Picked the wrong day to come here, definitely. Major sporting event craziness meant saying excuse me twice to people I was trying to get past before having to nearly knock their drinks out of their hands anyway as they didn't move. The only respite from the sport would have been the far too posh restaurant area at the back. In the end being cold was the lesser of the two evils and so the seats outside got an early season occupation (despite the heaters not being on). The beer was quite decent mind you. I did enjoy my pint of Otter bitter. I just wish I could have enjoyed it somewhere else. Very different to the pub I remember being here 7/8 years back. read more

I'm in two minds about this place... The good... The cocktails are unbelievably delicious! We tried a few different cocktails and each one was either totally unique and interesting or one of the best classic cocktails I've ever tasted. The bartenders are super friendly and clearly love their jobs. They have fun chatting to patrons recommending cocktails and just generally monkey-ing around behind the bar. The music, although quite loud, is really good. The DJ played a mix of 80's, pop and general party tunes the night we were there. The bad... The bar seems to be controlled by Gestapo. There are so many rules of what you can and can't do, where they want you to sit and what you can do when you sit there. For instance, you aren't allowed to sit at the outdoor tables with a drink. So why have outdoor tables. And we were not allowed to sit in the back room even though it was almost completely empty and they weren't serving food--not because they were closing the area, but because we weren't ordering food. Just seems a like the place is run like a club by a bunch of fun killers. The patrons are also less than desirable--the number of drunk freaks is unbelievable. read more

The Avalon is situated a short walk from Clapham South tube station and is a handy place to start a mini crawl. For some reason I've never seen the place quiet (which is a good sign) but it makes getting served and finding a place to stand indoors annoying. The outdoor area is the place to be even on cold winter nights as you always get a seat around the picnic tables and have a conversation without shouting. read more

We were very excited about eating at the Avalon. However, sadly our dinner was low quality and overpriced. We had a goats' cheese tart for starter (£6-7) which was literally a lump of cheese in a pre-bought pastry case. The burger at £9.50 was no better. The meat was like spicy dog food and left us praying that there wouldn't be negative consequences the next morning! With so many fabulous places to eat in Clapham this should be at the bottom of your list. read more

Meh. Nothing terribly wrong with The Avalon, so long as you've got a particularly strong 'wanker barrier' that you can use to shield yourself from the wannabe Hooray Henries and Henriettas. You know the ones, those who can't actually afford to live in Fulham. But hey, it's tastefully done out, has some decent seating outside and from what I saw, the food looks decent if not a little try hard. It's got a separate dining area out the back of the pub. I've heard their Sunday roast is not to be scoffed at. Owned by the same company as the Bolingbrooke and Stonhouse in nearby Clapham/Battersea. read more

While this is one of the nicer pubs in Clapham South, I do agree with Craig M it is a bit pretentious. The crowd is loud, inside and out, so it's not the quiet pub to escape to for a chat. On our most recent visit we went for a friends 30th Birthday in the garden, my only complaint here was the service. This was slow for such a large party, and when I finally decided to order food at 8:32pm I was told the kitchen closes at 9:30pm and they stop taking food orders outside an hour before. I was told I could go inside and eat there, but the fact of the matter was we were already all sitting outside, and we had only missed their deadline by minutes. Hardly accommodating for a group celebrating their birthday and already racking up a large bill. Customer service - 'nul points'. read more

Really liked the size and ambiance in here on a Sunday afternoon. Good mix of young, kinda hip looking people and families. We went for Sunday roast and my god I ate the biggest Yorkshire pudding I have ever seen. I had the pork which had some really great crackling on it. The veg in my opinion were just okay. Not as good as mam's..that's my benchmark: my mam's Sunday roast. Super hard to beat ;) Overall good roast but would try for something else on their menu next time (the menu looks so amazing). Price wise it's average London prices. Interested to check out the ambiance on an evening! Imagine it to be cool! read more

I came here when they were offering 50% food for facebook and was very pleased. Service was great, nice comfortable environment, nice and reasonably-priced food (made cheap with the deal), and good wine choices. Wish I had room for pudding cause they looked delicious! -Goat cheese tartlet - Great flavor but didn't like the cool temperature -Fennel soup - Simple and tasty. Served with delicious bread -Lamb loin - Really well cooked. Perfect portion. Pretty good flavor. White bean puree wasn't super-tasty but still a nice accompaniment. Could have used a little more mint. -Squid ink linguine with crab & chili - Decadent. Starter portion was perfect for a main after having a starter. read more

