Lake Raj — Restaurant in Windermere

I came to this restaurant on Friday with a large group of family. We had called once the restaurant had opened to confirm that there was enough space for us, and got the go ahead from the person over the phone. Everything seemed all good and well until we got to the restaurant where we were greeted with a group of unwelcoming waiters. Upon sitting down, a waiter had stated that prams weren’t allowed inside the restaurant and if we could put it in a corner that would be ideal, bearing in mind that the table we were given wasn’t in the corner, so my wife had to sit separately with my newborn (I’m sure you can all imagine just how stressful that is, newborns are hard to take out!). This is when things got worse. As soon as this happened, we were asked if we were ready to order, despite not even being given menus. This is when a waiter came up to us and spoke in Bengali stating they don’t usually take large bookings as they’d rather get their business from couples and smaller groups, saying is as if we weren’t going to spend a good £600 between the 23 of us. He hadn’t said this just once, he had said this three times! On top of that, he asked us within the time span of 15 minutes, 3 times if we were ready to order! It felt as though we were being rushed before we even sat down! This is when we decided to leave, as we felt SO unwelcome! The waiters were being horrible, and one even gave my niece first when she asked where the bathroom was. Having left, we obviously mentioned to the waiters why we were leaving, so they can work on it in the future with other large groups. Instead of understanding and taking on board the constructive criticism, one of the waiters started getting rowdy and claimed ‘I didn’t say that, he did’, which angered me because what happened to taking accountability! He began pointing fingers to his colleague. I’m sure you can see that other members of my group also wrote reviews, to which the owner also responded to. He claimed we didn’t pre book despite CALLING and confirming if we were okay to come at the time we asked for, this was confirmed by the waiter who answered the phone. Secondly, the owner then goes on to say they agreed to accommodate us, which, they prepared a table for us because we PHONED in advance! They didn’t really accomodate us, if they did, we wouldn’t have had this issue to begin with, and we wouldn’t have left before even ordering food. The owner goes on to say the waiters were explaining for the future to leave enough time for other people’s bookings before coming to the restaurant with a large group, this is completely false, this wasn’t explained to us, as I said earlier the waiter stated they just don’t take larger bookings like ourselves as they’d rather get their business from smaller groups, he said this is a very rude manner. He claimed some of our family members asked for tables that were already booked, this is FALSE! The table was set for us and we were happy with what we were given despite the space being tight and squashed. Regarding the pram response, having checked their website it states that prams aren’t allowed inside during busy times, we were the only people in the restaurant and BELIEVE ME none of us cared that my newborn was in the pram. It was dead silent in the restaurant. He then goes on to state that instead of being grateful, my family went on to leave a spiteful review, please tell me why we’d be grateful for having received absolutely terrible service, I’ve NEVER felt that unwelcome in my lifetime! Especially by the people of my own culture, it genuinely felt like we were being discriminated against! From seeing the rest of the reviews that other people have left on google, it’s clear that this is a common finding and they do not enjoy taking larger bookings, for the future, make it clear on your website or over the phone that you’re not happy taking large groups. I’m tired of reading the responses the owner has left, they’re all so rude!. (Avoid...

If I could give this place 0 stars I would.

I had gone with my family of 23, and having initially entered I was declined for having a ‘large booking’. The waiter that spoke to us in Bengali stated ‘we don’t usually take large bookings as we’d rather take smaller bookings and make our business that way’. Bearing in mind that was our first interaction with the waiter and he made it sound as though we weren’t planning on paying. Having the rest of my family join us in the restaurant, they had then decided that they’d take our booking. Whilst we were sitting down, they asked us three times if we’re ready to order - knowing that we had just sat down and we weren’t even given menus at this point. One of my family members had a pram and a newborn, we all know how hard it is to take a baby out, but the waiter decided to state that we weren’t allowed to have a pram inside (??) no clue what that was about. Eventually, when the vibe was completely off and the waiters were being awkward, dismissive and rude, we decided to leave. Having left, one of the waiters began to raise his voice claiming he hadn’t said what he said ‘in that way’ as if it could’ve been taken any other way. We didn’t try the food, so couldn’t tell you about that, but the service was absolutely terrible, it felt like we were being discriminated again. Wouldn’t recommend at all.

EDIT: to respond to the owners horrible response, I’d like to clarify that we called before entering the restaurant and was given the go ahead to turn up with our group, so what you said was FALSE, we did pre book. Secondly, despite agreeing to accommodate us, how are you using Friday night as an excuse to rush us? Are we not paying customers as well? Clearly you’ve contradicted yourself in your response, which goes to show what a horrible person you are. For you to then state that it was explained to us that we’d have to leave soon to accommodate for people that pre-booked is nonsense, as I said earlier we had pre booked. If you couldn’t handle having a large group, you should’ve said no over the phone from the get go. We didn’t ask for other tables as the tables were set out for 23 people, despite it being squashy and tight, we didn’t complain. Regarding the pram, your website states ‘prams aren’t permitted inside if the restaurant is busy’, your restaurant was EMPTY, and believe me when I say none of my family cared about the newborn sleeping in the pram. Finally, you claimed that instead of being grateful, my group were leaving spiteful reviews, and then claimed they were leaving fake reviews in other responses. I’d like to state that upon receiving a TERRIBLE service, your staff made us feel SO unwelcome, hence why we left. Your responses to these reviews, as well as to other peoples reviews, are HORRIBLE and is enough to put anyone off. I totally regret not checking before entering, but I’ll take this as a learn point seeing as you won’t. Reviews are subjective opinions, and clearly you can’t handle constructive criticism. I stand by my initial point, avoid this restaurant at all costs. It’s clear to me that because we weren’t buying alcohol, your staff were irritated that we wouldn’t be spending extra money on drinks. Your staff are rude...

I came here on Friday (28/07/2023) with my family and a baby who was in a pram. I walked in with my 5 year old as he needed the toilet while the rest of my family was parking their cars. I had called the called the restaurant 15mins before arrival, where the waiter stated we were all good to come. Had the waiter stated it was an issue that my group was too big, we would’ve gone elsewhere.

Upon arriving, one of the waiters said “we don’t allow pushchairs as we don’t have space” so I asked where can I put my pram but also he is sleeping. He then said “ok put him here and gave me a corner.” I see in a response from the owner that having a pushchair can be dangerous when it’s busy, but considering the nature of the situation, I’m a mum with a newborn, is my baby suppose to stay on my lap whilst I’m eating? He also mentioned how I hadn’t mentioned that I was bringing a pram, but I have never had to book a table and mention this! My baby doesn’t require a seat! The owner responded to other reviews, stating their website says no prams inside. However, I’ve checked and can confirm that it states prams aren’t permitted when the restaurant is busy. My group were the only people in the restaurant!

As my family members arrived, the waiter asked us multiple times if we are ready to order bear in mind some of us was still getting seated, and none of us had menus. This put us all off!

We then decided to leave as the service we were recieving was absolutely horrible. As restaurant staff, they should’ve understood when people come in a big group it takes time to settle and eat so to rush us is disgusting, especially having given us the okay when we had initially pre booked.

I have never experienced this, especially from the people of my own culture. Usually when I’m away from home and look to eat at a restaurant, the staff are happy see familiar faces! This time round, it genuinely felt like we were being discriminated against! I’ve never ever received service that was this bad!

To sum up, the service this restaurant provided us with was horrible. I’ve been to a lot of places and never have I ever been treated like this! I wouldn’t recommend going here, you’ll be treated like...