Friends Lounge Walthamstow — Restaurant in London

Bunch of weird people, I came in with a soft drink from outside which I understood I shouldn’t have after they treated me like I was breaking the law or something by having it, they told me to give it to them, and I assumed they meant they would put it somewhere for me until I leave as they gave me that impression and any rational people would do that. I sat down after they grilled me over a drink only to be stared at by several people because I was there with a guy friend and am a guy myself. Not exaggerating when I say there was a guy across from us to the right staring at me for over half an hour straight without looking away even after I made it obvious with my body language it was making me uncomfortable and told my friend about it who pointed him out very obviously, still continued to stare with a stupid look on his face. Made it very obvious that this place isn’t very friendly towards people that are not the same race/sexuality. I was so uncomfortable I told my friend we have to leave, as I suffer from panic disorder. I went to the counter to ask for my drink, where I was informed by the lady who practically told me and acted like she would put it to the side until I leave that it is gone. I asked if they threw it away very surprised to which she confirmed, knowing it was going to upset me. They blatantly did it just to get a reaction/because they didn’t like how I was dressed/looked. Needless to say I would never come back. People here don’t respect public privacy and the staff lack common sense. The servers however were good mannered and respectful. That’s all I have to say don’t come here if you want any type of respect or decency from most of the staff or the other ‘customers’. Very strange people and experience from a Shisha lounge in my opinion. Should put up signs about staring at others for long amount of time, it seems very common there. You would have thought it’s a staring lounge, not Shisha. Some people may say I should have said something, but I know better than to start a confrontation. I would rather walk away with my life. Overall...

I visited this shisha bar for the first time yesterday around 9 PM, having followed them on social media for a while. Their online presence gives the impression of a warm, welcoming atmosphere—but unfortunately, my experience didn’t match that.

Upon arrival, the staff seemed unfriendly and unapproachable. Despite that, we were seated without issue. I have to say, the interior design of the place is beautiful and clearly well thought-out.

We ordered drinks and shisha (note: limited flavours available), and were immediately asked to pay upfront—which felt unusual compared to similar venues where payment is typically made at the end. Still, we went along with it and tried to enjoy ourselves. However, shortly after, another staff member came to our table to take our order again, suggesting some lack of coordination, especially since the venue wasn’t busy.

The person managing our shisha looked disinterested and disengaged. Sadly, this attitude was consistent across the staff—no smiles, no polite gestures, no sense of hospitality. It made us feel quite uncomfortable.

To the management: please train your staff to be more welcoming and professional, especially toward new customers. First impressions are everything, and unfortunately, this one was...

The food was quite good but i found a hair in the food, I ordered the steak with mushroom sauce and there was a short grey looking light coloured mixed in with the salad. Basically inside an olive. when we told the guy we dont want to pay for that he took it off the bill. However, when me and my mate was leaving he called back for me and literally said “excuse me that blonde hair was yours” first of all i am a brunette with long hair second of all no one specified the colour of the hair and he claimed that he didnt look at the food when my friend was like “ did u even look at the food, the hair was short and light” just ruined the whole vibe tbh. I wasnt that fussed about the food tbh but that was unnecessary and made us both feel uncomfortable. In addition the staff was giving us dirty looks after we complained about the hair in the food. Honestly i would have not written a review cuz the food was actually good but the fact that he tried to make it look like we we’re lying was just...