Hithe + Seek — Restaurant in London

Drawn by the fantastic reviews, I booked a table for my partner's special birthday and looked forward to enjoying what others said Hithe + Seek offer.

The two guys who looked after our table showed little preparation and lack of interest from the start: they could not find our booking (a better-prepared female colleague came to the rescue). They mentioned that the menu was based on tapas and recommended sharing two tapas, which was odd and sounded too little to feed two adults, but anyhow. When I inquired about the difference between two different Italian wines by the glass on the menu, the waiter went blank. He only managed to offer a taster for both.

We ordered three tapas dishes, including the house bread, which we had to remind them of not once but twice (the first two times, we got "it's on its way" as an answer). Around 40 minutes after we ordered it, we finally got it. The other two dishes were gone by then. The bread was yummy and the only good dish of the night. We also had to remind them about the glass of red wine, but only once.

The octopus (£18+SC) was anecdotal in size (see pictures) and dull in taste. The potato and mushroom shawarma was disappointing, too.

Our two waiters proved to be uninterested at all times. Although the place was not very busy and there was additional staff for the rest of the floor, they hardly paid attention to us or our neighbouring tables.

We ordered an additional dish. The menu is not extensive, yet the staff was not in control of it. A couple of minutes later, our waiter came back and said that the dish was discontinued. No problem, we ordered another one. That also looked fine, yet a minute later, the waiter returned with the same news: unavailable that night. Third time lucky, we managed to get an additional dish: moussaka fingers. These were unexpectedly cold, and only the name suggested any connection with the moussaka.

How difficult is it to train your staff to know what is available and what is not in an uncomplicated menu?

The staff kept showing how uninterested they were. When booking online, I requested a little sweet dessert for my partner's birthday (something habitual here in London for this kind of occasion). There was no trace or acknowledgement of said request, which was disappointing. And when it was time to go, our guys did not even bother to return our good evening wishes (the nice lady who looked after the other tables corresponded did so, though).

So, the two-star score goes as this: the first star is the minimum rate Google allows, so everyone gets that. The second stars is for the ambience and river views, which are stunning. And the missing three stars are due to staff, food and overall experience.

Dear Westin management: as a 5-star hotel, you mustn't have staff who are not trained or interested in doing their job. And you also have to raise your game with the food and...

I along with my parents went to Hithe + Seek, located on the third floor of The Westin London City to celebrate my dad’s birthday. We absolutely loved everything about the place. It’s cozy, perfect for family, couple, friends, celebration, chill outs, afterwork hours. Upon my request, they allocated us the best seat right next to the floor to ceilings window which overlooks river Thames and it feels like you’re in a Titanic/cruise ship. The ambience was top notch, perfect ambience lights, aesthetic and modern decor, comfortable seating arrangements. We ordered Adobo chicken ballotine, Westholme steak sandwich, Red Mullet "Fish & Chips", wines, juices. The cuisines and wines were sumptuous, delicious and listed at an extremely reasonable pricing.

I have to especially mention Mr. Giovanni, the manager, who not only was kind, generous, extremely personable but literally made dad’s birthday one of the most memorable events by kindly treating us complimentary cake, wine for my dad’s birthday and came to us multiple times to make sure everything is perfect. He made us feel like home away from home and we had a wonderful conversation with him. A place with such great reputation and facilities certainly needs a special person like him. All the other staffs including the waiter, Mr Nathan who served us was really sweet. I highly recommend that you must visit Hithe + Seek for at least once and I am sure you will keep on...

I went to Afternoon Tea after an amazing day at their spa but it wasn’t the greatest. I think their menu items are very creative but when it came down to taste, it was the best.

I recommend the Moroccan Tea!

The sandwiches were somewhat decent, the best one if the ‘Grilled Vegetables, Hummus, Tomato and Bread’.

The ‘Charcoal bun, Horseradish Creme, Dorset Beef’ was horrible. The bun was served inedible, had to return to the kitchen, hard but crumbly like play dough - even the waiter had a try trying to squeeze the bun to see the issue but we were offered another sandwich of choice to be replaced. Our waiter was amazing with ensuring all was well afterwards.

Scones were amazing as per usual. Pastries were a miss. They looked pretty and have that picture worthy/instagrammable factor but just overloaded with creme than anything else, however, the Nutella & Berries Tart...