Azaaya Bar + Restaurant — Restaurant in London

Service from the manager was appalling. We had a birthday booking for 4/10/25 at 8pm, the first guest arrived on time, with the rest of the group arriving shortly after. Upon arrival, we were told to wait in the seating area because, according to the manager, he wanted some of the food items to come out before seating us. Strange reasoning, but fair enough.We waited patiently.

By 8:30pm, I asked for an update on when we’d be seated. The manager replied nonchalantly that he didn’t know and that it would be “soon.” When I asked if they had double-booked, he said no, that we were waiting for a table to leave and that our table was definitely secured. Looking around, the restaurant was clearly at full capacity.

Transparency is key in hospitality, a simple, honest explanation from the start would have made a huge difference. Other guests waiting nearby eventually gave up and left (a red flag I wish I’d taken more seriously).

After an hour of waiting, we were finally seated. When I asked if a goodwill gesture could be made for the birthday guest, the manager bluntly replied, “No, why would we? People wait 10, 20, 30 minutes…” I reminded him that this was a pre-booked special occasion and that we had waited an hour with poor communication and no apology or accountability. His attitude was dismissive and defensive, offering no empathy or professionalism.

We eventually decided to take our business elsewhere — thankfully, a nearby spot saved the evening. It’s disappointing to see a place prioritise greed and turnover over genuine customer care. Note for manager Learn basic de-escalation and customer service skills — arrogance only makes situations worse. If guests have a two-hour booking limit, enforce it respectfully with the seated group so waiting guests aren’t left stranded. Take accountability instead of arguing with guests who have legitimate concerns.

The only positive was a wonderful male waiter who tried to diffuse the situation and even offered us a complimentary shot — his professionalism deserves credit. Unfortunately, management let the entire experience down. Won’t be visiting again or...

Went there to celebrate our friend's birthday last Saturday evening, it was such a disappointing experience. Arrived at 18.35, ordered my first drink (a mocktail) at 18.40, and after chasing various staffs on several occasions, I didn't get the drink until 19.31.

We had such a huge/wide table for 10 people, we had to shout at each other when we tried to carry out conversations. It didn't help when there was another big party going on at the other end of the restaurant, they were talking on the microphone so it really felt like I was dining at a bingo place, really wish they have a function room to cater for parties like that so they won't affect the rest of the customers.

On to the food, for starters we have ordered a good few to share amongst ourselves, we had dips with pitta bread, garlic bread with oil and some mixed olive, they were pretty normal. Moved into main course, I've ordered seafood platter with a side of sweet potato fries. The fries are normal but the seafood...now I'm no food critic but I'm pretty sure they have over cooked the prawns or they were cooked way in advanced the flesh of the prawn was so tough, the skin on the salmon and sea bass fillets are so soggy. The picture may look like it is tasty but it did not deliver in taste at all.

Some of the staff were not very professional, they were blinding us when we tried to get their attention, the most speedy service they delivered was when they gave us the bill.

I would not recommend this place, as it is not the cheapest, for the quality of food and service received, it did not match...

Unfortunately, we had quite a disappointing experience at this restaurant. We never actually got to eat, as we were seated only after about 60 minutes — though I do acknowledge that part of our group arrived 15 minutes late.

We were told that the delay was due to another table overstaying their booking, which was interesting since I’d imagine that’s a situation the restaurant faces often. The manager on duty (evening of 4/10/25) explained that he didn’t want to ask those guests to leave as he didn’t think that would be good service — which I can understand to a point. However, there was almost no acknowledgment of the situation until we were finally sat and asked to speak to him.

He mentioned that he’d kept us updated throughout the hour, but bits of information passed between different members of our group don’t really count as proper communication. It also felt like the other waiters and waitresses were avoiding eye contact, which made things more uncomfortable.

Many of us in the group work in customer service ourselves, and we couldn’t help but feel the situation could have been handled with more care and transparency.

That said, I do want to mention that our waiter, once we were seated, was genuinely lovely and charismatic, such a shame we didn’t get the chance to enjoy the meal. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll...