The Haberdashery — Restaurant in London

Interesting menu, cute looking place, good food and quick service. Perhaps not the right place if you're alone and want to stay more than an hour. I'm giving it 2 stars due to the overall unpleasant experience I had with the owner, who asked me and a few other tables to leave because there was a queue of people waiting to be seated. That was merely 10 minutes after plates were cleared from the table and I was not even offered coffee or dessert.

Even the most high end places don't ask people to leave without warning them of a time constraint/reservation for the specific table.

The problem is that there was no queue, aside from the one for the toilet. Just poor management. By the time I reached the counter to pay, after waiting in the queue for the toilet for 15 minutes, there were so many empty tables that people were moving to better ones. I suppose that asking people to leave is effective at the time but it would be interesting to know how many of those who were asked to leave will be returning.

Had I been made aware from the start that there was a time constraint I would have left and gone back another time.

Hi Greg, having read your response I feel there are a couple of things I should reply to.

Firstly, I do not trash small businesses. I have been posting reviews for many years as you can see and the vast majority of my reviews are very positive. I did not say anything loudly, I merely stated the obvious while paying, that I was not there to argue but there was no queue.

Unfortunately, despite how lovely the cafe is, you, personally, made my experience today unpleasant. Not the food, not the staff. You very loudly and clearly said to 3 tables in the garden and adjacent area we needed to leave but could sit for another 5-10 minutes. Not 15. You made it sound like the queue was around the corner, like Dishoom. There was no queue whatsoever.

Secondly, it took me 15 minutes to get from the table to the counter because I had to wait in the very real queue for the single toilet. The Haberdashery can sit more than 40 people at a time so even though it was not full, there was a queue for the loo, where I waited before coming to pay.

Whatever the rules are in your restaurant, it is your responsibility to let your customers know. There was no sign in the garden that said I would be asked to leave. The lady who took my order did not mention anything to me about no laptops. It was not my intention to be rude or disrespectful, so why did your team not inform me straight away that it was a problem to have my laptop? Had I knows, I would have left. My laptop was on the table at the same time as I was offered the menu.

If the table I chose was a problem, why did your team not ask me to move to a smaller table straight away?

There was no sitting around for 35 minutes after my meal was over. I was working and eating at the same time from the moment I sat down and it was obvious from the start that I enjoyed the garden. What wasn't obvious was that it was a problem for you.

On average, a customer will spend 1h15 minutes having lunch. It sounds to me like you could do some research and train yourself and your team on managing time and allocating tables in a way that is more profitable to your business. Perhaps less rudeness and more upselling might help. I am sure there are plenty of resources online you can consult if you're interested. It is a long learning curve for every small business.

Please do not blame the customers for things that you could have prevented with better training and organisation. The good reviews you have so far attract many people. I regret that instead of being one of them I experienced something different. I hope I am the last one and that moving forward you are able to set the right procedures in place.

Wishing you every success in the...

I used to love this cafe, being a Crouch End local. However i had a disappointing experience and so I haven't gone back. It would seem that due to the cost of running a cafe in Crouch End and the level of competition they have, they are not so keen on single customers. I went for lunch by myself. I ordered straight away, ate straight away and then ordered another coffee. It was brought to me by the owner who said I had 10 minutes to drink it and then I would have to vacate the seat to enable other customers to come. Other people (couples or fours) who came at the same time as me were not being told the same thing. I would have completely understood if I had been there far too long, nursing a cup of coffee. But I had ordered a full lunch and had only just been given the coffee. I tried to reason with the owner but he was a little rude and refused to talk about it. I left straight away and he had the decency not to charge me for the coffee (which I had not drank). Such a shame as I used to be such a fan. So if you're a solo customer i'd try elsewhere, but if you're in a group its a good cafe.

In response to Greg. Greg i am surprised to read the lies you write - i had no book. And it is funny that you now say you remember me being there previously - on the day you said you did not realise i was a regular. Also very interesting that you lie to say i had previously brought books - it was the first time I had ever been there as a solo customer. What a shame Greg - I had previously thought you to be a decent person. But to make up lies about a customer is really...

Went here today and was very disappointed. Lots of staff but they seemed totally overwhelmed. Took a really long time (over half an hour perhaps) for our food to arrive and when it did it was disappointing. The 'Special Breakfast' was almost £10 and was a plate of really small portions, with tiny pancakes. I saw a table wait for ages for a cup of tea, only to have the wrong drinks brought to them. The queue got longer and longer and the staff looked unhappy and stressed out. When I went to pay I heard the assistant telling a man who I'd seen waiting in the queue for 10 minutes that they were too busy to do takeaway drinks. All in all a bit of a shambles. I don't like giving bad feedback, but when you pay £23 for bad food and dreadful service I feel it's justified.It's a shame as I've been here before for coffee and a basic sausage sandwich and it was OK, with fun decor, but feel I had to comment as I felt I and others were ripped off a bit in there today - all by a selection of staff who looked like they didn't want to be there.

EDIT response to owner

Hi there, as I pointed out on my initial, comment, I don't post negative comments lightly. I appreciate the small business angle but I don't believe this is a catch-all, excuse for poor service. And I don't believe a review on a service should come with a disclaimer of 'you need to raise the issue in person first'.In business of whatever size, if you are charging the public for something, whatever the product, then it is a business not a charity.

I...