SOUND Cafe — Restaurant in London

⭐☆☆☆☆

I have been coming to Sound Cafe and Hotel for over 14 years — catching up with friends, having coffee, working, and enjoying what used to be a warm, welcoming space. Unfortunately, that sense of comfort has been completely eroded due to repeated and appalling treatment by a security staff member named Mayqueen.

On multiple occasions, I’ve been approached by her in a rude, patronizing, and completely inappropriate manner. She has questioned why I’m there, how long I intend to stay, and even asked me to leave — simply because I was wearing a hooded garment (I wear hijab). Her tone has always been intrusive and condescending, and today was no different.

Today, during an extremely hot afternoon, I sat in the hotel lobby to cool down and have a drink. Within minutes, Mayqueen came over — not to offer help or check on anyone’s wellbeing, but to tell me: “I know you very well,” “I’ve seen you around,” and most offensively, “I’ll allow you to stay for a few minutes and then you have to leave.” She then made a judgmental and discriminatory comment about my hijab, suggesting that because I was wearing a “normal” one today, I could remain.

This is absolutely disgraceful behavior from any staff member, let alone someone representing a place that claims to value hospitality. I felt humiliated, judged, and completely unwelcome in a space I’ve supported for over a decade.

To be clear: I am a grown woman in my 40s. I have never caused any disruption. And yet I was treated like an unwelcome intruder — not once, but repeatedly — based purely on my appearance and clothing. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior, and it reflects very poorly on the management that it’s been allowed to continue.

Unless serious steps are taken to address this, I will not be returning — and I strongly urge anyone who values dignity, inclusion, and respect to think twice before supporting this...

Had a fantastic experience with the bottomless brunch today with my Fiancée. Neither of us had been to Hard Rock Cafe before but we had a gift brunch purchased for us so we decided to try it out. The atmosphere was great, spacious area with good varied music playing (not live). We were greeted by incredibly friendly hosts who seated us quickly. Our server was Alexa and she is the main reason for the 5 star rating. She was attentive, polite and friendly from start to finish. With the pandemic going on and servers wearing masks it can sometimes be hard to feel the friendliness from others but Alexa was just fantastic from start to finish. Our prosecco never got past halfway gone before she topped us up. She cleared our tables promptly and brought our food our fast, checking in multiple times throughout the meal to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and everything was good. Honestly, she made our experience an amazing one.

The food was good, chicken and waffles starter was tasty with crispy chicken and my fiancée enjoyed her nachos. The main was even better, my perfectly cooked New York strip was to die for and my fiancée couldn't make it though her burger because it was so good. She loved her cheesecake dessert also, and finished it even though she was full! I would say to avoid the banana pancakes for dessert though. They were the let down of the meal and felt like they had been prepared for a child. 6 thin slices of banana on hazelnut spread between the little pancakes. It was a weird dessert that was poorly presented and didn't taste great. They also forgot the blueberries which was disappointing but the ice cream that came with it was really good.

We would return 100%, though probably not at the full price as the dessert was a little bit of a let down for me. If you visit, try and get Alexa as your server if you want a nice, friendly atmosphere with...

Visited this venue last night with 2 friends. Alexa was serving our table who was very attentive. We were seated at the front near the stage, which was bright and airy. Toilets were beautifully clean and spacious - good opportunity to read and see the memorabilia factor of outfits and items from famous musical artists... Loved it.

There were a couple of issues where the sparking glass of rosé had to be changed 3 times, as there was absolutely no fizz in the first two.

I ordered a cheeseburger with bacon. Food took about 35 minutes to arrive - looked great. Unfortunately my burger was way too well done! I was not asked how I wanted it cooked, but I did not expect it to be so dry. I tried my friends and hers was moist, but my other friend also unfortunately had a dry overcooked burger.

We shared a tower of onion rings which were huge and crispy!! Highly recommended!! The food was just warm. I didn't complain, as I was soo hungry as I'd not eaten all day, saving my appetite for the evening and I didn't want to have to wait any longer. It was edible - though I gave up as it was just too dry .. such a shame, as I know it would have been great otherwise!¡

Friends had apple cobbler, brownie and I had a boozy milkshake which was just devine. Both desserts were extremely generously portioned, ideal to share - neither could finish their pud. I tried both and indeed they were seriously delish (I'm not a pud fan, but appreciate the desire for sweet treats).

The band played 2 sessions of covers and they were very engaging and certainly had talent. Other times there were music videos playing.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable experience that I'd most definitely do again....

Finally, I would suggest the staff should wear clear face coverings, as it's so difficult to understand what's being said in a venue with loud...