TBC — Restaurant in London

I'm not one to write reviews but when somewhere is so bad, I can't help but feel the need to warn others. This is by far the worst place I have ever been to in Shoreditch. Please go elsewhere; Shoreditch is brimming with buzzing bars, restaurants and trendy hangouts that provide such a better atmosphere than this sad excuse for a venue.

With chairs scattered around, tables everywhere and, in some cases, 10 people around a tiny table meant for four, I almost felt like I was in a sixth form common room or a youth club. The clientele is the usual wannabe hipster type—which is utterly boring now. The Book Club puts too much emphasis on trying hard to be cool and quirky that it lacks edge, and instead provides us with an awfully dull setting that is way too loud to hear what anyone is saying, terrible service and a very mediocre menu.

I should point out that the worst thing by far about this place is the customer service. The young woman who manages the restaurant has no interpersonal skills and zero clues on how to run a bar:

We were sitting at a table for around 20 minutes and had even ordered food at the bar. The lady came over and told us in a very patronising tone that we needed to leave our table as it was apparently reserved. Given no warning, we had to vacate our spot ASAP—we weren't even given five minutes' leeway. We explained that this was not communicated to us and as paying guests who had just ordered food to arrive at our table, we needed somewhere to sit. But surprise surprise... she did not give one hoot. She suggested we look for another table but the only other two tables in the joint had poxy little reserved signs on them so we had nowhere to go. While we were trying to negotiate with the lady, the waiter came over and delivered us our first dish—a huge plate of chips and a burger—which one of us had to HOLD as we had nowhere to sit. The lady told us we could go and sit downstairs so we trundled downstairs balancing drinks, our stuff and that huge plate of food, only to find that when we got downstairs it was a dark, dingy, smelly basement with not a soul in sight, loud music and one or two tables dimly lit with candles. There was no way we were eating down there, it felt like a rat-infested dungeon in a horror movie; so we traipsed back upstairs and were greeted by the waiter with our party's second dish. We asked the manager for a third time what we were meant to do, and asked if we could perhaps bring a table up from the basement and two chairs so those of us with food could sit down and eat it, and she responded with a blunt "no". In the end, we took two chairs from a reserved table and sat against a wall eating our very average burgers.

I'm sorry but you do NOT tell paying customers who are expecting food that they have to get up and find somewhere else, and make them stand around holding their food and drinks looking for somewhere; fair enough if you're in a school canteen but not in a place that charges £10 for a burger and £7 for a laughably small glass of rosé. I've worked in hospitality and am of the opinion that the manager should have done everything she could to get us somewhere to sit and make us feel welcome, or at the very least have told us that she would do what she could but "it might be a few minutes' wait"; rather than turfing us out with no alternatives simply in order to prioritise people who may or may not even show up over people who are already drinking and eating in your venue. Absolutely DISGUSTING and I will not be returning. If that weren't enough, the bouncer on the door had a bad attitude and was very unwelcoming and rude.

Alternatively, you should head to The Grape Vine, Gloria Trattoria, Smokestak, Pizza East, Haché or Dishoom if you want some EXCEPTIONAL food; Dinerama, Strongroom, Boxpark or The Magic Roundabout for their buzzing outdoor areas; or McDonalds if you want better customer service...

A group of friends and I visited this club for one of their birthdays on Friday 12th January. While I acknowledge and accept being asked to leave due to being too drunk for the club, I was utterly dismayed by the behaviour of your bouncers. Despite the freezing temperatures, they refused to let me retrieve my coat. The tall male and short female bouncer that night were aggressive, combative, and disrespectful, and the comments they made to me and my friends left both the birthday girl and I in tears after they yelled at her that she was a bad friend for letting me get too drunk.

They held me alone outside without my coat in minus degree temperature while I desperately tried to contact my friends to come out and help me get my coat. As it was my first time at The Book Club, I couldn't accurately describe where I had left it and my friends couldn't find it either. I ended up leaving without it and despite contacting The Book Club about my coat, I have yet to receive a response. An article on your website states: "Everyone – from security, bar staff, servers, and DJs, our goal is to make every person feel safe and special." That is the absolute antithesis of our treatment that night from security.

It is completely and wholly demoralising to be treated with such contempt and the complete disregard for women's safety was deeply insulting despite this club priding itself on having diverse and inclusive events. If you are "too drunk" or in a group with someone "too drunk", you will be treated as less than human, and undeserving of common decency.

The customer service by the bouncers was appalling - I have seen the many negative comments about the bouncers which signals to me this is an ongoing issue; one that seems to not be a priority. I understand in many cases bouncers are hired from agencies but I still cannot negate the way we were treated. I would like to say that I hope for better customer service in the future however, I will not be returning here after the abhorrent way we were treated by the bouncers. In a time where women's safety is at the heart of most businesses, the issue of your bouncers needs to be resolved to help women feel safe at...

Denied re-entry despite having to leave to pursue someone who had taken my coat. Club has an issue with theft, and with intransigent bouncers who will not deviate from their no re-entry policy despite special circumstances.

Your cloakroom was full on the night and so I had to store my coat at a table. At the end of the evening, I discovered my coat had been taken. I saw someone wearing my coat moving towards the exit of the club and followed them out on to the street. I retrieved my coat from the person, and returned to the door, only to be told by a confrontational bouncer (who had seen me exit a minute earlier) that I was not allowed to re-enter.

I broadly understand why this policy is in place (although customers are stamped on entry, and so a person can be identified as having already paid). However what I was astounded by was the fact the bouncer refused to listen to my circumstances and flatly refused admission. I did not plan to leave - I was forced to leave by these circumstances, and so I told none of my friends I was leaving as I was in a rush. If I had been a vulnerable female, left out on the street without any of her friends knowing she had left, then this could have been a dangerous situation.

I clearly explained to the bouncer what had happened and explained I would write up my experience in this review, but he simply said he didn't care - this demonstrates that he has no fear that you will take any action to discipline him. This took place at approximately 0245 on Sunday 16/12 and I am sure you will be able to see CCTV of the situation at the entrance to the club, as well as the bouncer I was talking to.

It's clear from other reviews that you have a problem with your security staff, and that you are not acting to resolve the problem. Will not be returning to this club.

Update (09/02/19): You have all the information you need in my post to review the issue and so I will not be contacting you by email. You have only replied in order to give the impression to those reading this that you are taking action - your security's consistently bad behaviour makes it clear...