I got the Gorgonzola, pine nut, arugula and pesto pizza for takeaway. For 11.50 quid, it was a bit pricey, but it's a decent-sized pizza, so I'd recommend it. It had a little bit too much oil on top, but nothing paper towels wouldn't fix. The pizza's flavour was obviously strong and the pine nuts played off the cheese well, but it wasn't the best pizza I ever had. read more

This place is HUGE! Outdoor seating out the front on the main road, bar stools, big tables inside the pub area, a dining area and then another two outdoor seating areas. The large area at the back (you have to go through the dining room!) was the best, with outdoor heating, a bar, big tables and smaller booths and also when we went they had a BBQ and a beer festival with plenty of London ale selections for a very reasonable price of £10 for 6 half pints. Lovely to try them all - not sure about their normal beer selection. Dinner menu looked good however didn't try and didn't get to see anyone's order. Also show the sport on big screens. Would love this to be my local! read more

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I had a lovely summer's evening at The Avalon, a gastropub in Clapham South with a very surprisingly large and roomy back garden; and one that probably even the Queen herself would approve of for her own garden parties. I was there with a bunch of other Qypers (see the reviews below!), and we had a great time learning a few BBQ tips from the head chef of Avalon. While I can't provide an opinion on the food as we had a special home-style BBQ menu, the usual dishes that passed by our table did look very appetising, and comes in big portions too. Prices are reasonable for London, but I think the main attraction of this place is neither food nor drink, but the garden. Thus if you are in need of a place to hang out with friends or family or you want to hire a private (and it really is private!) garden area, complete with a BBQ, The Avalon is the way to go! Reviewed by The London Insider http://www.london-insider.co.uk/2010/07/lesson-how-to-bbq-the-avalon-gastropub-garden/ read more

Had a great meal here last night with a friend and surprised myself with crustacean choices again! The Avalon is just near Clapham South tube station and when we arrived at 6.45pm there were quite a few people in the bar for after-work drinks. There's a large terrace on the front road-side with plants and tables hidden behind a hedge. When you step inside a large bar to the left has high tables and a variety of lounges and tables to the right. There's one small walled terrace the the right of the main bar, which had an outdoor sports screen showing the football. The bonus was that it wasn't blaring away in the main bar like so many pubs do at the moment! As you walk through the main bar area, a gorgeous restaurant takes up the rear of the building. It has orginal cream tiled walls with light green accents, high ceilings and caramel and olive green leather chairs. Huge mirrors covering the back wall paired with two massive skylights make the area seem really open. The focus is also on the pair of massive chain and lantern chandeliers that hang in the skylights, giving a more modern edge to the otherwise traditional room. Upstairs is an even more grand private dining room (the Blue Room) positively oozing with traditional features for special occasions. Now for the menu - there are some pub staples done well like burger with fries, fish and chips and a variety of steaks, but we decided to try some of the more unusual options. For starters I had crab samosas with harissa and creme fraiche on a tiny bed of salad. The three samosas were excellent, very thin, light and crispy outsides with shredded crab meat and vegetables. My friend's marinated squid in a herb and toasted cashew salad was great. The squid was tender and not chewy, salad was nice but not my favourite thing. She thought the squid should be warm in the cold salad for best effect! For mains I picked something out of character for me - a whole grilled plaice in crab mariniere with green beans and tiny clams perched on top. Four years ago I had an aversion to shellfish, seafood and fish served with bones, so the challenge was on. I must say - I really enjoyed it! The clam sauce was subtley creamy but not too rich as to overpower the tender and light flesh of the plaice. I enjoyed picking ut the tiny clams from their shells and devoured the whole lot! I also tried my friends dish - Organic Sea Trout on a bed of crushed jersey royal potatoes with seaweed tapinade. The trout fillet was cooked well, not too dry as it sometimes can be, and the seaweed flavour was great, adding interest to, but not overwhelming the otherwise simple dish. The dessert menu is heavy on English favourites, but there was no chocolate option in sight. In lieu of that, Eton mess and cheese were considered before we both picked the sticky toffee pudding with cinnamon ice cream. It came out piping hot and was delicious, but 2/3 of the way through became slightly dry as the caramelised sauce and ice-cream were all gone! Might be my fault, but a bit more ice-cream would remedy that. All in all we really enjoyed it, at 7pm we were first in the dining room, by 8.45pm every table was full and it had a really lively, buzzing atmosphere. If you fancy sitting outside there is a more relaxed bar menu that can be eaten in The Secret Garden - a wooden terraced enclosed garden that stretches back from the restaurant with different enclaves, tables and booths and even a fountain. Perfect for when the weather decides to play - the BBQ is in situ at the front of the garden and will be fired up soon. A great place to relax in the sun, or for more formal dinner, or even a casual beer with friends. It's easy to see why it was packed with locals! read more

