Ffiona's — Restaurant in London

I really do not like to complain or leave bad reviews for people's businesses but I feel like prospective customers should be aware of my experience last Saturday afternoon...

Heard amazing things about Ffiona's and was excited to meet with a friend there for brunch. I was not aware that the menu was slightly on the expensive side and was shocked at this on arrival but based on such great reviews, I thought it would be nice to treat myself. Plus, the overall ambience of the place was really cosy and felt very homely: perfect.

I was recommended to pick the "Veggie Special" (we were also pushed throughout our visit to make further additions to our order - unfortunately, this did not feel like helpful suggestions but more of a constant attempt to make as much money from us as possible). The food was nice enough but at £14 for one slice of toast, a thin layer of beetroot hummus and two poached eggs, I was feeling a little bit underwhelmed. However, my friend and I were enjoying each other's company and were prepared to write this off without dispute. The total bill was approx. £38 - expensive for a simple brunch but, as I said, my friend and I did not want to cause fuss.

The bill arrived and 12% "optional" service charge had been included which brought the total over £43. The service had not been great with much interruption caused by feeling as though we were constantly being pushed to buy more! My friend and I discussed this and decided to pay £20 each (covering cost of food and partial payment of the "optional" service charge).

Upon payment, things took a nasty turn. As we paid, the owner angrily demanded that we explain why we had not made full payment of "optional" service charge. The venue is cosy but very small and she continued to loudly criticise and mock us in front of the other customers. Feeling embarrassed, we tried to explain that we were actually making an overpayment based on the total food bill. However, this only seemed to make her more angry - hearing our European accents, she exclaimed "You're in the UK now and here we pay the optional service charge". Personally, as a citizen living in London for over 9 years, this was a disappointing comment.

The owner refused to take any additional service charge and insisted we only paid for the food. We paid and stumbled back out onto the street feeling dazed, exploited and hurt by our treatment.

Ffiona's do not know the financial situation of each individual customer. Some people are very careful about how they budget themselves and to harass customers (who, I repeat, were happy to pay OVER the total amount for their food) with regard to payment of an "optional" service charge is completely unforgivable in the hospitality industry! Whilst I appreciate that the menu is expensive, this does not automatically constitute to "good" service or "good" food. I understand that many people have enjoyed visiting Ffiona's and that's great. However, if you are a new customer, I would absolutely suggest that you approach with caution and consider other "options" because, sadly, that word doesn't seem to exist at...

If I could give this place zero stars I would. After a long day sightseeing throughout London with my partner we decided to stop by Ffiona’s for dinner a place that had come to me highly recommended. First there is no physical menu everything is written on a chalk board in very small print and was hard to read. The food was very good although the steak which me and my partner both had had way too much butter on it. Having said that it was still very flavorful and the homie ambiance of the restaurant was very nice. There were 2 women who seemed to be running the entire show. The older woman who served us for most of the night came to our table after we had been there for about 5-10 minutes and proceeded to say is anyone helping you ? I replied with no not yet to which she said well I am here now ! In quite a snarky voice but I just attributed it to some dark humor but reflecting now I do not think that was the case. After that though the service was very good and friendly but it was all an act in my opinion by the older woman to butter us up to then screw us over because when me and my partner received the bill we were shocked to see how much it was . We both did several calculations on our walk home on each item we had and the prices and came to the definitive conclusion that we were charged at least 20 pounds more than what we should have been. I understand its London no meal is going to be cheap but this was an outright scam. I implore anyone reading this review to scroll down for a bit on the google reviews for this restaurant a lot of 5 stars but if you dig enough you can find many people with similar complaints to mine. Not to mention to the bill was written on a piece of paper which I found beyond odd and a bit sketchy. The older woman at this place is a con artist and have never felt so disgusted leaving a restaurant in my life. As an end note she also suggested several side dishes that were not on the written menu making it sound as if they were included but we were...

I watched a YouTube video on this place, and instantly booked a reservation. I was looking forward to this meal very much. The space was cramped, and I am claustrophobic, but that is my problem, not theirs.

The first part of the meal was tremendous. The Chicken Kyiv is, quite possibly, the best in the world. The steak was magnificent. The garlic spinach was ok, and the roasted carrots were great. We asked for bread, and it was delivered to the wrong table, but that was neither here nor there. Then, we ordered a sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

The pudding had a burnt taste that my wife and I both tasted immediately. The outside of the pudding had a burnt flavor. The inside was good. We ate around the dish, leaving the edges. I asked the owner’s sister, who was running front of house, if it was supposed to have the burnt flavor, and she told me, yes, that it is toffee and caramel.

I have lived in the UK. I have visited several times. This dessert is a favorite of mine. I’ve probably had hundreds. I told her that this wasn’t the taste of caramel or toffee, but a burnt flavor. She told me it couldn’t have that taste, because she made it herself.

I don’t like being talked down to. Maybe, as an American, she thought that my maybe my palate wasn’t refined enough. After she took away what we didn’t eat (no offer of a second go at it or possibly another dessert), I walked outside before I said something I shouldn’t have. My wife paid the bill and the optional service charge, and we left.

I have eaten everywhere around the world. I am polite (knowing how some Americans can be), I tip even when it’s not customary, and I give honest feedback. I wanted Ffiona’s to be a regular stop for us in London. Sadly, I doubt I will be back. The chicken Kyiv cannot overcome the experience over the dessert.

Ffiona’s was so close to being memorable, but the aftertaste of the dessert and the condescending...