Patoo (Hunters Bar) - Rob Clarke & Louise Burgess -
Rating:
Asked to leave part way through a meal as Patoo had rebooked the table!
Last night I took my girlfriend to Patoo for a meal she'd organised for a group of her friends. I decided to have a take away. I ordered spring rolls, chicken red curry and rice.
Back at home, being out of the restaurant environment, I found myself looking at my meal – a very small starter, the wrong main course (with a small amount of chicken and lots of watery sauce), and rice and thinking that's an expensive take away for £15. I wondered what they were thinking about theirs.
At the restaurant, during the meal my girlfriend's group of 5 were struggling to get the staff to refresh their glasses, as the wine had not been left by the table. This is the opposite of the problem we've had before in Patoo, where virtually every passing staff member wants to top your glass up. You might not think this would be an issue but if you are driving and need to keep track of how much you've had it had become more than irritating on past visits. Normally my girlfriend and her friends would get through 3 or 4 bottles of wine through an evening with a meal, but due to lack of interest by the staff they only got through 2 and were left sitting with empty glasses for long periods of time until they went and retrieved the bottle and put it on their table.
After around 90 minutes, they had enjoyed their starters and main courses, and were expecting the dessert menu when a member of staff came over and said they would be bringing them the bill as they had to leave as Patoo had booked another group of 6 in for the same table! No desserts, no coffees - you've got to go! When one of the group asked where they were supposed to go for their desserts and coffees (there is no lounge at Patoo) the staff member gave them the names of several local bars and said they could try there!
Well, many people would have meekly paid up and left, but this group of 5 very unhappy teachers made it plain that leaving part way through a meal was not an acceptable option. Desserts and coffees were eventually provided and not a single member of staff visited the table again for the next hour.
The unhappy group made their feeling known to the manager and left - no tip of course. A verbal apology was given but no effort to make up for trying to throw them out part way through their meal. The manager said that the group they had booked the table for had not actually turned up, so one can only speculate what would have happened if they had.
End result - 6 people who will never visit Patoo again, and are telling their other friends not to bother, either.
We have 7 reviews of Patoo.