Maya Lounge — Restaurant in London

Worst experience ever! Hair in food and very rude Manager!

I went out with my finance and cousin. We encountered issues right from the start. When we arrived, we were told to sit at a table for 2 even though we had reserved a table for 3 and had even paid a deposit. When we were shown our table of 2, we expressed that our booking was for 3. However, we were told that regardless, this was the only table available and that if we were not happy with it there is nothing that they can do.

We then expressed that we had made a booking for 3 people and paid a deposit ahead and were therefore surprised that we would be asked to manage a table of 2. In the midst of this, we saw a table of 3/4 become available which we asked to sit on and was initially told no, that it was reserved. The irony of this was that we had made a reservation but did not have a table reserved. It took some back and forth and us sharing that we were deeply unsatisfied before they reluctantly said we could sit at that table.

I was ready to excuse this issue and enjoy the rest of the night however while dining, my cousin found a strand of hair in her food, which is a clear lapse in food hygiene standards. Before calling this to the attention of the manager we checked that the hair was not ours and indeed it was not, we have black hair, and this hair was a long light brown strand. When my fiancé brought this issue to the attention of the manager Azem, I expected a professional and understanding response. However, we were met with dismissiveness and rudeness instead. Azem came over and asked to see the hair which we gave him, he held it up, took out his phone with the flashlight on and replied, “the hair is not even dirty” and threw the hair away. On top of this Azem told us that the hair was not from his kitchen as the chefs were male therefore it’s not his problem. I have never been so shocked at such response before. I explained to him that the hair is long and light brown so it’s clearly not ours, he agreed that the hair was not ours but said it was not theirs either so not his issue to deal with. Horrified at such response we wanted to leave there and then. However, my cousin had come from America, and we really didn’t want the night to be cut short so we asked for another plate. Azem replied with no that he cannot give us a new plate because the hair was not their fault. Eventually after a lot of back and forth and us saying we are going to leave; with much reluctance and rudeness he said he will get us another plate. The lack of courtesy and accountability from the manager Azem left us all feeling deeply disrespected and unheard.

As a paying customer, I believe it is reasonable to expect not only food prepared in a clean environment but also respectful treatment when raising legitimate concerns. Unfortunately, neither of these expectations were met during our visit.

At the end of our dinner, we went to speak to Azem to share how disappointed we were with the service and treatment we received. We had hoped that maybe at this point Azem may be willing to take some accountability and we could have amicably sorted this out. However, Azem was completely rude and disrespectful and told us that he doesn’t care how we felt that the hair is not theirs and so he we will not apologise, and we should just deal with it. We asked to speak to his superior, but he told us that he was the manager and so there was no one we could report him to.

It was such a horrible experience I would not recommend Maya...

I walked in Maya Lounge for the first time on a Saturday Night without a booking, the gentleman at the entrance which I believe is one of the owners have kindly checked if there’s any availability for me and my partner, he informed us that minimum spend is 60£ per person, I’ve told him, no problem at all.

We’ve been told by the waiter that we can not stay more than 2 hours, however “i will try to push it more” the waiter said.

We’ve order some cocktails, and the guy was very pushy so we’ve ordered more.

He asked me about food, I said that I don’t feel like eating right now but definitely I don’t want to leave the place without eating.

We had to move around because other people started to show up for their booking.

Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes later I called the waiter to order food, the waiter goes back and forth between me and the other owner, and ultimately he comes back with the bill and a card machine asking me to leave immediately because I’ve stayed at the table to long. He enforced me to pay and leave !

Surely, I’ve showed my gratitude for the time I’ve been given consider the fact that I had no booking.

The bill came 135£, I’ve asked the waiter to charge me more and keep the difference as a tip, he said he is embarrassed by the situation and under no circumstances he will take any money of me.

I paid and we left. When we’ve arrived home I’ve ordered some take away food, and than I realised that We actually didn’t eat at the restaurant and I was wondering what have I paid 135£ for ?

1 cocktail 13.50£x6= 81£ 1 bottle of water=9 £ Total=90£ Standard Table Cover= 30£ And the difference is service charge( which I was happy with)

We’ve had 6 cocktails and a bottle of water, and to my surprise there’s an extra charge for “Standard Table Cover” surely the next day I called back to find what’s that about and their answer is this “because you’ve ordered less than 60£ each, we’ve charged you extra anyway !!!”

Note that NOBODY have mentioned that, and NOBODY actually told me during my sitting in the restaurant that I’m running out of time and if I don’t order I’ll be charged anyway !!!

That’s why they didn’t allow me to order food at the end, so they can rip me off !

PS “ I do not care about the amount, but I don’t believe that 33% of the bill should go on non value stuff, or to be taken by the owner for free !!!

I believe the customers must be informed by the staff if they are being charged anyway, so they might consider ordering earlier or take away !

I will give a total of 2 stars, 1 star for the place, and one more star for the waiter and the way they meet and greet customers.

Note that the owner did not want to resolve this little issue, which seems like they don’t care about customer’s experience.

For me it was the first and most probably the last time.

I don’t recommend the place simply because i believe that actions reveals character, and if they are “stealing” money from customers, than who knows what else...

We were a group of 31, and we informed the restaurant we were coming one month beforehand to celebrate my daughter's bday. On arrival, the environment was lovely. the seating area well accommodated all of us. As it was in the week, it was not busy at all.

Unfortunately, the quality of services was atrocious, we arrived between 7, and food orders were all taken by 7.30/7.45pm. food was delivered to the tables 1 hour to 1hr 30 after ordering, totally shocking, some of our party did not recieve all their food, when it did come it was COLD, or dry as it was sitting on the hotplate. When we asked what the issue was, we were told there was only 1 chef!

When we said the food was cold, they took it back and microwaved it. Imagine the taste of microwaved fried chips #yuk!

I can not even be bothered to write the full experience because it was so shocking, when we came to pay, they refused to give me a separated drinks menu, and food menu, as the quality of food and service was so poor, my party did not feel it warranted full payment. The lead waiter rudely stated that "Everyone ate the food, then put his hand in my face to tell me not to talk. "... ermmm NO, there was a high element of women should not talk to men in an authorative way culture within this restaurant. I believed he forgot that I was the consumer in the restaurant he worked in.... once he changed his tone, we were able to negotiate a price to be paid with a high discount accommodated for, the only reason this resturant recieved any money was because it was my daughter's birthday and didn't want to ruin the experience any more than it already had been with the quality of food and service being so poor.

Large bookings can only accommodate 3 card payments, so this was another problem as everyone (31 people) was paying their share by card.

We will never return back to this place but if you do go and plan on bringing a large party please ensure you bring cash with you / ensure when making the booking you get the correct information of payment as this is ANOTHER thing they failed to me...