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Yeah, Dishoom definitely needs to sort out a reservations system for the evenings. That giant line just turns people away.
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Jul 29, 2018 22:58
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The_Doctor posted:Yeah, Dishoom definitely needs to sort out a reservations system for the evenings. That giant line just turns people away. From their perspective, why do they need it if they are operating at full capacity all evening?
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Jul 30, 2018 11:26
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therattle posted:From their perspective, why do they need it if they are operating at full capacity all evening? But it's very user-unfriendly for the customer. It means you can never plan a trip there without having to add in potentially an hour's wait, so it's useless for a date or if you're planning on eating before going to do something else.
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Jul 30, 2018 12:26
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The_Doctor posted:But it's very user-unfriendly for the customer. It means you can never plan a trip there without having to add in potentially an hour's wait, so it's useless for a date or if you're planning on eating before going to do something else. Oh, I agree: but it doesn’t affect their business. It’s your problem, not theirs.
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Jul 30, 2018 12:32
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therattle posted:From their perspective, why do they need it if they are operating at full capacity all evening? Because they are actually under cap when they are being inefficient. They can easily have faster turn over time and earn more money when they change their crowd management methods
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Jul 30, 2018 12:55
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caberham posted:Because they are actually under cap when they are being inefficient. They can easily have faster turn over time and earn more money when they change their crowd management methods I’ve only been there once for dinner and I was really impressed; I thought they managed queuing and seating very efficiently. I think we even commented on it. Maybe it’s not as sharp anymore but I don’t know if a reservations system would solve that problem for them without creating others. I agree that it sucks from a customer perspective but I can see why they wouldn’t see the need for one.
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Jul 30, 2018 16:29
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Last time I went to Dishoom they had somebody going up and down the line to grab parties of 2, so clearly they sometimes informally do what caberham is suggesting, but haven't made the leap to putting a formalised system in place.
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Jul 30, 2018 17:55
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Bear in mind also how much restauranteurs getal screwed by no shows at the moment. It prevents that problem completely
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Jul 30, 2018 18:05
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Lot of restaurant magnates in here. I need to find a way to recreate their black daal because eating it the 2-3 times a year I'm in London just isn't cutting it.
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Jul 30, 2018 18:17
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tarbrush posted:Bear in mind also how much restauranteurs getal screwed by no shows at the moment. It prevents that problem completely That’s going to be a small minority though. They should maybe do a mix of reservations and line up.
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Jul 30, 2018 18:21
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The_Doctor posted:That’s going to be a small minority though. They should maybe do a mix of reservations and line up. It's more than you think - restaurateurs have been complaining that it's up to 30% quite regularly
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Jul 30, 2018 18:34
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I was at at claridge’s today for the afternoon tea. Holy loving smokes it’s 60 pounds per person. The sandwiches are heavenly because they lather truffle oil onto the chicken but I’m most impressed at how reserved the flavors are. It’s not too strongly sweet or savoury or oily and there’s a bit of texture and depth to the pastry. Maybe it’s me having 7 cups of tea and going at it like dim sum but I’m very very impressed with the food. The decor is nice but service and bone china don’t compare to modern British influenced hotels like the mandarin oriental or the peninsula. But hey they actually serve hojicha (a weaboo tea) and a whole bunch of others. Is it worth 130 pounds for 2 people? For me probably not I rather spend the same amount for a extremely deluxe sushi lunch in tokyo/hong Kong. Should have gone to the gift shop and buy the cakes and pastries there. We also joked to try the afternoon tea set in buckingham palace / Windsor castle / X museum but it’s probably a gimmick. I can’t wait to try a more approachable afternoon tea restaurant.
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Jul 30, 2018 18:35
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How to generate faster turn over and more money without additional costs: 1. Be like tokyo 2. Hand out menus to people waiting in line so they can figure out what they want beforehand 3. Take the customer’s order before they are seated to reduce delay 4. Do not put a party of 2 into a table of 4, that’s just wasted space. 5. If your restaurant is full don’t let people linger so you can fill up more seats. 6. Those that don’t want to wait half hour or longer should be able to order take out. I haven’t even to mentioned about sorting one giant line into sub groups but whatever. It’s not just the restaurant’s fault, diners aren’t much better when they are indecisive with ordering and linger forever
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Jul 30, 2018 18:58
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tarbrush posted:Bear in mind also how much restauranteurs getal screwed by no shows at the moment. It prevents that problem completely Maybe this is a dick opinion from me, but I feel like it's cart before the horse when I hear restaurant owners ranting about no shows and stuff. Human nature doesn't change, only the circumstances people are presented with. If restaurants cut costs by making their reservation system online, it seems so unbelievably obvious to me that this is the cause of these no shows and not some ridiculous phantom of psychopathic patrons who book ten restaurants at once because ??? they are so fey and whimsical? Even if that happens, it can only be a fraction of a percent of their customer base. Restaurants need to apply a more rigorous system of reservations that takes some commitment from the person booking. I can go right now and basically OpenTable a place at a restaurant in way less than a minute. Is it any surprise that people are pretty lackadaisical and don't value those kinds of reservations? They barely even feel real when I'm doing them, like I half expect when I arrive it won't have gone through.
