Effra Social — Restaurant in London

Terrible experience with assistant manager Liam and security staff Katal at a special birthday party.

We arrived for our party and had pre booked a closed off area for 630. On arrival 615 the room was full with people watching the rugby. We alerted the bar staff about the fact we would like to enter the room just by 625/630 to get the room ready. They informed the assistant manager who came over to us and basically insisted that the Rugby viewing in the room we booked was too important to disturb. He didn’t seem to care how it affected us but we decided to let it pass assuming he would keep his word and then clear the space. Note, there was a clear sign on the door with our reservation, this was not for a table but for a whole, separate area with assigned bar which was closed.

Come 630 and he was not even vaguely prompt or keen to get them out. I had to insist the game was over. The room cleared of people leaving a typical mess of crisp packets and empty glasses. He then spent the next 45 minutes walking into the room and out. It wasn’t busy in the main bar and even the other staff seemed bemused about his location. He was incredibly work shy about getting the room ready and kept disappearing. In the end I cleaned the tables myself with some friends. And we helped the bar staff remove the glasses it was past 710pm at this point.

When Liam came back his body language was aggressive and closed. He threw a few piece of furniture around and left the room - again. He was strangely reluctant to open the bar inside the area where we had booked. The bar remained locked. Several of us spent time trying to locate him and ask politely if we could have the bar opened to which he stared and said ‘yes’ in an aggressive tone but no actions were taken. Once the bar was unlocked he sat there on his phone looking really fed up. I was relieved when another member of staff took over as Liam didn’t look like he wanted to be there, let alone serve us.

We put it behind us and got into the swing of celebrating.

It would have been comical how badly we were treated by him had the night not gotten worse later on.

My friend arrived who had half a drink and security decided she was too drunk to be inside the venue. Half a drink! This was not based on anything factual about her cognitive abilities or behaviour. Katal from security treated this like his own personal vendetta and kept popping into our private party - just to look for her so he could persecute her. We hadn’t called security and there was no reason for his persistent appearance. Surely the fact she was not causing any issues when he found her would resolve this. Only on his power trip, he had to stick to his story - he insisted she was too drunk for the venue. She was treated without any respect and the security seemed to enjoy making a scene about nothing in the middle of a private party. It became a real fixation for him, it was irrational and therefore very hard to converse with him about.

Liam was called who kept insisting he was the manager - I found out his manager was not on shift and he was covering for this evening. The security guard was verbally aggressive - he wouldn’t let us even try to reason with him. I see on Dogstar reviews who I believe are covered by the same security - some equally bad stories about the security. And also on the Facebook account for Effra experiences of women being targeted by security for odd reasons and then being manhandled. It seems this is their thing. And when the on shift manager won’t listen to both sides of the story, it leaves you between a rock and a hard place.

It’s such a shame about these two individuals because the venue was otherwise good fun and the bar staff we had later on were great. If they changed some of the management and the security then they could have a positive atmosphere which is what we were enjoying when we were rudely interrupted by security.

It’s disappointing having to write this and remember how we were treated after we booked this for a...

Update for 2021: I've never hated a place but this place really comes close. My partner and I thought "it's been a few years since we last went there, were verbally abused by the staff and the food was rubbish; let's give it another try!". Ugh. Wish we'd left this place as a bad memory.

We went to have a drink outside in the newly done-up forecourt. There were at least 12 empty tables - a mix of shaded benches, high tables etc. I asked the guy at the door for a table for a drink for two. He pointed at a high table in the full sunshine - it was 26C and super sunny. I politely asked if I could have a table in the shade as I'm ginger and alas burn really easily. "No, just inside then, you can't have any of these tables" he gruffly replied. I looked at the 6 empty bench tables in the shade, told him the place is ridiculous and went to The Trinity Arms instead (FYI - this place is a consistent winner).

There are zero redeeming features of this bar. On the 4 occasions I"ve been there, only one was great. The rest were abysmal. I hate to say it, as I've owned two hospitality venues in my time, but I can't wait for this place to change hands. There are so many other lovely places in the neighbourhood - The White Horse, Hootananny, Trinity Arms etc. This place could be so nice but it's a consistent failure. Update post revisit: Karl was very kind in offering us a free meal with drinks at The Effra. His service was great and we really appreciated it.

However, the food is still isn't great (dry burger - nothing exciting) and the vibe is just odd. It should be restored to the lovely old working men's club it was. Cool old venue plus funky tunes and interesting menu would make it a local gem. Unfortunately, it looks like they're trying to attract the young crowd with loads of promotions and DJs. It's just not the right place for it. I suspect it won't survive that long. Maybe we'll wait it out for new ownership but The White Horse over the road is still hard to beat. Previous trip summary: we'd booked "the last table" the restaurant, it was closed when we got there, no one knew anything about us/it/anything, we sat in the main room, the food was terrible, service awful and the barmaid gave my partner the finger when he pointed out that he could actually pay contact-free with his phone. Utter...

Short story - go to The White Horse instead. It's a bazillion times better. If I could give this place -5* I would. I'd booked dinner in the restaurant last night (and got the last table) only to find that it wasn't open and we had to eat in the main area. The chef said "dunnah - ask the bar". When I asked about the bar aboutour reservation, a mist of incomprehension clouded the eyes of the chap behind the bar and he looked to his equally knowledge-less colleague who mumbled something like "dunnah". I queued to order drinks while two of the 3 bar tenders stood to the side and chatted to each other, ignoring everyone. The starters came at the same time as the mains because "he forgot". The main was already colder than the starter and was unappetizing by the time we got to it. The deafening music meant we couldn't talk to each other. That's why we wanted to eat in the back - maybe don't take bookings for an area that's closed? "You're in the wrong place" we were told when we asked if they could drop the volume from "ear splitting" to "thumping". When the time came to getting the flock out of there as quickly as possible, the bartender GAVE MY PARTNER THE FINGER when he turned around. He'd had the temerity to mention that there was no limit on contactless payment when you pay on your phone. How rude of him to impart the young lady with knowledge! When brought up on it, she said that we were rude about the food. We weren't - no one asked us about it. Basically, there are 5 better pubs within a 5 minute walk. Go to The White Horse - they are consistently excellent. This place needs never be...