I just came home from dinner at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. I am unable to do a story I have planned on Robert Clergerie's bags (cool and well priced) because I am debilitatingly ill from food poisoning. I thought the decor was making me sick until I ate the food. I ordered the scallops only after specifically confirming that it was fresh live scallops - it came, I took a bite and it was rotten. I should have acted like Gordon and spit it in my napkin in a dramatic fashion but instead I mistakenly acted civil and swallowed it. Now I am paying for it and unfortunately so are you with a lack of bag story to read. I would not be so angry if the rest of the food was good but it was mediocre at best. So there you have it, a restaurant review instead.
Blame Gordon Ramsay
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Sorry to hear that Kelly. Hope u feel better. Should call and complain, you were not eating at a random roadside stall in some 3rd world country. He's a renowed chef and always emphasized on fresh ingredients. I can't believe this happened at his restaurant. I was thinking of making reservation for London in NYC. I don't think I will now.
W
@kelly
feel better! that guy is such a prick. i can't even believe you went there. speaking of tv chefs i went to craft (tom collichio from top chef's restaurant) and i didn't like it. has anyone else been there...i know there's one in la and dallas?
@tina, kelly, fellow bagsnobbers
i need some advice on a bag purchase. i'm in the market for a travel bag, but all of my friends are label whores and have already snatched up all the greats - the lv epi keepall and the balenciaga weekender. but yesterday i spotted this fab ysl on saks.com.
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should i get it, stick with one of the typicals, or is there something else out there? here are some other bags i have been considering...
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i'm so confused. what should i get? oh and just as an fyi, whichever bag i chose will need to complement my globe-trotter.
http://www.brownsfashion.com/product/fashion/mensstore/bags/92065.htm
why did you swallow if it was rotten? doesn't make sense. anyway, i agree, you shoulda spit it out...who cares about acting civil if the food sucked. also, you could of complained to the waitress and the manager would of either offered you another dish or taken it off your bill.
Dear Anon. Unlike large and expensive restaurants, Street food in most 3rd world countries is very fresh and clean because they have very limited resources in preserving and storing it ,so what you eat is most likely just made and when it is gone it is gone. All these restaurants have huge walk in coolers, dry storages, and freezers and there is where is a risk of things not being fresh. Also I do not see the connection between Kelly's experience in London with the restaurant in NYC, I mean different continents, staff, different ingredients and purveyors. Now Kelly next time something like this happens to you , stop eating, push your plate away from you and politely complaint IMMEDIATELY, one should never accept food that is not up to your standards. In this kind of establishments incidents like yours are very rare and managers and staff usually take lots of pride on the plates they put out. I am almost positive that they would have taken care if it right away in many ways. (NO I do not work for GR or any of his outlets)
I did send it back and the waitress did take it off the bill but did nothing else. Not that I was surprised, the service was not the greatest. She had an English accent that faded in and out, which was kind of entertaining and there were about 35 other waiters milling about doing who knows what, none of which though was to serve us. I am really really shocked that they served bad food and did nothing to make up for it.
Kelly
Kelly,
Given the influence of the Bag Snobs you might want to consider informing GR's office directly of your experience. No one in the industry needs or wants its staff to act as you've described. Bad service which -- the horrors of food poisoning aside -- is what you experienced in their lack of attention and failure to do anything to compensate you at the table for what happened has turned off readers in more than one city just by your posting. GR may be a jerk ... but he is a business man and I doubt that he wants this type of reputation for his business. . . .
Get better, GR has cost you AND your readers!
Oh no!! I've been watching Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen on hulu.com, and thought about trying out London in West Hollywood. I'm so sorry you went through everything Gordon Ramsay criticizes on his shows (bad food, bad service, etc.).
And to "Chef", London is the name of the restaurant. Gordon Ramsay has 1 London restaraunt in NYC, and another 1 in West Hollywood (Los Angeles).
I agree with Laurel!!!! Thats unacceptable. On a separate but semi-related note, how did you find the hotel itself (lobby, entrance etc)? I'm planning on staying there for a month this summer and ANY input would really help!!!!
Rotten Scallops! Yuck! That chef should have been reprimanded!
Awww Kelly! Speaking from experience - I know how awful that can be!
I would write a letter to the Manager on Bagsnob.com letterhead and share your experience with the Manager, and a copy to Gordon Ramsay, Inc. The man's ego is as large as his corporation. Your entire party's meal should have been 'no charge', dessert and coffee included.
During lunch at the Four Seasons, Seattle - I showed a brown piece of salad green to server - it was whisked away promptly, with apologies from Manager. My friend's lunch and mine was 'no charge'. We had to leave, they brought us dessert to take back to the office with us.
Maybe they didn't like your face or your height? Just kidding. I am really sorry to hear that.
So sorry to hear about your terrible experience! Have been to The London NYC twice, and ordered the scallops both times, and it was fine. Hopefully it was an isolated incident in West Hollywood and that it didn't ruin your weekend.
Feel better! I hope you pull through okay, and you aren't too miserable.
I read this page with interest as my husband booked a table for our anniversary and was real worried! I think I got the same waitress though and she was great, the same accent but we asked her about it and apparently her dad is american her mom is english so she gets comments about it all the time, people thinking its fake. I cant imagine that restaurant would allow someone to 'fake' an accent, nobody else was and they're closely monitored. Remember with waitresses that they will always get told what to do in these situations and that she would have had no control over how much to take off your bill, if she offered you something else that's really all she could have done on her side of things.