No 1a Duke Street — Restaurant in London

I wouldn't recommend going here on a Saturday evening if you want a nice dinner . They were clearly overwhelmed and had 2 large groups of people who they were trying to keep happy all night with drinks etc..... When we arrived it didn't feel very organised. The security guard saw us standing for a while at the entrance and decided to go into the restaurant himself to get someone to attend to us. The manager turned us away as we were 15 mins early (fair enough). When we returned we noticed a couple who weren't waiting had been given the empty seats by the entrance to wait for their meal. Just ignored it but wondered why we weren't offered them. We returned and he seemed to have forgotten us already (If you're busy , that's also fair enough). We gave him our details and were directed to our seat. At this point , I was just looking forward to a nice meal. The cocktail and the main meal I chose were out of stock (fair enough again, if you're really busy) so I chose something else. I could see the manager was stressed so I tried to make light conversation and he gestured his hand as to say 'hurry up' and said' just tell me what you want' . I was a little taken a back and assumed I might have misheard him a bit but my friend said that was a little rude also. Still, I wasn't annoyed at this point. Had my chicken pie and pulled out 2 huge pieces of chicken skin so was put off my meal. They asked me if I didn't enjoy my meal as I left most of it and I just said I was full as didn't want to complain. Then we weren't offered another drink or desert in the whole 2.5 -3 hours we were there. When we noticed that no-one was coming to offer desert we approached a staff member and then was told the kitchen had closed. At this point we couldn't hide our disappointment. We asked that the manager come to our table and we saw his colleague ask him. He looked at us and ignored us for the next 15 mins. By now we just started to feel uncomfortable and wanted to leave lol. When he came over he listened to my friend and strangely said absolutely nothing, not even an apology. Then came back still in absolute silence and a stern face and placed an adjusted bill on the table. I believe £25 was taken off the bill, can't remember exactly but around that. . This to be honest made me quite upset. We had been polite all night, had taken everything on the chin trying to not make the manager not feel bad and to get that at the end was a slap in the face. I honestly just wanted to run out of there because he made us feel so awkward. I normally cannot be bothered to leave bad reviews but not getting an apology just really annoyed me to be honest. If he had been apologetic and just explained he was busy or something we would have been fine. We didn't even want a discount . It was weird that he just did that and assumed that would make us happy.

Seeing the good reviews from others has made me realise we weren't treated very nicely at all. I've had people forget my meal, burn it etc and never got annoyed but this encounter just seemed to bug me. Very awkward. I live in Richmond but will be avoiding this...

From my first visit to the No 1a Duke Street, though I have yet to savor the menu fully, I am compelled to commend the exceptional service and welcoming ambiance. The staff, led by the delightful Olta, extend a warm, genuine welcome that sets a high standard for customer service. Olta graciously showed me several comfortable seating areas within the restaurant, each offering a unique and cozy atmosphere, perfect for settling down with a laptop. The presence of a fireplace adds a touch of homely charm that enhances the overall experience on this spring day.

What’s particularly impressive about No 1a Duke Street is their attention to inclusivity and variety in their menu options. For those with specific dietary preferences or requirements, they offer an array of vegetarian and plant-based dishes, and they cater to gluten-free needs with alternatives like gluten-free buns and sourdough bread. The Burger + Pint special on Tuesdays sounds like a tempting offer, providing a house burger with fries and a choice of a pint, glass of house wine, or soft drink at a value that's hard to overlook at £17.5. For those who are gluten-sensitive or intolerant or Celiac: the burger meat contains wheat as a binder!

The staff's proactive approach in ensuring that every guest feels noticed and valued—even though they were unaware that I had already been assisted by Olta—speaks volumes about their dedication to customer satisfaction.

While my full dining experience at No 1a Duke Street awaits a future visit, the initial impressions suggest that this restaurant is not just about food, but about creating a memorable experience for all who step through their doors. If the quality of the food matches the quality of service and the charm of the setting, I’ll become a regular when I’m in the Richmond area.

Update: I’ve returned numerous times since writing my initial review, and updated the ‘stars’ to reflect the food...

Believe every negative review you read about this place.

I was sceptical as there are mixed reviews on Trip Advisor but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. What a mistake!

My friend had been desperate to go and since it was her birthday we decided to book a table for lunch which was the 23rd November. When we arrived we were left waiting in the entrance area and ignored by staff. We had to go up to the bar to be acknowledged by the three staff members we could see to be seated (when I say seated, we were pointed in the direction of the table with a grunt). When seated we weren’t given any menus, water, told of any specials or greeted by any waiting staff. I had to stand up to ask for menus and to order drinks and food. When the food did arrive it really was nothing special and certainly not worth the prices we paid. We weren’t asked how the food was or checked back on.

We decided against pudding since we couldn't be bothered to get the fog horns out of our bags to ask for the dessert menu and when I finally asked for the bill, I had to wait for the waitress to open her personal Amazon parcel of a Nintendo switch in the bar area before she could oblige. When the bill did come, they’d added service charge onto the bill which I asked to be taken off. A very sarcastic member of staff rolled his eyes at me! You would expect the manager or someone else to come over and check as to why I’d asked for the service charge to be taken off as clearly there was a problem but no-one asked.

Genuinely can’t believe the experience we had.I have a feeling the staff here are in the wrong industry as I felt like I was inconveniencing them when asking for menus/the bill/drinks. Don’t waste your money and go somewhere else for food. It should have been a lovely lunch celebrating my friend’s birthday. We left feeling very disappointed...