Bunch of Grapes — Restaurant in London

Had afternoon drinks with friends here yesterday and won’t be returning. We made a booking for 6 and the pub broke our group up into two separate vertical tables so communicating was incredibly difficult. I asked on arrival if we could push the empty table to the right of us together with the one I was at so we could all be together and they said no, that the table was booked. (Why not move the booking to the vertical table you put the other half of my group at? Wouldn’t that have made more sense logistically?)

So the 2 men who booked the table came and eventually left, and I asked the next member of staff I saw (different to the original person) “Now that they’ve left, can my friends please sit there so we can talk?” She said she’d go check and come back. When she does she says “Yeah, that’s fine.” And my friends proceed to move. The original person comes back and in a tone none of us appreciated “Didn’t I say you couldn’t move?” And I explained I’d asked the other staff member after the booking left and she said it was fine. The person replies aggressively “So you went and talked to another manager to get a different answer?” So they leave and we’re stunned by how she’s spoken to me, and I’m fuming. When the 2nd girl comes by I explain what just took place and how upset I am. She again leaves and comes back and apologizes saying she made a mistake in telling us we could move, and my friend explains “That’s fine, but her tone was unnecessary. You shouldn’t speak to a customer like that.” She apologizes again even though it’s not her fault and that’s the end of it. The rude person never came over to apologize for how she handled things. If you couldn’t accommodate drinks for 6 people to socialize TOGETHER AS A GROUP, then you shouldn’t have taken the booking and we would have found somewhere else. Not only that, but 2 1/2 hours into our booking, what do I look down over the side of the railing and see? TWO TABLES PUSHED TOGETHER AND A GROUP OF 6. So I really don’t understand...

Everyone else besides that one member of staff was friendly. They didn’t have any Coke which was annoying and I ordered some fries which were plain and no salt or ketchup was brought to me. There was only one bathroom open (one upstairs was locked?) which led to a queue of 5 girls at one point standing in the walkway of the bar which doesn’t seem ideal.

Overall, I can’t say I recommend or will...

Was approached by a member of staff in the middle of having drinks with my frirnds and asked to sit on another chair as the chair I was sitting on was "bothering" the staff member, since according to him it wasn't the chair that supposed to be with that table (even though it was there when we got there, we didn't move it) Asked me to sit on a metallic chair, when I told him I don't want to change my comfy, warm wooden chair to the cold metallic one he was offering me, he said that the male friend of the group should "warm it up" for me (which is already a weird thing to say) When I refused for the second time this person was visibly annoyed with me, rolled his eyes and left. The whole incident left me speechless as on what planet 1) is this how a 40+ year old man should speak to a younger woman 2) to a paying customer? I love how he just expected me to jump up 'cause the chair "bothered" him, 10/10 male logic there. But the best bit was when a large group of people came and took over the two tables next to us, moving them the way it was comfortable for them to get their company comfortably sitting together. I have no problem with them as they seemed lovely, but not once did the male colleague came over to them and told them it bugged him that they moved the tables/chairs. Don't know if it was because I'm a woman and he's used to bossing the women in his life around or because me and my friends are foreigners and the large company was British but definitely won't be coming back here, there's plenty of better places in the area. Cheers for the below mediocre...

Why does this pub hire the worst bar staff in London? As I work nearby, I thought I'd give this place another go (10.15pm on 25/5/17) after a previous shoddy staff experience last October. What a mistake! Me and my friend waited for ten minutes as two barmaids served five people who came in after us despite the pub being not particularly busy. They had no concept of what was going on around them - nor appeared to care for that matter - and when they tried to serve two Irish guys who had come in just 30 seconds before (you should have known better, guys, and pointed out we were ahead of you) we mentioned it to the two girls and they appeared to have a meltdown, began holding their faces and said stop shouting at them. We were actually being very polite. We ended up walking out without creating a fuss as there are plenty of good bars in the Borough Market area we regularly go to with bar staff who don't have single-figure IQs. It was almost as bad as last October's experience when an inattentive barmaid gave me change for £10 instead of £20. Her boss had to count the entire night's taking  to confirm I was telling the truth -  a process which took in excess of 15 minutes as I waited like an idiot at the bar -  before handing me my correct change. Absolutely no apology from the barmaid (who - surprise, surprise - no longer appears to be there). Dear owners, please hire some decent staff. They are ruining your pub. I would given no stars but had to give one to post...