Disappointed. KOL needs to be so much more.
I want to make this review as helpful for the team and the clients that decide to come here by pre-warning you of a couple of issues I faced.
I booked the restaurant for a table of 2 (the day before) and I was told that there was a charge of £70 per person and a 48 hour cancellation policy. Stuff happens in life and guests can not predict it. A 48 hour policy is totally unwarranted.
None the less, went ahead and booked for 930pm the next day. The next part is unbelievable. I was running 15 minutes late but my guest was already on the table. I received a call at 9.45 from reception (I was 5 minutes away) and they threatened me stating: if I did not arrive in 5 minutes, they would cut my dishes down from 9 courses to 6 courses. I explained my guest was on the table so they could begin serving us now (the 9 courses) and by the time I would arrive there would be no issues. They said that was not possible as there is a licensing issue (false information: It is just that their entire team DEMAND to leave at 11pm sharp). I asked why was I not told that I would lose 3 courses if I arrived 15 minutes late at time of booking? Why did they refuse to serve my guest and I the 9 course meal whilst he was already at the table? BTW - a 6 course meal is NOT enough food for you unless you have eaten dinner elsewhere and are popping in for a snack (and this is not my attempt at humour - its a fact). In spite of complaining to the Manager, they refused to serve my guest until I arrived.
The wine list – shocking. No Australian or Italian White Wine. The worst wine selection with an odd selection of quirky wines with fruit printed on the labels. They have no fruit in the wine and are from Slovakia. They taste vinegary like Kombucha. Food arrived & none of it was explained in detail. The serving team lacked the empathy to explain anything correctly and we could not hear them. They spoke so fast. I would constantly ask them to repeat. On the third time of repeating - I just thought, forget it, I will just eat it and I was embarassed. I had to ask for a menu, and read each dish as they served it. Another tip for you, keep the menu with you at all times so you can cross reference each dish.
One dish (no joke) had two asparagus spear heads on the plate (that is all) and after eating that - I was asked how the dish was. I looked at the waitor blankly and was surprised that he expected an answer on how the asparagus heads were!
Then came the Toastada which was so hard I almost broke a tooth on. Now onto the main - Pig Cheek. Great!! But the preperation failed & some of the cut pieces just had 100% fat on them.
The tortillas are served in a leather pouch with exactly 5 in the leather pouch. Yes makes sense for a table of two! These were quickly eaten as nothing substantial was served in any other course.
After we had finished our dinner, a server asked us if we would like more Tacos! I explained we had finished our dinner 15 minutes ago and had already eaten the pig cheek from the bowl with a spoon...
Note to management: the leather pouch as quirky as it looks on social media, does not help your serving staff monitor tacos quantities and refills.
And finally, at exactly 11pm, all the staff ran into the kitchen got changed, and exited through the restaurant with their rack sacks on passing our table - I have never ever seen this in any fine dining restaurant.
Staff must have the courtesy of allowing guests to leave, or leave through the back.
KOL thinks that social media and insta will cover all of the gaps and flaws in their service because of their following. They believe they can treat customers like they are in a doctors office, but hospitality (and lack of it) will always catch up. Being egoistical to the very customers that are the lifeblood of your business will lead to yet another restraunteer taking over 9 Seymour place. Good luck, but this experience has been memorable to me for all of the wrong reasons.