The Avalon - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

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The Avalon is a couple of minutes stroll from Clapham South tube station, where I attended a Qype BBQ event, which just happened to be held on a beautiful balmy night. One of the main advantages of this place is the amount of outdoor space available there are 3 different areas in total. The terrace out the front, has plenty of seating and the obligatory TV for the world cup, as does a small garden to the side, with plenty of tables and yet another TV screen. The real draw is the vast rear secret garden, which was opened in 2009, a year after the pubs refurbishment. There are plenty of benches, tables and umbrellas to accommodate large groups, or intimate couples whilst feeling secluded from the goings on of South West London. At the very back of the garden there is a small fountain, and plenty of flora for decoration, including a huge Lavender bush, which smells divine. Well the best thing about beer gardens in my opinion is the BBQ food which comes alongside and this place has a special menu devoted to it, aptly known as the 'Garden Menu'. We had a hands on demonstration by the Head Chef Adam, and his assistant, which involved making and tasting the burgers, sausages and peri-peri chicken on offer. The burgers are made out of pure rump steak and the cumberland sausages are blanched before bbq (top tip helps them keep the shape, and cook through). We also witnessed the peri-peri sauce production including a blend of masses of Chilli, corriander and lemon juices. The food all tasted delicious, even if I did construct the burger myself. In the winter months this place also has ample room for indoors weather-proof eating, with a large separate dining area, in addition to the bar at the front. I believe there is also a private room which can be hired upstairs for functions. This is the perfect place to come on a Sunny day, whether it be during the day for food and fun, or as an escapee from a post-tanning session on the common. read more

I rarely get out of the 'ditch, so a trip to Clapham - SOUTH! - seems like a trip to the country. Thank goodness it's only just a 30min ride on the Northern line because I cant wait to go back! The Avalon is a lovely, large pub with huge tables outside for large groups to gather. There's seating inside and a dining area just beyond the main pub area. Our gathering sent us straight out the back into a large garden space. I'm impressed with the size of it because it went back much farther than seemed possible. There is a large grill outside and since we were there for a grilled meat class, it was the perfect venue for a sunny summer evening. With plenty of Pimms to get me going, I popped on an apron and helped put some mince rump burgers on the grill. They were huge! Once cooked, we dressed them up with salad and creams and munched while our second course got going. Next up was peri-peri chicken. We watched the marinade mix in the food processer before getting generously massaged onto the massive butterflied breasts. Served up with some salad - delish! Our final tasting was Cumberland sausage - blanched before grilling! This might have been the best trick I learned all night - cook your sausage then grill them just to get the skin nice and carmelized. Truthfully, they were perfect! I checked out the menu, gazed at the other plates passing by (especially the desserts) and declared I needed to come to Clapham more often - with friends - to Avalon! read more

It turns out that I've been cooking sausages wrong all these years. You see, they need a good blanching first before you stick them on the barbecue and under no circumstances must you prick them! This was just one of the lessons that I learnt from the chefs at the Avalon. I also learnt how to make a fantastic piri-piri marinade for chicken and which type of mince makes the best burgers - it's rump steak! The Avalon is the perfect place to spend a warm summer's evening. There's a gorgeous beer garden with decking and sprawling lavender which mingled with the heat of the blazing barbie provides the perfect scent to summer! I was here for a Qype event and we started our event perfectly with pimms in the back garden. The Avalon is owned by the Renaissance group who specialise in taking old venues and doing them up into fashionable gastropubs - which has certainly worked wonders for the Avalon. The food was delicious we started off with a burger so big that I had difficulty eating it. However, the meat was really succulent and I particularly liked the relish that they served with it. The next meal was peri-peri chicken served with a delicious marinade that was blended before our eyes. I really enjoyed the sausage that we sampled afterwards - who would have thought that I'd been cooking them wrong all this time, blanching them beforehand certainly made a huge difference. I found the staff attentive and helpful and, with a venue that's perfect for this warm weather, I'll definitely be returning! read more

