Granary Square Brasserie — Restaurant in London

I dined at the Granary Square Brasserie Kings Cross at lunchtime on the 20th of March 2025. I ordered the Rendang Duck Curry. It took a while to arrive, but when it did arrive, it looked very nice. I had an appointment to attend, so I started eating, but once I started eating, I realised that it tasted like chicken, also the meat was very white. But being hungry and with my appointment in mind, I carried on eating the dish as I eat poultry anyway. When the waitress came to collect the plate, I asked if the dish was meant to be chicken and not duck as, it looked like chicken white meat’ and it tasted like chicken. She went and spoke to whom I think was the head waiter and came back only to tell me that the duck meat was/is white; “WHAT” I replied, I have never seen white duck meat and that the dish looked and tasted like chicken. Definitely not duck meat! The waiter then came over to apologise and couldn’t explain what had happened, he seemed a bit flustered and also said maybe it was a supply issue also, he said he had other people making the same comment! I asked for my bill as I ate the whole dish. But then came the restaurant manager who proceeded to say thank you for your comments just to let you know we take our customer’s comments very seriously and will be looking into this further and apologised for what had happened.

The reason I would not go back is the fact that they did not even offer me a complementary coffee or drink or 10% discount or a discount on my next meal so many options to make me feel valued but nothing! and to add insult to injury they left the service charge on the bill, I know it’s optional but it’s not the waiter’s fault and I found it awkward not to pay the service charge which is for the staff. But taking everything into consideration I was not made to feel they take these things seriously as I felt patronised, duped and not valued at all. Take the money and run no shame!!! Very disappointing for such an establishment! It just feels one-sided and...

As a regular customer of The Ivy in Cambridge we decided, while in London for the evening, that we would have dinner at the Granary Square location. Upon arrival we were shown to a table in a busier / noisier part of the restaurant and we asked to be seated at a free table in a quieter area but were told we couldn't sit there as that part of the restaurant was not in use that evening, so we took our seats in the busier / noiser area.

Not 10 minutes later two ladies came in and were escorted to that same table in the quieter area. This was then followed by a group of 5 or 6 people, also seated in the area that was "closed for the evening". While I did find it slightly annoying I wasn't about to let that spoil the evening, that would be the job for the Maitre'd. While taking our drinks order, he just walked off in the middle of taking it and returned with my drink. As he was about to turn to leave, my partner asked if he would take her drinks order, which he did. When he returned with her drink he acted like this was a terrible inconvenience for him. We also found him bordering on rude when he wanted to know if we were ready to order. Which we were. Less than 10 minutes later he brought both our meals to us and plonked them down on the table and walked away, without saying a word or even making any kind of eye contact. He was literally looking away from us when serving our meals. He never once came back to see if everything was alright with our meal or if we required any condiments or drinks, he was far more interested in propping up the end of the bar and holding court with the dinning room / bar staff and playing video clips on his mobile phone.

This is not the kind of service we have come to expect from The Ivy and while the food was good, the experience left a sour taste in the mouth and we will not be returning to this location again.

I'm not a difficult or demanding customer but I do expect basic manners from staff when I walk into...

Update- we came for dinner 3rd December 2022. Excellent service and food. The restaurant now has so many staff members looking after tables. I don’t think the bad service we had 3 years ago would happen again. We did the set Christmas menu. Updating this to a 5 star review. We had the chocolate bombe for dessert. Fabulous. I had the turkey and goose shepherds pie. My partner had the steak. All was really tasty and great! Super friendly and fun staff. There is loud music so that may not be for everyone. I think it works with the vibe but if you’re a big group you may struggle to hear each other.

Original 2019 review- we went for Sunday brunch- 2 of us. The breakfast and teas were very good, in the standard of the Ivy. My main wasn’t hot, it was warm, but still delicious so to me that says a lot. I’m very unimpressed by food not piping hot and my Benedict was still out of this world good. However, knocking it a few stars for the inconvenience. Upon ordering, the first thing we asked for was a bottle of still water (not tap- but paid for water). The waiter didn’t bring it until we were halfway through our mains, and we asked him several times. They kept saying they would bring it. I have a bladder condition so I found this a bit stressful. I won’t die without water but 25 min without water, is a bit much. Especially when we’d asked for it. We were both just really thirsty. Is that so odd? Finally, we finished that bottle of water and our meals and asked for a house bottle of water (tap) with our bill. They never brought it. I don’t think we’ll go back. We got the vibe it’s a boozy brunch place, and while we’re young and sometimes in the mood for that- on this occasion we were just wanting to try the brunch. The music was also a bit too loud for our liking, but we got the reservation about an hour before so that was a plus. Staff apart from that- very friendly and the restaurant is absolutely stunning! The place had people...