J Sheekey — Restaurant in London

I was recommended this place by a local and was told great things about it. It was my first time in London visiting from the states, it had been a long day since it was already 9-10pm where we were without a proper meal since breakfast. We sat in one of the intimate smaller dining rooms on the right side which at first glance was very nice.

But the discomfort of being there set in as no one seemed to have cared to take our order for a long time. The servers in suit jackets (specifically there was a tall bald guy with glasses) just walk by our table constantly but ignore us as I’m making eye contact with them. It’s a very small and tight space where it’s hard to go unnoticed. It’s also late at night where it’s not busy. I had to flag down someone to start the order as I don’t know who our designated waiter is. We order two starters, the tuna tataki and smoked salmon salad, and fish and chips.

The tuna was a little underwhelming but the salmon salad was actually very nice and refreshing. We finished the starters and had the empty plates sitting on the table for a long time as well as the server walks by us again and again before he finally takes the plates away. Then the entrees come out promptly and it was honestly spectacular. I’m a huge fish and chips fan and this was the main reason why I came to the restaurant since they supposedly do fish very well. It was definitely an elevated version where the portion was huge with a nice batter, mashed peas and decent dipping sauce. I was pleased with the dish even though I prefer slightly less thicker fried coating.

Finally at the end of our meal we finished eating and needed the check. Eventually there was a nice female server who came to support our table for whatever we needed but she was hopping around in different rooms. After the plates were taken away we were asked if we needed anything else like drinks or dessert but we were just so full so we said no. I just needed the check but it took another 20-25 min to leave. Again we were waiting for someone to come to the table to ask for the check. After 10 min I asked the male server for the check. I figured I’d go to the bathroom and come back and it’d be ready. But no he walked back and forth our table again and didn’t give us the check. I had to ask another server again for it and the finally had to waive down the initial guy who forgot for him to process it. I’m not sure why I had to try so hard to get service for a meal I’m paying over 100 pounds for. Is it because I’m not a famous actor, or l look young or that I’m not British? Frankly wish the 13.5% service charge was not tacked on because we barely received any. Food was decent but the service...

If I could rate this restaurant a -100, I would. This was my first time in London and the hotel I was staying at recommended this place. My family and I walked in the restaurant and the “host” did not greet us upon arrival. He assumed that I was recording him(I am a vlogger) since I was holding my camera. He literally started ducking and hiding as if he was in action movie and told us to just walk in the restaurant instead of speaking to him. He did not ask if I could put the camera away which could’ve been just as simple as explaining that I did not have the camera on. We still proceed to sit down and enjoy our dinner. As we were ordering, a different team member came to reiterate that we shouldn’t have the camera recording or have it on the table and assumed that I was STILL recording. As a professional, I know what establishments I can and cannot record in which I also explained. I usually ask for permission prior to entering any establishment. The restaurant put such a bad taste in our mouths we decided to leave. I refuse to spend $200-300 on a restaurant that I couldn’t be comfortable in or continue to see team members cut eyes at our table. We proceeded to leave and was stop by the “host” aka cupcake. He tried to make amends with us and act surprised of why we was leaving which turn us to exchange words. We left out the restaurant and never plan to try them again. A family walked up to us as we were at the restaurant saying “the food is not that great for that service. I wouldn’t leave them a penny for a tip.” That spoke volumes to my family! I will be doing a full vlog on my trip to London and will do a voice over about this restaurant. I do not recommend this restaurant. You will be disappointed. The menu is not even pleasing and the prices are high. I do not need management to contact me, I will never recommend or eat at this establishment. They also called the hotel we stayed at and lied saying we were recording and was asked for us to leave. That was a absolutely a lie, no one asked us to leave… my family made the decision to tell the waiter we were not comfortable and to give us a check if it was charge for the water on the table. I RECOMMEND BENTLEYS BAR AND GRILL OVER THIS ESTABLISHMENT. We literally walked over to the restaurant and they sat us down immediately. We explained about the horrible experience we encountered at J Sheekey and they apologized for their mistake and awful service. They treated my family and I SO nice, and the GENERAL MANAGER stated that we can come in without an reservation anytime!! It was huge different experience and I’m so glad that we left to go enjoy real service...

I can't say I've ever been forced by a restaurant to dine at theirs but J Sheekey managed to do that. I booked a table a couple of months ago as my father was in town and wanted to dine here. I booked a table and entered my credit card details and agreed to the T&C's which basically say that they'll charge you for a no-show fee. Anyway, my father was unfortunately ill and unable to attend so I called the restaurant to reschedule, explaining just that. They moved the booking to the following day as I was hoping he'd feel better but it wasn't the case. I called back the next day to see if I could cancel the booking due to extenuating circumstances. The person on the phone was the same one who I spoke to the day before and he said something along the lines of "I remember you, you're the one who said your mother's leg broke" in a jokingly way. I replied "no, why would you say that? I never said that". He continued to be rude to me (from my point of view) and refused to cancel the reservation even after I explained the situation to him. He forced me to reschedule again (he said he was doing me a big favour, apparently whilst continuing to be rude) which takes us to this visit. My partner and I arrived on time and we were greeted by a friendly hostess. We were taken to our table where we waited about 15 minutes for a waiter to approach our table and offer us something to drink. I was fuming for having to drag myself to the restaurant and on top of that, to wait that long to be served so we decided that we wouldn't be staying long. We ordered some cocktails and a desert. The cocktails took another 15 minutes to arrive and they were - I kid you not - horrendous. The caramel Torte arrived a further 10 minutes after that. The torte was really good, I've gotta give them that but the service, the drinks and the completely unprofessional person who forced me to reschedule are the reason why I'm never coming back. £50 for bad drinks and a cake, can you believe it? This place feels more like a tourist trap than anything. You'll have a better time at Big Easy and more value for money. I would ask my credit card provider to reverse the charges but I do have some sense of morality unlike the very unprofessional person from J Sheekey who forced me to go...