"I was very disappointed with our experience at Kai. A friend and I booked the 4pm afternoon tea upon our arrival in London and because of the Michelin star, were excited with high expectations. Now the food overall was very good, although a few pieces felt like they had been sitting under a heat warmer or something. Some dishes didn 't taste the freshest. Overall, again the good was pretty good, my real disappointment fell with the ambiance and service. We sat in the basement which was empty except for 1 table, which is not their fault but would have been nice to know that we were basically the only booking. It was very quiet since the music wasn 't turned on until 1/2 way through our meal. Our server either went on break or disappeared 1/2 way through our meal as well and no one helped out in her absence. After our server brought the first round of hot plates, she said the kitchen was closing soon which made us feel rushed through we had only been there 35 minutes. We ran out of water, were never offered our 2nd pot of tea (included in our prix fixe menu), and no one came and checked how our food was during our meal, which would have been nice because we had some questions and wanted to order more champagne. At the end of the meal, we had to find someone to ask for our bill and when we went upstairs to get our coats, no one was there. We went to the back seating area of the restaurant where staff was eating and asked if someone could grab our coats. It felt like we were disturbing them as everyone just looked at us. One woman helped us with a mouth full of food with not much of goodbye or thanks for coming. This was our first experience at a London tea as well as a Michelin star restaurant and I wish I could have a redo. I design brand experiences as a profession and there was such a disconnect between the food and service which made the entire experience feel disjointed. Someone at Kai needs to read the book Unreasonable Hospitality."
