Devonshire Terrace — Restaurant in London

Third time visiting Devonshire Terrace on Saturday evening and the experience was unfortunately tainted by poor service (sadly this is becoming all too common in London, particularly during the Summer months where I get the sense patrons are assumed to be tourists and hence treated a bit more disposably).

First, the good. Beautiful setting and a really nice looking venue. The 'outside' space is nice and open and perfect during the Summer. It is also uncover so very handy given the patchy weather we've had in London over the past few weeks. We came with a large group of approx. 15. We originally had planned to come with a group of 10, and the lady who handled our booking amendment over the phone was very pleasant and easy to deal with. She also gave us a spot outside which was perfect for our group. Drinks were good, cocktails also good. I personally didn't eat, but those in our group who did said the food was decent.

Now, the not so good. We were given the option of table service or ordering at the bar for drinks which was handy. I opted to order from the bar as it was easier. When paying for my drinks, I was informed by the female bartender (at the bar inside) that the POS terminal was experiencing issues with Apple / Google Pay. After giving Apple Pay a go, this was not successful, and I had to try tapping another card, which also didn't work. I then had to go and grab my friend who inserted her card to pay for the drinks. During this encounter, the female bartender was incredibly rude - rolling her eyes, sighing, shaking her head and generally making me feel like this was all my fault, all over a small issue that was eventually fixed (the drinks were paid for). It wasn't like I was holding anyone else up from being served either (I was the only person at the bar). This is the first venue I have ever been to in London that does not a accept Apple Pay. I'm not having a go at the venue for this (and I certainly didn't in my interaction with the bartender) but to be treated so rudely for an issue that was ultimately the venue's is very disappointing.

I understand that not everyone is always having the best day, but it's not acceptable to treat customers rudely. I go out in London quite a bit, because I think it's a fabulous city with some beautiful venues (this one included). But the impression (whether justified or not) I get from a lot of venues, particularly in the square mile, is that they are 'too good' for their patrons - why treat patrons well if we're always going to be fully booked and everyone is replaceable?

I hope this review has been fair and...

Safe to say I won’t be coming back here again. The service was soo slow to the point of where I missed my train to go home. I had to chase up my 1 order of salmon 4 times until I said that I was rushing for a train that’s when it then came. There were multiple things that were slow when we would order. Why does it take 40mins for my one plate to come to the table?? Even after this when I was going and wanted to pay I decided to not pay the service charge because I l believe tips are earned and this time it wasn’t.

So fast forward to when I’m about to leave and I asked Georgi (who was in a suit and appeared to be the manager) for a box for a takeaway and he said he’s bringing it. But because I knew at this point their service was slow I said I’d stand by the doors so that he can just pass it to me quickly and this man really went and rolledddd his eyes and shook his head at me as he was walking away to get it. I asked him what did I do to deserve that as I’ve not done anything expect ask for a box and he said yeah I’m getting you a box. Completely IGNORED the fact that I caught him giving me attitude and he refused to acknowledge it even after I asked him 3times why he was rolling his eyes. So I got no apology and no accountability was taken.

I’ve actually never felt so annoyed for wasting my money in a place that doesn’t know what good customer service is or even just standard customer service.

p.s , the food was okay but needs a lot of improvement. It lacked seasoning and there was no salt/pepper on our table of...

Hi Team,

I’m writing to share our disappointing experience at your restaurant yesterday.

While we were initially pleased to be seated outdoors without a reservation on a Thursday evening, our evening took a downturn when it started raining. One of your servers kindly guided us to another table, but shortly after, we were confronted by a lady, possibly the manager, who insisted we vacate the table as it was reserved. Despite our attempts to explain that we had only moved at the direction of your staff, she continued to argue with us instead of offering a solution.

When we asked where we could sit to eat our food, especially given the rain, she had no answer. Eventually, we were assigned another table, but only for 40 minutes, and then asked to leave before that time was even up. By then, our food had gone cold, and our drinks were diluted with rainwater, completely ruining the experience.

It’s important for your staff to know how to handle situations like this. If it rains and you need to move guests indoors, there should be a clear plan in place. Simply because tables are reserved (but still empty) doesn’t mean guests should be left in a limbo. And it’s definitely not the time to argue with customers, further diminishing their experience.

This experience was extremely disappointing. We came expecting a pleasant evening but left feeling disappointed...