The Cat's Pyjamas Chapel Allerton — Restaurant in Leeds

Poor experience from my trip to Cats Pyjamas with 2 other friends.

We had our whole main meal on the table when we were informed by the manager we had 10 minutes left on our table. We asked how that was possible when we were still clearly eating our meal and we were told that they allocate everyone the same amount of time and that's "usually enough time".. it's clearly not! We arrived on time, we ordered our drinks and food when we were asked (i.e we didn't ask for extra minutes to decide), we were a small group and yet we were told with a full table of food, we had 10 minutes left. No one made us aware of this time limit when we sat down so I'm struggling to see how we  could have been expected to know.

From there on in it all went downhill, a service from other staff that had been pleasant up until then just turned sour. The wait staff barely acknowledged us. When we asked to take some of the food home we were thrust metal containers and told to put the food in there ourselves at the table .. not what I'm used to as anyone would usually expect this to be bagged up in the kitchen.

What I'd usually expect from this kind of misunderstanding is accommodating behaviour and apologetic but this manager was stubborn in telling us this is how they always do things.

I'd just got another glass of wine before the manager came over and said we had 10 minutes left (why they served us another drink without making us aware of the deadline I don't know!!) we'd asked if there was anywhere I could finish my wine as I shouldn't be expected/ encouraged to rush my wine. The waitress said she'd go check if there was but never came back to me. Then when we asked if we could have the wine knocked off the bill - because I couldn't drink it - there was also a standoff about that too.

So lesson learnt from this recent trip. Don't go to Cat's Pyjamas- there are plenty of other great eateries in Chapel Allerton which value your custom a lot more than this place.

Note to Cats Pjyamas: Get your staff to take orders in a time frame that fits around your rigid time slots Learn some empathy and basic...

Having heard good things about the Cat's Pyjamas in Headingley, we thought we'd give the one in Chapel Allerton a try as friends were visiting. The decor hasn't changed since its Black Markets days but we received a warm welcome, shown to our table, given menus and asked if we wanted drinks. Good start. Order was taken promptly and answers to queries on the dishes were well handled. That's where it all went a bit pear-shaped. A group of 8 diners arrived and were seated next to us. Because the room is just one big box with no soft furnishings, sounds just bounce off the walls and everyone just starts to talk louder and louder as you have to practically shout to be heard. This isn't the fault of the other diners, it's purely an acoustic issue and it really doesn't make for a pleasant dining experience. The food was actually very good and reasonably priced though the wine list is rather limited. After finishing our meal we couldn't wait to get out to escape the cacophany of noise. We asked to speak to the manager to to advise that, had it been a nicer environment, we would have probably stayed for a dessert and more drinks. He acknowledged that the acoustics are a real problem and that other diners have also complained about the noise. He advised that there are plans to put in some acoustic panels in the near future. When they're installed, we may well give it another try, but won't return until...

Walked in on a Friday night with my friend without booking, and they had space for us. We received a warm welcome and very courteous service throughout. We got poppadums and a pickle tray which came with so much and was delicious. We shared Naan, pilau rice and my friend got the saag paneer. I ordered the punjabi chole, and was blown away by the flavour-definitely one the tastiest curries I've ever eaten. So creamy and with plenty of different spices and a wonderful richness. I took some away and had it for my breakfast the next day 😂 Atmosphere was also lovely as its a small restaurant to felt cosy. Overall really good food and great value for money. Will be back when I visit my...