The Magic Garden — Restaurant in London

A friends salsa band was playing. So I took some friends down. Got scammed by the bar girl. £10 for two fentimans Rose lemonade. The price surprised me so I asked her to confirm, then paid. Needless to say i asked a different bar person the next time. Suspicions confirmed, I brought it up with the bar manager who gave me another drink. Venue great, band was good. Just watch those bar girls. For the record I worked in bars and clubs through Uni and after, I know its survival but stealing from your customers will not help you, and she was so barefaced and calculating about it. I’m not going to lie, it soured the evening a lot for me. If the price doesn't feel right check with someone else. Be safe out there.

Dear Team MG,

I appreciate your response. I can only go by my experience, and i do not throw accusations around lightly. I do not drink alcohol so started by asking what non alchoholic drinks were served. I saw the lemonade and asked for that. Most people experienced or not would realise a lemonade wouldn't cost five pounds. Another member of staff when i returned to the bar said he would check the price before confirming with me. I appreciate your manager rectifying the situation once he was aware of it. Had it been me I would have found the customer and apologised, this young lady studiously avoided me.

Your venue is cool and the rest of your staff from the other bar people to the doormen all lovely. It was my first time so I am happy to leave it as one unfortunate experience, I am in no way implying the venue as a whole condoned that behaviour. While I hadn't intended to be harsh, it was my experience, and it tainted my first time at your establishment. Not withstanding, I recommended your venue to two different groups of people on the way home that night. Again thank you for taking the time to respond it is...

Booked a space for 15, months in advance to celebrate my birthday

Pros: We arrived 25 mins late and the team were kind to hold our space when I informed them I was running late Large quirky outdoor area Bring your own food Good prices and tasty cocktails

Cons: The space for 15 was actually two benches that could fit 6 people. I voiced my concerns to the manager as other tables who had booked for similar numbers had been given large dedicated areas. His response was to keep referring to the terms & conditions and they can’t guarantee seating for all on busy days like this. The confirmation email states “your reserved area will include a combination of seating and standing space. Don’t worry there will be plenty of space for you and your guests” 6 seats for 15 people on a busy night, where do you expect people to stand? We noticed a group was leaving and no other booking signs were propped up so we moved to a much larger table. The management could have easily done this for us to begin with but seemed like they didn’t care given how “busy” they were anyway My partner had brought a cake along and asked if they could store it. The immediate response was yes but you can’t sing happy birthday in the garden due to noise complaints. First time I’ve heard that but I’m guessing they have a valid reason for this. Staff came twice asking whose birthday it was and strictly informing the whole group to not sing happy birthday (we hadn’t even brought out the cake yet). When my friend was queuing to get in and said he’s joining our party, he was reminded again not to sing happy birthday. Fair to say we were put off by cutting the cake there altogether and moved to the next venue who were very...

The only thing magic was the wait.

Let's start with the good: the bouncers were friendly and helpful, especially when I left and asked for a refund.

And now for the bad: if you arrive on Saturday after 7.30pm (or maybe earlier) it's £7 to get in. £7 to get into a pub. At this point I would've turned back but it was a friend's birthday so I paid up.

Next I get to the bar and, without exaggerating, I had to wait 20 minutes to get served. I wasn't rude, I wasn't making a fuss, I waited trying to catch the eye of the bar staff but still it took 20 minutes. There's a clock facing you when you're at the bar, that's how I knew.

It became so farcical the wait, that even the guy stood to my left commented on how long I had been waiting and began trying to help me get served next.

Finally when my blessed moment arrived and I ordered, I tried to pay by card. "Sorry, there's a £5 minimum on cards". At which point I laughed inside while my blood boiled and I left.

On the way out I asked for a refund and thankfully the bouncers and guy in the payment booth agreed.

It's a shame there are no other pubs anywhere in London that are free to get in to, and where you can be served quickly, otherwise I would go to them and never return to the Magic Garden.

Oh wait, that's exactly...