Le Val — Restaurant in London

I’ve been going to Le Val for about 8 years (since college). Their lunchtime special is by far the my favourite item in the menu, a wrap of your choice with chips plus a drink. Their garlic and chilli sauce were some of my favourite in all of London. My heart wants to give it 4+ stars but I can’t because since 2020 every time I go everything seems to get a little bit worse. The wrap diameter shrinks, the meat gets smaller, salad is meh… if you even get enough to realise it’s there. The chips are fewer and fewer and the sauces taste a little older, until you sit there staring at a sad, half arsed plate wondering how much further your £10 could have taken you to quench your hunger. There are 10s of better options within a 5 minute walk in Kingston. As far as the other items in the menu go, it’s the same story, the prices don’t justify what you get. I still can’t accept that the small plates are almost all a couple of quid away from the price of a main. It wasn’t always like this, Le Val went through a makeover years ago to improve its menu and looks to appeal to a “higher market” and it worked for some time. But this only seems to have temporarily masked its true nature: A wannabe premium...

I’m a big fan of Lebanese food and have some favourite restaurants and snack bars in London and Paris. This, unfortunately, isn’t one of them. My friend chose Lebanese Valley for lunch last week. There were plenty of tables free but for some reason we were given the worst table in the house next to the toilets. I spent the whole meal in view of women entering and leaving the cubicle. I will say it smelt fresh in terms of chemicals but that’s really not what I want to smell when I’m eating food. Service was very slow and we had to get the attention of waiters both to be served and pay the bill by card at the end of the meal. We both had chicken and neither meal was particularly hot so I’m guessing it had been sitting somewhere before being brought to us. A word of warning – the restaurant lists ‘beer’ on their drinks menu. There are many acceptable 0% alcohol beers available (although most Lebanese restaurants I've been to are happy to serve alcohol) but none are served at this restaurant. In place of beer the restaurant serves an odd, sweet apple drink which is not exactly cider and definitely not beer. Lebanese food is one of the best cuisines in the world but unfortunately this restaurant...

Food poisoning. Staff response unacceptable. Hope they go under. Went for a meal on the 23rd November with a friend. We had the mixed grill for the main which we shared. Upon reflection, the chicken looked a little off, not very hot. Next morning we were both sick. Serious food poisoning, flu-like symptoms, vomiting, etc. My friend, who ate most of the chicken had it worse, the illness lasting for a good few days. Myself I was feeling okay after two days. I called and spoke with someone who said "i don't know what to say to you". How about an apology and a refund? He told me his manager would call. Manager called later on and told me he would "investigate" the matter and would call me back 4 days later. He didn't. I issued a report to kingston council of an incident of food poisoning. I then called the following day and told him we want a refund. He sounded bewildered and confused, mentioned the council, asked me to stop calling. No refund. I hope the council did a full on-the-spot inspection. Will never return. It knocks me sick thinking what I might have ingested. After a handful of similar experiences over the last couple years, I think I'll stick to european...