took a walk at the South Bank and eventually found a tiny coffee bar and we had the best coffee and pleasant conversation.
The Brits do not put culinary endeavour high on their priority list. Their food tends to be more rustic and less delicate. The price they charge was a lot higher when compared in a world standard. Nobody really understands how the Brits live on their salaries with such a high standard of living. But when there is a will, there is a way.
We were in a rough part of town. There were a lot of beer halls and clubs nearby and the noise level was getting higher as the night went on. We had to take 2 subways before we could reach the hotel, so we said good-bye to old friends and parted.