Hudson's House — Restaurant in London

My friends and I visited this restaurant about a month ago prior to going to watch Dirty Dancing. We opted for the pre-theatre menu which slightly back fired on one of the group as they didn't pick a Starter. So she ended up paying full price for the Main which was more than the deal price for having a Starter and Main. Lesson learnt - order a Starter, even if you don't want one.

Service started well and the lady looking after us got us some cocktails and took our food orders. As time went on, she seemed to become less interested and engaged. For example, we were there for about 2.5 hours, and yet we were never asked if we would like another round of drinks. So by the time we had finished our puddings, we felt rather unwelcome, which I found really odd given how much competition there must be in the area.

When we got the bill, we noticed the discretionary service charge and felt the amount calcuated wasn't justified. If we were going to "tip" anyone, it would be the chefs as the food was delicious. We asked for it to be removed so that we can make our own choice. The server questioned us on this decision, but rather than addressing it as a constructive opportunity, treated it more like an interrogation. Even going as far as asking "are you going to leave me a tip then?" in a rather brash manner. We then hear her shouting to the manager that we were taking off the service charge. Again, this was an opportunity for someone to come over and discuss with us what made us feel this way.

We got the updated bill and worked out what we each needed to pay and how much of a tip we were going to leave. A couple of card payments and the remainder in cash. She collects it and as she walks away, we visibly see her shaking her head in a disapproving manner. We were in a state of shock that a member of the team could behave in such an unprofessional manner especially as we were about to leave. Our final impression of this restaurant was of us feeling like unappreciated customers.

The sad thing is that the one round of drinks we had were really tasty. The meals we had were incredibly delicious and my steak was spot on. However, the "middle man" between the bar and kitchen really took the shine off of the whole experience. I would only hope that this lady was...

Went here for a 17 person Christmas dinner which was pre booked. Seemed easy enough, £5 deposit per person. Food was average but was to be expected from a set menu of £25.95, they did supply crackers and hats which was an added bonus which saved them from getting 1 star. Throughout the organising I sent regular emails including the list of orders for the group. At one point I got an arsey email asking for the list of orders as if Home past the deadline which has already already sent and they subsequently found in their inbox. When I came to paying I was told that I had to pay the service charge of £55. I kindly asked them to take it off as I’d rather pay cash for tips rather than pay the wages which the restaurant should cover themselves only to be told that it was mandatory and that I’d be told by Trixie that it was part of the deal I’d made when reserving for 17. I refused to pay it as I felt that this wasn’t made clear and wasn’t the case and didn’t end up paying but it was an unexpected confrontation and frankly made me feel very uncomfortable. I checked all correspondence with the restaurant and at no point was this mentioned (I only communicated with them via email). And lastly one person couldn’t attend due to their mother falling ill. I then had to pay for that persons meal despite their non attendance. I understand that we pre booked the food however I let them know as soon as I got there so that they didn’t have to cook it. I’m sure they could have served it to someone else as they wouldn’t have started cooking it yet or have to over buy food to cover all cases on everything other occasion. All in all very poor service and attitude. We paid all in all around £700 in there including drinks and it would have been good to find somewhere again for next year but clearly this restaurant doesn’t value...

Most rude and obnoxious staff I’ve ever come across in all my years, arrived and looked at the cocktail menu for a first round of drinks and there was so much to choice from, I asked the barman ‘Is there any cocktails he recommends’ His reply was and I quote, well this is west end London what do you expect? I said to him I didn’t ask you how much they were I just asked if you recommended any.. Anyway I let that slide, when I got served I asked another lad behind the bar if there was any electric ports in any of the seating area’s I as my phone was very low battery and had my own charger in my travel bag. He didn’t understand what I said so got the manager. I asked him the same question and his response was ‘why can’t you just keep it behind the bar’ So I leave it behind the bar on charge, after we finish a second round of drinks I asked the lad I spoke to originally if it was alright if I go and get my phone / charger from behind the bar (Bare in mind there was about 5 other people in whole bar at the time so it was pretty dead) He said yeah sure, went to get my phone and the manager get’s in my face saying why am I behind the bar and get to out, explained to him the conversation I had with his colleague and his attitude didn’t let up. Now I’m not a violent or aggressive person and have never complained about anything but at this stage I could of quite easily strangled the bloke, as you could imagine. Anyway, don’t be fooled it’s part of the St Giles hotel, avoid...