Izgara — Restaurant in London

Since I tried emailing them over two weeks ago and received no response I’ve been left with no other choice but to post my email to the restaurant on Google reviews ( which ultimately I was trying to avoid hence the email)

After hearing many great things about izgara me and my friend visited for a meal early in the day and we ordered a mixed grill as part of our order and we were seated in the outdoor area and received our meal, mid-way through our meal we saw something that looked rather strange in the middle of our salad and couldn’t quite work out what it was.

I tried to investigate it by smelling it and breaking it apart with my fork and I couldn’t tell what it was. After speaking to one of the waiters she took the meal over to who I assume was the manager ( a gentleman who was wearing a black polo) and he came to confirm with me what it was and to my shock it was bird droppings from the roof when they were closing/opening the roof ( as the gentleman explained). He then explained that this has happened to other customers too ( I assume this was somewhat meant to reassure me or something?) in which I thought why had precaution not been taken from when it had happened to previous customers ? I.e check if there’s food on tables before opening/closing the roof? That simple precaution could avoid something like that happening. I’m sure a reputable restaurant as yourselves carry out health and food safety checks regularly so if it has happened before why has the problem not been actioned ?

However, the gentleman offered us a new plate he was very kind and apologetic but it doesn’t bring back the appetite we lost after finding out it was bird droppings in our meal. ( I hope you can understand how off putting that is) Although our appetite was lost and we didn’t want to ruin the experience for the customers seated around us we took the food asked for it to be taken away paid our bill and left ( Including service charge which I only thought was right to pay because the gentleman was really kind and accommodating) as part of our bill I was only happy paying for the drinks and the service charge but like I said we didn’t want to kick up a fuss and ruin other customer’s experiences because frankly it was revolting that we couldn’t enjoy our meal. Surely this is unacceptable I wouldn’t want my experience alone to hinder other peoples choice to visit your restaurant so hopefully it’s something you guys can look...

I’ve been to izgara many times over the years so it’s a shame to have to leave such a negative review however..we made a reservation for three at 7.30pm upon entering we were led around the restaurant and then asked to turnaround and take the only table available, so it was clear they didn’t have a table actually booked.

After 10mins of waiting I asked one of the waiters if we could order, someone came over 5 minutes later and asked us if we’d like to order we said yes and said he would come back in 2mins…he didn’t so after another 10mins I asked someone else if we could order, he said give him 5mins, we waited another 10mins and no one came over so I called over another waiter saying it was the third time we’d asked to order he looked at me said nothing and walked away and started to argue with the bar staff. Baring in mind we received no water or bread (which is their usual service) We were bewildered so left. When we told them we were leaving and why they said “well that’s not good is it”.

The restaurant management was clearly chaos with lots of waiters either walking around aimlessly, avoiding eye contact, not doing any thing or grouped together at the bar talking. The table next to us who came in at a similar time also hadn’t had anyone take their order and there was a table behind us who had been waiting to pay for 20 minutes.

When we got home we ordered from Misya in Pinner which was delicious and half the price.

For the price you usually pay at Izgara (almost always £100+ for 2 people) is such a shame to receive such a lacklustre terrible service, we’ve been regulars for the last 5 years but we’ve now been...

I eat out regularly and I'm sorry to say that this is the worst restaurant I gave eaten in.

The waiter seemed angry that he had to serve us and was very cold towards us. It took 15 minutes before anyone even came over to take our order and we weren't even offered any drinks, just ready to take our main order.

There were 7 of us. Four ordered starters, which were just brought randomly and placed on the table, instead of being placed in front of those who ordered them.

One of our party asked for her two starters to be brought with the main meals, but they were brought with the starters which other members of the group thought were for everyone as they were just placed in the middle of the table. It was really awkward.

We had to ask for some of the drinks again as not everyone received what they ordered.

The portions were not only small, but inadequate in terms of a meal.

For example, how much is the meal in this photograph? (Consisting of the lamb and chicken shish pieces, and the side salad, as displayed). 10p short of £20.00. no rice, no chips, just that huge gap on the plate. Surely the chef forgot something?

We ended up paying over £30.00 a head. Very expensive for very little. The compulsory 10% service charge should also be made clear.

If the service charge is compulsory, then surely the service should be too.

As we left, there was no one around to speak to or to thank us and say goodbye.

Embarrassing to have such a terrible restaurant in Pinner, in fact, in the UK. I don't know how the positive reviews could have actually happened after our experience.

Extremely...