Tofu vegan Spitalfields — Restaurant in London

We had high expectations for this restaurant after seeing so many good reviews, but unfortunately, we were very disappointed. First, we were seated between two already-occupied tables even though the place was mostly empty (and stayed that way). It made everyone feel uncomfortable because it was completely unnecessary.

Next, when we got the menu, we had already decided on our choices, but the restaurant manager kept insisting on recommending dishes, even after we said we had made our decision. He treated us as if we had never dined in a restaurant before. Eventually, we managed to place our order.

When the food arrived, the server explained that we could pour the sauce over the dumplings as if we were cavemen. The "signature dumplings" were quite bland, and the sauce was watery with almost no spice. Overall, it was very disappointing. But the worst part was the main courses. We have NEVER had such bad Chinese food, and we've traveled in China and had amazing vegan dishes there, as well as in other countries. The Kung Pao Tofu consisted of indeterminate bits of vegetables with tiny pieces of chili and small, completely flavorless pieces of tofu. The sauce was a disaster! It tasted like sugar syrup with a hint of soy sauce. If we weren't so hungry, we would have left. Then there was the fried eggplant with what was supposedly a house sauce, which turned out to be sour cream. I nearly cried. The eggplant was tasteless, breaded, and topped with crumbled chips. Everything was extremely dry! You had to order rice separately, and it was outrageously expensive and not good at all. Overall, everything was overpriced for what you got.

Additionally, we noticed at the end that we received one less bun than we should have. The photos showed four buns, but we only got three. However, we didn't feel like arguing about it anymore.

I can't understand how anyone could seriously enjoy this food or claim it’s the best Chinese food they've ever had. It's an insult to Chinese cuisine, and I hope no one is misled by the good reviews. Most of them come from TikTokers who get free meals. While we were there, two tables were occupied by TikTokers/Influencers with full tables of food, taking photos forever. It was ridiculous.

The manager didn’t seem to care when we told him the food was not good. Even when we said we didn’t want to pay the service charge, he just asked if he did something wrong. We said we were unhappy with the food, as we had already mentioned, and it seemed like no one cared. He seemed relieved (?) and took off the charge, but didn't...

So I booked this place over a week in advance for friends bday, after having gone to one of the other locations, and loving the food.

When booking the table, I specified and requested to all be seated together, as for a birthday we would. I was told that was possible. I paid the deposit and we sat all together.

On the day, I received a call around 3 hours before the booking, saying they have to split us on multiple different tables. I said I'm not happy with this, and we need to be on one big table as I requested. I mentioned that if they had said that this will not possible right from the start I want to go with a different location. But as I paid the 50 quid deposit I wasn't able to now look and book another place, especially on such short notice as we had a large party. After explaining this to them they said that would be fine and we would be able to sit down altogether.

When we arrived at the restaurant we were notified that the tables were separate which is not what was agreed. We had to make a note and almost expressively fight back to get seated at all together.

Once we have sat down and we ordered the food was absolutely amazing we can't fault the food. The servers on the other hand but all very dismissive didn't take time to understand what we are asking and honestly felt like a very negative experience when ordering food. As the food arrived and as we were eating, we were told that we need to eat quick as there is a limited time on the booking. I was not told us at all when I originally booked it and every time I've gone to any other tofu vegan place they had not giving me any time limit. As it was a birthday we had a cake to cut and we had to rush the full birthday dinner because we were told at the time now we had to go.

At the end of the night when I was about to pay for the bill I realised that service charge 50 quid was added to the bill. After the service we received I was going to still offer a tip but for them to add a 20% service tip without even discussing it with us was preposterous.

Ultimately this made the experience very bad and I will not be attending spitalfields again. I will go to any other locations in London.

Tl:Dr - amazing food....

Really disappointing

Its a simple premise that if you book a table for a given time you expect your table to be available when you arrive. We arrived at the time we had booked to be told that our table was not available despite the fact that we could see at least two empty tables and we were asked to wait. So there we stood in the entrance to the restaurant and waited and while we waited another party arrived and were duly shown to one the empty tables which was galling to say the least.

After ten minutes we then found ourselves ushered to the end of a large table (there was only three of us and this table sat eight) which had remained empty with all the places set all the time we were standing waiting. Now here I should add that when I eat out I really don't like sharing tables with other parties and avoid places like Wagamama because of this, so of course the inevitable happened and not long after we were sat down a party of four was sat at the remaining spaces on our table,

So first impressions were far from favourable to say the least. Our waiter was very friendly and the service reasonable,

Now for another gripe. The menu specifically lists some items as starters which gives you the impression that these will be served first and then when finished will be followed by your selection of main courses. This is not the case as basically your food arrives when it suites them and not when you're ready for it so you find yourself still finishing what was described as your starter while your main course goes cold on the table next to you.

The food itself is interesting and varied but if like one of our party you do not like your food too chili hot be careful as red chilis seem to feature in most dishes. We particularly enjoyed the special fried noodles.

As has been mentioned before it is a bit on the pricy side for what it is and given all the hype that this place has received all I can say is that my visit there was...