The Marlborough — Restaurant in London

The Marlborough is a lovely pub but definitely not right for an event. We had our wedding reception with 30 people in the Garden Room in August 2022. We booked it in March and it took until July to finally have a menu finalised. We asked for vegan options early on and gave them details of allergies but there was a lack of communication to the point at which my husband and I had to go to the pub because we weren't getting answers via email. We would respond immediately to emails and then not hear anything for weeks. The events organiser actually confused us for another event at one point and repeatedly said one thing over the phone and then something different via email, completely confusing us. He also called my husband, promised him things and took details and then called me, backtracking on what my husband had said and trying to get me to agree to something my husband has very clearly said no to. Eventually they did provide an extensive vegan menu and we were very pleased with the options. We just wish this had been easier and less confusing. They also called us on the day of the wedding to ask us about room layout, which they could have done months before. They bar staff told us they had no way of keeping track of the money spent on drinks and actually told one of our guests that they'd lost count of the tab we had put behind the bar. This meant that we were told we wouldn't have to pay anymore at the end of the evening but then received a phone call after we got home from our wedding asking for more money to be paid over the phone. We had no problem with paying but it should have been communicated clearly with us earlier on. On the night they regularly interrupted and asked us when we wanted our courses and took quite some time to clear dirty dishes away. Again, this could all have been planned in advance. They are a pub which hosts events and this really should have been organised better. They also insisted that some glass vases that held flowers were ours, they definitely were not ours so I don't know where they got that idea from. The Garden Room is beautiful but the music isn't allowed to be loud enough for dancing so it's therefore not suitable for a reception or party if you want a boogie. We've eaten at The Marlborough before and enjoyed our food but on the night there were a few issues. The jewel lentil salad had zero lentils in it, a pea tart was completely flavourless and a salad was gritty and seemed like it hadn't been washed. The puddings however, were delicious. All in all, we had a wonderful night. We just wish that communication had been better and that the food had been...

We went out for my birthday lunch at the Marlborough on Saturday but unfortunately did not have the best experience. We had booked the table for 14:15 and arrived around 14:20 the table wasn’t ready which was totally fine we went to the bar and had a drink. Around 14:40 we got seated and started ordering our food rather quickly because we were in a bit of a rush because we were going to Kew gardens after. It took over an hour to receive our food, we received all of it around 4 a clock after having to send back one of the fries because they’d come out cold. Unfortunately we have had no notice of the backed up kitchen and that the food was going to take over an hour to receive. I was already quite stressed and we kind of had to eat quickly and then I asked for the bill since we only had the table til 16:15. The waitress asked me (the birthday girl) if she should bring the cake out first which I didn’t know we had one since it was a surprise, it’s fine mistakes happens and it would had been funny but it was unfortunately just too many things gone wrong already and we missed our Kew Gardens booking so I kind of got a bit upset and cried haha. We have all worked in hospitality and are aware that these things happen so this is just a little heads up to maybe be a bit more aware and also to let your customers know before hand if the kitchen is backed up etc. But the venue is beautiful and we had a great time before it got a...

On the few times I have chosen to visit The Marlborough whether in groups or alone, there seems to be a complete lack of thinking in how they book tables. As a pub, they really need to realise that people will walk in off the street on a weekend and may just want to buy a drink. They should not have to book a table and eat, it is not a restaurant!

Today, I walked in, got a drink and asked specifically for free tables. The staff at the bar told me there were two, none had a reserved sign, I chose one, got a drink and went to the table. About 10 mins later, the manager comes over with two women who had just walked in, claiming the table was booked and I would have to move. Surely, when people book, they are not choosing specific tables. Why didn’t he give them the other table? It was the same, just at the back of the pub. Why did I have to move? Highly embarrassing all round, and I left. Is it possibly because you wanted to give them preferential treatment over me? As this is not the first time this has happened, I will think it is. As our local, The Marlborough is a nice pub, but seriously treatment is rubbish and I for one will no longer recommend...