Plum Valley

Decided to go to this restaurant for a family dinner, started off perfectly, starters and wine were lovely. The problems started when the main dishes came out. For a group of 5, the first two dishes came out stone cold. After complaining to the manager she asked if we would like "new food" we agreed, however one of our party had their main meal and had to eat it while the rest of us waited. After 30mins the "new food" arrived this time piping hot, however they completely forgot one main dish and no prawn crackers despite asking for them several times. We then complained again due to one meal missing to be told it was not ordered! 10minutes later it landed on our table. When it came to paying the bill we weren't happy to pay the full amount (understandably) the manager then shouted at us and argued with us saying it wasn't acceptable to not pay, told my brother she didn't respect him and told us if we didn't pay the full amount she would lock us in! She then proceeded to shout at us some more saying it was our fault and we agreed to have "new food".

All in all quite possibly the worst dining experience my family and I have ever experienced! I would definitely not recommend this restaurant and would not consider it 'fine dining'...
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Tasha
1 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Monday, January 23, 2012

Went there on spur of the moment with 3 friends, food was ok but some dishes had a little too much MSG for us.

service was slow, it was a little expensive but having booked on an internet offer and told them thats why we were there on arrival we were disappointed this was not reflected in the bill... we explained this to the waitress in charge who said she could do nothing now it had been put in the till... she got the manager to call me the next day who apologised that we had been misled but refused to honor the offer.

In summary - if you can afford the food and the time to eat here- - you have so many other options its NOT worth visiting plum valley.
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hamish
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Unfortunately, this was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had, not only at a Chinese restaurant but at ANY restaurant. First of all, the décor, much like the food is basically a cheap rip off of Hakkasan, which is fine except the lighting levels are so low that I couldn’t even read the menu. If I had had a torch that night, I would have brought it out. I would have then been able to actually read the outrageous steep prices (which are printed in font size 8) and got the hell out of there.

The flavor of the food was adequate – not great but edible. Unfortunately it was stone cold when it got to our table. The portions are also so meagre that by the time we had finished our 6 dishes, we were more than ready to have desserts. However, we were informed that there would be no desserts as there was a queue outside waiting for the table. Before we could even reply, the manageress had the audacity to ask if would be “alright” for her to get us the bill.

We paid the bill – which came to over £120 for 3 people and as soon as the money was taken away from the table, the manageress hovered over our table as if to say “Get out now”. I downed the rest of my drink, almost choking in the process and was then almost flattened by the stampede of patrons she was ushering in to fill our table.

I appreciate that it was Chinese New Year’s Eve and that they were busy but we had paid good money to eat there and a certain standard is expected. I won’t be going back to Plum Valley ever again and would suggest that you steer clear also – unless you’re into abusing yourself, your family and friends.
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Andy
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Thursday, February 03, 2011

My best ever Chinese eating experience. I love Chinese food and this exceeded my expectations. We were made to feel welcome as soon as we walked through the door, how refreshing to have smiling and cheerful faces throughout the meal.

The décor is modern and subtle, not the average high street Chinese restaurant.

The food and cocktails were fabulous, the portions generous and everything arrived at the right time. I particularly liked the duck salad and the dim sums and we shall certainly be visiting them again.
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Patti
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience here.

Stumbled across this on Friday night by chance and wasn't disappointed.

Food was excellent along with the presentation, service and atmosphere was good as well.

I would definitely return to eat here again.
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Mark Prescott
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Sunday, November 21, 2010

Plum Valley? More like Glum Valley! Sadly, there was nothing remotely sweet about this dining experience.

I visited this restaurant with my fiancée on a Saturday evening and really have to agree with many of the reviewers on this website; I endured the RUDEST experience in my LIFE, let alone the rudest experience in any restaurant!

The waitress was sour and miserable, which wasn't a good start. Because the menu had no info, I asked her what kind of sauce the lobster came with. She tutted, rolled her eyes and barked "it's a sauce, a white sauce!" with disdain on her face. After more coaxing, she eventually told us two more golden nuggets of information: it wasn't an English sauce, and it had pepper in it. I regretted asking. I was also told by the waitress that my chicken dish would contain peanuts. I suspected that she was getting confused with another chicken dish on the menu which did contain peanuts - but she refused to have this epiphany, even when I pointed it out to her.

