Hafız Mustafa 1864 Knightsbridge — Restaurant in London

I’m honestly disgusted by my recent experience at Hafiz Mustafa Knightsbridge. This establishment shamelessly uses a respected Islamic name, benefits from Muslim clientele, and is widely promoted on social media for offering a prayer room. Yet when I politely asked to pray for just five minutes, I was flat-out refused — by a Muslim manager at the door, no less.

What makes this even more appalling is that I’m not some random passerby. I’ve actually been a paying customer. I even said I would purchase something for takeaway just to be allowed in. Still, they refused.

This isn’t just bad service — it’s a disgrace. To call yourselves Hafiz Mustafa and then stop someone from praying, even when it’s a five-minute request, is an insult to the very values that name represents. You’re happy to profit off the culture, but not uphold even the most basic decency tied to it.

You’ve lost my respect, my business, and that of many others I’ll be warning. If you carry a name like Hafiz Mustafa, at least try to live up to the values behind it. Right now, you’re nothing but a commercial façade with zero integrity.

Edit after response:

Following the reply from Hafiz Mustafa Knightsbridge, I feel it’s necessary to clarify a few things they conveniently left out.

Firstly, there was no policy posted anywhere — not outside, inside, or online — indicating that the prayer space is only for dine-in customers. If that had been communicated clearly, I wouldn’t be writing this. Instead, a Muslim manager denied me entry with no explanation other than “no,” despite me saying I’ve been a customer and even offered to buy something for takeaway. That’s not policy — that’s poor judgment.

Their response says it’s a small, private space and claims it was never advertised. Yet countless customers online have posted about using the prayer space, and Hafiz Mustafa has never made a single effort to correct or clarify that publicly. You can’t enjoy the positive PR of people praising your “prayer room” on social media and then retreat behind “we’re not a mosque” when it’s inconvenient.

You mention legal compliance and comfort of seated guests — but other central London establishments, like Selfridges, offer prayer rooms without questioning your “status” as a customer. So the idea that you can’t accommodate a five-minute prayer unless I’m seated with dessert in front of me is just not good enough.

If your brand is built on heritage, values, and respect — act like it. Because right now, all I see is a business using cultural identity as decoration, not duty. And no long-winded corporate reply will...

This was my first trip to London, and as I was walking toward the famous Harrods, I spotted this place, and it immediately called out to me. For a moment, it felt like my dream of going to Türkiye had come true. I walked in and was instantly captivated by the elegance, the sight of the beautiful pastries, and the rich aroma of authentic Turkish coffee, yes, the smell will take you traveling into the historical beautiful place that is Türkiye. This café is more than just a stop, it’s an experience. Hafız Mustafa has been around since 1864, I did not know about his historical place, it has a tradition of excellence and it shows, the owners know exactly how to make customers feel special and give them an experience they will never forget, keep it up, never change! If anything, take that magic all over the world. I can’t wait to find you one day in México City! The staff, OMG, treat you like royalty the second you walk in. Highly professional, genuinely kind, and the place is spotless. I mean so clean I was even tempted to take photos of the bathrooms, which I never do! It felt like I stepped into a scene from The Great Gatsby, minus the fact I was wearing Levi’s, maybe next time I’ll dress for the part, LOL. The atmosphere is rich, literally and visually, it just feels luxurious. The prices? Not cheap, but you can’t expect bargain deals across from Harrods. Still, I was able to afford it, so trust me, if I can, you probably can too! My order? The pastries were divine. So carefully crafted and beautifully served. You truly feel like each dessert was made just for you. The attention to detail, the flavor, the presentation, everything was on point. We sat inside, facing Harrods, and I got to show off to my family that I was enjoying a fancy-wanzy treat in front of one of the most luxurious shopping centers in the world, don’t quote me on that… but it probably is!. The décor is wow from beginning to end. The customer service? Flawless. I highly, highly, very highly...

recently visited Hafiz Mustafa with a friend, and unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing. We sat down to eat, but the service was extremely slow. It took far too long for all the food to arrive, and this wasn’t the first time its Ramadan so it wasn’t even busy—the service is consistently poor. The food quality also didn’t match the standards of their branches in Turkey, where everything tastes fresher and the service is much better.

After dining, we went to buy some Turkish Delight. While selecting my items, the staff member assisting me (Turkish female) was blunt and quite rude. She didn’t seem to understand what I was saying and appeared visibly annoyed. Then, another staff member approached and persistently tried to upsell me a large box of Turkish Delight, despite me repeatedly saying noto the lady and man, at least four or five times. I made it very clear that I only wanted the ones I had chosen, yet they kept insisting.

When I went to pay, I was shocked to find that I had been charged for two boxes, even though I had only selected one (I made it very clear I wanted one). Without my knowledge or consent, they had sneakily added the extra box to my bag. When I noticed, I immediately raised the issue. The staff refused to refund the extra charge to my card and would only offer cash, not only that they started saying things in Turkish quite rudely, which was extremely frustrating. The manager eventually apologised, but the cashier was still rude and dismissive. The Turkish delight were so hard. Not worth the price. I presume they do this hoping customers won’t notice, it’s so bad.

Overall, this experience left a very bad impression. The poor service, pushy sales tactics, and lack of respect for customers made it incredibly disappointing. I won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend this...