The Boathouse on the Lea — Restaurant in London

Picturesque spot - rude toilet obsessed Chef. Went to purchase a coffee today 01/06/25 - wanted to use the loo first which is advertised as for paying customers only. As I approached the door, the chef out on the main floor pointedly said,'Are you a customer?' My response: 'Not yet, but I was intending on getting a coffee' Chef: 'So buy the coffee first and then use the toilet' and pointed at the till. Me: 'Well, after that comment, I'll go to the pub down the road and buy a beer and use theirs'

So unbelievably rude. It's the only spot by the river, of course people need to use the toilet and will most probably purchase something. To ransom the toilet by enforcing people to purchase something first, cannot be seen to be a customer friendly approach.

We're now down the river at the anchor and hope, having drunk, donated and used the facilities several times, without any kind of security screening from any of the lovely staff here. Maybe the boathouse should come do staff...

One of the employees here seems to have an ongoing obsession with policing the bathroom. We ordered lunch, and when I went to use the toilet, I was loudly and rudely questioned about whether I’d actually ordered anything. I had.

This isn’t the first time, either — on a previous visit, my friend was shouted at for going near the bathroom. It’s completely inappropriate behaviour and creates an unwelcoming atmosphere for paying customers.

If you don’t want non-customers using the facilities, install a digital code lock. Yelling at people every time they approach the bathroom isn’t a good look. Never experienced anything like it. You think you’re going to have a pleasant brunch and find yourself in an episode of curb...

Manager and chef need a training on costumers service and health and safety. They are rude, they were shouting to a parent who ask to use the loo for his little girl, for no reason. The parent was happy to purchase something but the manager shout at him that he needs to go at the end of the queue, all the people on the queue were happy to let him pass so the little girl could use the toilet but she refused to serve him. At the top of this the chef while was shouting for no reason while touching the toilet handle and other dirty surfaces, came back in the kitchen and started to cook without washing his hands. Lack of...