Jon1 (2 February 2008)

Three of us went to Soho Thai and ordered just mains and drinks. After what appeared to be an enjoyable meal, we were given the bill. At the bottom of the bill it had the handwritten word gratuity with an additional 12.5% added to the bill as it if was compulsory. This was odd as the couple sitting next to us had on their bill, a red stamp stating, ‘service is not included’ and did not have the ‘gratuity’ added to their bill unlike ours. We questioned the waiter why this was the case and whether the gratuity was compulsory. The waiter replied that they add a compulsory service charge for tables of three or more. We did not believe him as it sounded odd, so we asked to see the menu to check whether this was the case, on the menu it clearly states an optional service charge will be added. Once we pointed this out to the waiter, he quickly grabbed our bill (perhaps to destroy the evidence) and replaced it with the version without the gratuity on it. Another waitress told us that 12.5% service charge is never compulsory in this restaurant. We were shocked with this behaviour about the restaurant giving out different variations of restaurant bills. Overall, I would say the food is great but the toilets could be much better.