Lena

So... Two enthusiastic ladies from Lena approached us at our office block one working day a few weeks back... As charming as they were they encouraged us to re-visit Lena (since we had been previously disappointed by waiting times)... We were told Lena now had fantastic attentive waiting staff and the new food menu was to die for!

Well, they were right... the food WAS to die for! Compliments to the Chef!

However, the standard of waiting staff has NOT changed!

We waited just over half an hour between starter and main course with no contact from the waiter explaining the hold up. We had to chase our mains.

This is a big shame in what could be a fab restaurant!

Like I say, the food was delicious, the service is such a let down.
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Lakhanpaul - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Saturday, December 17, 2011

Lena was a little bit of a surprise really....I don't normally hang around in east London but I am so glad I did last Friday!

The food is nice and tasty and the decor is so really Italian is like having dinner somewhere nice in the middle of Italy. I must say, the best bit is the service, I think I am slightly in love with the Spanish manager, all I can say is that at some point I really thought he was actually reading my mind! My friends were also very impressed and I can envisage a few trips back...east London is not so bad after all.
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9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, November 02, 2011

I don't normally write reviews of restaurants but our dinner at Lena's was really, really bad.

The staff left us waiting for a long time after taking our order before serving our food. The food was ok in my opinion but all 3 other guests in my group disagreed and were not happy at all.

What really annoys me the most was the male waiter wearing pink nail polish. Very rude and he had no manners whatsoever. Other staff in the restaurant were exactly the same.

We had a deal through Groupon and nowhere was it mentioned that on top of the ridiculously expensive prices we still had to pay a service charge which was ridiculous. When we asked them to take it off the bill the waiter got even more rude. In the end we gave him the money (not me since I would not have given anything but would have instead walked out!) He still had the cheek to say he didn't care if you come back or not since he didn't care.

I could go on and on but to put it simply absolutely awful place avoid at all costs. They will be bankrupt soon with this kind of behaviour for sure!
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Tony
1 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Monday, August 01, 2011

The first thing that strikes you is the lovely white and green decor but if you are unlucky enough to be seated on the green seats you had better take a throw to sit on as they are so stained it is difficult to spot a clean bit! This could so easily be sorted with a steam clean or re-cover,I would not sit on a chair in this condition at home let alone want to sit on one when I am a paying customer !!

First to course were quite good(ham hock terrine and pork belly) but the desserts were nasty.

We went on a 'Groupon' deal but they had a different menu for that,it was only when we ordered dessert that they had to show us a proper menu and the prices did not match up so it was a bit of a rip off.

We asked for the 2 service charges to be removed as we like to leave our own tip ,not be told what we have to leave! manager told us we had to pay it and I told him it was optional and would not be paying it,so for his rudeness and cheek we left a £1 which was far to much lol

We went to 'Hoxton bar &grill' across the road after and it was buzzing and had happy friendly staff.

Give Lena's a wide berth! I would imagine the people who give fantastic reveiws may be friends and family of the owners.
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karen patten
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Friday, July 01, 2011

love this restaurant...........dessert amazing especially cannolli siciliani, some people before they wrIte a review they should KNOW ITALIAN FOOD
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love italian food - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 01, 2011

I went to Lena on a Friday evening with a friend of mine just arrived from Italy. I couldn’t choose a better place to show off my new life in the east end!

The décor at Lena is simply stunning and the food is a mix of delicious Italian's best dishes. We had a lovely meal and the manager is seriously charming! The bar downstairs is the perfect place to continue the evening, good cocktails and good music. Will visit again soon with my family.
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Giorgia
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, June 20, 2011

I wish I had read the reviews before making a booking via Groupon what was supposed to be dinner for two at a value of £77 as a birthday present for my Italian partner. How a Spanish manager can claim this to be an Italian restaurant is a joke! Two thirds of the menu are not Italian food, the bread served was not typical Italian and the biscuit served with the coffee was the wrong type as well. The mains had very little flavour and there really was not much to it. When we looked at the overpriced menu, we quickly did the maths and that it would no way add up to £77. We pointed this out to the manager asking how he can mislead customers into getting a good deal with the voucher when they are ripped off but simple maths were obviously not his forte. The staff were untrained and totally incompetent. We left very unhappy and still hungry and needless to say will not return.
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Veronika
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Thursday, June 16, 2011

This is the first time I have ever felt compelled to write a review of a restaurant but the dreadful service and poor quality of food at I experienced dining in Lena last night was some of the worst I've ever had.

The staff left us waiting for nearly 50 minutes after taking our order before serving our food - I had the padella which was basically a bowl of badly cooked rubbery seafood- they then had the nerve to start clearing our plates as some of our party of five were still eating. Then after waiting 20 minutes to order desserts we were left with the dirty plates lying in front of us for the same time again !

The waitress was rude surly and aggressive when we asked her to remove the 16 % service charge from the menu ( Taking the view that the blame for this shambles lies firmly with the management we actually did give her a tip of 12% which she said meant nothing to her !!) .

I could go on and on but to put it simply absolutely awful place avoid at all costs
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0 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, May 05, 2011

Having read previous reviews of Lena Restaurant online, it seems most people, who I presume were in smaller groups, enjoyed themselves. However, I would certainly not recommend a large booking at this restaurant. They are unfortunately complete and utter amateurs when it comes to serving a group larger than 4-5.

Of course, I am not simply referring to the fact the food did not arrive at the same time (although it didn't). The food whilst delicious, comes in microscopic portions (let me clarify - as a petite size 8 it is not gluttony that is skewing my view of this portion size!)). For a £12 pasta dish I was served 4 small pieces of ravioli. When I tried to (politely) complain that I didn't realise the portions would be so small at such a cost, the management were not only hostile but extremely rude to me and my party. They were clearly more concerned with lining their own pockets than providing outstanding customer satisfaction. As I am only 25 they obviously felt that they could speak to me this way. Sadly, they did not realise that I used to manage a silver service events centre in Australia, serving up to 100-500 people a night, and I would never have dared to speak to my customers in such a manner.

Even more audacious, was the fact that they are clearly not a popular eating spot for lunch (the restaurant was completely empty) and should have been grateful for some custom. It seems this restaurant which, for all it's glamour and mirrors, cannot hide the transparent nature of its staff.

The food left a pleasant taste, but the service was the bitter aftertaste.
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1 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Went to Lena on the 16th of February for dinner and got the 50% off food offer. I suppose that makes it harder to complain but the bill still came up to £60 for a beer, a glass of wine, two starters and two mains. I know that is not expensive for london prices but had I paid £100 for the fully priced meal, I would have gone home absolutely furious. The food is oversalted and generally not very impressive, we left thinking it was "ok". Nice decor, slow unenthusiastic service and just ok food.
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Potta
6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Monday, February 21, 2011