Opium Cocktail Bar - Soho — Restaurant in London

As two managers in the hospitality industry, my boyfriend and I love visiting places that are renowned for great drinks and/ or food and an all around great experience. I hadn’t been to Opium for a couple of years and suggested we attend last night, as I remember it being a good little spot. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived the service was dismissive and poor. The doorman was dismissive and seemed quite frankly stoned. When we walked up to the bar, we were seated in a crammed little space in the corner. I asked if we could sit nearer the bar, and were told there wasn’t any space right now. As the bar was not extremely busy, I decided to pop my head around and look, to find a row of six tables near the bar completely empty. I then asked again after my observation and we were told that the member of staff would have to ask his manager, he then came back and reluctantly seated us near the bar. Upon arriving at our table then told us ‘the table isn’t dirty it’s just sticky’ to which we didn’t know what to say. We both know that the table just isn’t clean, and is covered in some kind of sugar. It’s nothing some soapy water after closing or wiping the table in between customers won’t fix. We ordered our drinks and our server was not very engaging at all, and seemed bored by the entire experience. We ordered a ru de La mode and an opium no 10. I must say, these were quite underwhelming. The ru de La mode was a nicely balanced cocktail with a delicious caramelised banana garnish, however, the opium no 10 was very sweet and didn’t let the flavours of the spirits shine through, so was overpoweringly sickly. It seemed to be all style, no substance. We tried to engage with our server and were playfully asking for another banana garnish as we said how delicious it was and he looked bored and said ‘it’s just caramelised banana’ (yes, we know that, but due to our poor experience so far, that was your opportunity to engage with the customers and be passionate about the cocktails: a test you failed). He then said he would ask management to see if we could have another garnish (!) and we watched as he spent a minute floating around the bar and spoke to no one, then came back and said it was too busy (it was not). As I said, we both work in service management and we know this is not a big ask. We asked for the bill and it came to just under £35.00. When you are charging these kinds of prices for cocktails, London or not - it’s not just the skill of the mixologist you are paying for, it’s the service, atmosphere and all over holistic experience. We were willing to spend quite a bit of money, but Opium just fell short of the mark with poor service and atmosphere. We ended up in Cahoots after until closing where I must say in comparison the quality of the service, the craftsmanship of the cocktails and the overall atmosphere was infinitely better. We won’t be returning any time soon unfortunately, which is a shame because this used to be a great bar. It’s become a victim of the snake eating its own head. When some bars get a reputation for being good, they get wrapped up in their own pretentiousness and the service quality drops, forgetting to put the customer first and caring only about ego. This is sadly one of...

Unfortunately I cannot say a good word about this bar - from entry to exit, the staff were incredibly rude. The doorman was incredibly unpleasant when myself, and multiple other potential customers, had asked simple questions in a polite manner. When I asked if there was space for 2, he pointed at the back of the queue gesturing me to join in, but without muttering a word of response. When I asked again if there was space, he raised his voice and said "that's the queue..." to which I almost thought he was joking and asked again how long it would be to join. To this, he said "I could say, but I think it'll be much shorter than I think so I'm not going to". At this point, my friend cracked a joke and we joined a short queue and laughed off how bizarre the encounter was. In hindsight, this was foreshadowing what was to come and we should have just left.

Once inside, we were shown to a table in a bar where around 40% of the seats on show were empty and told we had an hour - this was fine, we were only stopping for one or two drinks. The cocktails arrived and were pleasant, but nothing to write home about given the amount of talent in the surrounding area. The bar doesn't quite look like the photos anymore, and could do with a bit of a much needed touch up. 20 minutes from sitting down, a waiter came over and suggested that we order another drink, otherwise we wouldn't have time to drink the second one. We politely declined given that we'd only had a few sips from our current drinks that had just arrived.

My friend then wished to join us from outside and, given we were sat at a stretch of empty tables with another space to squeeze one more whilst we finished our drinks, I had asked if it was possible to let him in to join us for 5 minutes. Of course, given the attitude we had received up to this point, it was unsurprising the answer was no. I'll leave it to my friend to review the aggressive exchange between himself and the doorman. Given all this, I had asked to remove the optional service charge from the bill (first time ever having done this!) to which I was subjected to brash questioning about why - I explained all the above and no apology or explanation given, just further critique.

Moved on to Milroy's (more quaint, nicer cocktails and service) and Art Theatre Club (friendlier service, live music) to...

We recently visited this place, and while we were aware of their minimum spend policy, the way it was enforced left a lot to be desired. Rules like that are understandable, but the attitude and approach of the staff completely ruined the experience. From the moment we sat down, the waiters made it very clear—almost aggressively—that we had to meet the minimum spend. Instead of explaining it in a welcoming or professional manner, they put so much pressure on us that it felt like we were being rushed through the whole experience.

We had hoped for a relaxed evening, but instead, we felt hurried and watched the entire time, as though we weren’t welcome unless we ordered quickly and spent enough. It was uncomfortable and definitely not the kind of environment where you could unwind and enjoy your drink.

What made matters worse was that they brought the bill to our table before we even finished our final drink. That came across as incredibly rude and dismissive, as though they were eager to get us out as soon as possible. It’s not the kind of service you’d expect from a place that markets itself as upscale.

Speaking of marketing, the website portrays this place as a luxurious, refined venue, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. Don’t be fooled by the pretentious imagery and descriptions—they want you to think it’s something special, but in reality, it’s just a money-grab. They seem far more interested in turning tables and maximizing revenue than in providing a good experience for their customers.

To top it all off, the drinks were mediocre at best. For the prices they charge and the vibe they try to sell, I expected far better. Unfortunately, it was all style and no substance. If you’re looking for a genuinely enjoyable, relaxed, or high-quality experience, I’d suggest...