Bamboo Brunch & Cocktails - Bold Street — Restaurant in Liverpool

I booked a table for 8 ppl a month in advance for my birthday as I know from past experience how busy it is there. My table was booked for 1.15pm, however I was called and asked could I come for 1.30pm which was inconvenient but wasn't a problem. We turned up at 1.30 and the table still was not ready so we where seated outside and offered a free drink. Shortly after are table was ready and by that point we already knew what we wanted to order. The server took out food order at 2pm, he advised that due to us all ordering pancakes the food would be 45 mins to an hour. We advised that was fine but could the other food come out while we await the pancakes. From ordering at 2pm we where served our food at 3.20pm despite other customers who arrived after us having their meals. We asked various staff how long are food would be, as I was speaking to one waitress the music was turned up adding to the frustration. She said she would speak with our server and then they seemed to have a conflab at the bar with a few other staff. Our server came over quite abrupt and said he had advised our pancakes would be 45 mins to an hour which i replied yes but what about the other food. He said due to us being a large group all the food would come out together. Surly should we not have been priorised considering we had already waited 45 mins for a table!. I asked the server why it takes so long for pancakes which he advised was due to only having one pancakes machine. Surly if you have a large pancake selection on your menu and a full restaurant then why wouldn't you invest in another machine or decrease the pancake selection. He said the kitchen was only small but as a paying customer this isnt my problem. If you have a selection on the menu and take larger bookings you should be able to deliver such products. I felt the staff where dismissive and quite rude obviously discussing our table at the bar which was completely unprofessional. Once the food arrived it was delicious but the delay and service vastly let it down. This was suppose to be a lovely afternoon brunch for my birthday but instead we where left hungry and inconvenienced. My friend had told them it was my birthday and had asked for sparklers on my pancakes but this was also missed. We where advised we would be given free drinks for the inconvenience but we had to then ask for these to be removed from the bill. Such a shame as ive been a few times before and always felt looked after. I'd been excited to bring my friends but now myself and the 7 of them will not be returning. Im not one to complain as these things happen but when its dealt with poorly it leaves a lasting impression. Also the toilet lock was broke which I got stuck inside. Had to use the mens. Clearly a bigger premises is required and some training in customer service if you want...

Really disappointed that Bam Boo didn't respond to this review about their food hygiene which I sent privately:

Food and drink was lovely and we were served by a very helpful and courteous young woman. Really disappointed to learn that some items were off-menu due to staff shortage - we saw one party leave because of this. But the main thing that bothered us was our urgent need to use a toilet within an hour of eating at Bam Boo. Two people, different dishes (although we both had fried eggs and shared some of the potatoes in the steak and eggs dish), eating at the same place at the same time - both with upset stomachs within an hour of eating. It's not great, is it? And it's way too much of a co-incidence. And then when we checked the food hygiene rating (which wasn't displayed in an obvious place) and found it was 0 at the start of the year and only a 3 in June this year, we weren't surprised. We know from previously being turned away without a booking that it's a really popular place (in fact, our hotel enthusiastically recommended it), but if people are getting upset stomachs, I really can't understand why it's so popular. Such as shame as everything was so good until we had to make a mad dash...

Booked a table here. Only to find out on arrival it was for a different location at 1 hours walk away. As we were told it had just opened a few weeks prior. So they weren't listed on Google maps etc. Only got seated due to another table not showing and with a queue outside we were grateful. Sat down to order and were ignored by all wait staff. They kept walking past serving and clearing tables outside after 30 minutes of waiting I asked if someone could take our order then still waited to then be told AFTER we had waited that it was 30 minute wait for food. As we had nearly been here a hour at this point I asked to cancel the food and just have our drinks that STILL hadn't come. Fast forward another 15 minutes and we decided to leave. The food that other people were eating looked great and we were looking forward to eating here. I can understand a 5 or 10 minute wait but what happened was unacceptable. Even a table of 2 next to us told us they had been waiting over 45 minutes for pancakes. Not even a very large place. 15 to 20 tables max and at least 6 or 7 wait staff? Make it makes sense. Won't be wasting our time...