FIGO Stratford — Restaurant in London

We booked this restaurant as a special treat during a mini break to London.

We were seated promptly but then waited for nearly 15 minutes before someone even came to take our drinks order and that was after signalling to a waitress. Our drinks arrived promptly, starters took about 10 mins but both were cold. We did try and get the attention of the service staff but to no avail and no-one came to check how the food was whilst we were eating it.

As we had limited time and had already waited almost 30 minutes we ate the starters. The Arancini was stunning but would have been even better had it been warm. The bruschetta was mediocre and with just garlic, tomatoes and basil at £8.90 not cheap. When the waitress collected our plates and asked how the food was, we explained it was cold. She advised she would feedback to the kitchen but after walking 5 steps came back and advised us that the bruschetra was meant to be cold anyway. The experts suggest bruschetta can be warm or cold from the fridge. This was not cold from the fridge, but like the Arancini was more likely to have started off warm but been left for service without collection for too long hence was cold.

Our main courses arrived promptly- lasagne and risotto...both piping hot and amongst the best we have ever eaten and seriously big portions.

When I asked for the bill and asked for the service charge to be removed the waiter looked quite indignant and told me loudly he would need to get the manager. I am not sure if this was intended to put pressure on me to pay the service charge.....it did not, but rather strengthened my resolve not to pay it. However given the close proximity of other guests...it did feel embarrassing.

When the manager arrived he proceeded to cross examine me in a voice loud enough for other guests to overhear. His presence, tone of voice and questionning was extremely intimidating. After I had given a full explanation he recalculated the bill without the 13.5 service charge. This is an extortionate descretionary charge when in London typically the charge can sit between 3 & 12.5% but generally is 5%. It is a shame as the food overall (apart from being cold and a very basic bruschetta) was superb.

I need to say publicly that discretionary service charges are just that...discretionary and it appears you have not listened to previous feedback about this very issue where in fact you had responded stating 'the customer need only ask and the charge will be removed'. Based on my experience it should have read - 'If you dare ask for the discretionary service charge to be removed, be prepared to be embarrassed and humiliated in front of other guests by firstly the waiter and add intimidation to the list when the manager arrives!'

Can I make a suggestion? Why do you not simply adapt the process which most restaurants do, where the option to add a gratuity for service appears on the card machine display, enabling the customer to make the choice as to whether they wish to acknowledge and reward good service privately?

This whole experience really ruined our time in London and with no pun intended left us with a very 'bad taste in our mouths' and on this basis whilst we loved this area, the ambiance and decor of the restaurant and the excellent main courses we would not return here again!

On a final and good closing note the ge tleman who looked after us as we arrived at the door and bade us goodnight when we left was 'A' star..an excellent example of how customer service...

This restaurant may just be the epitome of excellent service. The entire team strives to provide diners with an experience that is well-catered, with excellent food and drinks.

We were seated quickly upon arrival, there are available seats outside with heaters and the dining inside had a very nice ambiance with wonderful music playing. Our first server was incredibly patient, we did take some time to order so that was appreciated. As a starter, we opted for bruschetta which was served with a generous portion of tomatoes and seasoned perfectly - with just the right amount of burrata cheese added to it.

Our servers were incredibly kind, not only pouring the drinks we ordered for ourselves but also topping up the tapped water we had too. They also accommodated for our request of adding half of each of the 2 pizzas me and my company ordered.

The first pizza we ordered was the Capricciosa which had tomato, mozzarella, artichokes, olives, mushroom and capers. The second was the Ischia which had calamari, king prawns in spicy tomato sauce, pecorino cheese, mushrooms and oregano taggiasche olives, rocket, garlic, chilli and lemon oil. We were also provided with chilli oil which was enjoyed heartily with the pizzas.

The truffle chips were delicious and had a nice spread of truffle. Both pizzas had a nice thin base which ensured that it wasn’t too stodgy as to become too much to eat - retaining the authenticity of true Italian pizza. The Capricciosa pizza was delicious with just the right amount of mozzarella that balanced very well with the vegetables and olives. I thoroughly enjoyed the Ischia pizza as I love all seafood, this being my first time trying calamari. However my accompanying party did think the pizza was a bit too overwhelming with the inclusion of both prawns and calamari. We both agreed it may’ve been best to perhaps add a lighter cheese as a sprinkle on top so as to not have too bare a tomato base for this pizza.

For dessert, we chose the banoffee pie and profiterole. My accompanying party thought the profiterole’s overall taste was nice however even with warm chocolate sauce (poured by the lovely servers) the cream was too cold and the profiterole dough did become a bit heavy after a while. I loved the banoffee pie, the biscuit base could have blended better with the cream cheese but I think this was because of the banana layer in between. However, just the right balance of sweetness after an amazing savoury meal.

The restaurant staff were so kind as to let us to our conversations with the occasional check-ins during our meal but even after we didn’t realise we were sat inside past closing - there was no mention of how it could have been a problem to them. They similarly continued conversations with customers who stayed behind and this just shows their passion for good customer service beyond prescribed hours. I know this is not obligatory so I’d like to thank them, although I believe they would be owed more than a thanks for their incredible level of service, kindness and hospitality.

I will be sure to return to try their infamous cheesey pasta and more desserts! Thank you...

Long story short, I will never come back to Figo's Stratford again.

On 14/12/2023, my work colleagues and I decided to celebrate Christmas by having a lovely work dinner. Unfortunately, this was far from being lovely. We arrived at the venue at a prompt time considering that our reservation was for 6:45pm therefore we arrived in the line at 6:30pm. The front of house staff member approached us which I then proceeded to tell her that we have a booking at 6:45pm under such and such name. She then responded in a rude tone saying "You have to wait a couple of minutes". This had taken me back as I was not expecting this kind of response from someone that is a FOH staff. I automatically knew that this evening was not going to end well.

We was then seated at 7:10pm after constantly being told that our table would be ready in "2 minutes". Once seated, we then ordered drinks which took quite a while to come. Once the drinks came, while they were being distributed, a bottle of lemonade fell onto my co-worker and drenched her dress, her coat, her seat as well as the floor. Whilst the waitress was very apologetic, we knew this was something to keep in mind. I then ordered my food, which was the Paccheri and once I received my food, I was shocked by the portion size. Though the food was good, it took me 10 minutes to eat and I am a person who takes quite a while to eat. I left the restaurant still feeling hungry and the cost of this was £21.50.

Once the bill came, I swiftly realise that my co-worker that had the drink spilt on her, paid for her meal at full price and this was something that was simply unacceptable. We then managed to speak to the manager about this who was simply rude and unaccommodating by approaching us saying "What is the problem?". Once we explained the situation, his response to this matter was "Well what do you want me to do?". As a manager, this is not the response that we should be receiving considering that we were in a "fine dining" establishment. We are only trying to give suggestions politely but instead was constantly receiving argumentative responses. This was something that I have never experienced before and all and all, I was not happy. Not only was the manager raising his voice in front of customers, he also seemed to be "bored" of the idea of us and simply wanted us to get out of his restaurant which was unfair as we were only trying to be cordial and resolve the issue accordingly.

There was one waitress who just started on that day and she was doing an amazing job trying to accommodate for us despite the madness that was happening. Round of Applause to her!

This is an establishment that I would not attend again. Overall, it is a 3/10. Just as a tip of criticism: If you learn how to talk and accommodate people correctly without the need for a rebuttal, then customers will feel comfortable to come back to your establishment again....