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Sophie's Steakhouse Chelsea

Sophie's Steakhouse Chelsea

United Kingdom, London

Steak • British • European • Steakhouse


"since over 15 years sophies steakhouse visited and since the summer it was my first time. I went past the last weeks often to visit during the tireless veganuary, so I jumped on the opportunity to have a relaxed dinner there...with a friend on a Tuesday night. the dinner itself was the usual quality ingredients simple things made very good and fair value for the location as expected. I was disappointed, however, that I was at the reception of the restaurant for approx. 5 minutes were allowed to stand (besides a board that has asked customers to wait) where I was ignored, although I was passed on several times by the employees without gruß or recognition. it seems quite unnecessary that customers (also with reservations) on this wise on a Tuesday night around 19:30 clock, if there is a bar area on the immediate left side of the at the beginning that I quite comfortable my time in, until someone around me to put around me and safe enough, a small waiting snake formed behind us through the time we finally sit, although there is a series of open tables. my words very carefully to choose, I told the waiter (the manager) when he put us that as “a courteous world of advice” when they let customers wait at the entrance, they should be more of an effort to welcome them immediately, but this seemed to be taken as a personal affront and I was accused that it was quite hysterical, “he was being back in the moment when I met him during this already negotiated exchange we were asked twice (at this point) if we wanted to proceed with our booking by the waiter who obviously had decided that he would rather leave the partially empty restaurant. Despite every attempt to go, I didn't want my friend embarrassing, who visited the restaurant more regularly from late, so we tried to make the best of an otherwise insignificant dinner. within spores of playing the sacrifice, the waiter could explain that he was very stressed, as they were particularly short workers (the experience of my friend also from a previous visit) and fair to him seemed to be that he had a large area on his own. Of course, I have addressed any sympathy, and it is a management problem that must be solved especially for that of human, but why not just with an excuse or even only a recognition of feedback received, instead of expressing themselves and making absurd accusations if it receives polite and constructive feedback? would the device rather not mention a bad customer experience and decide to simply go into reasonable feedback? to his credit, the rest of the service was professional, but it is hard to do such a basic misunderstanding of the customer service in a time when they think restaurants should do everything in their power to customers again welcome after the break-up of the last 18 months. the whole episode is pretty bad at sophies I'm sorry to say and I won't be back in a hurry."

Queenswood

Queenswood

15 Battersea Square London, SW11 3RA, United Kingdom

Fish • Beer • Global • Coffee


"Newly opened Queenswood is a neighbourhood restaurant and bar from the same folk as Damson Co., located in quaint Battersea Square. It's a stunning site, full of thoughtful interior design touches from Eloisa Cuturi including a playful drawing, spread over wall mounted literature, a faux Cocteau sketch, and numerous eye catching lights. An airy coffee table destined for Royal College of Art students and their Macbooks welcomes you before you make it to a stylish cocktail bar and spacious counter for dining that The Palomar can only dream of. Two record players lie in wait for relaxed Sunday sessions with a BYOLP system. Let's talk cocktails. The bar is not an afterthought in fact, it's just what Battersea Square needs. Apart from Zocalo next door (a lively agave joint get the Mezcal Negroni), we've not got a lot to work with (London House, Bunga Bunga, Doodle Bar). Luckily, Queenswood's affordable £8 cocktail list includes some real winners: Negroni Rosemary infused gin, Campari, Barolo Chinato, dash of Balsamic Champ Honey Sochu, Suze, Cocchi Torino Cherry Heering Hemp Old Fashioned Unaged Rye Spirit, Hemp Syrup, Bitters Filbert's Treat Monkey Shoulder, Cocchi Americano, Frangelico Abstract Infusion Mezcal, Fernet Branca, Creme de Apricot, Byrrh Moving on to food, Queenswood have called on Parisian Aude Plocktor who has devised a menu that calls on many cuisines. From Galician Octopus to Israeli Couscous via Squid Tempura and Thai Beef Slad, it's an odd collection of dishes! Here's what we went for: Octopus Nicoise Green Beans, Saffron Boiled Potato, Cherry Tomato, Peppers, Olives Lettuce Smoked Duck Salad Bamboo Shoots, Green Beans, Orange Grapefruit, Coriander, Sesame Seeds Ginger Pig Bavette Steak (x2) served with Chips Roasted Root Vegetables Baked Apple (x2) Coconut Yoghurt, French Toast The starters made a decent impression, but the glorious Ginger Pig meat stole the show. Check the blackboard when you arrive to see how many steaks are left, and reserve a couple without hesitation. The Baked Apple was also a real treat, beautifully presented, and much more interesting than the name suggests. Alternative desserts of African Cacao Chocolate Souffle and Caramelised Pineapple with Mint Ajowan Seed Syrup also deserve a go. All in all, it was a very pleasant lunch, and Queenswood shows a lot of promise. I'll be back again soon for more of Igor's cocktails, and to check out the weekend brunch menu. Locals are bound to flock to it, especially in Summer when Battersea Square comes in to its own."

