Gazette (Battersea)

I was left furious as I can't stand bad service or bad food. The combination is just a killer. I ordered a goat cheese salad. How naive of me to actually expect goat cheese to be the main ingredient. It was priced at £9 so it's perfectly reasonable to expect it to be served as such.

In came a glass container, a bit like a plant pot, full of green sallad and a few cherry tomatoes and on top was ONE burnt toasted slice of bread with two tiny slices of grilled goat cheese. I took one look at my reaction was "is this for real"? I AM NOT JOKING when I say the slices were so thin they cannot have been more than a few millimeters, not even half a cm. One would expect perhaps one or two rounds of grilled goat cheese.

When I complained to the manager I was treated like an idiot and he started to explain to me that there is no problem in fact and that I didn't understand their "concept". I don't care about the concept,

a) I'm a customer who is not happy b) don't bloody charge £9 for a salad if your concept is to serve air in a bowl

I had to carry on saying I was not happy and try to justify to him why it was not my idea of a a goat cheese salad. Anyway, finally he said I could have some more goat cheese, but I was made to feel like a glutton.

Then it came in as a side plate and fresh, not grilled. Surely you would make the effort to offer it grilled and not "raw". Especially as this is how it should have been served.

Totally rude. So typical to suggest there is something wrong with the customer, rather trying to rectify the problem and make sure the customer is happy.

May I add the waitress was very polite and apologetic. She offered a coffee, shame the management are the once who don't know how to treat a customer.
Comment on this reader review

2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Monday, March 28, 2011

It is so sad to see a number of not so good reviews about this place. I am not denying that you may had a bad experience but it could be perhaps you came on a bad day. i would encourage everyone to give it another try.

I on the other hand love this place. I've been to this restaurant a few times, in fact i had my wedding reception there. They catered for more than 60 guests and yet they were able to provide good quality food and excellent service. My husband and i were so happy with how they managed our wedding reception that we gave them a big tip. Nothing went wrong on the day, in fact it was perfect. The chef pascal and the manager walter, were very approachable and professional from the beginning and delivered more than we could hope for. they even went the extra mile of making stuff that was not usually on their menu. In fact a lot of our friends remembered our wedding for the good food.

i also love this place, because this restaurant serves down to earth french food and has a nice cosy atmosphere that is not pretentious. the waiters and waitresses are always friendly and serves with a smile.

although this restaurant is quite a distance from where i live and there are plenty of other restaurants to try, my husband and i still go back at least once a year and so far, they have never disappointed us.
Comment on this reader review

slimwaist
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, October 15, 2010

I don't like to write anything negative...but feel I have to on this occasion. Gazette was recommended by another local riverside Battersea resident. I thought I'd check it out in person before booking a table for an important dinner. I liked what I saw & agreed with the waitress the perfect table for our group of four for that evening....

On our arrival for dinner, the chosen table was occupied (neither explanation nor apology given) and after several requests and 45 minutes we finally got our wine. The barman was truly overwhelmed by demands. The manager appeared totally unfazed by my definite, but polite & friendly requests for assistance. The table we eventually sat at was noisy uncomfortable and the service atrociously slow. The poor waitress was stressed out and all the tables on our side of the room were complaining about the lack of service/food/wine etc. The food was good I think, although it was so late, I'd lost most of my appetite. The whole experience was a massive disappointment and one of the worst evenings I've had in a very long time. I won't bother going again or recommending it to anyone.

It has huge potential and probably serves a wonderfully relaxed quiet weekday lunch by the river...but it can't cope atall with a typical saturday night.

I hope to find a great restaurant and write something positive to make up for this sad review.
Comment on this reader review

Louise
2 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Monday, September 13, 2010

Firstly the location, don't come here unless you like parking at the back of a dodgy industrial estate and hunting for the restaurant amongst blocks of flats. We arrived for our meal and were told there was no record of our booking despite booking by phone at lunchtime that day. It turned out that someone at the restaurant had booked us in for the wrong time on the wrong day. Thankfully it was a Wednesday and not too busy so there was room for us. In the course of sitting down and being offered drinks we were spoken to by three different waiters and rushed in to ordering wine.

