Hard Rock Cafe

Myself and 2 friends visited London for the weekend and I recommended the HRC for the Sunday night after having such good experiences in other HRC's id visited in the past (Orlando and Manchester).

At 4pm on the Sunday afternoon, we decided to ring the HRC to check if we needed to book a table etc. They confirmed that its a "first come first served" basis, however, after 9pm the rush generally dies off.

We arrived at the HRC at 9:15pm to be greeted by a lenghty queue outside. We didnt mind waiting as it was a beautiful summers evening. After waiting in the queue for approx 30-45mins, we eventually got to the front where a member of staff informed us that it would be ANOTHER 90mins plus for a table!!! Not once did anyone inform the queue of waiting people outside that this would be the case. She told us that it was due to a large party of approx 80 people taking up alot of tables. Why did they fail to mention this on the phone earlier when i rang them? If we had known that was the case we wouldnt of wasted our time going there. And to top it off, as it was a Sunday, alcohol was only served until 10:30pm!!!!

Due to the location of the HRC and not much else being around it, we decided to wait for a table and have a drink at the very small, cramped bar. We waited another 30-45mins for the table and were directed to a sitting area downstairs which was empty!!! Very confusing!!

We had planned on having an enjoyable night at the HRC sampling their menu of amazing cocktails and desserts, but quite frankly, we couldnt wait to get out of the place. The food came, we paid the bill and swiftly left. Very very disappointing which has tainted by expectations of the entire HRC chain.
Comment on this reader review

Stacey Brown
5 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, July 06, 2010

i have visited many Hard Rock cafes (Edinburgh, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris) and London was such a disappointment. It should have the name stripped from it. I have had better service from a motorway service station McDonalds.

Things started well, we were told it would be a 15 min wait for a table inside or we could geta seat outside straightaway. 15 mins to wait is nothing but as it was a hot summers day we opted for an outside seat.

Waitress number 1 took our drinks order very quickly and was nice and friendly. Exactly what you would expect. Then waitress number 2 took our food order and once again was nice and friendly. We did not wait long for the food. Maybe about 10 mins. Which i thought was great service.

This is when it all goes wrong. The guy who gave us our food just dumped it down on our table and walked away. He never brought any condiments and he did not ask if we wanted any. He never offered to refill our glasses. He just left. He did not even look at us.

My wifes order was wrong and was very greasy. So she sent it back. It then took 30 mins for hers to arrive. At this stage i had finished my meal. There was no apology from our waitress Amber. She could not care less. Still no offer of a refill. I had to shout someone over. I asked for tomato sauce at the same time but when the drinks turned up my wife was now finished her meal and the sauce was still not forthcoming.

The puddings were very quick. This was the first time during the whole meal that we were asked if everything was ok with our food. When we got the bill i was surprised to see a £4.80 service charge on a £38 bill. So a charge of 12% for what!!!! I was not going to leave a tip but having one forced upon me when i had such bad service was the final insult.

I have been to the cafe in Berlin 3 times and Paris twice. This one is a disgrace to the others. I had never been to London before and enjoyed the rest of my hoiday. This was the worst time i spent in London and would reccomend all others to avoid.
Comment on this reader review

Disappointed Scot
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, June 15, 2010

UTTERLY DISAPPOINTING!

Having not been to the HRC London for many years. I decided to eat there recently. This once iconic restaurant was a favourite hang-out for me and my friends back in the 70's, my first visit being in 1971 when I was 16. Up until the early 90's I was a regular and was always happy with the huge portions, tasty burgers and the exquisite ice cream. The HRC was never simply a place to eat but an experience as well. I also enjoyed visiting various HRC's all over the world.

Yesterday I was in London for the first time in ages and decided to eat at the HRC. I really should not have bothered. Although the actual Cafe is the same with the always present rock music etc, the food and service was sadly awful.

The iconic 10 oz burger was bland, actually tasteless and where was the huge portion of chips? let alone the salad. The chips were few and far between and very overcooked. Having completed the burger I decoded to have some of the once world famous icecream. Surprise, surprise another huge disappointment. Although it was not unpleasant, it certainly was not the sublime icecream of yesteryear but In my opine, a cheaper alternative.

The service was tepid. gone was the warm welcome omnipresent many years ago.

It was all really so very depressing and far from being reminded of the halcyon days of my youth, I left the Cafe thoroughly crestfallen that another constant of a happier former existence was wistfully, no longer.
Comment on this reader review

Chris Smith
3 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Friday, September 04, 2009