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Jul 30, 2018 19:01
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caberham posted:How to generate faster turn over and more money without additional costs: Half of this is just culturally unpalatable. It's all well and good to think you can plonk one country's restaurant etiquette on another, but in practice all it will do is lead to reams of negative reviews about rude wait staff and being made to feel hurried. There aren't that many places in the UK with the problem that Dishoom has anyway. Also your head would probably explode if you went to a restaurant in a provincial France or something. You're lucky if you can leave a nice restaurant in under like 2.5 hours, and they will be horrified secretly at how you're treating their establishment as a fast food joint.
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Jul 30, 2018 19:08
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Yeah, that wouldn't swing at all well in London. Dining here is not about speed at all. People want to savour the experience, enjoy the food, and not feel rushed doing so. And I think afternoon tea is vastly overrated and expensive. The only good ones are those that will bring you more sandwiches/cakes. The ones that only offer one round of food are ridiculously overpriced.
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Jul 30, 2018 19:15
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I had afternoon tea for the first time in Very Much Not London (Glynde) on a voucher but it would've been £13.25 per person, and it's unfortunate that we didn't have more time there because although you only got one round of food the scones were as big as your head and the cakes were not far off. Unlimited tea from what I could tell, too. Rolled out of that place full and if I didn't already have type 1 diabetes I'd have been worried about my increased risk for type 2. It was very nice. So I guess just don't get afternoon tea in London? Totally hearing everyone on the cultural differences here in dining. Queuing is annoying but if you know that's what will happen then you would be prepared - don't turn up starving and consider having a drink or two whilst you wait. It's really uncomfortable feeling rushed when you go out to eat at a good restaurant. Places also often do take bookings for groups, and if it's somewhere lots of people want to eat it's usually not difficult to get a few people together and grab a table in advance that way.
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Jul 30, 2018 20:23
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Afternoon tea in London, I'd really recommend Newen's (Maids of honour) that's near Kew gardens. They do a much more informal type meal and their own style of egg tart that I think is really good. Feels almost countryside style if you're going round central London most of the time too.
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Jul 30, 2018 21:45
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Finally tried Cotton’s, thanks guys it was interesting but I wasn’t too impressed with mutton curry  I’m watching gordon Ramsey on channel 4 and I’m just poo poo posting so skip this one Jeza posted:Half of this is just culturally unpalatable. It's all well and good to think you can plonk one country's restaurant etiquette on another, but in practice all it will do is lead to reams of negative reviews about rude wait staff and being made to feel hurried. Well I’m in central London having fast casual instead of bum gently caress Italy having a 5 course meal and drinking grappa with my Italian clients. Hot take: UK needs to queue better  I kid, I kid.Staff were pretty happy that we got our orders ready when seated because they were busy as hell. Dishoom is a great fast casual restaurant with a few chains in London. A mean city with insane real estate prices that churns people in and out like a meat grinder. The food in dishoom is tasty and gives good value for money. But it’s no Gymkhana, no Robuchon, no Gagan, or some set course fine dining place. You can even walk in without a reservation if you don’t mind waiting. They serve you ginger spiced milk tea to make the wait more bearable. And depending on location / weekend it can vary quite a lot. Pretty cool accessible kind of restaurant. Guess that’s why goons swoon over it. The restaurant is not stuck between fast food joint or 3 hour ordeal. They can easily fine tune a few things to bring in more happy customers without sacrificing satisfaction. Yeah I just wrote a bunch of garbage about some restaurant with a long line, sorry caberham fucked around with this message at 00:07 on Jul 31, 2018 |
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Jul 30, 2018 23:31
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Claridge’s tea set, 60 pounds you get 4 sandwiches, 2 small warm scones, 4 pastries and one kind of tea. I think you are paying for prestige and celebration, and to impress. the food is good, the tea is better than the usual afternoon teas in the common wealth but If I’m in London I rather eat here 3 times  I think I prefer my roast well done. Thanks for the stay London food goons. You guys are awesome, see you next time! caberham fucked around with this message at 23:54 on Jul 30, 2018 |
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Jul 30, 2018 23:51
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The one time I met with goons in London we went to Dishoom. We had a reservation though which I found odd. Maybe the King's X branch has a different system?
