Freak Scene Parsons Green — Restaurant in London

Oh dear, what a let down!

We've been hearing alot about this place and were keen to give it a try. However I really wish we hadn't!

It was pretty downhill from when we entered the restaurant. We were "greeted" by a receptionist who did not smile or say hello, instead she just asked for our name for the booking - it felt very cold! The restaurant is very small. The tables are very close together so it's quite a tight squeeze to get seated. Could be described as cosy for sure! The waitress (in a silk stripped shirt) then came over to ask if we wanted water. We said tap water was fine. She was very abrupt and stated it is tap water and whether we wanted still or sparkling. She then carried on walking around serving people like she wanted to fight them. The staff were binkering amongst themselves in plain view of diners. Not a single staff, apart from one, ever smiled or seemed happy to be there. Moving onto the food and the value for money. The food is mediocre and is very overpriced for what it is. In fact, we were shocked by the portion sizes, taste and prices charged! We've been to a few Michelin star restaurants, and we would say this was more expensive considering the sizes of the dishes offered. For example, we paid £21.50 for two small scallops in a sea of broth! I literally sat there thinking how ripped off I felt with the dish! Happy to pay that price if they tasted good, but unfortunately they did not - lacked flavour and texture. We also ordered the chicken dish. It is just one small leg piece for £19. An absolute rip off, just glorified fried chicken with small portions of fancy sauce. We were still eating when our third dish arrived. The waitress decided she will take away the dish we were still eating as the table was small and she did not have room to put the next dish down. Total joke! We had to ask for the left over food to be brought back in a smaller plate!

We had the cheesecake for dessert. Again nothing you'll be blown away by. I think you can guess a theme here, the whole experience is not worth what freak scene charge you for. I know it's a new restaurant and I hope they survive as it's good for the area, but they have to do something about their prices, service and portion sizes. You can get more value and have a better experience visiting a Michelin starred restaurant in central London for the same price.

Also they add a charitable donation onto the bill without informing you. The last review mentioned this only for the restaurant to belittle them like they were in the wrong for questioning it! What is wrong, is adding it to the bill without any information about this. I do not have a problem with a donation, but tell me about it before, that is the right way to do it and not just add it to the bill. If the restaurant was so concerned about this, why not take a percentage from their profits to give to the charity instead of making their customers pay and taking the recognition? Having spent £130, there was acknowledgement by staff on our way out. All in all, it was not a good experience and I would not be back. Many improvements...

Freak Scene serves up some fantastic South East Asian food in Soho with an open kitchen enabling guests to watch the chefs at work! It reminded me of a Japanese Izakaya (informal pub) I had visited in Tokyo with an intimate and relaxed dining experience. Takeshi’s Castle (a Japanese game show featuring a Count who owns and castle and sets up difficult challenges for players to reach him!) is played on loop and there are a number of Japanese posters up on the walls!

The restaurant and concept was founded by Scott Hallsworth and his partner, Phar Shaweewan. Scott was previously the head chef of Nobu in Park Lane and went on to launch Kurobuta before founding Freak Scene. From reading a couple of news articles, Scott is a very popular and in demand chef who has previously cooked for Victoria Beckham, Michael Jackson and Roman Abramovich!

Parts of the menu change on a weekly basis depending on the freshly sourced ingredients and what the chefs create! The menu is concise and designed to share in groups. We were recommended 6 dishes between us, which was plenty. The dishes come as they are ready so there is plenty of time to have a relaxed dining experience.

We kicked off with the Chilli Crab and Avocado Wonton ‘Bombs’ (2pc) (£9.50). These were absolutely incredible – each mouthful was so enjoyable, the ingredients were so fresh and the chilli had a great, but not overpowering, kick. These are a must order!

Next came the Beef Marinated Rib Eye Tataki with onion, ponzu and garlic crisps (£13.50). The beef was seared on the edges and so tender. The marinade was amazing – everything just worked so well together, even if your breath does remain a little garlicky afterwards!

Following this was the Roasted Hispi cabbage with dried miso, ponzu, truffle oil (£9) which is one of their most popular South East Asian dishes. We could certainly see why with the flavours of the ponzu and truffle oil bursting in our mouths. We also tucked into the Whitebait Tempura with Nam Jim Dip (£5.50). The fish was freshly fried and the accompanying dip was great.

Our last two dishes were the Pork Belly Donut Buns with Spicy Mayo and Cucumber Pickles (2pc) (£12.75) and the Thai Red Curry of Duck Leg with Lychees (£16) served with sushi rice (£3). The pork belly itself was flavoursome, but the donut buns did not work for us. They weren’t too sweet (which is good) but they were too greasy – we just prefer hirata steamed buns! The duck in the thai red curry fell off the leg and was so tender. The curry definitely has spice (it is thai red curry for a reason) and was another favourite of ours.

Freak Scene certainly delivers some punchy South East Asian food in Soho. We loved the set up with seating around the bar and the buzzing atmosphere. The food is seriously great, and we can’t wait to try some of the other dishes on offer! The restaurant also has a late bar licence to 1.30 and an express lunch menu served during the...

On entering the premises we were greeted by a friendly Australian woman. Full of charisma, great start but it went downhill from there on. Friendly but completely inattentive service from the male server. Lady was lovely but was so distracted by an American couple next to us that we felt we were left on the side. She eventually had to take a break and the Australian male server spent this 20 minutes talking with the couple from the US, ignoring all the customers and avoiding all sense of customer service. It was shocking, even the chef serving the food got very frustrated to which the Australian guy brushed off and told him off in front of us. Food was good, woman serving us was great if a little too interested in the US guests but the guy serving was just way off point and made the rest of the customers feel like we had to fight for attention. This place has potential but it needs a lot of work on HOSPITALITY & SERVICE. Credit to the chef, he was the only one that seemed genuinely interested in customer experience. Food was delicious, Australian woman has so much potential but I feel the Australian guy leads the way in the kind of service that makes you wish you had chosen somewhere else. Lovely guy but we are paying for much more than that. Stay on point. Keep your one on all guests. Nothing worse than hearing a staff chatting with guests when all you want is a glass of water or the bill. It's infuriating and just leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you pay the bill. Let the chef be in charge of service he had more heart and sole than anyone else. Australian woman could be amazing but needs someone next to her with the same values of hospitality...