O Calhau — Restaurant in London

We went here in March, anll ordered off the main menu and had a fabulous meal, the lady serving was also brilliant, so bubbly and friendly. It was so good we decided to go back again, this time, it was dreadful.

Firstly, the lady serving never cracked a smile the whole time we were there, she couldn’t be bothered to place our water glasses or cutlery on the table properly she just plonked them down on one part of the table.

When she brought out our plates with chips on, she slapped them on the table like your mother did when you were a child, she had absolutely no interest in giving good customer service. Now, for the food:

Two of us decided to try the set lunchtime menu, thinking the portions would be smaller, giving us room for a dessert. The third chose off the main menu, he had the black scabbard which he said was delicious.

From the set menu, we both went for the prawn cocktail and the marinated lamb skewers.

The prawns on the cocktail were so dry and small, the sauce had a vinegar taste, we didn’t eat them, very sub standard products. I don’t know if better quality produce is used when ordering from the main menu.

The lamb was presented on two skewers and looked lovely, we already had our chips and we also got a very very small dish of salad to share.

The server asked if we wanted our lamb removed from the skewers, we said “yes please”, one skewer the lamb came off easily, the second one was more difficult so she took it to another table to get it off, them plonked it back on the table in a dish.

Unfortunately, perhaps we were naive but we expected the marinated lamb to have been marinated in something like lemon, oil and mint, no, it was marinated in harissa, the bit I did try, before finding it was too hot, was very grisly, we both found it inedible. The server did offer to cook a steak but our mouths were tingling and our appetites had been ruined, we declined. The chips reminded us of frozen chips, crispy but very dry inside, also inedible.

We had one house red wine and one j2O.

So, for two inedible starters, two inedible mains, one very good main , one house red and one j2O the bill came up at £70, she knocked £10 off when I went to pay

We thought we had found a great restaurant to enjoy whenever visiting the area. This one we most definitely will not be on our...

Sincerely avoid this place at all cost! You will thank all those who have written honest independent reviews. I never leave bad reviews as I often feel any restaurant or any person can be having a bad day. It’s life and not everyone can be jolly all the time. Having said that “once can be mistake, twice is called a habit.” Any restaurant or hospitality establishment at the bare minimum has to deliver two simple things, decent food and good customer service, unfortunately this place doesn’t have either.

The food isn’t even close to be being decent or edible. It tasted old and stale. Which is a real shame as it does a huge disservice to those who know how good Portuguese food is and can be. Secondly, the heavy set lady (host or manager) who wears a black shirt, whom I believe others are referring to in the reviews, is truly absolutely awful. She has a serious attitude problem, she’s rude, she rolls her eyes at customers and speaks down to them as if they’re beneath her. She behaves like she’s doing customers a favour by dining there.

Furthermore, the fact that she is so brazen and makes you feel uncomfortable by talking/mocking you with other staff and the chefs in the open kitchen, who all look at you, is deeply shameful to all customers who are nothing but polite and courteous. There are many great Portuguese restaurants and cafes around. So I wouldn’t waste your time and money on ruining your evening by eating poor food and dealing with someone who shamelessly has a chip on...

I have been here many many times as we like the food despite the manager looking unfriendly and harsh. However, last time we went to get take away on Easter Sunday I was asked to pay without the bill. So I paid, but while waiting for the order I keep thinking why it’s so expensive, more expensive than when we are eating in...

I then asked the manager what I paid for as I did not have any receipt but she was not happy. I just found out that the Octopus listed on the menu as £10.95 has gone up to £12.95 as it’s Easter!! I also ordered prawns and mussels too so maybe the prices must have been up too but I have no idea how much as she didn’t give me the bill and was not interested in my query! I also ordered Carbonara from kids meal which she took as adults meal. It may have been a misunderstanding and I appreciate that she gave me back £4 for the Carbonara but the “price increase” from the Octopus and other stuff I didn’t get any refund or any APOLOGY that she DID NOT inform me that the prices had changed from the menu!! Actually I was too scared to ask for refund as they misinformed me due to the manager looking so upset with me!!!

So please be careful to check the prices you pay at this restaurant. Always ask for the bill and don’t assume that you’re a regular so they will treat you nicely. I am really really disappointed about this event. And sad that I lost this restaurant which is a shame as we like the food but the manager should change her attitude to people and don’t...