Italian Bear Chocolate — Restaurant in London

I invite you to picture this.

Last Saturday 23rd November, I made a booking for my siblings including my sister’s hubby, for us to enjoy the raved about & all over social media ‘Italian Bear Chocolate’.

Given the timing, there were only outdoor seats available for 7:45PM. After a very satisfying meal at Rasa Sayang, I booked the nearest branch for dessert at Italian Bear chocolate, which was the one in Soho. As we’d finished dinner earlier, we walked over to check our chances to see if there were seats available at 7PM. Now imagine; it was pouring down with rain, it was pretty cold (gloves on almost) however, we were prepared with suitable jackets and brollies. As we walked over to the restaurant, we met, who I’m going to term ‘the gatekeeper’ and I’ll refer to him as such as I continue this review.

We first asked whether there was any chance we could be seated earlier, and him, struggling to comprehend English proceeded to ask if we had a reservation, which we confirmed to be 7:45 PM that evening. He misheard and proceeded to say ‘6:45’ it’s too late your table has gone, after which I showed my phone screen and the confirmed booking, whilst trying my best to enunciate ‘7:45, we still have 45 minutes’. I think the third time, he understood.

Dear readers, I can confirm inside there were indeed some empty tables… also I failed to mention he was guarding a rope to the indoors, hence the name ‘gatekeeper’. We decided it was futile to try and get a table inside, and said we would return at the time of our booking, reconfirming for his benefit that it would be in 40 minutes. We walked off and came back, it was now about 7:44, he again, asked us if we had a booking, I confirmed we did, again asking if there were any chance we might be able to sit inside given the rain etc. the response was an incomprehensible no, so we made do. After placing the order, and tidying chocolate residues from previous visitors, we looked around to see where we could dispose of the tissues used for the clear up.

My brother in law went up to check with the ‘gatekeeper’ who said there was no bin inside (shocking) and directed him to the refuse bags on a kerbside, which were overflowing and wet, outside the joint.

Anyway, our order came (see picture) it was delicious, despite not actually being hot. Now, we’d also ordered a bottle of water to share, and we thought to ask for cups but anticipating we’d get sent to the bins by the ‘gatekeeper’ to fish for some, my brother in law managed to get the attention of one of the other staff members, not the ‘gatekeeper’, who then promptly brought over 4 glasses for us.

In summary - whilst the desserts themselves were decent, the experience with the ‘gatekeeper’ made it pretty difficult and uncomfortable. I’d suggest going to the other branch! Perhaps they either don’t have a gatekeeper, or maybe one who understands social interactions a little...

Deeply Disappointed by Our Experience - Not What We Expected

We visited Italian Bear Chocolate (Soho) last Friday as a group of five, looking forward to what we hoped would be a pleasant experience. Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the most disheartening and inconsistent customer service encounters we’ve had. When we arrived, the café was nearly empty - we were the only ones in line and most of the outdoor tables were free. We politely asked to sit outside and were initially told yes, as long as we didn’t bring an extra chair. We agreed, saying one of us would stand. Moments later, another staff member informed us that even having someone stand wasn’t allowed, that this was per the manager’s instruction, and we would need to wait 15 minutes for a table inside. We accepted and waited patiently. To our shock, less than five minutes later, another group of five sat outside with one person standing, exactly what we had asked to do. They were served promptly with no issue. This inconsistency felt incredibly unfair and, quite frankly, discriminatory. We waited 25 minutes, only to be told the table they intended for us was held for a booking that might not show. Eventually, after 45 minutes, we were told the booking had arrived late, so the table was no longer available. Again, the outdoor seating was still inexplicably not offered to us, even though the other group had come, eaten, and gone. After over an hour of waiting, with kids tired and morale low, they handed us a card and sent us to their other branch, promising a table would be ready. We walked the 10 minutes, exhausted, only to be made to wait again outside. We had been reassured the table was reserved and ready. After another 15 minutes, we politely asked why we were still waiting, only to be told harshly to wait outside and not disturb customers. This was hurtful and humiliating. When we were finally seated, it took another 15 minutes just to place our order despite multiple attempts to get staff attention. The food was good, but the service, waiting times, and treatment we received were deeply disappointing and soured the entire experience. What’s most painful is not just the delays, but the clear inconsistency in treatment and disregard for our patience and understanding. We were polite throughout and expected the same in return. We sincerely hope the management reads this and reaches out to address the poor service and clear unfairness we experienced. We wanted to love this place, but sadly, we left feeling let down, embarrassed, and exhausted. We’d appreciate a response, some gesture of goodwill would go a long way in...

Tasty hot chocolate but very dysfunctional set-up.

They make you queue outside and don't even allow you in if you want a take-away drink, which is really bizarre and they bring the menu to you outside, which is a bit nuts. I paid for my drink on a card machine standing OUTSIDE in the queue! Nowhere to even rest my bag to get my purse. Crackers!

Let people in to buy their drinks. There IS space to let 2 or 3 people in at a time to order. There is no good reason to not do this.

You should be allowed in so you can see the cup sizes (don't order small - it's ridiculous, for a newborn baby, like a cappuccino size) but also to see what you're ordering. This weird system is a very bad idea as they are missing out on sales by doing it this way. Had I seen the desserts inside, I would have probably ordered much more than I did. Nobody is really interested in looking at a menu in hand in the busy street so they will quickly order just one thing to get the horrible experience over and done with. How is your sales department even okay with this idea??? I think it's very, very poorly organised.

They need two queues - one for take away and one for eating in. They also need to INSIST that customers getting take away drinks go inside to order so they can see the cup sizes, see the drinks, see the desserts etc. Why would you not do this from a sales perspective??? Crazy! Just utterly bizarre for a London cafe. I know it's Italian but it's crazy. I've worked in the area for over 20 years and this is the most mental system I have ever seen.

The hot chocolate was delicious but the queuing systems means I'll likely never go back, which is a shame. Please fix this. It's a very easy fix and you will get more customers. Yes, I know you have a small space but you can make it work if you organise it better.

Having that sign saying to wait outside with no staff visibily in sight is really unappealing btw - like you're already unwanted - and it's very unclear that customers getting takeaway have to queue (because nobody else does this strangeness in all of London, it will be the first time they've experienced it in their entire lives - they'll just walk in or walk off). You should at least write on it 'even if you're getting take away, wait in the queue'. Just make things clearer. Better still, get rid of this...