"I booked Bill 's Covent Garden well in advance for my 50th birthday meal. There were 11 of us altogether. We left our unfinished cocktails at Tequila Mockingbird in order to get to Bill 's in time for our booking at 7.30pm. We arrived in time and were told that the table was not ready and to wait outside. We waited for 30 minutes during that time no one came out to update us on what was happening. When a member of our party asked when our table would be ready and explained that it was for a special occasion the manager said and I quote 'Everyone here is special '. We were not implying that we were more special than other diners, only that it was a special occasion and having to wait 30 minutes in the cold with no explanation was not a great start. When we were finally seated we were given no table water until we asked for some 15 minutes after sitting and it took a further 20 minutes for anyone to come over to take our drink order (after having to go and ask! A member of our party spoke to a senior member of staff (unsure if manager or deputy manager about the situation and that what was to be a special occasion was turning into a terrible night. Then the manageress (short blonde hair not sure of name came over and interrupted the conversation, was very rude and aggressive claiming we were being deliberately obtrusive. When we explained how long we had to wait, the lack of awareness and service at our table and that what was to be a special night was being ruined she seemed to calm down and two bottles of complimentary prosecco sent to our table. We then had a further extended wait before our order was taken. Between when we arrived at 7.30 and when we received our food was an hour and a half. The managers left before we asked for the bill and were not around to support the staff when we found discrepancies in the bill. The manageress of this Bill 's was terrible and had an absolute lack of any customer service whatsoever. She would not acknowledge that the long wait times were a problem and in fact implied that we were the problem. The wait staff however were lovely and understanding of our situation. This was a memorable birthday but not in a good way. Avoid."
