Melissa H.
Yelp
I'm actually starting this review from the restaurant, where I've been sitting at my table, waiting for ketchup, for about thirty minutes without anyone stopping by to check on me. I long ago finished the duck and waffle, but the only people being waited on are men or groups of two or more (the two guys next to me have ordered, received, and finished their desserts while I've been sitting here and they are now paying their check...hmmm).
This is all quite disappointing because I was so looking forward to this lunch. The food has been good. Everything is crispy here, particularly the duck and fries. The closest I've had to this meal previously is chicken and waffles at the now shuttered M3 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and duck poutine at St. James Brasserie in Reno, Nevada. My husband is a big fan of crispy fries, while I'm partial to the softer ones (drenched in fat). Since D&W's version is scrape-up-your-mouth crispy, I took one bite and knew I would need a condiment to help them go down (mayo, ketchup, anything). Trouble was, no one bothered coming over to check on me when the fries were still hot, even though I was sitting immediately adjacent to two other tables that were being waited on. The worst part was when a couple sat next to me, I overheard the server ask if they wanted ketchup with their fries!
I think the problem may have stemmed from confusion among the staff as to who was responsible for me. When I arrived, I checked in at the front desk, noting that I'd made a reservation. As others have noted, weekday lunch reservations are not necessary, even if you're heading to a matinee show, like I was. The hostess/server (Eirini?) seemed annoyed that my reservation had been for two people but it ended up being just me. I was several minutes early, so I opted to check out the ladies room downstairs before being seated (it's nice, though one bottle of soap is mislabeled "lotion"). When I returned, she sat me at a table near the front between the open kitchen and bar. In hindsight, since it was just me, I probably should have just sat at the bar, particularly because the bartender looked a lot friendlier than the wait staff and because people at the bar were actually being attended to, unlike me.
The woman who sat me was not the woman who took my order, as expected, but the woman who took my order (Dominika?), though friendly enough, was MIA the rest of the time except for when the hostess brought me the check and walked away. Only then did my order taker reappear to close the check. She had been a good saleswoman, offering me drinks when I said I would just have water (I would have ordered beer, but the menu made it look like I could only order beer for four people). When she mentioned juice, I asked if they had anything fresh squeezed and they did--grapefruit, orange, and apple. Apple sounded nice, so I went with that and wasn't disappointed expect it was all ice (I thought Londoners didn't put ice in their drinks?).
I did eventually get that ketchup, but by that time, the fries were cold and I wasn't really in the mood for them. I picked through them for the bigger ones, trying to avoid the sad little ones, too small to really count as proper fries (see photo).
I've worked in food service for several years and this sort of poor service is common and expected in the States because waiters know a table for one won't garner a huge tip. I'm little surprised that our transatlantic friends treat a table for one the same.