Mama Cook Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in London

Had to change my previous 5* review to 1*. Really liked this place in the past and like to patronize smaller family establishments / non chain restaurants. Unfortunately had the most disappointing experience here today 🙁.

I have visited few times in the past since 2018 and even went there in March this year. Recommended this restaurant to friends and colleagues interested in African and Caribbean cuisine.

During most recent visit, first observation was that the portion sizes were reduced. Two curry goat dishes ordered and one of them was significantly smaller than the other. This is something I can look past and wasn’t the main issue. Food tasted good. Isi Ewu which I had before was delicious.

Problem came with the bill. I had to ask them to provide an itemised breakdown as the total didn’t sound right. They overcharged on all items on the menu! When questioned, the proprietor / manager informed me that all items have gone up by £1 from what is advertised in the menu. They never informed us when they gave us the menu or took our order. Could move past this as well as conscious cost of ingredients may have increased. However, it wasn’t an increase of £1. For the curry goats which already was overpriced for portion size - they overcharged by £3 per dish (£17.50 in menu vs £20.50 charged).

The proprietor acknowledged when challenged and appeared to be surprised that they advertise the dishes for £17.50. How can you not be familiar with your own menu and pricing for one of your most popular and common dish? They also acknowledged it was embarrassing for them to overcharge on advertised pricing. Yet they decided not to take any corrective action such as charging the correct advertised price. This left a very bad taste in the mouth at the end of our dinner and felt scammed by an establishment I patronised and recommended repeatedly.

What was the point of this? You managed to overcharge me and make an extra £10-£12. As a result you now destroyed relationship with existing customers. Where I used to recommend this place, now I will advise my community and circle to avoid. Is this short-sighted dishonesty really worth it for your business?

Recommendation to other customers - Food tasted great but I would avoid for their mispricing, dishonesty and overcharging. If you do decide to dine here, check the itemised bill with a fine tooth comb.

Images attached to evidence past visits, prices advertised on their online menu (same as printed menu supplied) and...

I called this establishment to place an order. The gentleman on the phone was very abrupt, and told me he was busy (as I was trying to repeat my order to make sure he had got it right) and hung up the phone. I called back and told him I did not appreciate his conduct as I was simply trying to make an order. Upon arriving, the food was still not ready, despite making my order in advance I still had to wait for quite some time. To make matters worse, the portion size of the ogbono soup was something of a toddlers portion. The portion sizes have always been small, but this portion size was tiny! On the other hand, the lady/owner who cooks however is generally polite and friendly and does tend to cook the food in a timely manner. The younger male members of staff have also been pleasant in the past. It is a pity on this occasion that both the service and the food was really...

My general experience at this restaurant was good in terms of the customer service received. My waited was very helpful and attended to my every need positively10/10.In terms of the food... I chose options from the Caribbean section of the menu as I was very familiar with the cuisine, being a chef myself. However, I was not impressed. I had Jerked Chicken, Coleslaw and Fried Plantains.The portion size was ok but could have been better for a £14 pound meal. The flavour of the jerk sauce was the only thing that gave me the desire to finish eating the chicken. It was poorly seasoned and lacked flavour 3/10. I would like to try a dish from the African section of the menu to compare as I have very good reviews from friends prior to my visit. Not sure what went wrong or probably their speciality is...