Apo Restobar — Restaurant in London

My first time at Apo restobar, I phoned in my reservation as the online "Flipdish" had not confirmed my reservation. The staff on the phone confirmed Flipdish reservation was taken successfully, so comms is "buggy" in that reservation tool. Staff also explained the full line up of events for a typical evening which was useful and explained a £6 cover fo entertainment. I was desperate to get access to Filipino cuisine so a £6 cover for Karaoke and a show seemed pretty reasonable!

Food: The place exceeding my expectations, the menu was fuller than ones I could see online - they had Bulalo which I was really happy to see and we ordered that to share - UK prices for a dish containing beef £19-£20 but very authentic. Sisling Sisig was dish only at £12.50, but a large dish - could be shared in my opinion with 2 extra rice order. Just how I remembered it, delicisious. We also had calamari and chicken wing starters also very well prepared.

Drinks: I was drinking Red Horse 330ml at £6.50 a bottle, it is 7% so the price is OK for a UK market. Bottles of wine were £20 for red or white and £22 for Rose which I think is very reasonable. They also happily served chilled tap water.

Overall price: The bill was straight forward, charged for what we ordered. We added a good tip because it was really really great place.

Show: We didnt go there for karaoke or the stage show singers specifically but they certainly added atmosphere and were also great performers. The show its quite loud, talking across the table was making me lose my voice but most people are going to enjoy the show and get involved with singing...

We visited the restaurant Friday 17th November 2023. Food was decent, live band was great and owner spoke to us nicely.

BUT, overall we felt uncomfortable being there for a couple of reasons. Number one, there was a £5 fee for eating our cake there which was disappointing as we were all looking forward to eat my birthday cake. There was a pay as you order policy too (so the bill was charged immediately after ordering with so you’re paying for service charge multiple times). This was unusual to us.

Next, we were approached by a rude waiter (one wearing a cap) who said that “we can’t just sit there and watch the live band and that we have to continue ordering drinks” (Note that there was a £6 entrance fee already) he delivered this message in a rude way and it was slightly upsetting to hear on my birthday. Food took slightly long and one order was forgotten so my friend was sat there waiting for his food.

To improve, I think the £6 entrance fee for the live band should mean that we can just sit and enjoy it without the pressure of ordering drink (after we’ve ordered food and multiple drinks). The rude waiter can benefit and practice communication skills to improve his customer service to avoid future negative experiences of customers. This was shocking as Filipinos are usually nice and hospitable. The £5 fee for eating your own birthday cake should have been communicated on the website.

As a Filipino, we want to support independent Filipino businesses but the customer service that night was not great from that waiter especially as it was my birthday. Please review his performance on customer...

Went with my friends today at Apo Restobar as I have heard good reviews. Arrived approx 1:20 pm and food came separately. My order took 1 hour and was not given a proper apology. They only said sorry and even served the rice late.

In addition, my colleague was given a free beer for her late order as it took approx 1.5 hr for her cordon bleu to be served.

On top of that, no act of extra hospitality was given to our group (e.g offering music or even turning the karaoke or a discount).

Food and serving however was good but overall needs...