A tale of two lunchtimes - part II (Bierodrome London Kingsway)

Member Name: Andwynn

Product:	Bierodrome London Kingsway
Date:	09/01/01 (1967 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good apology

Disadvantages: terrible terrible service!

After our wonderful experience with Belgos in Covent Garden, our department
at work were more than a little chuffed to find a new mini-Belgos,
Bierdrome, opened on Kingsway, even closer to our office.

The first expedition to Bierdrome I didn't go on - but the people that went
returned to tell us that they weren't serving food yet (obviously they were
too eager) and to compensate, gave them a free beer token each, gratefully
received.

So we tried again a week or so later, when we knew they had definitely
started serving food ...

Signs were bad to start with. 2 of us arrived first and asked for a table
for 8. Nope, can't do that, must wait till all of us are there before they
will seat us. No explanation, no waiting to see how long they took, the
waiter just told us that and then walked off. Tip down to 14%

Finally we were all seated. Check out the menu. The 5-pound option of the
Covent Garden Belgos is 5.95 here - and doesn't include a beer or bottle of
water. Tip down to 10%

The waiter finally takes our order - young lad, doesn't seem to have a clue
what he's doing, makes lots of noticable mistakes which we correct as we
hear them. Some obviously slipped by - the beers arrive, mostly right, but
2 glasses wrong. Tip down to 8%.

My 'starter' which I ordered as a main course arrives with no-one else's,
despite having requested all food arrives together, and it isn't quite what
I ordered. Tip down to 5%

The person that ordered the sausages is told that his sausages aren't
available that day. He reorders. I finish my food and no-one else has got
theirs yet. Tip gone.


15 mins later, _still no food_.

Another 5 mins, someone complains.

Turns out that the muscles that 2 people ordered are taking a long time for
some reason, and that they'll be rea
dy soon. Everyone else's food arrives.
Still no muscles.

Everyone else is finished. The muscles arrive.

Eventually the bill arrives, and a competent waitress (possibly the
manageress, or at least head waitress) crosses off a handful of items then
serves us a complimentary stick of schnapps (8 glasses, different flavours).
Which was very nice of them, but being a weekday lunch, and having been kept
waiting several beers worth of time for our food, it's not the best way to
arrive back in the office of an afternoon.

Oh, and they stopped serving the lunchtime special-price food over
Christmas. (Haven't been back to find if they have started again in the new
year)

Summary: