TiramisU — Restaurant in London

I’m leaving this review here but I’m not sure if it’s the same place, as it doesn’t seem to match the other photos. Today I visited the one in Westfield London and it was one of the worst experiences ever. I’m Italian and vegan; I know what tiramisu tastes like, and this “porridge & cream pot” can’t be called tiramisu. Don’t tell me it’s because it’s vegan; I make vegan tiramisu as well and my omnivore friends can’t taste the difference with the non-vegan one. This aside, I was baffled to be charged £9.90 for a small pot like that. I was expecting it to be dressed with fruit or something, but no, we were just given the pots and dismissed quite rudely. Because yes, the cherry on top was the “fantastic” customer service. A robotic, numb girl who treated us as we were bothering her and her coworker. She barely spoke and never smiled or did anything remotely aligned with good customer service. If you charge people £10 for a small pot of porridge and cream, at least try harder. All my excitement went down the drain very fast. Never again, sorry!

UPDATE following the owner's reply: this review is absolutely intended for your business; it might be a different branch but the logo on the cup proves it's you, so my feedback remains valid.

I must say, from your reply I understand many things, first of all the way you train your staff. How can you justify horrible and rude customer service with "shyness"?! These are two completely different things, and if someone's too shy to offer decent customer service, then it's not their cup of tea and should be doing something else. There are dozens of other less "shy" people who'd love to have a job that they'd do properly. Plus, on your website you say "Composed according to the customer’s tastes". Erm, where? We were given a pot, charged £10 and dismissed. No customisation offered. So I wonder. Do you customise only non-vegan pots? Because that should be specified. Otherwise, simply admit the girl who served us didn't do what the business promises.

Secondly, you can use the finest oats in the world but the last time I checked, tiramisu is not made with oats. It's a fact. Do you make non-vegan tiramisu with oats as well? I'd be curious. You could bake vegan, gluten-free sponges, soaked them in coffee and add the cream. Being charged £10 for this "reinterpretation" of tiramisu, receiving bad customer service, and on top of that this response is the very definition of a joke. Never again, without being sorry this time. Don't bother reply, for me it ends here.

SECOND UPDATE: I never saw the second reply from the business owner or manager, but here I am, 6 months later, coming across it by pure chance. I, very honestly, feel insulted on multiple levels. First, I never made any reference to the staff member's ethnicity, only to the poor customer service provided. And here you are, playing the race card, insinuating what, exactly? That I had a problem with the customer service offered because of their ethnicity? That "I don't accept it"? This is disgusting and petty. Secondly, what was my "real target", getting the money back? You're insulting me, again. Reviews exist to make businesses realise where they fail, and you failed from both product and customer service perspectives. That was my target. And guess what? I don't want your money, I never wanted your money, but I for sure will never want to have anything to do with you or your innovative takes on cakes. This review is here to stay and show the world how rude, arrogant, and terrible at dealing with customers you are, whoever you...

I ordered 2 tiramisu via deliveroo... One "double portion" of regular tiramisu and one regular portion of the vegan one. For an establishment that's called TiramisU, I honestly can't believe how bad this was. The "double portion" looked small to me so I weighed it and it was 186g or so. The single portion was 145g... surely this is fraud and false advertising. Pretty serious... It will be interesting to see what the Food Standards Agency has to say.

The regular tiramisu was the worst I've ever had... sloppy, soggy, flavourless... I don't really know how you did it but honestly a supermarket tiramisu has more flavour. I couldn't even taste any coffee and there was no booze in it. It was also £10.50. What planet are you guys from?!

The vegan one is going to haunt my nightmares. It tasted like sugary dust and also had no coffee flavour. How is this £9? For that price it should be amazing. I'll laugh about how insane this all is but for now I might just cry. For these prices I really expected something amazing but you just don't care and seem to be driven by pure profit. At least you've captured the flavour of sadness perfectly, perhaps you should put that somewhere... at least it would be some honest information.

EDIT: look at their response… they can’t take criticism. If they just reviewed their recipes with some humility, we might not have so many similar reviews. We might get an actual tiramisu…

Also if they tried a supermarket tiramisu, it might help them! Who said there was anything wrong with a supermarket version? I didn’t say they were the best or good but they ARE better than what they serve and many people have said the same… how would they deal with an actual food critic? My goodness… the hubris.

Now, they’re fobbing me off with the weight issue, I’d like to see proof that a “double portion” of regular tiramisu is actually twice as much as the regular one. They obviously think we’re all stupid.

I didn’t say this before but I will include it now. I’m actually obsessed with tiramisu, I make it often, and I have eaten countless varieties in London. To name a few that are good (maybe so they can go and do some research), Officina00 does a great one, very creative, and cheaper than these ones. A bakery in Queen’s Park does a great one. Chi Chi and the pasta family in Shoreditch. Even the weird yellow one at Remoli opposite TiramisU in Shoreditch is better.

By replying to my review, I honestly don’t think they’ve done themselves any favours but it’s good to know what we’re dealing with. As for coming back… I wouldn’t even come back for free given the attitude here. And finally… it’s not a good look to try to make people feel like we should be on our knees with gratitude that you didn’t transfer some costs to us, this is your business and if you have to charge £10.50 for 185g of slop, I would rethink many life choices.

EDIT: I see the establishment offering refunds to other people here, but not to others... very inconsistent, but...

I decided to give this place a try a few months ago specifically for their freshly made tiramisu. Unfortunately, my experience with their 'tiramisu' was dreadful. There's hardly any distinction in portion sizes, despite the options given. Despite this, I continued visiting the establishment for two weeks since it was conveniently located near my workplace. However, during this time, I witnessed the dismissal of two promising girls who were still in their probation period. A permanent staff member, a blonde woman around 40 years old, treated the probationary girls terribly, even resorting to physical aggression, as both girls complained about her behavior. The manager, a typical spoiled child who seems unfit to run a business, contributes to the toxic work environment. Upon closer inspection of the dishes and the promoted coffee, it appears that they don't serve the coffee they advertise. After researching their Instagram, it seems more like a questionable enterprise, focusing more on promotion and resembling a pyramid scheme. I haven't seen their promoted coffee in any supermarket; apparently, you have to order it online. The food prices are exorbitant, including the decaffeinated options. Not to mention, you can make a much better tiramisu at home instead of spending your pounds on minuscule portions here. In the end, I grew tired of it all and opted for the café across the street, where the atmosphere is much more pleasant. You don't have to endure the manager's constant anger over everything in front of the customers or a permanent staff member who mistreats probationary and permanent staff physically. My recommendation is to steer clear of this establishment; it's a complete waste of pounds and time.

Real review, where I spent two weeks as a customer at your establishment. Excuse me, establishment manager, is this your way of responding to negative customer reviews? Because I've noticed you've done the same with previous ones. It's a fake review because I've been a customer of yours, I've seen the atmosphere and the manager's behavior, the prices, the "tiramisu". The one inventing false things here is you, saying things about people who have damaged your business, which really says a lot about you. This is not harassment; it's a review, just like I would do in any establishment. I know about the business because it's a space where customers see the products. Does that surprise you? And on top of that, you threaten customers who leave reviews of your establishment and even claim they're fake, saying it's from "an employee who damaged the business." Take the trouble to write something as serious as what you accuse me of when I've been your customer...