Hjem — Restaurant in London

(1) Service.

Staff behaviour was unprofessional and simply unacceptable for people in the service industry.

We had the most bizarre experience where on the morning of checkout, staff member Martin unnecessarily escalated an incredibly minor comment that had been put to bed the previous night. The comment was around inconsistent treatment between guests who were celebrating and was so minor, yet it escalated as he accused us of something we didn’t do, and he implied that we were liars. Not sure what I’m to gain by lying in this situation, it’s not like I was trying to get anything out of them.

Regardless, this should have gone down as a petty “he said / she said” scenario which didn’t even need to be mentioned in the morning. When we didn’t accept his version of events given they were untrue, he proceeded to storm off in a dramatic fashion declaring that “we were not very nice people”. He went from chatting with us and calling us “lovely people” after dinner to being personal and asking us to leave in the morning. This change in attitude towards us and very public attack was highly embarrassing and was not at all justified.

Owner Ally who witnessed this encounter then decided to support her staff member by also attacking us; however, when questioned to provide specific examples on why their behaviour was justified, she was unable to do so as in her words had “only been there since 9am”.

Moreover, whether you like a guest or not, you simply cannot behave like a child whilst at work, and particularly not when you work in the service industry. As an owner you certainly shouldn’t be condoning this. This treatment of paying guests will not take the business far.

(2) Accommodation

If you choose to eat here, I would not recommend staying as the accommodation offering was very poor; it was worse than student accommodation in my opinion.

Not only was it very basic but it was shabby with mould in the bathroom and filthy carpets. One of rooms had a malfunctioning heater so was freezing on arrival - this was a known issue when reported to reception. The same room had a rattling window that was not conducive to a good night’s sleep.

Our rooms were placed next to store cupboards so we were constantly disturbed by people frequenting those. We were also kept awake by what sounded like a washing machine / tumble dryer running below us through the night and we were disturbed by staff from 6am.

I do find it strange how you can offer such a premium experience downstairs but the exact opposite upstairs. During our friendly chat after dinner Martin agreed with us and he said that the rooms had been untouched since turned from a pub. I believe he said that they were next on the list for being refurbished so perhaps future guests will benefit from that.

The poor accommodation was acknowledged by staff as they kindly offered to take this off our bill (we didn’t ask for this) due to the disruption we were subjected to.

(3) Atmosphere

Personally, we didn’t enjoy the set up of the restaurant as it was split into 2 parts; there were tables in the room with the kitchen in where all the action was and there were tables in an adjoining room which houses the toilet behind a sliding door in the corner.

Watching people going in and out of the toilet all night can only be described as grim and is not something I expect from a Michelin star restaurant; it’s very off-putting. During our friendly chat after dinner, Martin perfectly described this as like a toilet on a train.

In general, we felt like we weren’t receiving the same experience as others by being put in that adjoining room - this is pot luck depending on the table allocation. We were offered a table in the main part of the restaurant if we were to return but of course that won’t be happening.

(4) Food

Food was of course good. For me though, it’ll never make up for shocking service and poor facilities and to be honest I can’t even remember what we ate due to it being totally overshadowed by the poor...

Saw a foodie influencer recommending this place on Instagram for their cinnamon and cardamom rolls so as a cinnamon bun enthusiast I came to try both buns out to see what my own verdict would be.

It was a sunny weekday and the café was absolutely packed with people both sitting outside in their cute little backyard and inside right next to the counter. There was also a queue but it went away very quickly although I could tell they were extremely busy and a little overwhelmed. This didn't affect the service at all as the staff member serving me maintained their professionalism and politely apologised and was smiley the entire time. I went with one cinnamon and one cardamom bun each to take away and I didn't try the coffee so can't comment on that.

I had the buns when I got home after reheating them in my air fryer and omg I am surprised to say this as a cinnamon bun lover I actually enjoyed the cardamom bun a lot more! It's the perfect size and not too bready, strong cardamom taste and the bread was super fluffy and soft, went so well with a cup of coffee. The cinnamon bun on the other hand was actually too massive for me and I couldn't finish it in one sitting as I got so stuffed halfway through. The flavour of cinnamon was good though, not too strong with a slight hint of sweetness. Again the bread was fluffy and soft but it's just a little too big for my liking. I would totally recommend trying the cardamom bun for sure.

If I am ever around the area again, I would be very happy to revisit this place for their...

I used to love coming here as I live in the area, and Hjem seemed to have everything I looked for in a coffee place.

However, I slowly stopped feeling comfortable going there.

Last time I was there I arrived around 2pm and wanted to get some food. The barista told me they were no longer serving food, she didn’t even lift her eyes up from what she was doing as if I was interrupting her from some important business with my questions. Another barista, a new one I guessed, tried to help me but didn’t know how.

The water bottle was empty and the barista again gave me a look as if I was interrupting her.

I sat down and was reading my book, half an hour later I see food being served at various tables around me. What was that?

Several times when I went there I noticed there’s a lot of staff - maybe 4-5 people at the counter at the same time. Instead of being more efficient they talk loudly to each other, but don’t bother to be more attentive to the clients, or how the place looks, whether the water is filled etc.

IMO they should reduce staff and make sure that the ones that stay attend the clients properly.

It almost felt like the place was the staff’s territory and I’m interrupting it, just felt very uncomfortable...