GAIL's Bakery Ealing — Restaurant in London

The three of us walked into Gail's Bakery Ealing to eat lunch at noon on Sunday, 18 August. I'm from out of town and was unfamiliar with this restaurant. That changed quickly. The only 2 tables available for 3 people were to the left when we entered the place. Both were unoccupied and both were filthy. We sat down at one end of the lesser filthy table expecting it to be cleaned shortly. It didn't happen. My daughter didn't want to leave so we got napkins from the bathroom and cleaned a portion of the table ourselves. The other table remained unoccupied. Every square inch of it had pieces of food, large and small, that the previous guests had distributed to every corner of it, as well as dirty napkins. We ordered French toast but didn't get any. What we got was a slice and a half of bread with marmalade and a spoonful of cream on it. That is not French toast. It's a disgrace and a fraud that we paid 8 Pounds for. We complained to the waitress who said we didn't have to eat it if we didn't like it. I asked her about the filthy tables that nobody cleans. We listened in disbelief as she told us she didn't have time to clean them. Most disturbing perhaps was her absolute indifference to guests being made to eat off of dirty tables. During the 40 minutes we were in the restaurant no one came to clean our table or the other dirty one. I'm a pensioner and never in my life had I experienced anything like this. It truly beggars belief. We were appalled. 10 minutes before we left, 2 people came in and sat down at the other dirty table, presumably expecting it to be cleaned. They ordered a meal. The waitress came with their food and set it down right on top of the pieces of food that had been left by the previous guests without even bothering to at least push the old food aside. Outrageous. I couldn't believe my eyes. After the waitress left, these guests moved themselves and their food to another table that had become available in...

In my 20 years of living and eating out in Ealing, my experience at Gail's Bakery was worst in terms of customer service. The workers were extremely rude.

I had to ask for the items I had ordered after 45 minutes of waiting for a simple latte and camomile tea. When I asked where my items were, I was patronised by a waitress who didn't apologise and blamed it on the "queue" of orders. She was very aggressive with the tone and expression, which is not the way to be treated at a place so expensive and reputatable. We didn't get any cutlery, all our pasteries were crammed on a plate when 4 of us were at the table and frankly, the drinks were highly mediocre especially for their price.

The baked goods were alright but the foul atmosphere and appalling customer service put me off ever stepping foot in ever again. I went as many people wanted to know how it was like, and I have to say I will surely not be recommending Gail's to anyone.

I don't expect anything special, it would have just been just to have been treated with at least an ounce of respect and not feel like I am bothering the workers by simply asking for the food, alas overpriced and mediocre, that I paid for.

It is common courtesy to say please and thank you and sorry - it's nothing that major to implement.

Please sort out your workers' attitudes because eventually you will lose masses of customers to your appalling customer service...

I am a frequent visitor to Gail's in Ealing Broadway and the food is always great. However, I am giving a 1 star review due to the poor customer service and rude staff member.

I ordered a black coffee and when it arrived there was clearly green and purple soap bubbles floating on top and around the cups edge. It smelled of washing up liquid and tasted soapy. So I went up to the counter and approached the barista and asked if I could please swap the coffee for another due to the soap bubbles. She sighed and grabbed the cup and as she turned her back to me she muttered 'it's not soap bubbles but whatever, I'll get you another.' 2 mins later she dropped the coffee off at my table without looking at me and never said a word. I wasn't looking for an apology, as I know mistakes can happen, but to completely deny that it was soap bubbles and then be rude about it as if somehow it was my fault is the reason for this poor review.

I was in Gails March 1st at around 2pm and the rude employee was the young barista at the time with black hair tied in pigtails. I would suggest management remind her how to rinse cups thoroughly and/or teach her how to handle the pressure of the Sunday lunch rush, as she clearly can't handle it.

P.S. all other staff member were lovely and the food was...