A La Turka

A La Turka

15 St Dunstans St, CT2 8AF, Canterbury, United Kingdom

Kebab • Pizza • Cafés • Mexican


"I 've been going to A La Turk Westgate for a few years now and have always loved it there, but I was incredibly disappointed today with the service. The waitress, Tara, spoke to me and my friends in the foulest manner. She was so horrible to us. I 've never been spoken to like that in my life. My friend wanted to order the lamb shank, to which Tara basically shouted, IF YOU CANT FIND IT, THEN ITS NOT ON THE MENU, IS IT?? I was genuinely shocked that she spoke to my friend like this. Normally, if customers are trying to find an item on the menu but don’t remember the exact name of the dish, one would assume the waitress would help and guide the customer. But no – instead, Tara was getting frustrated that we were taking our time to order. In the end, we realised the lamb shank is called Kleftico on the menu, which honestly I think the average person would call a lamb shank. (I’ll post a photo and you be the judge). Like sorry we didn’t know the exact terminology English isn’t our first language, but we shouldn’t be spoken to like that regardless. On numerous occasions, Tara spoke to us like we were a burden. We felt like we were a bother and became scared to even ask for anything because of how aggressively she spoke to us. Maybe she was having a bad day, but at your job you have a duty to be professional with your customers. I actually lost my appetite entirely because of how we were spoken to. It ruined my evening completely. I didn’t end up eating my meal, that’s how much her behaviour impacted all of our night. It was so painful to watch the waitress Tara speak to my friend like this – there was absolutely no reason to belittle someone like this. I’m not even exaggerating at all. I asked Tara if we had offended her or done something wrong, as I was trying to understand why she was treating us so badly. She responded, No, you didn’t offend me, I’m just very hot, it’s been a hot day. Tara didn’t apologise at all. Tara then came back, and we thought maybe she would come to apologise. But no – she just explained that her role is essentially to ask if we want anything extra, food or drink, and that is the process, and whatever is on the menu is on the menu. I saw her treating the new waitress so badly, it’s only an observation but I’m genuinely concerned she may be bullying her. The new waitress was so sweet to us and was the only reason we didn’t walk out. The new waitress was kind, smiley, and professional she has fabulous customer service. It was honestly the worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant. I have to be honest, though, the food is still amazing; the quality of the food is great. The kitchen is definitely doing something right, but I’ll have to boycott this place as they clearly do not value customer service as highly as their food."

The Spread Eagle Hotel & Spa - The Restaurant

The Spread Eagle Hotel & Spa - The Restaurant

Spread Eagle Hotel South Street Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 9NH, GU29 9PD, Chichester, United Kingdom

Steak • Hotels • British • English


"Our first choice restaurant was booked up so we decided to eat here because the menu looked really nice and it was convenient as we were staying at the hotel. It was full and so I was encouraged that it would be good. Some nice warmed bread was brough to the table with some olive oil/balsamic mix. The ration wasn't quite right as each time you dipped the bread you got olive oil and no balsamic. We ordered the wood pigeon breast (special) and baked sardines as starters. The breast was overcooked and the red wine sauced lacked any depth of flavour. The baked sardines allegedly came with a basil and garlic crust, Borlotti beans and a herb salad with lemon oil. I struggled to find any basil, garlic or lemon oil. I don't know what they braised the borlotti beans in because they had little or no taste. The sardines were lovely but rest of it was just apallingly executed. Steak is a great dish for judging the competence of a kitchen. It's difficult to get wrong and if you can't get it right then perhaps you're in the wrong section or profession. With that in mind and the disappointment of the first course we both ordered the Chateaubriand rare and rare to blue with extra sides of green beans and tenderstem brocolli. We did ask if it was possible to get a bernaise sauce but were advised that it wasn't. I know restaurants like to avoid going off menu but a bernaise takes me about 10 15 minutes to make so I'd expect a professional chef to do it in half that time. It's possible they didn't have tarragon or more likely the lack of demand would have meant them wasting most of it. Not a huge issue and it made no difference to our rating. The Chateaubriand was tough, chewy and lacked any seasoning it hadn't seen a flake of salt before it reached our table. Normally a great cut like this is tender to cut through, melts in the mouth, has great carmelisation on the outside giving that wonderful flavour. This was just like beef jerky....a real shame. The highlight was the cherries which were wonderfully sweet and bursting with flavour and the green beans. The tenderstem brocolli was underdone but I prefer that to overdone. The chips lacked any crisp bite, like they'd been sitting out for a while. The peppecorn sauce had a nice peppery hint to it but I do prefer a little more pepperyness. The red wine sauce was the same as the one used for the wood pigeon so again it lacked depth of flavour and could probably have benefited from reduction. My partner decided to forgo dessert as the previous courses were so disappointing and the few dishes we saw come out were not particularly appealing. I went for the cheese board. The cheeses were nice and mild. The figs went well. There weren't enough crackers and the slices of cheese were quite small. The front of house staff and serving staff were great, sadly the restaurant is let down by the kitchen. I expect much better food at £53/head. On the strength of the breakfast and dinner we had this place just can't deliver good food."