Reviews of The Real Greek

We recently tried the Bankside branch of the Real Greek, not expecting much from a chain on the riverside. We were pleasantly surprised - the food was good and reasonably priced, and the service excellent. We tried it a second time and it was just as good. So it seems a decent option on this very busy stretch of the Southbank.

After a very wet but enjoyable Lord Mayor's Show, we wandered over the river and chanced upon the Real Greek. Being regular diners at Niko Ach Niko (one of the most popular Greeks in Berlin) we mistakenly expected a real Greek experience in London.
The restaurant was dark and lacking in attentive staff, the waiter who came to take our order stopped at the pre dinner drinks, as he had to go back and get his writing pad; we should have left then, but no we stayed.
The meze were reasonable, the wine was reasonable, but the souvlaki was something else, unheated meat wrapped in dough in a paper wrapping, like being fresh out of the freezer.
Our waiter offered to replace the whole meal, twenty minutes later our replacement arrived, probably two or three degrees warmer than the first; this time it had to be the manager, who apologised and said he would replace the meal, fifteen minutes later a replacement ten degrees warmer arrived, we ate what we could and decided to drink ourselves out of the hour and leave.
But I was in for a final assault on my constitution, the men's toilets smelled as if they had not been cleaned for a month.
There are times when you feel that a place is beyond redemption, this was the time and this was the place..........
I feel that this Real Greek was a total misrepresentation of the food and culture of that region.........
I've had better food and service in a fast food burger bar at an eighth of the price.

I have been to The Real Greek quite a few times and I have to agree the service is very slow.
When the food comes it has never been disapointing but then I always use the 50% coupons so for the price I pay its alright.
Sign up to then and they send you offers all the time.

Entered The Real Greek at Bankside 28.06.09 at 16.00. Having read the menus and decided on our choices we gave up at 16.20 after watching staff energetically running around but very little actually happening.
At times the line to enter was 10-12 long while the chubby amiable greeter and seater was wandering around occasionally chatting to other staff but apparently oblivious to prospective diners.
The menu read very well and I was keenly anticipating my grilled octopus meze. We were in no real rush, but as we had not been approached for 20 minutes after being seated, and this in an establishment which was no more than two thirds full, we had reason to fear that had we placed an order we could have been there until God knows when waiting for it.

I have been to this restaurant twice recently, and I have to agree with the other reviewers - this restaurant is in a promising position, but the mezes are small and not very good quality - therefore amounting to one overpriced meal. The quality of service has been inconsistent - and not very caring.. the waitress who served us plainly wasnt aware of what the menu consisted of and displayed little interest in finding out.

This is a shame - there are some excellent restaurants in the area: ones that cultivate a good relationship with their customers. They also tend to be the busiest ones as well - something that the people at Real Greek have ignored obviously.

This Monday, Bank holiday (13.04.09) my partner and I were attracted to the very large sign outside the Real Greek on the river advertising their "EVERY MONDAY IS £2 MEZE DAY". It was a Monday, so of course we assumed that we would get the offer, saving us about £15 on the Mezes we ordered.

When the bill arrived, however, it was clear that the offer hadn't been applied. When we queried the price, we were taken to the sign we had seen earlier, to be shown, in minuscule writing, a disclaimer: "Except for Bank holidays."

According to the waiter (a very nice waiter, by the way), this is a new offer which only went up that day. We spoke to the manager, who was not open to the suggestion that it was deceitful to have put up the board on the first day that the offer seems to but does not apply. The waiter did say that several other customers had already complained that evening - and while some inquired before the meal about the offer, most were hoodwinked into thinking that the offer applied to them that day and had ordered their meal in that belief.

We ended up paying the full amount since it was clear from the manager's attitude that he took little accountability for the decisions of his bosses - decisions, in effect, to deceive and score quick bucks from passing customers at the expense of building up a lasting reputation in their community. I hope whoever made the decision to have this sign put out reads this and takes a long hard look at how pathetic they are and feels thoroughly ashamed of what they have put their staff through in pursuit of profit over brand.

Having sampled the delights of Hoxton our party of 4 were looking forward to sampling The Real Greek SE1 but what a disappointment. The manager on our arrival could not tell us if the rest of our party were in as he had "been out for a fag" The table was very uncomfortable as we had to sit on bar stools. The waiters were inattentive and slow. Our drinks eventually arrived but not what we ordered and our friends had to wait a long time for 2 vodka martinis. The food order went fine and our first dishes arrived on time and were fresh and tasty....It was down hill rapidly after that. We could see the Whitebait we had ordered sitting on the counter getting cold and when it did arrive it was soggy and lukewarm...we had ordered more starters but our main course arrived next TOTALLY cold and we were told dishes arrived as they were ready !! We asked for more wine ...twice and the waiter came opened it and just left it on the table ...I took photos of the food for future reference but a greasy spoon cafe could have done better....Please do yourselves a favour and DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT. Bad food and even worse service Nandos or Wagamama around the corner offer better value for money and far superior service.

The best thing about this is the seats outside along the river walk (though too low to see the river itself). The food is adequate with normal meze standards but in unusually small portions, and at £3.95-£4.95 each, so it is a fairly expensive option if you are at all hungry. The first two drinks we asked for were not available. A service charge of 12.5% is automatically added to the bill. The inside seats are dark and gloomy in the extreme, and with fairly loud non-greek muzak