Rainforest Cafe

I took my 2 children to the theatre and by chance the Rainforest Cafe was over the road. It looked a fun place, child friendly and I thought it might be a nice treat to round off a lovely morning...

It was really awful, I wish we hadn't bothered. The place looks tired. It's dark and depressing. There's an odd damp smell which hits you as you sit down.

Our waiter was fairly dis-interested - apart from when talking about the upgrade from normal kids menu to the one with the bag of rainforest themed toot for an extra £3 each.

Food is awful, really truly awful. My kids went for margarita pizza which i presume came from the cash n carry in some sort of 50 for 99p deal. I had a salad. Again pretty grim and SO expensive relative to the quality

I looked around to see if we'd just ordered badly and came to the conclusion that we hadn't. So there we go, £55 for 2 kids meals and a bad salad, which i think is fairly extortionate even for central london.
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lou
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, July 26, 2012

Real shame

I've visited the Rainforest cafe many times before and have really enjoyed myself. Unfortunately i forgot it was half term this week, so I can understand the staff being rushed, however I work with children and I make sure that i'm always polite and courteous to parents/children/ visitors etc... which unfortunately our server was not. Firstly they sat my boyfriend and I in-between two very noisy families and right near the waterfall, so we couldn't talk to each other, they did move us, but they stuck us right next to the kitchen, in this little corner so it was very difficult if we wanted to grab the waiter's attention. There was no condiments on the table, our tablecloth was ripped, our table kept moving. luckily we were also served by the manager (?) who was really nice, unlike our waiter who slammed our bland meals down without asking if we needed anything else, who forgot our 2nd drinks which the manager had to get and when I left most of meal he didn't even ask if there was anything wrong with it. As I've said I know it must be difficult during half term but it shouldn't effect the service, especially at those prices!
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Joanne
1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Saturday, February 18, 2012

I am utterly shocked that there are any negative review! My friend took me to the Rainforest Cafe in an attempt to cheer me up from an awful week and all I can say is well done, job done!! I loved it and have never recovered from a blue mood so quickly! Atmosphere was spot on, and attention to detail was impressive. I am 21 and enjoyed every moment of the experience. Service was friendly and speedy, food was divine! It is in central London and so 'pricey' in comparison to restaurants in other locations; but by London’s pricing it was not expensive. I had the tagliatelle dish, which was truly delicious, and I eat in Italians usually! The dessert was fresh, warm and mouthwatering - usually brownies are dry or grainy, this one was perfection!! I can't speak highly enough of this restaurant, and I am considering booking my next birthday party there - I can't get enough of it!!!
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Catherine - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, December 16, 2011

I visited the Rainforest Cafe yesterday as part of a day out in London for my 11 year old son's birthday. It was a huge mistake! The food was extremely bland - it had clearly been put through the deflavouring machine before being served and was luke warm. The prices were extortionate - £14.99 for a kids' menu! £5.50 for a smoothie. I was over charged for certain items and had to raise this with the waiter quite assertively to obtain redress. It was too dark to read the menu easily, too noisy to talk comfortably, the toilets were a bit grim and the moving animals unimpressive. Never again!! There is a lot of competition out there and there is no need to waste time being ripped off at the Rainbow Cafe.
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1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, August 09, 2011

What a rip-off tourist trap!!! I knew I'd made a mistake in going there, but we had friends visiting the UK with their young son, so thought it would be a nice place for kids. Prices are absolutely extortionate and food quality is nothing special. Bottles of beer are £4.60 each(!!)...and to add insult to our stupidity in ordering them, they had to cheek to serve 275ml bottles, less than a can of soda!! The waitress was miserable, place was dark and loud, and the "entertainment value" of moving animals and thunder/rain sounds wore off very quickly. Ladies loo was grotty and smelled damp. One cubicle had the loo seat on the floor. Why didn't they just put an 'out of order' sign on the door?! AVOID AT ALL COSTS and spend your money more wisely elsewhere!
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, June 25, 2011

Very average forest cafe

food very average- children set menu a real rip-off . Really small portions. Miserable staff. i think the darkness of the place making it interesting for the children. Day light robbery is correct wording.
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Leon Smith
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

We visited the Ripoff-forest cafe at midday on a Saturday after an open top london bus tour. Incidently the term daylight robbery originates from when the window tax was bought in, and Londoners bricked up their windows.

