Unfortunately I was DISGUSTED with my ENTIRE experience at Fakhreldine. From the food and service to the decor and cost, everything was beneath poor quality; I cannot believe we actually paid for what can only be described as an awful evening. Believe me, I am generally quite a laidback and easy-going person and happily overlook mishaps but on this occasion everything was wrong.

Being deemed a “top” eatery in one of the plushest areas of London I did not brace myself for what lay ahead. We had planned a family get-together for a birthday meal, there were eight of us in total, and we had taken in gifts and our own cake for the birthday girl. This is how the evening went:

1. As we walked in a waiter accidentally dropped a bottle of alcohol over my brother’s trousers and shoes. We let it pass thinking it was just an accident, little did we realise that this was the beginning of many more. My brother quietly cleaned himself up…note by, being Muslim alcohol is a strictly forbidden and having it poured over one is a bit like a vegetarian being submerged in animal fat.
2. The table we had specifically BOOKED was not available. So we were squashed into a corner without a choice and no table cloth, while all the others had one.
3. The interior was below average if not clichéd. The table decor was tacky with very little effort and pieces of cutlery were missing from each of our sets, so we had to request knives and forks as they went around with a container of cutlery.
4. Come ordering time, pretty much everything from the menu was UNAVAILABLE…this is peak time, evening meal, the place is packed out. At one point they said they didn’t have falafels…is this not the equivalent of saying the chip shop has no chips…?
5. The manager (yes, manager, they were apparently short staffed) suddenly brought over a bunch of drinks and placed them on our table…we had not placed a drinks order at this point. The waitress who was about to take orders was shaking her head in embarrassment. After we… More