Was lucky enough to be on the list for the bbq here Monday evening. Could not have been a more perfect night - clear skies and balmy air scented with the lavendar that edges the ENORMOUS and really attractive beer garden. An oasis off Balham Hill - who knew? After sipping cool drinks - generous jugs of Pimms and cold white wine, we gathered round the gas barbie for a demonstration from chef Adam and Carlos cooking burgers and piri piri chicken. Was surprised to hear they import their beef from Australia - they get through about a tonne a week at the moment and find it better value to go this route rather than use British. They grind the rump themselves for burgers and add nothing to the mix, just a quick oiling and salt as they hit the hot grill. Good flavour and seriously generous hunk of cow. The chicken is local - from Sutton Hoo - and breasts beaten out and marinated in homemade piripiri - chilli, shallots, lemon, garlic and oil. Cooked up really well - hot and tasty. To complete the meat fest there were some great sausages, perfectly cooked and lovely and juicy. Seriously enjoyable evening - properly busy in the gorgeous beer garden for a Monday night, guessing mostly locals. Lots of nice looking food coming out served up by friendly staff. Huge bar inside, plenty of staff, terrace out the front with big screen tv's - the vey definition of a great local! read more

I don't think that I've ever been in a London pub that has a beer garden as large and well "decked" out as the one at Avalon. The owners have made fantastic use of the outside space, with candles, sculptures, iron wall hangings, large umbrellas for shade and further down toward the back a beautiful fountain with armchair like seating. You really could be in a country pub, rather than a five minute walk from Clapham South Tube. There's a large grill and BBQ area, which I was lucky enough to don my apron and turn some delicious burgers and fragrant, succulent peri peri chicken. The burgers were enormous and it was a struggle to eat more afterwards (although I did), washed down with glasses of Pimms. It was the perfect way to while away a summer's evening. The dessert menu looked super tempting too - Eton Mess is a favourite of mine which I'll be sampling when I definitely return! read more

What a glorious night it was on Monday as a group of Qypers descended upon the secret garden here in Clapham South to discover just what it was we had been doing wrong with our Barbeques all these years... The decking area out the back, which is huge and beautifully decorated is a recent addition, covering a patch of land that was previously just wasteground. The bubbling fountain and tree lined walls make for a lovely setting. The pub itself has two other garden areas, one out the front and one down the side, both containing TVs well shaded for the all important sporting occasions. Inside though it is tastefully decked out and has a delightful dining area. Our Barbeque class was interesting, learning about blanching sausages (which makes a lot of sense) and backing up my view that Gas Barbeques are just as good and a lot less hassle than their charcoal rivals. We started with a huge Rump Burger, minced on premises and with nothing other than seasoning added. These looked great but were perhaps a little too big to comfortably eat! I found it a little dry to be honest and it probably could have done with some herbs or something to add a little flavour. Still, a good chunk of meat none the less. The Piri-piri chicken was good, personally I would have liked a little more kick and perhaps that was due to not being marinaded overnight but it was still tasty. I think the sausages were my favourite though. I would definitely go back here for the garden but I wasn't blown away by the barbeque food - seeing some of the dishes that were coming out for other diners though it may well be worth checking out the main menu... read more

Avalon is a lovely gastro pub. The menu is great and the service is also great. They have the usual average list of booze, nothing that stands out. The menu is spit into slightly more expensive and bar food, but both are of a very good quality. You can eat either in the bar or the restaurant. This is a perfect place for dinner and drinks. It's not such a great late night pub as there isn't a lot of atmosphere. I think this is due to the fact that there is too much furniture and not enough social movement. They have dj's (manual cd changer) as do most late night pubs, but as you can't really find a spot to boogie, its a little pointless. This is a great sit down pub. Great for dinner with a buzz. read more

