Canal Club — Restaurant in Leeds

DO NOT USE FOR VENUE HIRE! We recently booked the canal cafe (private event room) within canal club to celebrate a private event. This was booked around 4 weeks prior to the event and secured with an £84 deposit. I negotiated having the room from 3-11pm and was told this was booked but was also told that the booking was flexible as they would block the room out for the whole day and a maximum wait time for the reservation was not mentioned. Two days prior to the booking I received an email saying that the booking had been moved to 2:45 - I emailed to check why but didnt receive a response although I assumed this was just to ensure the room was free for us. We arrived at 3:30 due to issues with taxis (I had tried to call to notify regarding this but no one answered). Upon arriving to the venue we were told that there was now a bottomless brunch taking place in the room we had booked. We had arrived with loads of decorations and had around 30 guests arriving for this event. The manager then came over to us and straight away defensively said ‘I had you in for 2:45 you didn’t arrive on time so we have another booking in there now’. There was no introductions/apologies and the tone was argumentative. We were able to go into the room to set up but were told that the brunch could not be moved so they would be in there until 4:45 (this meant they were put into the room we had booked at 3:15 which was only 15 minutes after our booking time) personally I think this is very ignorant when we had paid such a big deposit and had this booked for an event to only allow us 15 minutes. The venue also did not attempt to contact us and I was told this was due to them having no contact details for us despite me having multiple conversations over text & receiving emails. This meant all of our guests were arriving for the event and we had to begin our party with a group of 12 people having a bottomless brunch who were then very drunk and were getting up and dancing etc. The rest of the venue was full so clearly the venue just overbooked which is eventually what they admitted to doing. When I booked this event I also checked that the bar in the private room would be staffed all night and was assured so. This wasn’t the case most of the night we had to go and order from the main bar (apparently this was due to them being short staffed). We also ordered 4 bottles of prosecco/loads of beers for welcome drinks and were only given 6 prosecco glasses. The bottles were also put in ice buckets with no ice and no one offered to open a bottle or pour any drinks. When we asked for more glasses we were given pint glasses because the venue didn’t have enough glasses. Quite frankly the service was absolutely appalling and I would not recommend this venue to anyone. We also ordered food on the evening and got brought the wrong things to what we had ordered. To round it off, a day that was meant to be spent celebrating our engagement and be stress free was made into one of the most stressful and disappointing days. If you are looking for somewhere to host an event this is not the place and I would hope the venue train their staff better on how to do so appropriately for any...

We went to Canal Club for a birthday brunch this Saturday, and unfortunately, the experience was pretty disappointing. The music and the Back When team were fantastic, but the service and drinks really let the whole thing down. Our booking was for 7:30pm with a group of nine, but the table only had eight seats, so one of my friends had to squeeze in. That alone wouldn’t have been a big deal if everything else had gone smoothly. However, by 8pm we were still waiting on our first drinks, while other tables already had theirs and were halfway through their food. When I asked one of the Canal Club staff, I was told our order had been lost and had to be taken again. Over the full 90 minutes, we only managed to get four drinks each, which hardly feels “bottomless.” One of my friends, who is pregnant, was charged full price—which she didn’t mind as we were told mocktails were included. However, the ‘mocktails’ turned out to just be orange juice. I’ve done Back When brunches at Playroom many times and always had amazing experiences, so I expected the same here despite hearing some negative reviews beforehand. Sadly, those reviews turned out to be true. Several of my friends commented on how rude some of the staff were, even slamming food down at the table. The whole thing felt rushed, as if they just wanted us in and out without bothering to give a good service. It’s such a shame because everything else—the music, the entertainment, the Back When staff—is brilliant. But the venue really lets it down. I honestly think moving the brunches to a different location would make a huge difference, as Canal Club’s reputation is already putting people off, and experiences like...

Lived in Leeds for 20+ years, had never heard of this place until I was gifted a Groupon. I understand why. While the atmosphere and location are decent, and the service is friendly and aware, the food is the worst I've ever 'eaten' in my life. At one point I said to my partner "it's like eating cardboard." We ordered the Thai green curry prawns which came in a very spicy, puddle green watery soup and had a texture as if they still had a shell on (massively overcooked like they'd been boiled.) the lamb koftas were rock solid & dry, like eating plaster after a couple of mins. The sliders had no sauce whatsoever on, the fillings were dry & overcooked, even the brioche bun seemed like it was so hard it could cut my mouth eventually. Because the food was essentially free, we didn't complain during the meal. However if I had been paying £10+ per plate I'd have kicked up a massive fuss, shocking! What's worse is when I called up the following day to let them know how horrendous our meal was, I was offered to try them again for "a discount". No discount amount was specified and really we should be offered a free dish or meal, not a discounted one. In all my life as far as I can remember, I don't think I've eaten as bad food. That's impressive. DO NOT EAT HERE. I'm shocked at how they've managed to go so long, with so many bad food reviews, and no health and safety issues? It's a real shame. The drinks are tasty and average prices. I don't think this place will last much longer unless it completely radicalises its menu & the staff that are responsible for the food. I still feel sick thinking about our experience and the fact that it wasn't made right is way...