Lost Society reviews
I was very pleasantly surprised by Lost Society. Went years ago and found it a bit too packed out, with staff seeming hurried and under a lot of pressure. However, efforts have obviously been made to help the place run more smoothly. Staff have been increased, by the looks of things, and are always on hand to help with a smile. We had dinner, which was lovely (they told me they have a new chef who's just changed the menu). Afterwards we went for a dance in their main room. The DJ was great and although it was busy there was a lovely atmosphere, not the cramped situation I had previously experienced. Really a very impressive turn around and a great night.
by hsmith52000, 02 Jul 2012
by hsmith52000, 02 Jul 2012
I booked a table at Lost Society in Clapham for a group of eight of us on 30 June. I booked well in advance, at least two weeks. When we arrived and were shown to our table, I mentioned that I had booked through Taste London. The lady that seated us informed me that the booking was not through Taste London because the Taste London form had not been filled in! I said I had definitely mentioned Taste London when I had booked and had even had a conversation about there being more than six of us, (I had asked how it would work with the deal and was told that the deal would be for 6 of us, and the others would pay full price). The lady that seated us went off to check again and actually telephoned her colleague with whom I had made the booking. She returned to say that she had checked again and her colleague had told her that there had been no Taste London booking made, and it was my word against hers!
I couldn't believe it and asked to speak to the manager, she informed me that she was the manager! I said if she was the manager then she could surely see that a mistake had been made by the person that took the booking, as the main reason we had chosen Lost Society was because of the Taste London deal. She again repeated that it was my word against her colleague's and that she wasn't able to change the booking as some form had not been filled out. I said I didn’t understand why she couldn’t just accept that I had booked under Taste London and accept that a mistake had been made, but she said if she did that for us she would have to do it for everyone that turned up with a Taste London card.
I said we could go somewhere else, to which she replied, "Go then", and went back downstairs. By this stage we all had ordered cocktails and were mulling over what we should do. When she arrived back, she said she had decided that she would give us the half price off Taste London deal. We thanked her and accepted, although we were still blown away by her confrontational behaviour and the fact she was implying that I was a liar.
As the evening went on, we were all enjoying the cocktails and had had our starters, which were ok. Then our main courses arrived. I had ordered the sea bream with truffle potatoes and brocolli. When it arrived, it had a strange aroma, like burnt cabbage. I tasted the fish and it was hard and very overcooked, the brocolli was mushy and slightly grey, the potatoes were overcooked and shrivelled and the sauce tasted like something out of a packet - yellowish and pastey. The whole dish was totally disgusting. I asked one of my friends to taste it, which she did and agreed that it was inedible; another friend would only sniff it and refused to taste it but agreed that it smelt foul.
I called the waiter over and explained that the food didn't taste nice at all. He said he would go and see someone but left my plate on the table. It was left there for 10 minutes before the manager arrived back upstairs. But she didn't come to see me straight away, instead one of my friends had to go and get her. I explained to her that the food wasn't nice and everything on the plate had the same strange taste. She said that I was taking things personally and she believed that there was nothing wrong with the food. I was flabbergasted and told her that she was being completely unprofessional and I couldn't believe what she was insinuating. She then went on to say, "Well, what would you like me to do?" I asked her to taste the food if she didn't believe me but she refused to taste or smell it! She said, "What do you want? Do you want another dish, do you want me to take this away?" I asked her to take it away but didn't accept another dish. When we got the bill, the sea bream was on it. So I had to ask her to take it off and she started arguing with me again, saying that I had asked her to leave it on the bill (which would be ridiculous, as I hadn’t eaten it).
When we were leaving, I went to see her, and told her that she was the the most unprofessional, confrontational restaurant manager that I had ever met. She replied that she didn't care what I thought and when I told her that she had ruined what was supposed to be a fantastic celebratory night out for us, she replied that she didn't want us sort of people in there anyway. Is she then saying that people using Taste London are under the heading "you sort of people"? When I asked her what kind of people she meant, she walked away. Obviously none of us will go back there again. A shame really, as it is a nice place and the cocktails were good. But I do think this lady has chosen the wrong career and shouldn't be let loose on the general public.
by gerriasylum, 05 Jul 2010
I couldn't believe it and asked to speak to the manager, she informed me that she was the manager! I said if she was the manager then she could surely see that a mistake had been made by the person that took the booking, as the main reason we had chosen Lost Society was because of the Taste London deal. She again repeated that it was my word against her colleague's and that she wasn't able to change the booking as some form had not been filled out. I said I didn’t understand why she couldn’t just accept that I had booked under Taste London and accept that a mistake had been made, but she said if she did that for us she would have to do it for everyone that turned up with a Taste London card.
I said we could go somewhere else, to which she replied, "Go then", and went back downstairs. By this stage we all had ordered cocktails and were mulling over what we should do. When she arrived back, she said she had decided that she would give us the half price off Taste London deal. We thanked her and accepted, although we were still blown away by her confrontational behaviour and the fact she was implying that I was a liar.
As the evening went on, we were all enjoying the cocktails and had had our starters, which were ok. Then our main courses arrived. I had ordered the sea bream with truffle potatoes and brocolli. When it arrived, it had a strange aroma, like burnt cabbage. I tasted the fish and it was hard and very overcooked, the brocolli was mushy and slightly grey, the potatoes were overcooked and shrivelled and the sauce tasted like something out of a packet - yellowish and pastey. The whole dish was totally disgusting. I asked one of my friends to taste it, which she did and agreed that it was inedible; another friend would only sniff it and refused to taste it but agreed that it smelt foul.
I called the waiter over and explained that the food didn't taste nice at all. He said he would go and see someone but left my plate on the table. It was left there for 10 minutes before the manager arrived back upstairs. But she didn't come to see me straight away, instead one of my friends had to go and get her. I explained to her that the food wasn't nice and everything on the plate had the same strange taste. She said that I was taking things personally and she believed that there was nothing wrong with the food. I was flabbergasted and told her that she was being completely unprofessional and I couldn't believe what she was insinuating. She then went on to say, "Well, what would you like me to do?" I asked her to taste the food if she didn't believe me but she refused to taste or smell it! She said, "What do you want? Do you want another dish, do you want me to take this away?" I asked her to take it away but didn't accept another dish. When we got the bill, the sea bream was on it. So I had to ask her to take it off and she started arguing with me again, saying that I had asked her to leave it on the bill (which would be ridiculous, as I hadn’t eaten it).
When we were leaving, I went to see her, and told her that she was the the most unprofessional, confrontational restaurant manager that I had ever met. She replied that she didn't care what I thought and when I told her that she had ruined what was supposed to be a fantastic celebratory night out for us, she replied that she didn't want us sort of people in there anyway. Is she then saying that people using Taste London are under the heading "you sort of people"? When I asked her what kind of people she meant, she walked away. Obviously none of us will go back there again. A shame really, as it is a nice place and the cocktails were good. But I do think this lady has chosen the wrong career and shouldn't be let loose on the general public.
by gerriasylum, 05 Jul 2010
I've no idea what went wrong here - maybe going on a Saturday did it - but this was about as classy as a chav's picnic, and (before 8pm) so rammed we couldn't get to the bar. It looked so nice on the website. How upsetting. Shall have to tramp all the way down to Clapham again to see whether mid-week is any better.
by malkinbister (7 reviews), 23 Jun 2008
by malkinbister (7 reviews), 23 Jun 2008
Have we missed a great bar in London? Let us know.
