Theo's — Restaurant in London

Food is good. But I have two major issues with the place. First of all this is one of those places that will sneakily add a tip for themselves (they value their service at 12.5% and this is definitely not how I perceived it) to the bill. I didn't notice at the time of paying, because I went there with a friend to spend a nice time together so I didn't pay attention. My mistake to trust the venue. Secondly they blast loud music all the time. Why they think a pizzeria is a place where people would go to, to have their hearing impaired is a mystery. Result was me and my friend had to yell to make a conversation and I was exhausted after 2 hours of this. Why 2 hours? Because we waited over an hour for our pizzas to arrive (for which the place tipped themselves 12% of all the bill).

Edit: To answer owners comment: I didn't even consider you might take this tip for yourself, I definitely hope it went to the people who work in there, but this is NOT the issue I'm raising in here. I'm also aware this is legal, but legality of it doesn't mean it's a good practice. It's not.

First of the issue I have, is: a tip is a way for customers to express our gratitude to the staff for extraordinary service. Not for just doing their job (that's your responsibility as an owner of the business), but for doing their job outstandingly well, for making our stay exceptionally pleasant.

The waitress who served our table was ok, she took an order and she brought correct meals and drinks, but I consider that a baseline of the job. I worked inhospitality for years so I'm speaking from my personal experience: this is minimum not something worth praise.

But if you, as an owner of the place, think that your employees do amazing job- great! I'm more than glad to hear that. Pay them. Make sure your appreciation of their hard work is expressed in good wages. Don't put the responsibility of that on your customers. Because it's not our job to pay your workers.

Second of all this custom of adding a tip to the bill puts customers in a situation where we need to choose (if we even notice it was added, because I didn't in this case, I only realised after it was paid and we left the place) between paying whatever number manager came up with without our consent, or starting a very unpleasant situation of us asking a waitress (who surely already hoped she will receive this amount of money) to remove it from the bill. I don't want to fork out 12.5% of my total bill just because an owner of the place thinks this is right amount of money that somebody else should pay his employees.

I also don't want to get into discussion with the employee and ask them to give up what they already seen as their tip.

Both options are unpleasant and when I go to the restaurant or pub I don't want to experience any of that. I want to spend a good time, in a nice atmosphere (sitting in a room so loud that we had to yell to each other is not a nice atmosphere) with my friends sharing drinks and food. I didn't get that when I went to Theo's.

So obviously you do you, but you lost two potential customers who would bring more of their friends if we had different experience in your place.

I really really don't want to bring American tipping culture in here. It's such an insincere move by companies and I hope other places will not pick up this...

Theos in Camberwell, known for its celestial Neapolitan dough pizzas, seems to operate in its own timeless realm—a purgatory where the clock ticks but time stands still, especially for those seated within its walls. Here, patrons' eyes flicker not just with hunger but with a growing sense of existential dread as they watch an endless parade of takeaway pizzas whisk past them, destined for the warm embrace of Uber Eats bags.

Each pizza that passes is like a siren's call to the famished diners, a teasing waft of what could be, if only their orders were as prioritised as the stream of deliveries. The sight of the delivery swarm, buzzing in and out with more regularity than a ticking clock, has the seated customers wondering if they are mere extras in a tragic play where the lead roles are awarded to the anonymous masses beyond the doors.

To add insult to injury, when relief arrives in the form of what promises to be a refreshing spritz, it’s served in what might as well be a shot glass from the local IKEA—comically inadequate and almost mocking in its minuteness. These tiny thimbles of cocktails seem a cruel joke as they barely wet the lips before they're gone, leaving you thirstier and more bemused than before.

But once the pizza does arrive—oh, the transformation! Each bite is a redemptive hymn, the perfect char of the dough and the rich, melodic harmony of the toppings sing a chorus that nearly absolves all. Yes, Theo’s pizzas are a masterclass in flavor, a testament to the pizzaiolo's craft that is worth every agonizing second of the wait.

Thus, dining at Theo's is akin to enduring a gripping, slow-paced drama that you're desperate to love—filled with twists of fate and tests of patience, all leading to a delicious denouement. Would I brave the wait again? Certainly, but perhaps better prepared for the odyssey, with a backup snack and a stoic resolve to outlast the...

We were really disappointed by how we were treated during our visit. While mistakes can happen and we completely understand that things can go wrong during busy service, the way we were spoken to was unprofessional and ruined the experience.

Two guests who were seated and ordered after us received their pizzas before we did. We politely asked a staff member about our order and why theirs had come out first. Instead of a simple explanation or apology, the response was defensive: “I don’t know, I just serve the food.” Later, another staff member approached us in an unfriendly and argumentative tone, insisting it was due to an extra pizza being made earlier. We said that was fine, we just wanted to check in case something had gone wrong with our order. As we mentioned, we’re very understanding when mistakes happen. However, the way we were spoken to was poor as the tone was defensive and unnecessarily argumentative.

We chose to email the restaurant owner first because we didn’t want to leave a bad review without giving them a chance to respond. Unfortunately, their reply was equally dismissive. Rather than acknowledge the poor customer service, they focused on justifying the kitchen mix-up and excused the staff’s behaviour by saying the manager is “very nice” and probably “didn’t come across well.”

The food itself was actually good, but the staff’s attitude and lack of a genuine apology left us with a negative impression. Sadly, we won’t be returning. Respectful and professional communication goes a long way and it was...