Players Social - Spitalfields Bar, Restaurant and Games — Restaurant in London

Would be 4 stars however it was my 2nd time and service could do with improvement along with simple allergy knowledge or reassurance about my order being okay for me to eat. The food was good (had two steaks me and who I was with and we both enjoyed it, good piece of meat and lots of fries nice basic salad as well) however issue was with people serving, really wasn’t great. First time I came it was super busy had a table but no one came for 25mins ended up leaving. Came back with someone else a few months later on Monday at 2pm nice and quiet so service should be okay. Explaining to the waitress I have a dairy allergy and her asking how severe it was really was nottttt reassuring!! Really should not be asked the severity when I declare a literal allergy but moving on. I understood there is a new menu yet no note, no enthusiasm, zerooo confidence in what she wasn’t even trying to reassure me, she really did hate her job was super easy to see there were not even any other customers when we arrived. I had to explain that the chef needs to know all ingredients should be checked and legally there should be an allergy menu declaring what has what so she can see and check that as well with the chef, something extremely basic with waitressing just letting chef know ask questions and so on. I really was not confident I even had to say to her that she was not filling me with confidence that with a SIMPLE allergy that I would be okay, it’s an easy check or just simple reassurance or details laid out to me how it may be cross contaminated or something but nothing just zero cares. Was hard to grab attention for anything we needed or the rest of our simple order unfortunately and it was such an empty place. As me and the person I was with stayed for a surprisingly 7/8 hours mainly talking having some drinks after food we had a change of waitress who was a lot nicer and cared a bit more, I explained the issue with the other waitress about a simple allergy and straight away she took note of an allergy even though I wasn’t even ordering food anymore. Anyways the other waitress was quite nice, spoke to her for not long and learnt she doesn’t earn much there (maybe have forced her to say it haha) so we took off service charge and made sure to tip her well as she always had eyes to see if we wanted anything else cleared table quickly, very simple but noticed. Working in hospitality myself service charge is great especially for those not front of house yet still work hard, however when being asked pretty much how allergic am I to dairy and it not taken overly seriously to check or having to explain what she has to do in her job to check it’s extremely disappointing and frustrating, especially as she wasn’t new, even after it was checked she really wasn’t caring as much, she really just hated her job...

My recent visit here (29/7/25) left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. We were down in London for my son's 18th (with grandparents and sibling) and had dinner further up at the Grocer (excellent service and food) and decided to call in for a game of darts on the way back to the hotel. The girl on the "door" told me it was £10 per hour which is fine, though of course "up north" darts is free in every pub, but hey ho it is what it is. My two boys (18 and 14) played. I wasn't that bothered and nor was my Dad but the 14 year old entered our names on the scoring system. We were placed on the board by the toilets so were jostled every time someone went to the bathroom (even though the board on the far side was empty). The birthday boy wanted to use his new darts but you have to use the darts provided for electronic scoring. The game shut down after an hour and I went to pay - for 1 x lemonade, 3 x beers, 1 x vodka orange plus darts it was £108. I commented to the young man that was ridiculous and his comment was "Shoreditch mate!". I then noticed that we had paid £40 for darts - so it is not £10 per hour as advised, it is £10 per person per hour. A more friendly member of staff came and refunded me for two people, much to the disgust of the young man serving, telling me he cannot go lower. But still it should have just been £10 only. A lesson learned as I won't go in there again. They have a new place across the way that I swerved last night. But the reason for my review is this - as we were waiting for the two grans to visit the bathroom the two boys slid a few pucks on the shuffle board table as they waited. The unhelpful ("Shoreditch mate") staff member came over with his Ipad and said "That will be £10 per hour, per person". Evidently the mantra from the owners is not to provide excellent customer service but to milk each customer for as much as they can. With all the options in the area it is very easy to find a better...

My friends and I visited Player Spitalfields for the first time, and it’s safe to say it will likely be our last. Our evening began with a lackluster welcome as we arrived shortly before 10 pm. Despite our anticipation for a relaxing drink, we were met with neglect as no one attended to take our order. When my friend attempted to order at the bar, she was rudely dismissed with the assurance that someone would eventually attend to us.

After a prolonged wait, our orders were finally taken, only to be followed by another delay of about 15 minutes before our drinks arrived. To add insult to injury, when we mentioned the absence of sparkling water, our server disappeared to fetch it, only to be found chatting with friends at a neighboring table, deeming our wait acceptable.

As the clock neared 10:30 pm, we were informed about the last order, prompting us to hastily place our final drink request. However, our enjoyment was short-lived as we were handed plastic cups and informed that the establishment was closing, barely 15 minutes before the scheduled closing time of 11 pm.

Having worked in restaurant management for a decade, I typically reserve my feedback for positive experiences. However, the unwelcoming and rushed atmosphere at Player Spitalfields left us feeling disappointed and undervalued. It’s disheartening to witness such a lack of professionalism and customer care, especially in a venue with potential.

Ultimately, our evening was marred by the subpar service and hastiness of the staff, leaving us regretting our decision to visit Player Spitalfields. It’s evident that improvements are needed, particularly in staff training and customer relations, to uphold the reputation of the establishment and ensure a pleasant experience...