Granger & Co. King's Cross — Restaurant in London

I wish to express profound disappointment with my dining experience today. As a patron who values both elegance and exceptional service, I was shocked by the unprofessional and unsanitary conduct I encountered.

I had ordered a plate of breakfast accompanied by coffee—a bill of £30, which, given the refined ambience of your restaurant, I found appropriate. While my meal was satisfactory in taste, I wasn't feeling hungry enough to finish it all, and because I hate to waste any food—I politely requested it for takeaway. There was still plenty of food left to be eaten later! I was informed by the waiter that, being seated outdoors, I must first come inside to settle the bill while a takeaway box would be arranged for my leftovers. Fair enough.

However what followed next was disturbing and indecent. I went inside to pay my bill and when I returned to my table: the rest of my food had vanished. I observed a staff member hastily escorting my meal into the kitchen for disposal. I promptly remarked that I indeed told the waiter beforehand for those leftovers to be packed. More alarmingly, the meal was taken in a highly unsanitary manner. The waitress, in her haste, collected my leftovers along with dirty napkins, exposed to outdoor dust and germs, and even placed a used coffee cup and saucer on top of the food.

During my entire visit, not once were the outdoor tables wiped clean. Despite the continuous flow of customers, there was a clear lack of attention to dab them off—a stark indication of the establishment’s disregard for proper maintenance and customer well-being. And now the used napkins, cup and saucer laying on that outdoor table were put on top of my leftovers which were meant to be eaten later.

While I understand that miscommunications occur, how this incident was handled left me questioning whether this was a mere oversight or a deliberate act of indifference. There was no initial apology. Instead, the female manager nonchalantly removed the soiled items from the top of my food and repackaged the remnants into a takeaway box, all before my very eyes. I was left stranded, appalled and incredulous at the sheer lack of accountability.

I expressed my displeasure: “I am not happy with what you’ve done here. This food is no longer sanitary to be consumed and is utterly disgusting. Let me speak to the manager, please.” To my astonishment, she responded that she was indeed the manager—How can a manager behave in such a reprehensible manner?

Subsequently, another male manager approached me, I told him what happened and he apologized for the entire debacle while acknowledging that my frustration was entirely justified. He even offered a small coffee as a token of apology.

The female manager then stated that she would instruct the chef to prepare a fresh portion of food equivalent to what was left on my plate. While this might initially appear to be a fair gesture, it is, in fact, inadequate; a proper apology should have entailed preparing an entirely new portion from scratch. This, however, was not the case. I yet agreed and waited for what they assured me would be an “adequate” portion of fresh food.

Astonishingly, the replacement arrived at an almost suspicious speed. In hindsight, I should have insisted on opening the takeaway box immediately in front of them, but it was cunningly wrapped with a fancy sticker!

Upon opening the box at home, I was confronted with the unmistakable truth: this does not appear to be a freshly prepared portion. It was evident that the chef had not cooked a new dish from scratch; rather, they had merely repackaged the exact same food, previously mangled with dirty, used napkins and coffee saucer from an outdoor table, now adorned with a fresh slice of lemon intended to disguise its compromised state. Where is the egg that I had left almost untouched? And where is the rest...

We visited Granger & Co in Chelsea for lunch, anticipating a delightful meal. We ordered two chicken schnitzels, each priced at £25.50. A 30-minute wait was acceptable to us, but the subsequent experience was profoundly disappointing.

My chicken breast was excessively thick and alarmingly undercooked, it was not hot enough - displaying a pronounced pinkness throughout. Given that my partner is a professional chef who owns 2 restaurants , he immediately recognized the severity of the issue. He very discreetly informed the waitress, who insisted the chicken was fully cooked and summoned the manager.

The manager’s response was shockingly unprofessional and confrontational. She raised her voice, asserting that similar complaints had been dismissed by their suppliers as “veins in the meat.” While she did offer to replace the dish, stating it would take an additional 20 minutes, her escalating volume and accusatory tone made us feel humiliated and singled out in front of other customers . (We cannot help but still question her behaviour.)

Feeling deeply uncomfortable, I quietly declined the replacement, and my partner returned his dish as well, concerned about the kitchen’s handling of our meals. The manager removed the schnitzels from our bill but still charged us for water, chips, and included the service charge. Considering the lack of service and our profound disappointment, this additional charge felt unjustified.

Adding to our dismay, the shared toilets were in a deplorable state — filthy and unhygienic!!!

Disturbingly, about an hour after, I began experiencing severe vomiting and diarrhea, which persisted throughout the night and into the following day. My GP diagnosed it as food poisoning.

We promptly emailed the restaurant detailing this harrowing incident.

Given the manager’s egregious conduct and the serious health implications, we feel compelled to share this distressing experience and advise potential customers to exercise caution when considering dining at Granger & Co Chelsea.

This incident underscores the critical importance of adhering to stringent kitchen hygiene standards to prevent foodborne illnesses such as salmonella.

In light of these issues, we hope the management takes immediate action to address both their service protocols and cleanliness standards to ensure no other clients endure a...

I went for some breakfast this morning and it was the worst experience we have had in a long long time! I ordered avocado on toast with lime and coriander and poached eggs. From the description and price I expected it to be a tasteful breakfast however i received two pieces of cheap toast with 6 large chunks of avocado scattered on top, two stalks of coriander and a piece of lime- I was also told that each poached egg was an extra £2. We had to wait 25 mins for the food which was extremely simple to execute, and when asking for the bill the waitress said yes, walked away and proceeded to take multiple table’s orders, followed by other payments. I decided to go inside and ask the gentleman standing at the door (wearing a different uniform to the waiters - so I thought maybe a manager) if i could pay as i had been waiting ten minutes for the waitress to bring the bill. I was told that he could not facilitate the payment (in a very aggressive and impolite manner). I asked him if another waiter/waitress could take payments and he then asked two members of staff if they could take it but both seemed to say that they were too busy or could not. I asked for the service charge to be removed but no manager bothered to question or ask if something had happened. I felt like a burden when asking to pay for the breakfast- which I shouldn’t have even had to pay for as it was such low quality, overpriced and basically inedible. I have worked in hospitality and visited establishments where when food is unsatisfactory, the customer is not expected to pay full price. The way we were treated was outrageous and unacceptable, and it cost us an exorbitant price for something so so plain, simple and executed...