Mem & Laz

A party of us ate there at Christmas and were seriously unimpressed. We had to pay a significant deposit upfront and a couple of our large group did not show... obviously, this was far from ideal (although did allow us a little more room around a very, very cramped section of the restaurant - so cramped that those against the wall were penned in by their tables and had to literally crawl under them to get to the loo), but we were told that we'd be charged full price for them anyway! It makes the concept of a deposit redundant somewhat, and we would have left had there not been lots of us - we would have had no chance of finding an alternative place to eat on such a busy night of the year. Given the situation, we then insisted on receiving our missing colleagues' pre-ordered meals as additional dishes to the table - the waiter then had the cheek to tell us that the selected starter had run out anyway! So much for their argument that the pre-ordered food had been bought and would be wasted, hence us having to pay up.

The extra dishes weren't finished by us anyway; the food is distinctly unimaginative - at least, the set menu for groups certainly is. The accompaniments of rice and a red onion salad was the same for each dish - including many of the starters! So, I basically ate the same dish three times.

The approach at Mem & Laz was really mercenary. I had a mediocre group meal there a few years back, when I was also crammed uncomfortably on to a table that needed to be at least 25% bigger for the number in our party, so I had been apprehensive about returning - I definitely won't again, our entire group agreed that it was a dreadful experience and really ruined what should have been a memorable night out.
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dawnage - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Thursday, March 13, 2008

Excellent Food , atmos and staff.

one of best restaurants i have been to in London. Even when busy waiters are friendly and service good.
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david
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, February 15, 2008

We live in Derbyshire and found Mem and Laz a few years ago by chance. What a find! Its got a great atmosphere, good service, huge choice of menu (suits each one of our choosy family from vegetarian to fussy eater to nut allergy sufferer) and is fantastic value for money. I would certainly recommend it but you need to book as its very busy. Our kids now go there every time they visit London. We recommend the chicken in honey and mustard sauce and the lamb koftas. The fish is very good too.....

Well done Mem and Laz.!
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Jeanette and Simon
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, February 09, 2008