Hare and Tortoise Noodle Bar

I used to work close by and have been here about 5 times. I have never had any problems at all. The place does get very busy and you may have to queue to get in. The main attraction of this place is cheap but really nice food served quickly. The service is nothing special and is never particularly friendly but besides that I would definately recommend a visit!
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gianni - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Thursday, June 26, 2008

Appalling service, and worse they REFUSE to take credit cards that are not Chip and PIN. this means that they discriminate against foreign tourists and the disabled.

However good the food is, AVOID this restaurant.

Hmm. Is Sushi meant to be served WARM? No, I didn't think so either.
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Tim
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 5
Friday, May 16, 2008

VERY BAD STAFF!! My friend and I went there 40 mins before it was closing. When we arrived, a waitress walked towards us with an annoyed and 'oh no, you are not coming at this time.' that kind of look to us. She told us they were having last orders and would be closing in 30 mins. She asked if we could finish the food in 30 mins times. The way she talked and her look was not very pleasant but my friend told me before that this restaurant served good food, so I thought even 30 mins, I would tolerate this not-so-pleasant waitress. So I told her we could finish in 30 mins and she told us to sit somewhere which were cramped with people (there were many empty seats in other corner). I asked if we could sit somewhere so we can get more room for sitting. This waitress told me 'No. you have to sit there because the table you wanted to sit is for 4 people.' I told her but you guys were closing soon and there were many empty tables. We just wanted to sit somewhere a bit more spacious instead of cramping with other customers. And she said 'No!' I was getting a bit annoyed with her attitude already and did not listen to what she said and walked to the table which is slightly further from the customers.

I asked another waitress for a menus and unfortunately, she asked this very unpleasant waitress to give us a menus and she shook her head and refused to give us menus and she told the other waitress we did not want to sit where she told us to sit. So the other waitress explained to us in a nicer way. the table we sat was for 4 people..(which was not true because if i moved the table beside me and made a gap, my table would become a 2 persons table) anyway, it sounds boring now. they just wanted us to sit somewhere which were cramped with people.. My friend and I was SO furious that we stormed off the restuarant. I told them I would never come back again. I have never done this in other restaurants before!

The worst thing is.. this unpleasant waitress gave me a very sarcastic smile and said thank you when we walked away. She looked very sarcastic. She looked like as if 'I won!' Her attitude and manners were unbelievable. Too bad I did not see her name or I would write it out here. We went to Nando's in the end and the staff were so much more pleasant even though we went in quite late. We had a quick but pleasant meal there.

I did not understand why we could not sit a little bit further away from other customers when there're many empty tables. We just wanted to sit a bit more comfortable and ate as quickly as possible because they were closing soon. I would never come back this restaurant again, not because of the food but the poor attitudes of the staff.
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Sylvia
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 6
Monday, May 12, 2008

I enjoy the food in Hare and Tortoise and I often get take away fom them. The portions are quite big and the prices are very reasonable. There are a lot of main dishes in the £5 area and even if you get starters and juices etc you will probably won't spent more than £10.

In rush hour it is very loud and you will have to wait for a while to get seated. That means that once you are seated you will get nasty stares to gulp your food fast and empty the table. It is not a suitable place to share a meal with a friend and enjoy some conversation, I prefer going there alone for a fast meal.

Also even when it is half empty the staff will not care about your seting preferances. They try to keep everybody close by so if you prefer to sit to an empty/unreserved table a bit farther back to be more quite they will flat down tell you no and sit you on the table that is convenient for them. In European standarts this is unimaginable!

The service is very fast but rude or not helpful. Also they tend to throw you out quite fast at the end of the day, an Asian-English custom that never fails to startle a continental European. The last time we got we got there just at the time they accepted last orders and we specifically asked if they are going to close soon because we did not wanted to be rashed through our meal but we wanted to enjoy it. Well by the time we left they were arranging tables and chairs next to us and actually one f the waiters being careless hit me a little trying to get a chair over a table! Well that was a first! When we got out we looked at the watch and we have only been there for 45 minutes. I understand that they need to go home at the end of the day but they should not have accepted us or they should have told us that we would have to shove the food down our throats. My friend who is usually quite understanding about service was furious and I felt very bad for taking her there. It was the second time I took a friend to this restaurant and on both occasions my friends were unhappy with the service. If you want to treat your friends do not take them there.

It might be cheap but so is McDonnalds and Burger King and they do not throw you out [which probably explains the popularity of McDonnalds in Asia]

To conclude this is a place where in my opinion you must be completely obtuse to tip: LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEIR SERVICE IS BAD: DO NOT TIP BAD WAITERS.
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maya
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 9
Friday, April 18, 2008

While the food is cheap and tastes good, the service is very poor. The waiters can be rude at times when you are asking for clarification on food items.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, April 16, 2008

We have been there last Saturday. The place was bursting of people, very loud. The service was not attentive at all, brought the main dishes before the starters, Did not understand English very well. I can agree to the last comment saying that other branches (Ealing) is much better.
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Disappointed
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 4
Sunday, March 16, 2008

Hare & Tortoise's extensive menu is pretty good value. The sushi is really nice and I always opt for the seafood noodles and duck gyoza too, as they're well-prepared and taste good. However, I have now eaten there several times and the service has become progressively worse - my most recent visit saw our main courses arriving before our starters!

This is a reasonable option for anyone looking for fast, well-priced food in an extremely informal environment, but not a good choice for those who prefer a more refined experience.
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dawnage - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 7
Thursday, March 13, 2008

We have been to other units in this group, and were very happy. But this units seems to be different. Service was very poor and food was smaller. Plus I walked out smelling like I had been for a swim in a frying pan.

We will not be returning.
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James Palmer
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, January 30, 2008

appalling service, fairly good food (penang prawn noodle + laksa highly rec). price is also reasonable.
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me
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 7
Saturday, December 01, 2007

I just happened upon this place as it was right opposite the Renoir cinema. I ordered the soft shell crab, miso soup and a selection of ngiri - tuna, salmon, yellow tail, eel and scallop. I needed a sushi fix and, as Yo! was the only other choice, there was no choice. The sushi was nice, the scallop in particular surprised me. They actually gave me sword fish instead of yellow tail but I was content enough not to complain. Plus you have to FAST to get their attention.

Having said that I don't think you come here for sushi (I seemed to be the only one eating it) and I look forward to going back to try the noodle and rice dishes The soft shell crab, although it didn't look particular appealing, was extremely tasty and a very generous portion. The sushi pricing was fairly standard sushi cafe princing but everything else on the menu appeared to be really good value and certainly the noodles bowls I saw looked brimming and delicious. The queue outside the door as I left at 18:30 was very big indeed.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, October 23, 2007