If I had written this review last year, it would have got 5 starts. However, judging by our last meal at the Avalon, it was so dissapointing that I have knocked it down to 3. This pub has everything you need; spacious bar/ dining area and a beautiful beer garden which is stunning in the summertime and great for taking children along to as well. Infact, when I have been there for lunch with my fiance and daughter midweek the pub is pretty empty with the exception of lots of mothers and babies enjoying a good drinking session ;-) But seriously- its a great place to meet up with your mum friends and babies/ children for lunch or just a chat and coffee during off peak times. Otherwise during weekend lunchtimes the pub gets packed with punters so best get there early. The food used to be great, always ordering the usual Avalon beef burger and chips and my fiance always had the steak. That was always our 'go to' place for a good burger/pub lunch. However our last visit was very dissapointing. It was terrible infact. Having had to wait about 4omins for our food on an empty weekday afternoon, we expected at least good food. And with a slightly hungry/ restless toddler in tow we hoped it would be worth the wait. Put simply, we won't be going back there for food again. read more

One of my favourite pubs in the area. Large amount of space inside and out. The food is very good. There is a great selection of beers. Fast service and friendly staff. read more

Went for a Sunday Roast and was gutted when there was no beef left when I got there but the absolutely monster serving of roast chicken with all the trimmings more than made up for it. read more

Lovely pub with a proper restaurant as well. I had the steak and it was really delicious. Service for a large group was really great. Our waitress was on her toes all night, but did very well to keep a party of about 20 gals well looked after. read more

i tried there pie and pint meal over nationa pie week and it was lovely i had the leak and chicken pie which had red chillies in it which gave it a good kick. hubby had the firshermans pie and it was lovely. A really lovely atmoshpere here with an eclectic mix of furniture read more

Really upscale pub with fresh pints that do the trick. I love places like this, so I'm definitely sold. Don't know when I'll be back, but I will when I can. read more

I was here for the qype BBQ event too on a scorcher of a day. I would rate this possibly the prettiest pub garden I have ever been in (and I've been in a few!) follow the little sign marked secret garden out the back door. The demo was very interesting and I picked up some great tips such as blanching your sausages before grilling them. Unfortunately my burger was a little dry and overcooked but I wonder if that's because the chef was a bit unnerved by a hoard of qypers papping him like he was Britney wearing no knickers! Luckily my peri peri chicken and sausage were nice so that saved the day for me. I would definately go back for the lovely garden, take home message=clapham south-Not that Far Away on the northern line-who knew! read more

Went here for dinner tonight. Had prawn and chorizo bruschetta and hanger steak with Parmesan fries. The bruschetta was delicious though surprisingly spicy! The steak was nice; not outstanding but good. Couldn't taste the Parmesan and truffle oil on the fries! Service was good; very pleasant though our server was clearly training. She was nice though and I'd definitely return. read more

i tried there pie and pint meal over nationa pie week and it was lovely i had the leak and chicken pie which had red chillies in it which gave it a good kick. hubby had the firshermans pie and it was lovely. A really lovely atmoshpere here with an eclectic mix of furniture read more

Fairly disappointing Sunday Roast, the veg was largely cabbage based, only 2 roast potatoes, served on cold plates, thin gravy. I think it's gone down hill in the past couple of years, still a good atmosphere & very pleasant dining room, could certainly be improved, I'll probably just stay in the bar in future. read more

My Girlfriend's sister was over from Dubai and used to live in London. She hadn't been to the Avalon in years and wanted to go. It was her last night and wanted to have a nice meal to see her off. We arrived around 8pm on Saturday a the atmosphere seemed lively and had high hopes for an enjoyable evening. Everyone seemed to be having a good time in the pub area and we made our way through to the restaurant. We were greeted an shown to our table. As we sat down, the table was shaking quite badly and asked of waiter if he could slide something underneath. He concluded that it was the table top its self and moved us to a booth. Great, no dramas. We waited for a while to place our order but it was a busy Saturday night so we were relaxed and had our order ready in full. We order a really nice red and some appetizers, i had the fish cake and GF's sister order a salad. The GF just wanted a main. We waited for nearly 30 mins for an our first course. It was only when the manager swung by our table that we asked how long our food was, he went to check. He came back and apologized for the wait and brought my fish cake. The salad never arrived. We then waited for a long time for our mains. It was about 920 at this point. Our wine was finished and everybody was getting impatient. It didn't seem like we were the only ones waiting as we looked around, other tables that had order before us weren't served either. When the food finally came, GF's sister was really disappointed in her food. She had order fish and got basically two bits of skin. She had to make a complaint and explain that this wasn't acceptable for any restaurant to serve this. On a positive I had order the calf liver and it was really nice. The manager came over at the end of our meal and apologized and said because of how busy the restaurant was the service had suffered and gave us a 25% of our bill. Again no dramas and he seemed very sincere. we paid and left. My biggest problem always with this is communication. If our food will be a little longer, tell us. Don't ignore us. We'll be fine - we'll order another bottle of wine or something. It just common sense and good service to keep guests informed. I think if this place was quieter we would have had a better experience. All in all this place is probably great but we had a terrible time read more

