VQ Bloomsbury — Restaurant in London

Uneatable. Came in alone on a Sunday night at 7 o’ clock craving some breakfast foods. Maybe 7 tables in use. I chose a small table right next to the waiters POS system. I read the wall next to me—a plaque that states “I am not particularly interested in saving time, I prefer to enjoy it”—this is ironic considering the staff here is not interested in saving anyone’s time and the customers are not enjoying theirs. I sit here now looking at an incredibly untrained and unfriendly staff. I am looking around at several other tables...all having issues of their own. Many guests have had to go approach the servers themselves to be helped. The servers are MIA & do nothing to make you feel welcomed other than providing room tones of laughter amongst themselves as they gripe and joke while lurking in the corners to avoid duties. I can’t blame them. I wouldn’t want to serve this food either. After sitting for 10 minutes having not been greeted, a server who was standing by the POS system for the entire time I had been there asked me what I wanted. It was very apparent that me being there had inconvenienced him. I order the full English breakfast and a water to drink. About 5 minutes later...the most grotesque plop of rushed room temperature wannabe breakfast foods slam onto my table. In order of appearance: the mushroom, disgustingly undercooked. The grilled tomato, not grilled whatsoever. The English muffin, not English or muffin but sponge like and not fresh. The egg, was fine. But it takes an idiot to mess up a fried egg. The salt and pepper shakers here cascade 4 times the amount of seasoning you anticipated to use. The “crispy bacon” was barley warm and also in multiple small pieces. As if it had been microwaved. The sausage tasted ok but was less warm than my egg—which is iffy. Have you ever cooked sausage? It stays warm for a lot longer than an egg if you’re cooking them for the same meal. And finally, the baked beans, obviously canned beans that sit in a warmer and are fished out by a greasy spoon right before the plate goes out. The waiter dropped off my food and fled for his life. Legit. He left. Without ever giving me anything to drink. So I sat looking at an imitation breakfast and no drink. After 2 bites of each thing on the plate I had to flag down a waiter that was passing by. My server did not bother to tell me his name whatsoever. So when I needed him, the other server brought me two different people I’d never seen before and asked me which one was correct. I tell the employees in front of me the copious issues I have with the food and point out I have no drink. Then, they told me that my previous server had been on his way out and so he must have done a poor job because he wanted to go home. They asked what they could do about the problem. I told them to take the current plate back and bring me the Belgian waffle. I figured that I wouldn’t waste time for them to rub my sausage on the floor if they thought I was being rude. I thought that it would be impossible for them to mess up a waffle. Well, I was wrong. A new gentlemen brings me some water and moments later a plate hits the table with literally the worlds smallest waffle. It was not round. Or even square. It was no shape. A literal ameba. As if the cook used much less batter than is required. The waffle was rock hard and topped with a dollop of butter that I could have taken home and used for the next two weeks. I could’ve cooked 46 eggs individually and greased the pan new each time with the amount of butter they put on this waffle. Not to mention it was the same price as the “full English breakfast”. I am aware of how much ingredients cost—there is absolutely no way that waffle mix proportioned that meagerly could cost anywhere nearly as much as a full English breakfast. No one comes back to check if I needed anything else. I write this review in hopes to discourage you from potentially making a terrible gustatory error. Tonight I leave the VQ Bloomsbury feeling cheated, unsatisfied and still hungry. I...

Having not been to VQ since pre covid times I was looking forward to going to this restaurant. Previously I was a regular customer and working in the nightlife industry this place was perfect for the 2am business meetings and getting good food when finishing in the early hours of the morning.

I must say that disapointingly the standards of this place have dropped massively in both terms of service and the quality of the food.

The doorway is minded by two doorman who where quite polite asking us about haw many people where to be seated and informed us of a £2.50 surcharge per head. We where then shown to our table and given a few menus, one of which should clearly have been replaced a long time ago with a texture similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

We then waited for around 20 minutes for someone to take an order... It seamed that we were more of an inconvenience for the staff present rather than a valued customer with the waiter other than grunting, and I quote, "yeh what you want", didn't say a single word to us.

The drinks came fairly quickly and to be fair the milkshake and smoothie where both really nice.

The food however was another story.

The 'Large' full English was quite pathetic, the sausage quite tasteless, the wilted bacon, a thimble of beans placed on the plate along with a half toasted muffin and watery scrambled eggs.

The second plate was a Belgian Waffle topped with some fruit with a side of cream and maple syrup. The waffle was not fresh and I'm fairly sure this is just a supermarket sugar waffle that had been reheated. It had the texture of leather and again nowhere near the standard I would expect for the money being charged. The fruit on the waffle was 4 tiny slithers of banana and the equal equivalent slithers of a strawberry. I don't think there was even half a strawberry ontop of the waffle in the slithers cut.

The waiters where then discourteous taking plates before we had both finished, leaning over our food to take glasses way and when we came to pay, again not talking to us, just the payment machine thust at me.

None of these dishes where close to the quality of the last time we attended a VQ and I think this may be the last time go to a VQ. While there is limited choice of places to eat in the early hours there are still other places you can go where the quality of food is better and the service more attentive.

I hope VQ up's their standards as the place was an institution that in previous times has queues out the door and was very well regarded. However of our experience is anything to go by, their decline will be quite rapid and customers will...

The omelette was tasty with good amount of filling. However, was too oiley perhaps chef wanted to provide moisture to prevent dryness or was cooking in haste. However, if the fillings are good, it doesn't need oil, and I'd rather be asked first. Red Peper provides sweetness, I also suggest sundried tomato paste, goats cheese paste and element of sweetness like roasted pepper etc., you're welcome.

I didn't like that I was declined to sit nearer the window (despite two tables being occupied one of which a man on a laptop with no food or drink occupying a table for 6) and I was placed between kitchen and bathroom under an interrogation light. Soon after me, a young couple came in and were invited to choose where they wanted to sit...

Please treat all clients as important and not have groups and couples at a higher rank.

Suggest rearrange seating plan so duo and single eaters can also access the entrance side of the restaurant

I think adding service charge for breakfast is unreasonable. I go to many breakfast establishments and always the English ran ones add ridiculous charge making the affordable meal unaffordable. For this reason I stick to the 3 foreign eateries who do good clean omelettes for 7-14£ no service charge, this way I go again and again, then once in a while, drop a Generous tip.

The plus at this chain is the 24/7 opening times and breakfast...