GAZETTE PUTNEY — Restaurant in London

Misleading Offers, Minuscule Portions – and a Truly Ludicrous Response from the Owner ( Walter)

Avoid this place if you value transparency, professionalism, or even BASIC courtesy. We visited Gazette on Upper Richmond Road, enticed by an online offer for Chateaubriand at £18 per person – an offer that is still publicly visible on trusted platforms linked to their name. What we received bore no resemblance to that promise.

We were served a so-called “Chateaubriand” that was laughably small – allegedly 200g in total (yes, for two people), and quite possibly inclusive of the chips and sauce, judging by what was actually on the plate. To add insult to injury, the steak was overcooked and dry – far from the medium we ordered. We were even charged for a side of spinach that never arrived. They did remove it after we pointed it out, but by that stage, the damage was done.

When we raised our concerns, we were met not with an apology, explanation or any semblance of customer care – but with condescension. After a brief, evasive back-and-forth, the owner, Walter Lecocq, sent us a response so dismissive it bordered on insulting. He called our entirely justified complaint “ridiculous” and sarcastically stated that he hoped we weren’t being serious. Rather than acknowledge any of the facts, he chose to dig in and be combative.

It’s hard to imagine a more unprofessional way to deal with feedback – especially from someone claiming to run an established restaurant. If a business advertises something publicly, they are accountable for it. That’s not just common sense – it’s basic trading standards. And if they’ve changed their pricing or portion sizes, then they need to update all listings and ensure staff are properly briefed.

This entire experience was a masterclass in how not to treat customers. Save your money and your evening – there are plenty of places in London that serve great food and actually respect their patrons. This isn’t one of them.... (though the waiters were decent - Shane about the rude owner !)

Update ( post review ) 11/4/25

At no stage were you ever “bullied” to ask for any kind of freebies. Any reader of your response will see how degrading your attitude is. How unprofessional !! ... I have copies of all the emails and I’m more than happy to share...

I went to Gazette Putney as I thought that would be a nice place to celebrate a personal event because I had been to Gazette in Wandsworth a few times and had always been very satisfied of everything. However the service was appalling. The waiting for the food was in particular especially long and they didn’t even recognize this. I had booked a table at 1pm and food was served at 2pm and dessert was served at 3pm ! The children had ordered a burger and a steak. In both cases, the steak was so well done that it was really hard to cut into. The waiter hadn’t asked for how the children wanted their steak to be. After complaining, they did replace my child’s burger which meant more waiting. The waiter didn’t come to check if the jug of water needed refilling. The waiter never checked at anytime if we needed anything. My child spilled some water on the table and even if the waiter came to wipe it up after we asked for help, he never had the idea to give a new napkin to any of us so I didn’t ask. After 1 hour of waiting for the dishes to arrive, we mentioned the fact we found it was not acceptable and that we would like this bad service reflected on the bill. After the head of waiters did not apologise and seemed difficult, he said there would be a rebate on the bill which never appeared on the bill in the end ! I didn’t say anything and just wanted to leave and strike this restaurant off from the places I would ever go back to. Poor service and the restaurant was nearly empty (only 3 or 4 tables occupied). It seems Gazette has exported the good food but they should have left the bad French service in France and try to copy the usual excellent English service. If a customer is not happy about something, be polite and do a commercial gesture. I never write reviews but my experience was so bad yesterday that I could not not...

We were excited to visit Gazette for the first time for a celebratory meal. We were unfortunately slightly disappointed by both the food and the service. The staff appeared to be very attentive and welcoming to begin with, however later tried to clear plates multiple times before we were finished and then again, just as I was chewing my final mouthful, giving us the sense we needed to rush. Regarding the food, all four oysters had bits of shell in them (we both prefer to chew rather than swallow immediately in order to get the full flavour), my husbands Chateaubriand steak was not medium-rare as requested, rather medium-well done and both steaks also quite heavily charred (fine if you like that flavour), the peppercorn sauce was curdled and the chocolate Petit Pot was very grainy and mini madeleines a bit dry and crispy. To their credit, they did offer to change the steak, but my husband said he’d rather it was just fed back to the chef. I can however recommend La Fameuse Tarte Fine - a wonderfully tasty apple tart, cooked to perfection. The green beans we had on the side were also very tasty with just the right amount of crunch. There were nice touches to the experience; the interior design makes you feel you’re abroad, the crockery is lovely and the bill is brought to you in a sweet little book. However even with 50% off, we did not feel it was worth the £80 it amounted to (worth noting service was charged for the full amount pre First Table app discount). Honestly a bit of a shame, we’d hoped to be able to add it to our list of good local eateries, however we are unlikely to be returning...