Seabird — Restaurant in London

We celebrated our wedding anniversary at Seabird last night and had high expectations. It didn’t get off to the best start as when we arrived they were crazy busy and running late and asked us to wait on the ground floor and to grab a drink at the bar. About ten minutes we were told to head up to the restaurant. When we arrived it was buzzy, not packed but lively. We were escorted to the terrace and left with menus. We took in the views and read the menu from start to finish and waited….in the end we asked the hostess (thinking she was a waitress) if we could order drinks. She explained that she was a hostess and didn’t take orders but would find a waitress. She did and somebody arrivedj to take our order. She didn’t have a pen and so off she went. We finally managed to order and sat back taking in the view. Within less than ten minutes our food started arriving (seemed alarmingly quick) but no drinks. The drinks turned up a while after. I had ordered 1/2 a bottle of Chardonnay (£40) and it arrived in a carafe and with no way of keeping it cold. Given we are experiencing extremely high temperatures that seemed odd given the price of the wine. The food was good but not incredible and we enjoyed gin infused salmon, chorizo with honey (that really was delicious) sour dough with crab butter (yummy) calamari (the smallest calamari I’ve ever seen in both the size of the food and the portion) Iberico ham (I’ve had much better at the likes of Brindisa and local Spanish restaurants) croquetas (nice but not outstanding) and some chips (they were very good). Once we had finished it took an age to get our table cleared and that was with us asking. We then had to ask for the table to be wiped as chorizo oil was splattered and risked ruining my husbands’s white shirt. A second gin and tonic took over half an hour to arrive, it went on…. Again we had to ask to see a desert menu and there was a misunderstanding about the drinks we then ordered (we almost got tequila instead of Pedro Ximinez sherry)! The burnt cheesecake was nice but needed something like berries to cut through it. My husband’s chocolate mousse was unbearably bitter and he didn’t eat it. We were never offered coffee and promptly told that we needed to vacate our table. Needless to say we asked for the service charge to be removed from the bill which didn’t seem to come as a surprise! Did we have a nice evening? Yes, would I rush back, no! At £60 for a seabass main and £95 for lobster rice, it is expensive and the service falls far short of a restaurant charging these prices. The views (provided you are seated to enjoy them) are fabulous and we couldn’t have beaten the weather and sunset last night but Jay Rayner hits the nail on the head with his review and I only wish I’d read it...

Stunning setting on the top floor of the Hoxton hotel in Southwark. Go on a summers day for great views and a sunset that basks the place in gorgeous light. It’s seafood galore and London prices to match. The decor is classy, chic and comfortable. Floor-to-ceiling windows, velvet stools, wicker chairs, and marble tables. Bag a seat by the window to get an incredible view - the terrace in the summer time would be a lovely spot. Service is efficient and unintrusive. Always hard to deal with bigger groups, but the waiter nailed everything and was always there when needed. Cocktails ranged from £12 upwards, and I have to say they are some of the best. I have tried in the city. The Flamingo cocktail had beautifully balanced floral notes and the Bloody Mary had a depth of flavour I had never experienced before. We all ordered from the Oyster menu, which was extensive and really varying in taste. We tried every single one on the menu and they were delightful - some better than others of course. There isn’t really a ‘starter, main course’ concept - it’s more like ‘it will arrive when it’s ready’ which meant flurries of food, arrived at the table in quick succession, and appeared more Tapas like than a full main dish, which was fine after we had snacked on charcuterie and oysters. You kind of get a bit of everything. The tuna tartare was so fresh and delicious with the micro coriander, really giving it life. I opted for the lobster waffle and I was expecting a meat and sweet experience, but I found the waffle a little too sweet. However, there was a good amount of lobster which was cooked extremely well. It came with a side of caviar and some sort of cream which I smothered on making the dish a bit more savoury. I liked it but I wouldn’t have it again. My partner had the shrimp crumpet - crumpet could’ve been crispier, but very enjoyable all the same. Signature dessert of cheesecake was moreish and the bread-and-butter pudding style dish had this crunchy top to it - genius.

I would definitely go again and this time sample the all day menu. The one described above is the weekend brunch menu. All in all a really lovely experience and not a bad way to spend...

AVOID. The worst service I have experienced anywhere. We were staying at the hotel and went for a drink whilst we waited for our room to be ready and just generally watch the world go by, told by hotel staff to go straight up. Whilst waiting for the lift we were pounced on by some lady (she worked at seabird but not obvious), asking where we were going, confused we explained, she said well you haven’t checked in with the restaurants concierge, we explained we didn’t know we needed too. We were told don’t do it again. We then go upstairs and are ‘greeted’ by the cold hostess I’ve ever encountered. The restaurant was empty inside and several free tables on the terrace. We asked if we could sit outside (it was a lovely day) and were told no it’s for food only. We asked if we could sit there and would be happy to move if a walk in wanting food arrived, again we were told no. She then went to seat us at a table in the very middle of the restaurant, I asked if we could at least sit by a window, eye rolling and huffing. We sat down and as we were ordering our drinks we asked our waitress if we could move to a table next to the open doors, leading to the terrace, see pictures which would not interfere with other guests outside. All the internal tables were empty, see pictures/videos. She explained she needed to check with the host. The host said no. At this point we quickly finished our drinks (which may I add are overpriced I paid £17 for a cocktail which was very much syrup) and left. We explained when we were paying that the host is the worst, and the hostess told me we’re not the first to complain about her. She really needs training in customer service, and I hate to say it about a woman but she really does need to smile more! She is the face of seabird and I would never return because of her. FYI the hostess was evidently shown in the photo I took, in the...