Soho Pizzeria

Emily (11 December 2006)

Soho Pizzeria - Terrible food, appalling service and a disgraceful attitude to customers. Based on the reviews two friends and I headed to Soho Pizzeria, looking forward to ‘amazing food’ and the good atmosphere.

On arrival we waited 10 minutes to be seated (despite having booked), then a further 20 minutes for a drinks order to be taken. The starters were distinctly average. Our pizzas, when they arrived, were stone cold. It took us 10 minutes to get the attention of a waiter who told us we’d have to wait 20 minutes to have the pizzas remade.

Described by some as ‘the best pizza they’d ever eaten’, I had high hopes. Eventually three of the limpest, smallest, most unappealing replacement pizzas arrived, along with a second round of drinks that we’d ordered when the cold pizzas had been served, 30 minutes earlier. All three of us, having worked in the catering industry, are usually reluctant to make a complaint, however, another lengthy wait for our bill was the final straw. It then took us 10 minutes to get the attention of a waiter who said he hadn’t done anything wrong, stating that it was our waitress’s fault. When we asked to speak to the manager we were told we’d have to wait….

Eventually the manager arrived. He told us that it wasn’t his fault, it was because our waitress had finished at 10pm (it was now 10.30pm) and the restaurant was divided into sections. He said that the restaurant had been really busy so none of it could be helped. (It was a Wednesday night so I dread to think how they cope on a Friday). He raised his voice, almost shouting at us as he continued to exonerate himself, his staff, and the restaurant of any blame, to the extent, it seemed, that he was suggesting it was somehow our fault!

Not once during the evening was a sincere apology issued, or did any of the restaurant staff accept responsibility. The manager offered to take the price of coffees off our bill. This wasn’t well received as we hadn’t had any coffee, so he suggested that he wouldn’t charge for it if we wanted some. Given everything leading up to this point, we declined this offer. Eventually he took off the cost of the dough balls and a starter salad, totalling £5.

In another restaurant we would have enjoyed the talented pianist, but even this could not improve the experience here. It would have been preferable to pick up a take away from Pizza Express and put on a cd at home. Needless to say we’ll not be going back.