Inso Pan Asian — Restaurant in London

Good food - Terrible service and experience

Went on a Tuesday evening - at 8.15pm

Called about 6pm to reserve a table - was told that it was not busy and a table reservation was not necessary. I asked him to write my name down and that it would be for three people - again was told that this is not necessary.

Arrived at Inso restaurant at 8.15pm as planned - decor is nice - quite a small place but a nice environment. The restaurant was about quarter full. There were plenty of tables available and free.

When I asked for a table of three I was then told "sorry - we are very busy - did you make a reservation?". I explained that I had called ahead and was advised this was NOT necessary.

The waiter was very unhelpful and not really willing to help us. I had to explain several times what had happened before and I asked if the remaining tables had reservations. He then spoke to his colleague and we finally managed to get a table (table for four - three of us sat down).

We were then given the menu - this looks good and is quite extensive with over 130 dishes to choose from.

There was no mention of any drinks on the menu - maybe that was on a separate menu but we were not given this at any time.

We ordered our starters and mains and waited.

About 20 minutes later our started - the platter arrived - we then asked for sauce separately. A few minutes later the waiter then picked up the platter plate and said it was for another table - behind us. He said ours would be on its way and that it had been a mistake.

Understandably we did not want someone's food so were happy for then to take the plate. However the people on the other table did not want food that had been placed on someone else's table so the platter plate was returned to us.

We finished our starters. Then the mains arrived - two problems ;

A knives was dirty - it clearly was not cleaned and had a mouldy substance on it - this is the first time I had seen something like this at a restaurant - we asked for this to be replaced - but was not offered any apology and the knife was left on our table for about 10 minutes until a replacement was given.

We ordered Kim Chee - this did not arrive despite reminding the waiter.

We finished our meal and asked for the bill.

The next problem was that the bill included the Kim Chee on it - I had to explained we did not have it and it was corrected.

The food was good but the service is terrible on so many levels.

The customer rapport and interaction is very poor. There is limited communication. There is no attention to detail or respect to serving customers their food correctly and in a timely manner.

One of the knives was dirty - this is completely unacceptable.

Something we ordered for the main did not arrive despite being reminded by the customers.

There are multiple problems and errors here. I have been to many restaurants - people do make mistakes and I do not expect perfection but this is so bad that I have felt that I must write this review.

I am further disappointed as the food is good. I would ask you to be careful and check your plates/chopsticks/cutlery is clean before using them.

Also make sure they take your name down if phoning for a reservation.

I will not be returning to this place - disappointment as Asian cuisine is my favourite and I was hoping to find a good...

I'm not sure where to start as having been here for my first time I feel I owe it to the owners to be honest about their business in hopes that standards improve. We are family of 3 and the only customers in the restaurant when we arrived. As I looked around to place my drinks order it appeared the waiting staff were struggling to handle orders by phone which led to waiting at least 15 minutes to catch their attention. We ordered appetizers along with mains in hopes we could try a variation of food. Bad idea...our chicken skewer appetizers took over 35 minutes and a further 20 minutes for our Sushi appetizers which although edible were both poorly rolled, cooked and presented also forgetting our soyo sauce too. The waitress did apologize for the delay blaming it on take away orders and Sushi orders from two small tables whom literally only just walked in. It was then mentioned that chef was struggled by this point!! A further 20 minutes later we received our two main dishes which to my surprise did not reflect on the standard Pad Thai and Beef Bulgogi two very destinct dishes which use basic ingredients that should create the dishes unique flavors and taste as neither were good. My family especially my toddler were really hungry by this point so we ate the noodles but couldn't stomach finishing the Beef Bulgogi or the side of hard rice as it was incredibly salty and very oddly resembled Chinese stir fry but with a horrible salty sauce. The Pad Thai was not made from rice noodles more like a very cheap version of a Chinese fried egg noodle with an odd oil based texture...not good. I'm sorry to say but being part Japanese/Filipino I've had variations or Asian food my whole life and I can't understand why anyone would open an Asian style fusion restaurant if you didn't understand the flavoring behind each dish. Just because you can attempt to roll sushi and offer Asian cuisine doesn't mean it's going to be done well especially with the cheapest ingredients...you also need a chef whom can deliver the right flavors and possibly taste what they cook or learn the proper dishes before hand. Lastly less pressure on your waiting staff to answer phone orders would mean they could actually attend to your restaurant customers and smooth over any issues that may occur during your busier times...especially bad food!!! We were given £3.40 off and offered another dish after I complained but goodness we had already spent enough time and money in this place and declined the extra dish. Despite being local I won't be returning as the food being the most important thing, just...

Extremely UNPROFESSIONAL and RUDE delivery guy. He couldn't find my place, even though I've ordered over 200 times from Uber Eats using this address, including 50 orders with their own delivery drivers and 5+ orders from this specific restaurant. This is the first time I've encountered such an incapable delivery person. He was also impolite, hanging up on me twice while I was giving him directions, and complained sarcastically about me sitting in my room instead of going outside to look for him.

His communication skills were lacking too. Initially, I asked if he was at the barrier, but he said no and claimed to be at the main entrance of the university with two roundabouts. I then instructed him to search for my flat's name on his phone, since the main entrance is 1 km away. That's when he hung up for the first time. Oddly enough, when he finally found me, he denied mentioning the roundabouts and didn't recall my question about the barrier, complaining that I wasn't listening to him (even though I heard every word clearly).

While I was WAITING for him OUTSIDE my room, I called the restaurant to inform them of the situation, but they offered no apologies and only argued that it was reasonable for the delivery guy to lose his way (as if he's a genius, I know). Eventually, and quite suspiciously, he said he was in the parking area, which is only 30 meters from my place. Assuming he was telling the truth, I still don't understand why he didn't just walk around the building and find the address I provided, just 30 meters away!

In the end, I showed him another entrance to my flat and told him he could've informed me he was there, and I would've come out. The sign at this entrance was hard to see at night, but he immediately retorted, "You expected me to see this?" First of all, the entrance I provided, which is my address, is well-lit and easy to spot. Secondly, and most importantly, his actions demonstrated that he has ZERO patience and is extremely LAZY, as he could have simply walked around the building and found my entrance in just 2 minutes! (He would have seen the entrance I showed him if he had walked closer.) What a truly unforgettable and...