Colours Hoxton — Restaurant in London

Don’t go here. The service is appalling. We went there early evening, so it wasn’t that busy. Yet it took forever to order, since none of the waiters bothered to acknowledge us. When we finally got someone of the staff to figure out that we were there to order food and actually pay for that too (something you’d think they want as a business), we managed to place an order. My friends’ food arrived fairly quick, served by a waiter who was rude and disinterested - the common denominator for staff here. After 45 mins I tried to ask why my food still hadn’t arrive, but the waiter ignored me completely when taking the empty plates from our table. My friend went to get a drink at the bar so took my receipt to ask what was going on. There they told him that they couldn’t help him unless he could point out who had taken the order (he couldn’t because I ordered, he just went to ask about it). That was it, no further actions as taken! Showing a receipt should be enough! I went to the bar (again) myself and managed to get across the message I was still waiting for food. Again they told me I had to point out the staff member that took my order before they could do anything for me. It seemed that person had already left by now though. They agreed to bring my food and acted as it that was a gesture of generosity! I had a receipt that showed exactly when I ordered and I paid! The food arrived 20 minutes later. I had now been waiting for about 1.5 hours. Of course, they managed to get me the wrong burger, and it was rare, while I ordered medium. They literally did not get anything right at this place and I have never encountered such rude staff (and I’ve lived in London for a while). We also had to sit near the door, which was constantly open. This meant we had to sit with our coats on, because it was freezing cold outside. Nobody bothered to apologise to us, which I suppose isn’t surprising. This place could be nice if they’d replace their entire staff and get different management. I won’t go back until that...

Totally disappointed.

I came out to experience Hoxton following feedback from my husband and was totally disappointed by this venue so much so that I had to write this review straight away when I got home.

It was myself, my husband and a close friend who came into this bar/restaurant at about 9.30pm. It was not at all crowded and we positioned ourselves at the bar nearest the door. I saw three bar staff at one point, with a female staff member serving at our end of the bar. I stress that the bar was not crowded because we were not acknowledged and for some reason people who arrived after us who also stood at the bar, practically next to us, were served before us. We did not make a fuss, we just watched and waited. It got to the point where for me it felt personal and that we were being ignored. After nearly 15 minutes I was now angry and so with that poor customer service, as consumers, we chose to vote with our feet and decided to leave.

Before going, I walked over to one of the servers at the other end of the bar and asked him how many staff members were serving and he responded that there were only two. I then told him our experience and why we were now leaving and he just said ‘sorry’. When our friend relayed our experience to the female bar person at the end where we were standing, she seemed indifferent and not at all bothered as she just looked and shrugged her shoulders. For a bar that was not busy, 3 dissatisfied customers walked out!

Fortunately my experience of Hoxton ended better than it started as we went to the bar restaurant only a few doors down which was heaving. We weaved or way through the crowd, was immediately acknowledge at the bar and served straight away.

I certainly know which bar I will be...

I didnt dislike the place, l just felt let down. I had heard of their wonderful 'starlight' effects with wall and ceiling projections, to be gazed at through fragmentation specs, free at the bar. They spent ages looking for them, but 'we seem to have run out'. Normally l would forgive that. But this was at a showcase for party venue bookers! Likewise, l looked forward to the open terrace being warmed by the spaceheaters that were never lit, despite many of us shivering even in the main room, since the patio doors were left open till someone complained of frostbite. And when your venue has different areas, and you have a huge bunch of potential professional space bookers, wouldnt you at least offer a walk round and give basic hire info such as minimum spend, max capacity, service support partners such as the hotel just a minute away etc? The house red and white were nasty so l was happy to have bottled lager... but served in ice buckets with integrated bottle openers that are so badly designed, the beer ends up all over the table and floor. Just niggly things but they make the overall impression of lack of forethought. On the plus, the staff are adorable, the food tasty (especially the Naughty Burger sliders, made with plant based ingredients) and served with great presentation skill and plenty of it. Decor is sparse, banquette seats around the edge and minimal clutter but the ceiling in the bar was strung all over with colour changing bulbs which gave some life to it. The DJ kept the music at a level comfortable for conversation, which was a welcome change from many similar venues but l left at 8pm though, so perhaps it cranked...