The Coconut Tree Reading — Restaurant in Reading

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER AT A RESTAURANT!

UPDATE - 4 Days have passed, sent 2 emails to the response they put and still nothing back. If you are going to ask for contact atleast have the common decency to acknowledge it!

REVIEW: I would caution anyone to think twice before paying patronage to this establishment.

We arrived at 7 and were seated in a space that was reserved for 8pm and made aware of this, we were happy to have a drink, eat and move on, after having an amazing experience at the Oxford branch a while back.

It all got off to a flying start, cocktails arrived, not quite to the same level as before but we let it go. We were then ignored until 7:30, until we hailed a server over to take our order knowing we were pressed for time. Our food finally arrived at 19:50.

We had barely started to eat when the large table started to arrive and the manager who seated us, who had all but disappeared until now, came over and told us we needed be done in 5 mins. We objected and told him the food had just arrived, at the fault of them not taking our order on time, and we all agreed we would be 15 mins - nothing like a rushed meal. We tucked back in but felt the pressure.

2 mins later the same manager returned and wanted us to move tables mid meal, we objected as we had agreed to 15 mins. It was now just before 8pm. Not even 2 mins later we overheard the ‘larger table’ complaining about not having the table and heard the server say, rather snidely, we had been told that we needed to finish and vacate.

I approached the manager and told him we were leaving as we had been interrupted now 3 times and felt very uncomfortable. We left our food and drinks and started to walk to the door and were threatened that the police would be called if we didn’t pay the bill for the half eaten meal, as they started moving our plates to another table, which we had not agreed to. Our friend forgot his phone on the table due to the stress, which a member of the public very kindly handed back.

The manager then proceeded to gaslight us telling us that it was our fault for not ordering on time. It was all our fault ‘you did this, you did that.’ Then, in whatever attempt to turn things around, they offered to put us in the corner, bring us shots to try make up for this heinous experience. We felt so sick and harassed by the manager and his colleague that we had to leave.

We paid the bill for the half consumed drinks and left. Not a single apology from the manager for his mistake, no ounce of remorse for the horrible dealing of the situation. Since when did we become a culture in hospitality where the customer is ALWAYS WRONG!

If this is the type of toxic behaviour displayed to paying patrons, one can only imagine the level of...

Visited this restaurant and while there were some highlights, a few things really stood out as disappointing.

Drinks: We ordered drinks first, and while they came out quickly, the service was less than professional. The waiter handed over the drinks carelessly, spilling some in the process and leaving the table and menus messy. Instead of cleaning it up, he just walked off, leaving us to grab tissues and sort it ourselves. Additionally, when serving drinks, please don’t grab the glass from the top—no one wants fingers near the rim of their drink. It’s unhygienic and unappealing.

Food: The food itself was great. It was my first time trying this cuisine, and I was impressed with the flavors. While the portions were on the smaller side, the pricing for the food was okay—so it balanced out. That said, I couldn’t help but feel the prices on some items were unjustified. £4 for a single, tiny roti? Come on. That’s a rip-off.

On top of that, I was surprised by the lack of attention to detail. When my food arrived, I asked for a fresh chilli, and the waiter simply said “No.” This was odd, considering my friend’s dish, right in front of me, had fresh chilli in it. It felt like the waiter couldn’t be bothered to accommodate a simple request.

Drinks Pricing: While the food was reasonably priced (roti aside), the drink prices were shocking. £4 for a fizzy drink is excessive—easily the most I’ve ever paid for something so basic.

Overall: The food was tasty, and I enjoyed trying something new. However, the service needs serious improvement, especially when it comes to professionalism and attention to customer needs. Drinks and roti pricing were definite downsides. With a few adjustments, this place...

I don't leave a 1 star review lightly but our experience was awful. We got sat on a bench with loose cushions that became a nuisance. The waiter took ages to take our drinks order. Then it took him almost 20 mins to bring them (water, 3 ice teas and a turmuric latte). Then despite asking if we can order food we kept being told "please give up a few minutes". After 30 mins of waiting to order I asked for the prawn curry and got told it wasn't available...we should have been told that when they gave us the menus. Rather than risk waiting another 30 mins to change my choice I had to pick something quickly. I also asked them if the calamari was spicy, and was asked if I wanted it spicy, I said no because its for my children. When the food turned up it was covered in chilli so I asked to send it back and make a new one. I got a new one fairly quickly but the remaining food did not materialise until much prompting and asking where it is. The calamari was still spicy so my children ended up eating the roti. Then when the bill turned up I was charged for both calamari, so I had to ask to remove it, which was met with a puzzled expression. We also saw a flyer on the table saying "kids eat for free". No idea how they work this out because there's no kids menu and I was charged for everything. The worst part was the food wasn't that good, certainly not worth going back for but the poor service made this an awful meal...