Karv Restaurant in Hackney

If I could rate it minus 1 star i would! I am utterly shocked and appalled by my experience at this restaurant. I had high hopes after seeing a good review on Instagram, especially since I booked a table for five to celebrate my son's birthday. I confirmed the reservation two days prior and made them aware it was a special occasion, yet upon arrival, it was a complete disaster. After driving nearly two hours in heavy traffic from West London, we arrived on time, only to be met with cold stares from the staff, as if we were an inconvenience. There was no warm greeting; instead, we were left standing awkwardly while other customers watched us. When I finally approached a server Abdul, he told us to wait outside in the cold. Five minutes later, he returned to inform us there was no space. I reminded him that I booked a week in advance for my son's birthday and had travelled almost two hours to get there. He shrugged his shoulders again and said there’s no point in discussing this further . There was no respect for my time or the reason for the booking. His only suggestion was to either wait outside in the cold or leave, despite there being no seating or shelter outside the restaurant. He expected us to stand in the street, watching everyone inside enjoy their meals while we were left out in the cold. If they could not honour the booking, why not let me know in advance? To make matters worse, it’s outrageous to think they prioritised walk-ins over those who had booked ahead. There were two walk-ins in particular occupying large tables, but their guests were not there; they were just calling them to hurry up. I booked in advance, turned up on time with my guests, and yet was not prioritised. In what world does that make sense? This entire experience was humiliating and left me feeling hostile. We don’t live anywhere near North London, and being unfamiliar with the area, we had no clue where to go next. This completely ruined my son’s birthday, and we ended up wasting time and petrol for nothing. We spent another two hours driving back home, and my son was unable to enjoy his day as we had planned. As a mother, I am incredibly disappointed and upset by this experience. The restaurant looked far better online than in person, and it was certainly not worth the two-hour drive or the cost of petrol. I regret ever choosing it for this celebration; it’s definitely not a place to celebrate a special occasion. It’s more of a casual “I’ve got nothing to do and fancy a takeout” kind of place. They are are so disgusting, because I told them that I was gonna write a bad review, they quickly went and cancelled my booking on OpenTable to prevent me from writing a honest review on there. Do they think that that is the only place people write reviews? Perhaps spend the same amount of effort in improving your service then you wouldn’t have to cover up your inadequacies. I will never return and will certainly warn others about this dreadful service. It’s the worst service I’ve ever experienced. I had arranged to return with a large group closer to Christmas if the experience was nice, but that definitely will not be happening. They missed out on significant business due to their disgusting customer service and poor management.

You can’t fault the food at all. Cooked to perfection. It was such a shame the service, and staff let the whole experience down. We were put on a small table, which slid on the floor every time you moved. Plus we were so close to the next table, the waiter couldn’t get though to serve them, or us probably, by bumping into me, or the person on the next table. As we were visiting London, for a couple of days, and we saw them on Instagram, and went out of our way to find them, as the food look amazing. After we had finished our meal, we asked the lady to call us a cab, as we didn’t know the area, but they refused us, and wouldn’t help us at all. So two ladies walking down streets to find transport back to our hotel.

A experience I would like to forget real soon. I don't know where to start the restaurant was small and super smokey, even though I had a reservation there was no order or proper management there was alot of favourism. Ordered the platter for 6 and there was only 5 of us it wasn't enough at all for average people. The food took too long to arrive and it wasn't too nice at all. Paid over 100 pounds for a terrible dining experience would never go there again. Guys if you been to somewhere else like a Argentinian grill or another that you like go there this place needs to be avoided.

Service Results may vary depending on race, went there 7 weeks ago and we were the only black customers and the treatment was incredibly different for us and other customers from Asian backgrounds (same as staff). They got a better service, actual food recommendations, relatively quick service, offered a nice area to sit in while were offered a table right by the front door whilst it was pelting down raining and there was other spots to choose from and other customers had the door opened for them when they left. We had to wait an incredibly long time just for the drinks, we were so ready to leave. Food was great but I don’t like to waste ££ on terrible service

Would just like to say if you are thinking about visiting here, the one star review that has been left by another customer was not the experience that we had when we went there for dinner last night. Service was friendly and quick, drinks orders were taken and and served within 5 mins and we had a steak platter which was great value, food was amazing and again we were not left waiting long for food. We also are white and experienced no racism as indicated by another reviewer. Can not fault the food, staff or service and well worth the trip :)