Nice beer garden in front where you can have a good time with some friends. The few places in their inner-court are not as nice and it gets very crowded on the weekends. The inside is typically British with old used furniture, but they miss the touch to make it feel comfortable. read more

Really nice pub, staff were quick and place was clean.

I visit the Avalon and have found it to always be a lively and entertaining venue with good food. My only criticism perhaps is that often on a Friday night you will struggle to find s table that doesn't have a reserved sign on it- it's a bit of a pain when you can't find somewhere to sit yet there are loads of empty tables. Saying that, the service is good and you never have to wait very long. Looking forward to the gardening opening up for summer xx read more

What's happened to the Avalon??? I've gone from a firm fan to an almost detractor. Quiet Friday night drinks with some nibbles ... Firstly the cocktails took AGES to be made, OK move on to wine time. Then we ordered some nibbles... Nachos and chicken wings.. Not too hard right??? Wrong. Salsa tasted like it was fermented, guacamole tasted worse than cheap supermarket bought. The chicken wings were COLD, and soggy. Sigh. Disappointing. Let's not mention all the flies read more

Went here the other night with friends. Great atmosphere and tasty food, the service was faultless also. The beer garden wasn't open (due to rain), but the manager showed us through and it looks amazing for spending long summer evenings with a few cold beers. Highly recommend! read more

Poor quality pub lunch Great place for drinks in the evening but the Sunday roast is more than disappointing. I sent my food back twice. The first time the beef was almost raw and the second time the potatoes were burnt. Not impressed at all read more

I met a friend here for dinner a few weeks ago. I definitely rate this as one of the best pubs in Clapham. The massive garden out back is great for a pint in the sun and they have a really good selection of real ales. I had the burger huge! My friend had the fish and chips, which looked equally good. Service was faultless. Will definitely be returning. read more

Great venue, especially in the summer. Large outdoor beer garden that is very popular but you usually manage to grab a table if you wait a few minutes. Food is good pub grub that I would recommend. Good for a few drinks post summers day on the common. read more

Attended a fun Qype event organised by Kristiana and Gemma. Pleasant and friendly staff, and an wonderful location - especially the secret garden at the back with the fountain. The owners have done a great job transforming this space. Enjoyed refreshing Pimms on arrival and learnt a lot of needed BBQ skills from head chef Adam, assisted by sous-chef Carlos. Learnt how to properly cook rump steak burgers and construct them into monster meat towers, peri-peri chicken and sausages. The burger and peri-peri chicken probably suffered being left a bit too long on the BBQ as they were being kept warm as we munched our way through each meat on the BBQ list - dried out a bit. Burger could have done with some Cajun seasoning or herbs to liven the meat patty up. Have had proper pungent Peri-Peri chicken in Portugal, but was probably due to the meat not having been marinaded overnight. Got to try out my sports massage skills on the chicken!!! Picked up some useful tips on cooking fish on the BBQ from Adam and had a great time. Would definitely go back for the relaxed summer atmosphere in the secret garden, and to try the fish and chips and Pimms Jellies which looked fab as they whizzed passed us. read more

This is a really nice pub, great decor and a lovely beer garden. Where is falls down is the 'gastro' element. Really mediocre food, especially for the price and the service isn't great either. I've been a couple of times as i live nearby and would go back to drink but wouldn't eat there again. On the last occasion I found a large bit of plastic in my food and didn't even receive an apology - it had fallen off a container in the kitchen evidently. I had to ask them to take my main course off the bill. read more