Octave Restaurant & Jazz Bar

We went here for my partners birthday and were very disappointed. Two of the starters were not available. When the main courses arrived they brought my partner fish instead of the chicken he had ordered! I had finished my meal by the time my partners meal eventually arrived! By thie time it came to pay the bill the Live Music still hadn't started (probably because we saw them take the unwanted fish meal over to a member of the band). We asked them not to include the cover charge onto our bill because we had not seen any live music. The waitress 'rolled' her eyes at this request. When the bill arrived they had added a 12.5% service charge which we elected not to pay (since the service we had received was appaling - and the restaurant wasn't busy) - more 'rolled' eyes from the waitress. After paying the bill we retired to the bar area and waited for the live music to start - and yes, we were again disappointed. We left early. A very disappointing evening.
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Grace Kay
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I LOVED the food!

Music fantastic!

Coktails were nice.

Service helpful even though the place was packed!

My advice: Get there early and book if you want to make sure to have a table!

All in all it was above my budget (60£) but it was probably because of the wine and cocktails we had and it was such a good experience!

Would recommend to anyone!!!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

We had a table of 9 booked last night for a birthday party, we turned up early and where shown to our table so we could order drinks rather than stand at the bar. Everyone loved the food I had the Chorrizo starter and the Ribeye steak and would certainly recommend eating here. The music was superb and the staff service was attentive whilst not being overbearing. If you want good quality music and excellant food go here.
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Paul Williams
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Sunday, February 24, 2008

If you are going for the live jazz, I recommend you go after dinner for drinks and nibbles rather than dining there.

Don't get me wrong, the food is fantastic, nicely presented and of a good quality. Service is also good with waiters being very attentive but not intrusive. However, I would agree some of the food is a bit overpriced. I had scallops for main course priced at 16.95 for which I would expect a generous portion, but it turned out there were only THREE pieces of smaller-than-expected scallops (not even as large as the ones I saw at the Tesco seafood stall) on a bed of lentils and a couple of spring onion! Though the dish was nice, I can't see it being marked at that price there (for that portion size)! And also, a cocktail for 7.50 is probably a bit much as well considering you already have to pay the 5 pounds / head cover fee for the music.

The bar is just directly behind the restaurant so you won't miss out even if you don't get to sit at a table right in front of the band.
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Phoebe
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Friday, November 09, 2007

I was there for my 40 th birthday. I had a great night , with my family.

Food was good, excellent service, nice lady singing
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piero
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, May 28, 2007

Fabulous! Have now been to Octave twice in the space of a month. The service is excellent and if you book in advance for a party or special occasion you will be well looked after.

The food is good if pricey, but the atmosphere is buzzing and the music fabulous! Will be going a lot more in future too!
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, March 31, 2007

We went here on Friday night having read the reviews on this web site and we weren't disappointed. We arived early but when we asked if we could take our table it was no problem despite the fact that the restaurant and bar were packed. The food was fantastic (we had the fried chorizo and smoked salmon starters, followed by rib eye steak), our waiter was very attentive without being over-bearing, and the music was also very good and added to the ambience without drowning out our conversation. Overall we were very impressed and would have no problem recommending to others.
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Angela Deakin
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, March 05, 2007

Quite simply, this is the place London has been screaming (tunefully) out for. We had a wonderful night last week (our 4th time at Octave), and the live jazz was fantastic. Of course, some punters might feel the music isn't to their taste on a particular night, but generally it's worth checking the website to see who's playing. From what I've seen the standard of music is as good as any of London's clubs, and the food is a thousand times better. The butterfish was delightful, and I am in completer agreement with the mashed potato fan a few reviews down. Whether with a group of chums or a quiet dinner date, Octave will always be our first port of call.
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Jeff Shadley
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, February 28, 2007

My boy friend and I went to octave hoping to have a relaxed meal listening to Jazz music as it was our anniversary. On the contrary we found ourselves, listening to crowd noise and sitting in an atmosphere filled with smoke which made us feel so irritated, that at the end we were just waiting to leave the place, and I kid you not, it was so refreshing to take one step out of the place. Having seen that you charge a cover charge of £5 a head, I was hoping that you charge this for the privilege of listening to Jazz music and not hear crowd noise from a bar located in the same premises as the restaurant without any partitions. I am appalled at this and I seek a refund of the £10 cover charge and the £6.31 for service that was added to our food bill as none of this is justifiable. I would not be happy to receive a voucher as I do not intend visiting Octave again! I hope you will take my complaint seriously and make up your mind on which customer you want to cater, a restaurant goer or to make money running a bar, not both at the same time and leaving restaurant customers feeling cheated.
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Anusha
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, February 25, 2007

Great food, rather slow but very friendly and polite service, bar section very noisy and doesn't really go with the live music idea.

Music OK, but not the most artistic jazz ever...

Great deal with 30% off the food bill.
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Tuti
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Saturday, January 13, 2007