Patara (Greek St)

I actually found the service to be discraceful. Our waiter/esses could hardly speak a sentence in clear english and seemed disinterested throughout. Poor value for money, the quality of the food wasnt extraordinary as other diners mentioned and the service was slow.
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Tony Galvin
3 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Saturday, August 20, 2011

I had dinner in a restaurant this week. It included, as is becoming more common, a restaurant service charge of 12.5%. I asked the waitress how much of this she got. She said she got only 22 pounds per night plus service charge around 8 pounds in total 30 pounds per night. I think it is not minimum wage so that mean all of the service charge does not go to staff.

For me this is a disgrace. When I tip I want it to go to the waiting staff, not the restaurant.

Legally you can't be made to pay a service charge, so do what I did. Don't put it as part of the bill. Tip that same amount in cash to the waitress. This is a growing blight. And if it isn't bad enough, restaurants that include service often add a voluntary tip box on the receipt - to make us pay more.
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Tommy
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Sunday, March 06, 2011

My husband and I went to this restaurant yesterday evening (12/02/2011) to celebrate his birthday, this was based on the previous reviews on here. However this thai restaurant failed to live up to its previously spoke about reputation.

The food on the whole was of a high standard, however the restaurant was badly let down on it's service, the restaurant set up and the waitress trying to charge us for a desert we never had!! To annoy me further there was a 12.5 service charge, it stated on the dessert menu in very small letters this was discretionary. Upon receiving the bill it did not state the charge was discretionary. This restaurant was incredibly expensive meal for two people. The bill with service charge came to £120, it was not worth that. We've been to many thai restaurants and had much better value for money. The service in particular was bad, they never offered to take your coat, nor did they offer a drink when we sat down. I would not recommend this restaurant.
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J Johnson - View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Sunday, February 13, 2011

Bad service, really unfriendly staff with a really really bad attitude. Poor food, poor portions really over priced. AVOID AVOID AVOID. You might as well eat in Busba Eat thai the thai food there has actual flavour, staff are friendly and the price is good!
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J
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Saturday, December 04, 2010

I don't mind paying a lot of money for food, but I don't like being ripped off.

The portions of the main meal were so tiny that I would have needed to order three to get one average size meal.

The Thai Green curry was a joke. A pot full of greenish water with a few bits of chicken and bamboo at the bottom.

Don't go here.
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Alan Neilson
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Thursday, May 06, 2010

Went to this restaurant tonight for my birthday treat.... there was no treat to be had.

Starters were lovely - there OK I'll let them have 1 nice comment.

I ordered the wine and when the waiter arrived back with the bottle he showed it to my dining partner and asked her if she wanted to taste it so we politely pointed out that I had ordered it so should be the one to try it.

After the nice starters our main meals arrived.... both were tepid so were sent back to the kitchen. They arrived back hot and steaming but had obviously been heated in the microwave as my half eaten scallop was still on the plate. On the first occasion we had the (cold) coconut rice that we ordered, on the second occasion it was plain rice.

My food was listed as slightly hot on the menu - I basically couldn't eat it because it was soooooo spicy - ended up putting the scallops into the bowl of (not) coconut rice to try and difuse the spice!

We decided to not pay service charge which the waitress didn't seem at all fussed about - when we asked if she cared enough to know she asked if we had booked by Top Table and to put our review on that website (we didn't book by Top Table).

We told her that service had been non existent - I think when the waitress came and poured the last of the wine only into my glass thus meaning I had to pour my full glass into my dining companion's glass was the end of the straw for us.

The lady we spoke to seemed surprised that we were not satisified that the meal had been microwaved - she actually asked if other restaurants did that sort of thing (erm no!)

The restaurant looks beautiful but the experience was really not beautiful at all - when I told the lady we wouldn't be coming back again she just laughed and walked off. Such a shame!
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Trudi Stevens
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Monday, January 25, 2010

i like patara even more expensive than blue elephant 'cause food very nice and it's real thai.
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anna
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Friday, December 11, 2009

Hmmm the eternal problem, how much should you pay for good Thai food? Is a Thai curry priced at £15 twice as good as one that's priced at £6?

In my opinion - no. Thai food is (relatively) easy to cook at home with the right ingredients and tastes good. Put it in the hands of a Thai chef who's done it for years and...wow. And the ingredients are the same, so why the inflated cost?

I just can't shake the belief that, as lovely as my meal was, it's way overpriced because you can go somewhere far cheaper and still have fantastic food but at half the price. A thai meal that comes out at £60+ per head with drinks and service is plain silly.

If you want to pay this much for Thai food then I can recommend the Blue Elephant in Fulham. Food is of similar quality, but the decor/atmosphere is far superior thanks to the lush jungle interior.

Or go to the Hammersmith cafe and eat amazing food at half the price - Hammersmith is a very Thai area so good restaurants abound.
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Ted
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, December 09, 2009

I went to Patara last night with my boyfriend as I'd heard a lot of good reviews. The interior of the restaurant was very nice with dimmed lights and good atmosphere, although I felt that the tables were slightly too close so not enough privacy from the tables next to us.

The food was lovely and very enjoyable but I didn't feel that it was that special to merit the cost. The bill for 2 came to over £100 which I felt was a bit extortionate as I've had similar quality of food and service for a lot less.
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Ai
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Monday, May 11, 2009

A mixed experience. On the food front - really very good. As somebody else said "full bodied" taste to each course. My lamb skewers were generous portions and really tasty. The cod dish for the main was great and I'm a huge fan of cod. But - we were overcharged for two bottles of wine when we only had one. I wouldn't have mentioned this but for the fact that the table next door to us was also overcharged. At the very least, their cashier needs to be taught how to add up. And it was odd to be charged for two bottles when our own bottle, as another reviewer noted, was plonked a mile away and nobody came to top up our glasses unless we made pleading eyes to the waiter. So - this could be a great dining experience - really it could. But sort out the wine service - just leave the damned bottle on the table frankly. And don't mess up the bill - in a recession, people definitely don't like being overcharged. I could have been out of pocket by £20. Not acceptable.
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Ross Todhunter
6 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 4
Friday, April 10, 2009