By the end of the encounter with the rudest person in the world, my fiancée was ready to walk out at such miserable treatment... which is quite some feat for this restaurant, because my fiancée is the nicest and most accomodating person you could ever hope to meet. What was particularly shocking was that this waitress seemed to be in some sort of manager's position. However, for some crazy reason, I decided to persevere in the forlorn hope of making the most of a bad evening. In retrospect, perhaps we should have left; this person had already pretty much ruined our dinner.

Needless to say, the sauce in the eventual dish wasn't white and didn't have pepper in it; but at least it wasn't English. And those with nut allergies would be pleased with my chicken dish.

The food was ok, but in all honesty was really no different to the rest of the food available in Chinatown, with a higher price tag. It is in essence a regular Chinese restaurant with sub-standard service and an expensive facade. Glum Valley's pretensions at fine dining are particularly belied by its over-liberal use of MSG and gloopy sauces. In terms of food, it has light-years to go if it wants to achieve the heights of Hakkasan.

If you're looking for a memorable dining experience, I can highly recommend Glum Valley! Memorable, that is, for all the wrong reasons, and for the rudest person you may ever encounter.
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Mark Chan
2 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 3
Thursday, September 16, 2010

went last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Food wonderful, service almost too attentive. Took my TasteLondon booking no problem too
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James
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, September 09, 2010

Please do something about the front of house staff!!

My girlfriend and i booked lunch here through taste london (50% off the a la carte menu) When we arrived we were told in no uncertain times that we had made no such booking, despite our telephoning earlier in the day to reconfirm. After some argument (in which we were made to feel like we were trying to scam her) the manager finally seated us before saying that we could not take advantage of the offer....

needless to say we left. Our would be waitress was very nice and extremely apologetic about her boss but could do nothing for us. I have eaten here on several occassions and as other reviews state the food is good - but it is utterly ruined by the appalling level of customer service.
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5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

I booked on Friday for lunch on Sunday and specifically asked if the offer applied to Dim Sum at lunch time as I wanted to try the scallop dumpling as described in the description. She confirmed my booking and that the offer applied.

Arrived Sunday lunch to be told that no booking had been made! After some discussion they offered us a table and we started to pick our dumplings only to be told that the offers DID NOT apply to dim sum??? I complained and said this was not stipulated on the website and checked on my phone in front of the waitress.

We then had to discuss with the manager who refused to look at the website and refused to apply the offer saying it never applied to dim sum. She accused us of turning up without a booking even though I had called to book in advance and was extremely rude about the whole affair. we wont be going back and wouldnt recommend this establishment at all. The service is appalling and easily the worst in China Town
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Emily (BBC)
2 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Monday, July 26, 2010

first of all i would like to write this review from a chefs perspective, i have trained in some of the most prestigious french and english catering colleges so i do know my stuff. albiet i am a trained french chef not trained in far eastern cuisine, but that does not mean i cannot see the quality.

i am a londoner, i have been for the past 19 years now. and when i find a new chinese restaurant in china town, trying to show itself apart from the other dribble (only calling it dribble in comparison to this particular restaurant) This is a place that is not conforming in with the others where in amongst them serve very similar dishes but who are in fact doing what hasn't been seen in chinatown from since i came to london, for example a competent chef who is able to use a french favourite, foie gras, in a chinese dish. i certaintly have never heard of a way that this can be pulled off as chinese food has always in my mind been somewhat of a light meal.

i have seen some of the earlier reviews and cannot understand the attitude of some other londoners expecting so much from restaurants, its a hard job, but its our passion, dont ruin it for us please. this restaurant can pull off some pretty decent dishes however this does not set things right in terms of the service, when we arrived, we were greeted quite pleasantly and sat down on an ok table. recieved our drinks promptly....and this is when the mistakes started to happen. when ordering our meal, the order was taken by a waitress who seemed competent however knowing some front of house staff i feel somewhat most problems are on their part, she attempted to take our rather large order (even for two people it all looked too good so we took almost everything) without a pad, unless you are me, good luck in remembering it all. all the dishes were fine but when it comes to two different styles of crab on the menu, it would be nice to ask which style we wanted. so obviously we sent it back to the kitchen so we can get what we wanted. however at the end of the meal, not only did they give us the wrong dish, they attempted to charge us for that dish as well as the new one we originally asked for. on top of that there was one garnish on a starter that had gone slightly stale but we didnt eat it. even with these service mistakes, we left happy and full. and will be coming back to try the other half of the menu.

its sad to say but the service is killing what this restaurant could potentially be.
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7 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, July 22, 2010