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Aug 3, 2018 17:29
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Ibblebibble posted:The one time I met with goons in London we went to Dishoom. We had a reservation though which I found odd. Maybe the King's X branch has a different system? Did you go at lunch time or were there more than 6 of you?
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Aug 3, 2018 18:16
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That might explain it, it was dinner time but there were 6 of us.
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Aug 4, 2018 13:20
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El Grillo posted:Has anyone else been to Galvin La Chapelle? Took our dad there for his 80th recently. It was loving incredible, not just the insane food and wine but the whole experience. I went once before a number of years ago and I honestly had forgotten how good it was. BIt late but yeah the pigeon tagine at La Chapelle is superb, and the restaurant is in an amazing building. Such a shame they closed the Bistrot de Luxe, it was an awesome restaurant if you were round that area.
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Aug 4, 2018 23:17
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Hung’s in Chinatown has been shut down for health violations. 
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Aug 21, 2018 13:50
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Having a day at Borough Market tomorrow. I've had a look at a couple of vids and seen some nice looking things already but wondering if there's any stalls that you folks would recommend? I'm open to everything but my gf doesn't do nuts or shellfish. Cheap to midrange ideally - can spend a lil' bit but not like Hawksmoor or anything! Ta.
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Aug 22, 2018 15:41
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Firstly, Borough isn’t really all that cheap. Lots of the stalls start at about £6-7 a dish.
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Aug 22, 2018 15:46
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Kappacasein for the raclette is always a top choice at Borough market, or the chorizo sandwich from Brindisa.
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Aug 22, 2018 16:12
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Kim Justice posted:Having a day at Borough Market tomorrow. I've had a look at a couple of vids and seen some nice looking things already but wondering if there's any stalls that you folks would recommend? I'm open to everything but my gf doesn't do nuts or shellfish. Cheap to midrange ideally - can spend a lil' bit but not like Hawksmoor or anything! Ta. Duck confit wraps from Le Quartier du Marche. Personally I’d tell them to hold the cheese.
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Aug 22, 2018 16:38
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I really like the chicken potstickers from the Japanese stall, slathered in soy and chilli oil.
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Aug 22, 2018 17:22
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Kim Justice posted:Having a day at Borough Market tomorrow. I've had a look at a couple of vids and seen some nice looking things already but wondering if there's any stalls that you folks would recommend? I'm open to everything but my gf doesn't do nuts or shellfish. Cheap to midrange ideally - can spend a lil' bit but not like Hawksmoor or anything! Ta. Not a cart, but Padella is amazing pasta.
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Aug 22, 2018 18:30
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Nephzinho posted:Not a cart, but Padella is amazing pasta. Yes this Padella is good and non-expensive
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Aug 22, 2018 23:03
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Thanks for the recommendations folks  we couldn't do Padella as the queue was super duper long (definitely something for next time, we're both not that far from London so we'll definitely be coming to the market again!) but everything we had was great - Kappacaesin's toasted cheese sandwich is the absolute best cheese sandwich I've ever had - my lord that was ridiculolus. We also had the Brindisa Chorizo Roll, Marche du Quartier duck confit sandwich and I had a few oysters from Richard Haward 'cause they were real good and well priced to boot. Even the Coffee from Monmouth was brilliant! Great day.
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Aug 23, 2018 20:20
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That does indeed sound like a good day! Well done for managing to eat so many things!
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Aug 23, 2018 20:29
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Anyone have a good tip for korean BBQ or Chinese hotpot in Chintatown?
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Nov 6, 2018 12:24
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There are basically 2 styles of hotpot : spicy (Sichuan peppercorns) or non spicy (Cantonese, primarily seafood). Either styles can do a half and half soup base of some sort but the focus is different. I’m not sure if it’s open yet but haidilao will open in London sometime. That place is the rolls loving Royce of service and the attendants there try too hard in a hilarious but charming way. Oh and the spicy soup is decent for non Sichuan people, myself included. Get the fresh pulled noodles and if you order shrimp ask the service staff to peel the shells for you.
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Nov 6, 2018 12:53
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Best Sichuan spots in Chinatown?
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Nov 9, 2018 20:04
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El Grillo posted:Best Sichuan spots in Chinatown? It’s not in Chinatown, but I’d highly recommend Chillicool on Leigh St by Kings Cross/the Brunswick.
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Nov 9, 2018 20:10
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^^yeah I keep hearing about it. Need to go. Just odd that I haven't been to any Sichuan places in Chinatown. I'll just have to pick one and do a trip report.
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Nov 11, 2018 14:47
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I’ve always gone to Bar Shu, as a friend was friendly with the management and knew what to order.
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Nov 11, 2018 19:37
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