Owl & Pussycat — Restaurant in London

I have never left a review for any establishment before, but the experience at The Owl and Pussycat was so laughably poor that I felt compelled to warn others. Our evening was utterly ruined by a series of inexcusable mistakes and a total lack of professionalism.

To begin, we had booked a table for a catchup with a friend I haven't seen in years, only to discover that the upstairs room was double-booked for two separate events. As a result, we were relegated to a makeshift table tucked awkwardly away at the bar—clearly an afterthought. The staff made us feel like an inconvenience from the moment we arrived, as if our presence was a burden rather than a valued booking.

The service was chaotic. Our starters and mains arrived at the same time, with one starter inexplicably appearing after the mains had already been served. The sides were incorrect, and to add insult to injury, the mashed potatoes arrived well after we had finished our main course, having been forgotten entirely.

The food itself was disappointing. The peppercorn sauce was nothing more than watery gravy, and the steak—which was clearly a cheap cut—was so tough it was nearly inedible. The quality and execution of the dishes were simply not what you would expect from a restaurant of this reputation.

Our location by the bar was a disaster. Every time a member of our party tried to get a drink, they bumped into our table, and at one point, a beer was spilled over our jackets as we sat there. This was not only uncomfortable but entirely avoidable with better planning and respect for guests.

The final straw was the unprofessionalism of the staff. When we asked the waiter which steak was which (due to different sides), he swore in frustration, exclaiming, “S*, I probably should have checked.” This is not the kind of language or attitude any customer should have to endure.

It is a shame because The Owl and Pussycat used to be a safe bet, but after this experience, I will never return. I will be actively recommending against this pub in the future. My advice to the management: if you can’t adequately wait on a booking, don’t take it. I hope the kitchen and wait staff seriously reevaluate their protocols and policies before they lose any more customers.

Thank you for ruining what should have been a nice evening. I hope you take this feedback seriously and make the...

Faulty Towers would be a better experience than this. Went with two other friends for a Sunday roast and at the start of the afternoon we were placed upstairs as part of a baby shower. Very noisy and we felt we were intruding on a private party. So after asking for a table downstairs (which we had to ask two people) we got a table downstairs, ordered our food and a bottle of wine. All good. My friend ordered a steak (medium) and when it came out it was well done. We told the waitress and said "ordered this as a medium, came out well done" she then took the plate away. A minute later came back and said "sorry did you want this well done". Explained again, ordered it medium, it came out well done. Ten minutes later another waiter came out and said "the chef said this is medium, can I ask how u want it done". He had the plate in his hand with the steak cut through the middle which showed a tiny sliver of pink. This didn't run throughout. In order to not delay our lunch we just stuck with what we had and didn't reorder the steak. My other friend then asked for a jug of gravy, as there was minimal on the plate and didn't get brought out on the side originally. We asked for this three times, to two different waiters, and by the time it finally arrived my friends food was cold. So moving onto dessert - on the menu they offer apple crumble where the tagline is "the crumble guy will find you, you don't find him". An hour after our plates being cleared the crumble guy had served at least two other tables with dessert and no one had approached us asking if we wanted anything else. We asked Luke, who doubles up as crumble guy and our waiter why we hadn't been asked about dessert and his response was that he was serving upstairs and wasn't actually working downstairs. Yet he had served everyone around us (and us!) This is the first time that I've felt so disappointed in an establishment to leave a review this bad. But it was a really awful experience. After reading Trip Advisor I'm not alone here. Something seriously...

My partner and I hired the upstairs room for a private event. There were serious communication issues between the staff we met in advance who arranged the booking and those working on the day.

We had been told we were hiring the entire upstairs room but arrived to find another party were sharing the space. No one had told us in advance.

The table/seating layout was completely different to what had been agreed. All the tables & chairs had been lined up around the edge of the room into one large horse shoe shape like a childrens party.

No one had any record of the minimum spend we had agreed (£1,750) and instead told us the minimum spend was £7,000. Which would put them way above market for a space of that size. Another member of staff later told us the minimum spend was £5,000. It should be noted that they actually waived the minimum spend completely given we were sharing the space. So there is clearly an issue with their private booking process.

The manager (I don't believe he was the manager) was completely out of his depth having the conversation and took a very defensive stance implying they had done nothing wrong and suggesting that he knew nothing about the details of the booking.

We were told we had the space until close (midnight) but at 10:56 were told it was last orders. At 11pm sharp the doorman started yelling at everyone to leave/move downstairs where there was standing room only (not ideal given we had some elderly guests with us).

The bar staff were good and the food/drinks were nice but the overall experience was very poor and compounded by a terrible reaction from management.

Avoid the private hire...