Brother Marcus Covent Garden — Restaurant in London

An Exquisite Culinary Journey, Derailed by Disheartening Service

There are few things more gratifying than a meal that excites the palate, and at Brother Marcus, the food was nothing short of phenomenal. Each dish was a thoughtful composition—bursting with flavour and presented with artistry. Every bite was a delight!

Sadly, the service fell woefully short of even the most basic expectations. That unfortunate disparity left us with a rather bittersweet aftertaste.

We requested to be seated outdoors on a sunny, warm, albeit windy day. Funny enough, the table we were given was noticeably wobbly, shaking in all directions. I didn’t mind rolling up my sleeves and fixing it with a craftily folded napkin, which actually did the trick! I even mentioned it with a smile to the waitress who served us that day (her name was Mia) who simply let the comment pass. Naturally, I was expecting she might offer to replace the only napkin I had used, but it looked like she couldn’t care less. Unfortunately, I never got a replacement so ended up wiping my hands on my trousers and dabbing my mouth with my sleeve. Oh, well.

We ordered two mains, a bottle of water, and two cappuccinos. The food and coffee arrived—delicious and well-timed. The water, however, never made its way to our table. We waited, thinking it would follow shortly. Nope, it didn’t. We had to flag down another waitress (Sonia) who was looking after the adjacent outdoor tables. She was polite, warm, and quick to resolve the issue—a stark contrast to the service we had received so far.

Meanwhile, Mia made no effort to check in on us during the meal. It is a simple and widely practised courtesy in hospitality to ensure diners are enjoying their food and have their meals in order. I was genuinely eager to express how much we enjoyed the kefir fried chicken and the crispy rosti with kasundi jam. The flavours were bold, dynamic, and beautifully layered. I even found myself wishing for just a touch more of that vibrant, orangey kasundi magic that truly elevated the dish to another level. So, without further delay or hesitation, I approached Mia myself: to compliment the food and politely ask if I could have an extra portion of jam. She said she would bring it. We waited. And waited. Watching our food get cold in the outdoor breeze, we were forced to finish without the requested condiment. Despite making eye contact with Mia multiple times, the sauce we asked for - never arrived.

At that point, it became difficult to ignore the distinct feeling that we were being intentionally overlooked. For some inexplicable reason, she was rude and moody towards us. Her manner felt pointedly dismissive, even cold. I truly don’t know what we could have done to warrant such aloof treatment, but it no longer felt like mere forgetfulness—it felt deliberate. What could possibly merit this kind of behaviour towards the guests?

Feeling awkward and quite disheartened, I shared my concerns with Sonia, who responded with genuine empathy and passed the feedback along to the manager who didn’t bother to speak to us either.

We were just given a voucher for 1 free dessert, and a discount coupon for the next meal. We decided not to use any of it. It’s truly a shame because initially, we had been looking forward to returning to try the famous pork belly and baba ghanoush.

Though the kitchen delivered a brilliant performance on the plate, the front-of-house left us feeling unwelcome, and more like an inconvenience than a guest.

It’s sad that, in the end, Brother Marcus did not feel very...

I’ve eaten at Brother Marcus in Covent Garden a few times now and always had a wonderful experience — great food, warm service, and a lovely atmosphere. The menu is always so appealing and the space itself has a really relaxed, welcoming feel. Even this time, the person who greeted and seated us was really friendly and made us feel looked after from the start.

Unfortunately, this visit just didn’t live up to the standard I’ve come to expect. I ordered food that never arrived, and after asking the waitress multiple times, the only response we got was “I’ve told the kitchen.” She did apologise, but after that she started to avoid our table, and the whole situation became more and more uncomfortable. Whether she was embarrassed or just annoyed with us, I don’t know — but we were left in this weird limbo having to repeatedly chase up a meal that never turned up.

Eventually, we gave up and asked for the bill so I could go eat elsewhere. They did take the meal off, which was appreciated, but there was still no real acknowledgement of what had happened. Instead, they brought over two tiny chocolates (I assume as a gesture of apology), which we politely declined. The overall vibe by that point was that they just wanted us out the door.

I understand that mistakes happen — that’s not the issue. It was how it was handled that really let things down. This was a disappointing and awkward visit, especially as I’d brought my mum along to share a place I usually love. Every other time I’ve been, it’s been brilliant, so I’m hoping this was just a one-off — but it’s definitely made me reluctant to return...

I am extremely shocked about my experience at brother Marcus yesterday. 4 of us excited to eat here (we were really hungry) and from the moment we sat down was served by Mia. Lovely person who gave us recommendations and helped with the order.

However situation took a 180 when she forgot to put one of our orders through (for a main dish that my wife was waiting to eat - hence didn’t have so many starters)

After enquiring where the mains where I was told it was never ordered and the kitchen closed. I was then informed by another waitress that Mia forgot to add the order as she was confused.

Mia then came over and said she had put the order through but the kitchen didn’t receive it (which we believe was a lie because we were just told she forgot). Which to be fair is fine - mistakes happen.

But she then preceded to make a comment on how we had a lot of food on the table anyway so it’s fine. Our entire table was in complete shock by this switch of attitude after a lovely welcome. Not only did she make a mistake she’s trying to basically say it wasn’t a big deal. The decent thing to do when a restaurant has made a mistake is to make up for the mistake- not comment that we have enough food. Honestly very narcissistic. That to from someone who seemed highly educated and highly professional to be begin with.

I’m not sure what your policy is with customer service but I’m just in shock that not only did we not get our complete dinner, no compensation was made and we were made to feel unwelcome for her mistake. Never coming here...