Rococo Lounge — Restaurant in England

I spent an evening at the Rococo Lounge taking part in a quiz with colleagues.

The Rococo, despite being located in a large and cavernous space with high ceilings, has managed to create an intimate and rather old fashioned atmosphere with oil paintings, drawings and photographs displayed apparently at random but with an artful design concept that somehow brings it all together. It gives the impression that the Rococo has been there for years and the space has evolved with additions over the years when, in fact, the Lounge is a fairly recent addition to Aylesbury's night life and, presumably, most of the decoration was added at the outset.

The food, at least going by my experience and that of my colleagues, is overpriced and underwhelming. I ordered a Louisiana Fried Chicken with Maple BBQ (1,270 kcal) - 13.50 which consisted of 4 small strips of chicken made to look at little larger by overuse of batter, a miserly dollop of coleslaw and a small pot of chips that were at least crisp. The connection with Louisiana cuisine stopped at the name and, really, while advertised as a "Main" this was more like a starter. The beer was fine but a little overpriced but I suppose that can be justified somewhat by the atmosphere, and I imagine the overheads are pretty high.

The service was friendly, timely and professional.

The quiz was a little on the easy side (we won!) and was marred somewhat by the fact that we and others had to frequently ask for questions to be repeated. I think this was partly to do with with the underpowered PA, but also the diction and sometimes pronunciation of the quizmaster.

To conclude, I had a pleasant evening in the company of my colleagues, I really like the atmosphere and décor, I can live with the price of the drinks, but I was unimpressed by the cuisine and disappointed by the portion size. I may go again in the company of colleagues and friends for a convivial night out, but I wouldn't recommend it for a solo meal or a date,...

The customer service in this restaurant is absolutely shocking. After being ignored at the bar for about 5 minutes, a very grumpy man took our order. Several drinks were out of stock (including the house wine) which is fine, but no apology whatsoever, he just grunted at us “haven’t got that”…. “…or that”… “or that….”. He had serious attitude problems and made us feel like an inconvenience for placing an order for food….in a restaurant….bizarre. After being served the wrong food for two different other tables, our drinks finally arrived in dribs and drabs, including a bottle of wine with 4 filthy glasses. We asked them to be replaced and the young waiter looked properly annoyed at us, walked off, and then didn’t bring anything back after about 10-15 mins. I eventually gave up and went to collect new glasses myself from the bar. Self-service I guess?! Finally the food arrived, which was absolute fine - hot and perfectly edible. Having booked the table online in advance with a £40 deposit, that amount wasn’t deducted from the bill (possibly our fault for not concentrating properly when ordering). We went back to the bar to reclaim the deposit, but were told it had to be done by the manager, and he was having to do the cooking because of short-staffing (?!) We asked to speak to the manager anyway, and had intended to raise the other woeful customer service issues from earlier, only to find out he was the grumpy man that had served us at the till in the first place! I don’t like writing frustrated reviews online, but given that the manager turned out to be the exact person whose awful unfriendly attitude we wanted to raise, we had to just leave.

I would be very happy to discuss this experience further with a member of management if you would like any constructive feedback. Short-staffing should never be a cause for poor attitude, and for lack of...

We visited Rococo Lounge with high hopes, but unfortunately, the experience was far from satisfactory. We ordered from the tapas menu, which is advertised as "ideal for sharing". However, this could not have been more misleading. The portion sizes were shockingly small - the Harissa chicken skewers, for example, were no bigger than my little finger, and you only get two of them. On top of that, the chicken was extremely dry and lacked any flavour.

The fries we received looked broken and uneven, almost as if they had been cut in half deliberately. Drinks arrived missing their garnishes, despite what was clearly shown and described on the menu. This attention to detail matters - especially when prices suggest a more premium experience.

All dishes were served in ramekins, which made the portions appear even more meagre. We had to order a second round of tapas just to feel like we had enough for two people. The whole presentation looked like it had come from a children's menu - definitely not shareable as claimed.

The service was also lacking. Staff brought out cutlery and napkins but simply dumped them in the middle of the table without laying anything out. Our eating area was untidy - my chair had a visible spill on it, there was food on the floor, and the surrounding sofa seating area had clearly not been cleaned from the previous customers. This really impacted the atmosphere and hygiene.

Additionally, the staff didn't appear to have a consistent or professional uniform, which added to the overall lack of polish.

All in all, this was a very disappointing visit. Given the poor food quality, misleading portion sizes, lacklustre service and unclean environment, we will not be returning - and we strongly advise others not to waste their money here. It would be a good idea if an area manager conducts an unannounced visit and...