The Fox, Excel — Restaurant in London

Honestly, I really hate writing bad reviews, and I usually choose not to write one rather than post a negative comment. But unfortunately, this time I feel compelled to share my experience.

This review isn’t about the lovely blonde waitress or the bar staff. They were all fantastic and deserve 5 stars for their hard work and dedication. They did their best to make our visit pleasant, and I truly appreciate that.

We decided to give this place a try despite the negative reviews, thinking that sometimes people just have bad days. However, this review is mainly directed at the owner of the restaurant.

It feels like you don’t care about your restaurant, your staff, or, most importantly, your customers. The heating was broken, and instead of making sure customers stayed warm during these cold months, there was no effort to address the issue. We visited on Sunday, 10.11, and it was so cold that my parents were freezing. We were simply told to wear our winter jackets. The waitress, who was understanding, suggested we come back once the heating was fixed. Unfortunately, when we returned on 15.11, the heating still wasn’t working. This time, we decided to stay because my dad really wanted to enjoy some chicken wings on his last night.

It wasn’t as cold this time, thanks to the pub goers creating some warmth, but the atmosphere was even worse. The live music was so loud that we had to scream to hear each other, and I woke up this morning with no voice left. While the singing was amazing (10/10), the volume needs to be toned down. It’s a pub, yes, but it’s also a restaurant. If you have a designated “restaurant area,” treat it like one.

There was only one waitress doing everything. She was amazing, fast, and efficient. I don’t know her name, but she deserves a raise. She managed to take orders, deliver food and drinks, and even tried to clean tables. The fact that there wasn’t more staff to help in such a large place is frustrating, but she handled it well.

The bar staff was also incredibly friendly, which was a nice touch.

Now, about the food. Honestly, I’m at a loss for words. We paid £19 for a large portion of buffalo chicken wings, which should have been worth £10 at best. Buffalo wings should be saucy and flavorful, but these were underwhelming. The blue cheese sauce was dumped on the plate. We finished them because they didn’t taste bad, but they weren’t what we expected. I had the salmon with creamy spinach and mushroom orzo pasta. The salmon was dry and super bland. The “creamy” orzo pasta had no cream in it. It was just butter with a hint of parmesan cheese. There was hardly any spinach, and the 3-4 slices of mushrooms barely made a difference. The entire dish lacked flavor. Basil herb crust that didn’t even taste like basil, no seasoning at all.

I did mention this to the waitress, and she responded professionally by apologizing and checking with the kitchen. The cook claimed he put in double cream, but it was clear that wasn’t the case. Having worked in restaurants for years, I can tell the difference.

That being said, there were some highlights. The BBQ wings were delicious, and the chicken poppers were also tasty. The waitress, once again, was wonderful. She took the salmon away and brought me a perfectly made fish and chips, which was exactly what I was hoping for.

To the owner or managers, please take this feedback seriously. There shouldn’t only be one waitress working in such a large place. Get the heating fixed, and decide whether you want your venue to be a restaurant with live music or a nightclub. We want a great dining experience, and unfortunately, this visit left much...

Ok this is going to be an unusual one for me let's get down to the nitty-gritty. I was looked after by the lady in the photo who was very apologetic about the kitchen running out of onion rings. This unfortunate girl has been put into an environment where the heating has been purposely turned off, we know it's fully functional and management at the branch where are or the head office has told them to turn it off and keep it off. This girl was trying to hide the fact that she was cold, she still kept a smile on her face, but when the human body is cold you naturally subconsciously start doing things to keep yourself warm like shivering Which she was doing, and her shoulders went up and were nearly touching her ears that's how cold she was. 9 out of 10 times I've got equipment on me so I took a temperature reading it was 6 Celsius where I was sitting. The wooden table was cold. The wooden chair I was sitting on was cold. The fabric on the chair was cold. As you walked in from upstairs the coffee shop was reasonably heated but the second you went downstairs it was an igloo. The environment for this girl to work in is very poor. As a company including a chunky service charge if you are charging 16 pounds and 45 pence for a hamburger fries and no drink. Surely you can heat the building so it to feel more comfortable for the staff. It would seem the only bit of heat they get is if they're going to the kitchen to talk to the chef. As for the guy in the photo the lady had gone to lunch, the geezer in the photo swooped over from nowhere, first thing he said to me is are you finished I'll get you the bill. Then he realised he had put his foot in it, You didn't wait for me to finish chewing what was in my mouth I think he thought I was going to run away without paying, when I am in a karma frame of mind I will go back and have a discussion with him to change his...

Come and take a timestamped journey with me and my five friends as share some of the worst service we've collectively experienced:

8pm - we arrive at The Fox. 8:15pm - we're seated at a table. 8:30pm - we're provided with menus. 8:40pm - our orders are taken after hailing down an errant waiter. 9:30pm - orders still haven't arrived, we inform a waiter; he seemingly does nothing about it. 9:45pm - two of six orders arrive, including some other people's orders thrusted at us as if were in the wrong. 9:55pm - a disinterested and grumpy floor manager ambles up and after says she knows what the missing items are. 10:05pm - the same floor manager wanders up looking confused, asks us what's still missing, has to ask for the table number and crumples up the list of orders she had, meaning she was looking at the wrong order. 10:12pm - two more meals arrive, as well as some more incorrect side orders. 10:21pm - the floor manager ambles back over and asks again if there's any food still missing - you think she would know? Two meals remain outstanding. 10:24pm - two lukewarm pies with chips/mash finally arrive at the table; those of us that ate first are falling asleep, those of us only receiving their food now are ravenous. 10:32pm - we all wanted to leave an hour ago; we ask for the bill. 10:41pm - a waiter comes with the bill. He tries to charge us without showing us the bill; it's the wrong bill. He wanders away looking confused. 10:47pm - he returns with (almost) the right bill! It's missing a couple of rounds of beers which we don't mention. We pay. 10:51pm - we leave as fast as possible.

I was one of the "lucky" ones who got their food first, around an hour after ordering. I do not consider myself lucky. I wrote this during the time gap between finishing my food and my friends receiving their food.

Do...