Ironic that the Ripoff-forrst cafe also had no windows. Decor was okay and big expectations after fighting through the giftshop to carry the buggies and kids down the stairs to be confronted with the rainforest setting. Agree fountain smells, some of the butterflies were broken, toilets are what I'd expect to find in an average pub.

Drinks expensive, 5 quid for a small 1664 bottle, and the food was poor. And I do mean poor. Even a maccas is infinately better. Soggy, cheap, clearly out of a pack or a bottle food. Starters were the better bit. And the bill was daylight robbery. Service was okay, bar the fact that we had to ask for cuttlery and napkins, and plates for the shared starters.

If this review stops one person being mugged, I'll feel much bettter.
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Gary
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The atmosphere was fantastic and the kids loved the thunder storms. This overexceeded expectations. The food was good but overpriced - and I wouldn't have minded but the service was such a let down. After our lovely welcome at the door we thought the table service would be just as good but sadly not. After being ignored for 15 minutes with not even a "hello" we had to ask if we could order. Our waitress was disinterested and bored. The food was unceremoniously dumped on the table and we were left to it. We didn't have enough cutlery, weren't offered sauces or more drinks. It was such a shame. After doing the absolute bare minimum (at best) the waitress brought the bill (we hadn't asked for it and were still eating desserts, the concept of coffee hadn't even been mentioned) it had a 12.5% service charge added.

We left feeling ripped off and taken for granted. It could have been so brilliant, but we wont be recommending or going back.
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Skip
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, April 13, 2011

My boyfriend and I came across the Rainforest Cafe in Anaheim last year and although we didn't eat there,we loved the atmosphere and had wondered if there was one back in London.

Happily I stumbled across the branch in Piccadilly Circus not long after our return.

Unfortunately the prices seemed somewhat out of my price range and I put the thought out of my mind.

Little did I know that my boyfriend (who I thought had forgotten the cafe and my desire to visit completely) booked a table for my birthday last week. It did not disappoint!

I still found it a little expensive (but as I wasn't paying, that bothered little). The animals were amazing, if a little loud at times, and the general atmosphere whilst in there was superb.

I felt a little silly at first as I was a full grown adult getting excited by anamatronic animals (don't even get me started on the frogman who walked around), but after a while I stopped caring.

The waitress was brilliant. She was attentive when needed but also left us alone to enjoy our evening. Having been a waitress when I was younger, what I really liked was that all the staff seemed to be enjoying themselves- which I never did. They even sang happy birthday to me!

The food was good. I'm severely lactose intolerant and was informed concisely which foods were suited to my diet. And my boyfriend loved the 'American' sized burger placed in front of him.

I may not be able to afford going there too often but I will certainly head there when another occasion crops up.
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Kat
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Oh Dear!!! Such a shame, the place is just not like it used to be. 4 of us, all adults, went to the Rainforest Cafe prior to seeing Mama Mia on the 13th Nov 2010. I've always been a huge fan of the Rainforest Cafe having been fortunate enough to have visited Florida on several occasions. Rainforest Cafe in London was my little piece of Florida, Animal Kingdom & Downtown. Smaller scaled, but none-the-less, that special magic and atmosphere. The waiting staff were always a huge part of making every visit to RC London exceptional and you could feel their love and enthusiasm for the roles that they played for each and every diner, young and old. It was 2 yrs since my last visit, and my oh my have things changed.

I appreciate that a saturday teatime is a particuarly busy period, but I have always been on wkends before. We experienced a 'get em in, get em out quick' attitude from the staff. There was no manners or politeness when taking either drinks or food orders. We had to keep asking for cutlery to eat our starters and our main meals, which were slapped onto the table in a heap with a huff! The waiting staff we had were incredibly unattentive to all the tables of diners around us. They had no people skills what so ever. I must say that on entry to the restaurant, the bar staff were very pleasent and so were the staff on the elephant reception, but come on Rainforest, shake the other staff up a bit. When a 'volcano' , with candle came out for a little girls birthday, only 2 staff began to sing Happy Birthday and then stopped half way through, turned and walked off chatting to eachother whilst the childs parents and young sibling were left to continue the song a little bemused. 2 yrs ago and beyond, the staff would have had practically the whole restaurant singing along. Come on Rainforest Cafe, make it special for the kids again, and possibly teach your staff some etiquette and the ability to smile at the diners. This once 'happy adventure' needs putting back on the map.
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BC1708
5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, January 04, 2011