PJ's Bar & Grill (Chelsea)

Great place to people watch and have brunch on Sunday. The interior withe the balcony is delightful. Staff are very professional and attentive.

The menu features "safe" standard dishes, don't expect any ott creations. Place is not cheap, but what do you expect in these surroundings.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Friday, February 09, 2007

If only I read these reviews before going to this restaurant last Saturday evening with a small group of friends. I cannot agree more about the rude and downright bizarre service. It started badly and just got worse. We were handed our menus and told that we had 2 minutes to order, no more, as they were very busy, or we wouldn't be served. The waiter was brusque to the point of rudeness when taking our orders and told me point-blank that what I was asking for was not on the menu - not off that evening, simply never on the menu. But once it was clear that I wasn't simply going to order something else, but going to have another few minutes looking at the menu, suddenly those fishcakes did exist!

When the food arrived, we were asked if we wanted black pepper - my boyfriend refused but the waiter put it on anyway and then got angry when my boyfriend told him to stop. My friend asked for Parmesan for her fettucine and was told that the restaurant didn't have any. She accepted this - but then the waiter re-appeared 2 minutes later with a large dish of Parmesan which he immediately completely emptied over her food, rendering it inedible. When we complained, the waiter got very angry and claimed that we weren't treating him with respect! We finally persuaded the manager, who at first implied that we were making this (which seems strange given the other comments here) to give us another waiter but there was still some fuss when we refused to pay the service charge.

Overall, a disappointing experience - which is a shame since the food was good, and fairly reasonably priced for that part of London.
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CB - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 6
Monday, February 05, 2007

Friendly and helpful service. I went with a suspicious French friend who enjoyed it enormously. Try the rib eye steak and the Agentinian Malbec.
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Alex Hampshire
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Friday, January 26, 2007

We were in PJ's for a birthday dinner on a Saturday evening. It was NOT a pleasant experience:

We waited for 30 minutes before our wine and bread was served - the white was warm and at £30 a bottle I would have expected it to be suitably chilled.

We then waited another hour before we actually received our starter, of which one was sent back (raw scallops) another was £9 for 3 stems of asparagus and the rest were lukewarm at best. (The restaurant was not particularly busy with 7 or so tables spare upstairs.)

When I asked our waiter politely when we could expect our food, I was instructed that we had not been waiting an hour but only for 10 minutes, and that "it would arrive when it arrives!" Clearly he had been to the David Ike School of Delusion as well as the Alan Sugar School of Manners!

The maincourses were equally dire, suffice to say we didn't order a dessert or coffee, and we were charged £60 a head for the displeasure. One of our party wasn't drinking wine, and just had a burger to eat - possibly the most expensive burger ever? Answers on a postcard to The Most Expensive Burger in the World competition, PJ's, London.

At 11.15pm the lights got turned up and the staff moved around the tables claiming last orders. Considering our food arrived at 10:15pm, this was an interesting manoeuvre - one far greater even, than Dr. Heimlich's. Neither were entirely necessary, though the latter was temptimg after a mouthful of those scallops.

The food is extremely overpriced for the severe lack of quality, and the service was amongst the most abyssmal and rudest in London. The place is also starting to look shabby which is clearly a reflection of the entire experience.

This restaurant does not deserve to be in business.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, January 21, 2007

Just returned from brunch with friends at PJ's. It was a disappointing experience, I recommend you give this place a miss. The waiter got our orders completely wrong, 4 out of 5 of the orders had to be sent back. And while the food is decent (once you get the right order) the portions are shockingly small for the price you're paying.
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AP
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Sunday, January 07, 2007

Went to PJ'S Last night for our christmas works party.....oh my god dont ever book this place if you are wanting friendly service....good food and wine at your table at the start of the meal...took till the main course for them to get the bottles on our table....!!

We were rudely thrown off our table and told there was no room in the Bar once we had paid our bill even though we still have 3 bottles of opened wine left....In other words they had got our money and wanted us out.....very charming
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Charlotte
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 15, 2006

We booked this place for a Christmas party, spent a fortune. Rude service, cold food with a grab your money and run attitude. My advise stay well clear and go to an owner opererated restaurant where the chef cares about the service and the food that come out the kitchen. Put it this way they told us to get lost as soon as they wanted the table back and they have a doorman for a reason - to stop people complaining!
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Reedy - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 15, 2006

My wife and I, and 2 other couples ate here recently. One of the other guests used to frequent this place when she was on a working holiday here 10 years ago.

First the good. The service was attentive and not O.T.T. The upstairs dining room overlooking the bar is really nice and look and feel to the place is great.

The bad: The food, the price, the 15% mandatory service charge! Very overpriced, if I am going to spend £40 a head on a meal that includes hamburgers, then I want something spectacular – and this was ordinary at best. Gourmet Burger King at half the price is far far better. The starter calamari was awful –tasted like rubber, and was harder to eat. Tiny portion for £7.

My wife’s fishcakes were quite good. Desert was ordinary at best, on the stale side at worst.

As I said, the service was good, however paying £33 for 6 people in service charges for mid-range

food (such as burgers) + one bottle of wine is extortionate.

I’m sure the bar is a cool place to spend an evening, and if I lived in the area would give it a try – but can say without hesitation we will not be eating at the restaurant ever again. Big disappointment.
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J & Dee
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, December 12, 2006

This bar is disgraceful, I rang up to make sure that there would be enough room for my team (of 40 people) to come for drinks on thanksgiving from 6-8pm, and was reassured that it would be fine several times.

The Manager - who seems to be the owner of the bar as well had only let half the party in, as it now seemed that the restaurant had been fully booked, he was extremley rude to everybody and made no excuses or atempt to apologise.

To make matters worse when I rang up this morning and spoke to one of the staff about it, his answer seemed to be along the lines of he can't apologise for his manager, and that I had incorrect information because I had callen the head office instead of the bar, and had I called the bar there wouldn't have been the confusion and half my party wouldn't have been left out in the rain. Needless to say that the telephone number I rang was the one I got off the website, and 'head office' didn't advise me otherwise.

I then got rushed off the phone and told to write a letter if I wanted to complain about the manager as he can't take complaints against his manager, however he would note it down that the lady on the phone gave me incorrect information, although I didn't feel the least bit impressed or satisfied or even that I was been taken seriously.

Very disappointing and I will never go near this bar again.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, November 24, 2006

We regularly have brunch here with a group of friends -- I have to admit, it is going downhill in the service department. The manager still seems to go out of his way to help, but he can't be everywhere at all times. The wait staff are so arrogant, and don't understand English very well, so for the past few visits at least one of us gets our order sent back. Sad, because its in a great location and the food is decent.
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Elizabeth
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, November 22, 2006