Garden Bar — Restaurant in London

If I could give this place no stars I think even that would be generous! To look at the place, it's great - pretty little garden, nice comfortable space inside, but the staff, in particular the manager, have no idea what customer service is. I was part of a group of around 20 people who booked an area for a work leaving do. Booking the table was painful enough, being told that we could not request or be guaranteed a specific table, not because someone else had already booked it, but because it was too much trouble for the member of staff we asked about this. Fortunately we did end up with a good table. Me and my colleagues were in celebratory mode wishing our co-worker the best of luck and as such enjoyed quite a few drinks and a fair bit if food, hence building up a pretty hefty bill. Now I'm not suggesting that if you spend a lot in a bar then you should get the best service - politeness should be the minimum expectation for every customer - but you'd think the staff might be pleased of our custom. We were on a table in the garden and it started to pour with rain, so we got up and huddled under a small shelter in the garden waiting for the rain to die off a bit before heading inside. Gathering to shelter there was not looked upon favourably by the bar's security staff and he shouted at us to move inside, we got pretty soaked, and were of course even more in the way considering everyone else in the garden had decided to move inside, so it was pretty crowded! Then while one of our group was at the bar, they witnessed another customer being verbally abused by the manager. She had merely asked if they'd mind charging her phone and I'm sure she'd have understood had the manager said something like, "I'm sorry, the bar has a policy that we don't charge customer's phones" instead he peppered a sarcastic response with expletives and directed it at her in a very aggressive shouty manor "does this look like a * phone shop?!". The person from my group felt compelled to say to him that this was very poor customer service. He then rejoined our group and we were chatting amongst ourselves, trying to continue enjoying our evening. Then the manager came over and confronted us, apparently offended by our group member's right to express an opinion. He was talking (more like shouting) in his face, so I stepped in to point out that not only should it be his right to stand up for expectations of good customer service, but that this manager was also proving the original point made by confronting us - he then shouted in my face like five year old waggling his head "I don't care". That much was obvious! I think only him throwing in a sexist comment on top of that could have made me angrier. Needless to say, we all finished up our drinks and made a swift retreat vowing never to go there again, despite the fact it is quite close to our offices. I don't know how this place keeps going, because it surely can't be through regular customers or repeat business - unless the folks of Notting Hill are fond of paying money to be abused?! I suppose it's close to the tube and has one of the nicest outside spaces of the bars in this area, so the management take advantage of this and don't concentrate on...

Located in the shadow of the bridge carrying the Hammersmith & City railway line over Bramley Road, this restaurant, housed in a former pub, is a wonderful discovery.

We visited it on a Saturday night. It was lively but not noisy. Conversation was possible without having to raise one's voice.

The Bloody Mary, food, and wine could not be faulted. We began with a charcuterie platter, which was generously covered with a selection of high quality cold meats, sourdough bread, olives, and an original delicious dip consisting of melted gorgonzola cheese, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

The entrecote steak served as a main course was perfect in taste and preparation. The lamb kebabs were some of the best that I have ever eaten. The grilled lamb seemed to be devoid of fat and melted in my mouth. Simple but brilliant.

The affogato (vanilla ice-cream, espresso coffee, and Amaretto liquer) made a wonderful finale to a refreshingly good meal that has restored my flagging enthusiasm for eating in restaurants in London.

This is a place where you can expect honest, well-prepared, but still sophisticated, food at...

Staff are always so rude. I wrote this place off a few years ago after I was harassed by a group of men in the bar (the we’re continually throwing a ping pong ball at me, waiting to see how I would react). When I did react — angrily — and an older man (owner?) offered them a round of free drinks the following night if they left quietly.

I reluctantly returned a few years later with my son for a colleague’s evening (7pm) leaving drinks. Before I could even order anything, I was asked what time I was leaving, then told in four different ways that children need to leave by 8pm. I made it clear that I understood, but he kept repeating himself and I said it wasn’t necessary — I was then told not to get worked up.

The staff refuse to smile and act is if they’re doing you a favour. With so many amazing places in and around Notting Hill, there’s no need to put up with rude staff who have no desire to earn...