A displeased diner at a capital eatery has slammed the service and food that they received when celebrating a birthday.
Leaving a two-star review on TripAdvisor, the customer of Hawksmoor on West Register Street, says that their whole experience got off to a rocky start straight away. They claim that their waiter took their food order before their drinks.
Saying that the meal was below their fine dining standards, they continued to say that the steak was not properly cooked and that the food tasted as though it had been left too long. They also complained about servers leaning over their table when placing plates and drinks.
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Although they did say that their starters were “all tasty” and that the staff were well mannered and very apologetic. Reviewing their meal, they posted: “Came for a belated birthday meal for my husband expecting a more fine dining experience.....this isn't what we got.
“*The server (although very pleasant) came to take our food order prior to taking our drink order. *Starters were all tasty ( two lobster and langoustine scampi. Mains were four steaks (t-bone med/rare, sirloin well done, fillet med/rare and another fillet well done).
“The waiter offered the well done fillet to be butterfly due to the thickness (we understand this so agreed). Not sure what the chef doesn't understand about the term 'well done' as both came out rare. We did mention to the waiter who apologised and took the steaks to be cooked further.
“These came back practically the same and couldn't be eaten. I think food must be lying too long before being served as all the food came out warm (even the chips). *Although servers were polite and apologetic some are requiring further basic training. You take a drinks order once customers are settled and not the food first.
“Also please don't stretch over the table with plates of food. This certainly wasn't what we were expecting and it happened a few times with both drinks, mains and sides.
“Unfortunately this hasn't been the greatest of experiences for our first time here and more than likely won't be in a hurry to book again. All in all very disappointing.”
The Hawksmoor team responded by thanking the diner for their “honest feedback.” They apologised for the lax standards and offered to rectify the situation if the customer was willing to get in touch regarding their February visit.
They replied: “Thank you for taking the time to leave your honest feedback from your recent visit, we read through and share all of the reviews we receive online, and we appreciate you sharing this. I can only apologise that your time with us was not the experience that it should have been, especially as it was for a special occasion for your husband.
“It sounds like a collection of errors in the evening both with the service and the food, which is certainly not the standard that we strive for at Hawksmoor. We would very much like to have the chance to discuss your feedback with you directly.
“Please get in touch with your comments and booking details. We hope that we hear from you.”
Despite this experience, the Hawksmoor is well respected on TripAdvisor with a rating of four-and-a-half stars out of five from almost 700 reviews. The vast majority of those visiting the restaurant and commenting on their visit on TripAdvisor left “excellent” reviews.
One former customer said: “We visited on a Monday evening and had incredible food - perfectly prepared and served. The early evening menu has variation and is great value.
“Monday evenings you can also take your own bottle and corkage is only £5 so that is a major plus point. Our server Matthew was attentive, professional and delivered service above and beyond what was expected.
“We’ll be back!”
Whilst another commented: “We came here on a Friday night and was served by the loveliest gentleman that gave us recommendations. We had the lobster to start, and I had the fillet steak medium with chips and peppercorn sauce.
“The lobster was meaty, and the steak had the perfect amount of seasoning and was delicious. Will definitely be visiting again.”
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