Zuma London — Restaurant in London

Below is the message I sent them. Unbelievably bad experience:

Good Afternoon, I am writing as I want to provide you with some feedback regarding our experience at your London restaurant that me a little deflated, to say the least. I decided to book Zuma to celebrate my birthday. The event was noted on the reservation. When we arrived we were seated at a table for two people. Shortly after our arrival they also seated another couple at the table right next to us. The distance between the 2 tables was a wine bucket away and I felt like I am actually sharing a table with two strangers. I could hear every word they were saying and I am sure they could hear us. I felt so uncomfortable that tried to diminish the discussion to just generic topics. I would have thought that when a special occasion is specified on the booking form you would have the common sense to give the party a little more privacy and in particular when it is a couple. We went through the entire evening being sat with strangers whose conversation I could hear word for word. Moreover, as the table were so closed together the waiter’s behind was almost brushing into me when he had to come and tend to them. On occasions, I actually had to lean back as he could have nudged me while serving them. We eventually got to the desserts. We had clarified previously whose birthday it was but nevertheless they asked if it was Andrew’s and we clarified that it wasn’t. When the desserts were brought they actually had the HB greeting written on the wrong plate! The headed up to my husband with the plate singing the HB song! We then had to clarify that it was actually my birthday. They then turned around and continued to sing to me, stopped when they got to the name as they did not know it and then placed the plate with the BDay greeting in front of me when it was not my dessert! The waiter stated that it was my birthday but they had mixed and matched the plates! The plates were then left the wrong way round with the wrong dessert and BDay plate in front of me. I actually dislike chocolate and had to look at it with a Bday wish. We thought that they would come back and move the desserts at least to match the order but they just left them there and after a while we had to swap them ourselves! So my husband ate his dessert with the BDay wish on the plate. To add insult to injury, the manager then came over and headed to my husband to wish him Happy Birthday to which we had to again explain that it was not him. I only presume that he was guided by the plate. It is beyond me why they did not go back to the kitchen to fix the issue when they clearly well knew that they had made an error. It was downright awkward and insulting. A birthday is a personal day so it is beyond me how one can just dump the wrong dessert with a wish and let somebody else eat it! They might as well not have bothered! It was awkward and insulting.

I definitely expected better for the price of £360 pounds or £180 pp. I would not come back nor would I recommend. I have never been insulted before by a commercial establishment on my Birthday. It is beyond me how you could call yourself a luxury dining establishment when you cannot observe a simple etiquette that Pizza Express can probably handle better. At a loss….You left me offended and I regret booking Zuma. Never...

I had the pleasure of dining at Zuma Knightsbridge today with my colleagues and wanted to share my feedback.

I found the food to be generally average, with some notable highlights.

Starters We ordered the following: a. Chilean seabass croquettes with yuzu mayonnaise – Average. b. Black cod gyoza with citrus soy and pickled cucumber – Okay, though it had a noticeable fishy smell. c. Crispy fried squid with green chilli lime – Exceptional. d. Maki rolls – Excellent.

Mains a. Ribeye steak with wafu sauce and garlic crisps – Bland, though saved by the natural flavour of the meat. b. Grilled Chilean seabass with green chilli and ginger dressing (ordered by my colleagues) – Below average and, unfortunately, caused food poisoning.

Sides a. Robata vegetables wild mushrooms with honey yuzu koshu dressing – Delicious. b. Asparagus with wafu sauce and sesame and tenderstem and broccoli with spicy miso and garlic crisps – Average, and both easily replicable at home.

Desserts We ordered: a. Pecan pie and kokuto caramel sundae – Exceptional. b. Chocolate fondant – Another standout dessert.

Presentation Each dish and drink was beautifully presented, which was very impressive and added to the dining experience. I would give a 5-star rating for the presentation of everything.

Service The highlight of our visit was Omar’s exceptional service. He was attentive, knowledgeable, and prompt, providing excellent recommendations for the fried squid, desserts, and drinks, which truly enhanced the experience. Omar also went above and beyond by adding a personal touch to my dessert with a congratulatory message and even brought a colleague to celebrate with us. This thoughtful gesture made the evening truly memorable.

Ambience Lastly, I thoroughly enjoyed the ambience, which added to the charm of the visit and created a...

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AT ZUMA. I treated myself and my partner to the tasting menu and got horribly, violently ill with food poisoning almost immediately.

This was not a cheap meal, and we were not able to enjoy it. We took what we could away with us, but didn’t end up eating any of it for fear of getting sick again.

This is obviously absolutely unacceptable for a restaurant that charges a premium, so I got in touch with the team to discuss how they might rectify this (a return visit at no charge seems like the very least they could do, but frankly a full refund should be offered as their lack of hygiene ruined not only the meal, but the following 24 hours).

My first email was ignored. My second follow up was answered with a phone call where a Zuma representative told me they cannot do anything until their auditing service has investigated the issue. I told them to please proceed with the audit, as I want this resolved.

Several days passed without contact, so I emailed again to ask why I hadn’t heard from the auditing service, and lo and behold, they service got in contact with me the next morning. I might be being cynical, but it seems they never actually bothered to contact the auditing service and had no intention to resolve this issue.

I provided the auditing company with all of the details, but the fact that I am having to take part in Zuma’s health and safety practices in my own time is honestly a joke. Absolutely pathetic for a company of their size and reputation.

Since completing the audit, I have emailed Zuma and been ignored again. I have chased up again and they responded vaguely while ignoring my complaints and request to escalate the issue due to the clear lack of customer service.

Do not eat here, and if you do, do not expect good service or high...