Having ordered the steak we were kept waiting 45 minutes as all waiters that night (under-staffed) were serving two large groups. There is no excuse for this as a large group would have booked in advance so the restaurant should have laid on more staff. When our meals turned up I was thoroughly disappointed - sitting next to some limp salad with a vinegar dressing was a piece of over-cooked tough steak. Having asked for it to be cooked 'rare' this was not acceptable. Neither was the fact that the waiter ommitted to provide us with steak knives. Accompanying this was a horrid old saucepan with a burnt handle containing some over-cooked, over-salted and greasy chips. We just wanted to leave but found it impossible to get any waiters attention due to their focus on the two large groups.

Eventually I asked a waitress for the bill and she never brought it - 10 minutes later I asked again and it came. Upon payment the card machine could not get any signal and had to try another time. When I asked for a receipt to say the previous transaction had been cancelled I got a short response from the waiter saying that it would not be possible but that if he had wanted to steal money from me he wouldn't do it in such an obvious way. I can honestly say that this was the worst dining experience I have ever had in London - the atmosphere was non-existent and the play on 'French rustic' decor is poor.

Avoid at all costs!
Comment on this reader review

S
0 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, September 02, 2010

This restaurant is a little quirky and eccentric, but ,after all, it is French. And it is very authentic French. The food is rustic and delicious and the staff are very attentive. If you ask for Prosecco you will be told "this is a French restaurant, not an Italian restaurant!". I have been to Gazette at least 10 times and the food has been consistently excellent. I was once there and the entire clientele were French; I was the only Brit. That was a good sign. The place has character and is well worth a visit.
Comment on this reader review

Peter Olofson
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, July 11, 2010

I must agree with the previous reviewer; I visited the Gazette for the first time on Friday 23 April - it was disappointing. The service when we arrived was quite friendly & accommodating, however once we were seated the service of food was not good at all. It took two hours for our mains to show on the table...maybe it's not so much the wait-staff fault, more the kitchen? Either way, it's for the restaurant's management to address - and I suggest they do it pretty soon.
Comment on this reader review

AD
4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Sunday, April 25, 2010

Have been here about 3 times now, and I have to say I have not been wowed, but the last time I visited I was disappointed by the service - slow, quite rude, and also the food wasn't up to scratch, so coupled with the high prices - a let down.

I wouldn't visit here again, and I certainly wouldn't recommend people who live out of the way to make a special trip here.
Comment on this reader review

Evie
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Sunday, April 11, 2010

Went on the premise of the offer, but caved for foie instead... The atmosphere inside is cute but we had a seriously warped tabletop. The physical location is super awkward, too. Strange. The food was ok, had chicken which was blah. Really didn't enjoy that everything was served in rustic-looking/shabby plastic cooking pots, though. I get the concept, but it was like playing restaurant with a kid's kitchen set - not to mention eating salad out of a saucepan is a bit like drinking booze from a mug. Tasted ok, service decent, but between awkward pots and location, I can't say a return visit is on the top of my list.
Comment on this reader review

LJ - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, March 30, 2010

1. I had specifically asked for a quiet table. When we arrived the restaurant was by no means full, but we were still unnecessarily given a table right next door to two other tables.

2. it took 10 minutes from arrival to order a drink.

3. The soup that one of the guests ordered, Grandma’s Vegetable broth tasted as if an entire salt cellar had been emptied into it. It was inedible.

4. The main courses (we all ordered ribeye steaks) also had a great deal of salt.

5. We tried to order a pudding but it took so long to get any service that we gave up in the end and got the bill instead.

As you can tell, it was an extremely disappointing meal from every perspective, from food to service, for which we paid £128 for 4 people.
View/Add comments (1)

CH
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Tried this recently on a recommendation from a friend and was very impressed. The food was top notch, my only complaint being the Fois Gras was a little over cooked for my liking. Main courses consisted of Steak Tartare and a Pheasant and mushroom dish, both of which excelled.

Atmosphere is fantastic and the restaurant was very busy. Interestingly all of the tables around us were French speaking, which was very reassuring. The service was a little slow, but always friendly.

I will most certainly be returning- this restaurant is a gem. I am so glad that I was not put off by the couple of diners who have awarded nil points for everything and bought the scores down. My experience of The Gazette could not have been more positive.
Comment on this reader review

John
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 16, 2009