Atesh Turkish Restaurant (Croydon) — Restaurant in London

A complete joke!

Got there at 8pm on a Wednesday night, there was about 3 tables that were full so it wasn't busy at all.

The waiters at first were circling around asking if we're ready to order, everything was going great. Our meze's and drinks came fairly quick too.

So we ordered our main, but instead of bulgur rice we wanted to swap it for white rice as we weren't a big fan of bulgur rice. Once the dishes came out, I was so disappointed at the serving sizes I thought are you serious you want me to pay 11 pounds for this when I can get more for a £1.99 meal at the local chicken shop, so that was a joke. The rice was so dry no flavour at all it seemed like they served something that was reheated, it wasnt right, the meat I ordered was Lamb - it was so dry and bland as a fellow turkish person my self I was embarrassed that they serve their meat like that, we are known for our grilled meats and that was embarrassing. So I asked if I could change it, they did change it eventually after the manager told me that it was my fault that I got the rice and should of got the bulgur - didn't know I had to ask permission before ordering my food but hey you learn something new everyday day :) the food took over 40mins to come, in the mean time none of the waiters came over to apologise about the inconvenience or ask if we would like another drink or offer us to order another meze whilst waiting. At this point I was done, I was so angry so when the waiter came over we spoke to him about the how terrible the customer service was and how there was no apology, and all he did was just argue back and forward with us. He then proceeded to say that they have never had any bad feed back from customers and that we were the first, so I took out my phone and searched their restaurant on Google and showed them one of the negative reviews that someone had left and made him read it, he then went quiet and said what do you want me to do I just said nothing can you bring the bill please, I rather talk to a brick wall at this point.

When the waiter went to get the bill the manager approached us and spoke about the situation, we told him what happened in a calm tone and you know what he did he walked away saying you can carry on arguing I'm going.

Didn't pay for my main, told everyone how disappointing and disgusting their behavior was. I know the other owner to this restaurant and it's terrible that they have a person like that left in charge to manage their restaurant, because they are representing them in a sense and they are not getting that credit because they do not know how to talk to their...

Overall, excellent and we will return.

Not the cheapest night out but the cost is justified by the quality of the venue, food portions, food quality and service.

Waiters were attentive all night, without being fussy. We ordered far too much food but as a first visit, wanted to try so much.

The venue has lots of seating options, e.g. traditional tables or booths, catering for different party sizes, and the decoration is classy, stylish and striking.

I recommend meze options for starters, especially for groups/families. We ordered 5 mezes between 2 people, and every one was larger than expected, and tasted superb. Even the bowl of olives was huge and unbelievably tasty! Came with the softest 'bread' and sauces.

Most options for mains included lamb and chicken, but cooked and presented so many different ways. Fresh salads, several fish dishes, and so many sides to choose from, it's easy to over order and over-eat...we definitely did!

Some dishes contain nuts, and spice. Dishes stated as 'mildly spicy' definitely are; subtle spice, not hot in any way.

Cocktails, mocktails, shorts, shots, spirits, beer, soft drinks, coffees and teas, wine and even Champagne, there's something for everyone, and drink prices are reasonable.

We had food left over, and no fuss was made when asking to take the leftovers home. The waiter provided takeaway containers and we packed what we wanted, which the kids loved.

There was far more choice of desserts than I expected, and the gelato and ice cream were a perfect way to finish the meal on a lighter note, after eating too much. Again, prices were reasonable.

For me, and this is personal choice, I'd have been happy listening to a more traditional blend of music all night than 80s classics (I love the 80s), for the full Turkish experience, but this is probably tried and tested. Either way, the environment is vibrant and loud enough that conversations feel private.

The restaurant is beautiful inside, extremely clean, you can see the kitchen hard at work, and even the toilets are clean and well maintained.

Highly recommended for a group, romantic or family night out.

Thank you to the staff, although the stated 'birthday' element in the online order was missed for our table, but not others; so be sure to prompt staff when at the venue if you want that extra bit of fuss made for a...

WORST SERVICE AND RACIST STAFF This was my second time attending Atesh CROYDON. My first visit back in 2019 was great, food was lovely and service was good. This is why we decided to go back. Lets start with the fact they should make it very clear that this is no longer a family restaurant as there was no kids menu at all or even small kid friendly type dishes! The service was extremely slow, from taking our drinks order, food order and even bringing everything out. We was offered no bread or water for the table, especially if there was gonna be such a long wait for the food. The food arrived and in all honesty the food was pretty good. Portions could be larger for the price but taste wise I can’t complain. Once we ate and table was cleared we asked for the bill, this is where the service went from bad to couldn’t get any worse! Upon booking Atesh Croydon, we had to pay a deposit, which we had no problem doing as most places request a deposit which is totally understandable, the deposit was supposed to come off our bill. It had not, we asked for our deposit to be deducted from the bill and to also remove the service charge as we felt we didn’t get good service at all. We was then told by the waiter and I quote “this is why we don’t accept you people in our restaurant” completely shocked and horrified by his comments we just wanted to pay the bill and leave. We worked out the bill for ourselves deducting our deposit and service charge and handed everything to the rude manager. He then stated that even after the service charge and deposit was deducted we was still £60 short. He was using a faulty calculator and accused us of lying saying we haven’t paid everything we owe. I then took out my phone and calculated everything with the manager and he realised he made a error and in fact we had actually over paid. No apology or nothing from the service, racism or errors they made. Was just told they would block us from coming back, like we would ever book again. It was the most embarrassing experience and even other guest where looking, some even tried to come to our defence. There’s several reviews that reflect my experience, so there’s definitely a issue at this restaurant and it’s clearly not a made up thing! Never again and I don’t recommend. Spend your money with restaurants that actually care and have good...