Ojo Rojo — Restaurant in England

I have been going to Ojo Rojo for many years, and was so excited to go back after the most recent lockdown but we were very disappointed to say the least when we returned on 18.4.21. We booked a table for 10pm, to have some drinks until closing. When we initially booked online, there was no closing time avaliable - so in turn we presumed it would be of a similar time to in the past (1am). When we arrived, we were immediately made to feel unwelcome and burdensome. The staff member greeting us mentioned we in fact only had one hour until closing being informed that the kitchen closed at 10, and the bar closed at 10:30. Walking us to our table the staff member serving us (who we later found out was the General Manager) mentioned to one of our party that 'she wanted to go home'; making us feel even more inconvenient. Once sat down at the table, our server mentioned she would be back shortly to take our drinks order and rustle us up some snacks as we had not eaten - the snacks never arrived and she returned 25 minutes later (5 minutes before the bar closed) to take our order. As we were wating we could see the staff members drinking alcohol and shots at the bar, in front of all the remaining customers. When we were finally served it felt as if we were being milked for cash in the last few minutes of service. Our party ordered tequila shots and when they arrived we were told that there was no salt or lemon/lime because the bar had closed. However, we saw the staff with these items when they were doing their shots so a member of our party went up to the bar to ask for them and was met with hostility and reluctanty he was told they would send some over. The waiter who brought them over to our table was standoffish when we asked why we were told these items weren't avliable and he returned to the bar area where him and the other staff members were clearly mocking, laughing and pointing to us. At this point, we no longer wished to stay so we told our server that we wished to pay for the drinks that we had drunk and would like to leave. The general manager whom had been serving us asked why we wanted to leave and stated she would rather discuss it now or tomorrow (implying we were too drunk) rather than us 'leaving a review that would be damaging'. We explained the reasons above and she responded by stating that she had attempted to contact us about the lateness of our booking (via email, text and phone call) but this did not happen, and attempted to justify the bad service we had recieved throughout the night - informing us the staff had finished their shifts despite the bar still having customers. By this point being so appauled by this service, we were very annoyed and upset, so we paid and left. As we were leaving the general manager stated behind our backs "don't bother returning" to top off a very awful stay in the restaurant. Following her advice, we shall not be returning and neither will any of our friends or family. We cannot explain how disappointed we were by this, and completely ruined our first night out...

Short version: Delicious food served promptly. The "dirty potatoes" were the highlight for us.

Longer review: The warm decor was the first noticeable thing. A wood effect that reminded me of a cozy cabin for the seating area, In front of an impressively stocked bar. We were greeted and seated straight away, no waiting around at all by a waiter who served us with a smile (not the kind of American-customer-service fake smile, but the kind of smile of a man who knows he's great at his job). He explained to us that the menu was tapas style, and best for sharing. We knew this going in, but I appreciated it nonetheless. We had pork tacos with crispy shell, dirty potatoes, and loaded nachos. The nachos arrived first, and oh boy, "loaded" was right. They were piled high with a few different (each delectable) dips, you could choose one by itself from the outside, but the best bit was the middle where they all mixed and the cheese was plentiful and they all melded beautifully on top of satisfyingly crispy nachos. Before we finished, the tacos arrived. The pork was pulled, and fell apart so tenderly, a delight to the senses. A slight flaw was the taco bread. In all fairness, we had ordered it crispy, anticipating something tex-mex style. However, the pulled pork instead sat atop a rock hard and extremely brittle flat disc, more like a large cracker than the taco shape we had expected. The meat and filling of the taco more than made up for it, and the rest of the meal was so good that I see no reason to dock a star for this. It's probably just my partner and I misunderstanding the menu. Finally, the dirty potatoes arrived. Diced into sugar cube sized chunks, these potatoes were delectably fluffy, and awesomely flavourful. The spicy kick was bravely extinguished in my mouth by the gooey cheese drizzled over the top. It specifically will be this dish that bring my partner and I back for more. A triumph of hyperpalatable cuisine. We paid 96 pounds for our three course meal for two, including the two cocktails we each had, and the 12% service charge for the diligent but warm waiters who served us wonderfully. 96, for all this, is well worth it in my opinion. Thank you, Ojo Rojo. See you again soon.

I posted this review on the 26th of march but I visited on...

I don't know how this restaurant has that many positive reviews... that wasn't my first time there, but I left even more disappointed than ever before.

My partner kindly organised a surprise birthday dinner there and all of us agreed it was not enjoyable at all. The food arrived cold, the tortillas were dry and chewy, didn't taste fresh at all. The drinks range, albeit quite substantial, was very limited due to the lack of many ingredients.

But what was the most disappointing thing was the service. And I don't really say it often having worked in restaurants myself, but I was very saddened and shocked by the quality of service. Our waiter was very impatient, and rude, making inappropriate jokes and commenting on our choices in an obnoxious manner. It was supposed to be a pleasant evening considering it was my birthday, but it turned out to be a waste of money altogether. If our waiter could take our order at the door as soon as we walked in, he really would. I didn't even have a chance to have a proper look at the menu while greeting my guests and settling in, and I felt very rushed. The comments from the waiter made me feel like I was not particularly welcome there, and they were a bit embarrassing to me. Shouting at me while taking the order is not a good impression. And it wasn't because it was too loud in the restaurant. After all, you don't have to let the whole restaurant know what I'm ordering. We haven't been given the dessert menu and nobody checked on us throughout. The reservation was booked for a reasonable time (20.00) considering it was a dinner party, but the comments from the waiter made me feel like we should leave as soon as possible because the kitchen had to close. So we did. We left at around 21.00 because nobody felt particularly great at the party. Disappointed. Not the first time... Will definitely...