Zafari Bar & Grill in Kingston upon Thames

We visited the restaurant while staying at the hotel for my sons 13th birthday. When booking we said it was my sons 13th and if they could do anything to make it special we would be so grateful. Sadly there was no recognition. Most of the waiting staff were uninterest pretty much throwing our plates of food at us. Food was OK but all very expensive for what it is. We were also booked for breakfast the next morning, when we arrived we were told there was no record of our booking and I was told I was at the wrong restaurant, after going away to find my booking confirmation in my emails the same staff member simple said OK sit over there, no apology just really dismissive. Generally a really disappointing experience. I do want to point out the one fantastic staff member, one of the waiters Prinson. He took the time to chat to us and even shook my sons hand when we said it was his birthday, a small gesture that really made the difference. If any management read this please do recognise this lovely staff member.

Stayed at the Glamping site so booked dinner here for our first night. Ribs were amazing & the kids enjoyed their meals too. Was looking forward to a JD & coke with dinner but they don't stock it? I find that quite strange as a large hotel!! Staff were nice, although we waited ages for our desserts to arrive after asking twice (our desserts had previously come out and given to another table)!!

Excellent experience. I had been a bit sceptical after reading some of the reviews but cannot fault the experience we had. We were booked in for dinner at 6pm and were seated very quickly. Our waitress Aaiza was AMAZING! She was so attentive and friendly and provided us with amazing service. Definitely an example of the service you expect when staying at and dining in a hotel like this. Our drinks and food arrived quickly and the food was great. The burgers both adult and kids were excellent. All meals were excellent portion sizes. The kids deserts were about the same size as ours and absolutely delicious. I had the panacotta and it was beautiful. £108 for two courses and drinks for 2 adults and 3 children and I cannot quibble about anything. A really nice meal with great service and lovely atmosphere. Would recommend and will eat there again when we next visit the hotel.

Useless useless useless. The staff ignore you when trying to get their attention. Drinks only arrived after we chased several times and got angry with them. Still got the main course to go but doubt anything will improve DO NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYBODY

Stayed at the hotel for the weekend and was concerned after reading the reviews! However we had Aaiza looking after us in the restaurant and she was fabulous! Our drinks order was taken quickly and we must have got them within 5 minutes! Food was also quick we just had 2 pizzas and 2 kids meals everyone was happy with their meals! Kids had crayons and colouring given to them, great food, great staff!

We had a great time at the theme park and couldn’t fault the room. I was a little disappointed that the birthday package was different from what I ordered no balloons etc. I am writing this to let people know that booking dinner in the Bar & Grill isn’t a wise idea. For us it was meant to be a big celebration for my daughters birthday and was booked months in advance. Despite this they didn’t have any of the 5 meals we ordered and there was a very long gap between courses. It was a very disappointing and expensive meal. I did notice that there was a lot of people sitting outside eating Dominoes pizza and various food deliveries arriving. I would stay there again, but would definitely opt for a takeaway instead of using the restaurants.

Well where do I start, we were staying in the hotel for the weekend, we had our table booked for 7:30 after a fun filled day in the park only to be let down by the food! Ordered at 7:45 9:15 still no food, after speaking to the FOH team many of times asking any update on the food, they couldn’t even come and tell us how long! Then shortly after food arrived all of it was so cold it was uneatable, Shocking, refused to pay, They gave us 20% off. The hotel is lovely, but!!!!!!!!! Our room Fridge, hairdryer and bathroom tap were all broken, Not sure if they all were having just a bad weekend, but just be prepared that it could happen again, The park is amazing tho 🤟

Great selection staff were great and very helpful had dinner here too the night before great menu and food was delicious

Great way to spend a morning! Food was delicious! Jade and Chloe were so helpful and friendly! Made the experience even better - thanks!

This was the only hotel available for my business trip. I arrived late and dashed into the Zafari restaurant before it closed. Half way through my meal, something splashed on my table next to my food and on my hand. I thought maybe someone walked past me and spilt their drink. Then it happened again, I looked up and someone dashed away from the railings from above me where I was sitting. In all honesty it looked like spit but not really sure. I called the waitress over to show her and she offered to sit me at another table and that the kids must just be playing. I explained that I could not continue eating my food, showing her the potential contamination on the table and floor around me. She apologised and walked away. 2 things spring to mind. Customer service was lacking and would have expected her offer me a fresh uncontaminated meal, from a hygiene point of view. The other thing I would expect is to go and investigate why someone is throwing or spitting over the railings into the restaurant. May be worth sending the staff on some training for hygiene and customer service.

Staff were disinterested and just ignored us. Even the manager seemed to be avoiding eye contact. No one introduced themselves as our waiter. I had to hail down a random waitress to be served. She said she would inform our waiter. In the end it took 25mins before we were served. After 45mins we still didn't have our drinks. To the food servers credit the food arrived first and I had to get the poor guy to sort out our drinks. Ghe food was alright. Then to top it off , whilst I was still eating and had food on my plate (and fork), the waiter offered to get the bill and started clearing our table. No offer of the dessert menu. By then we just wanted to get out and enjoy late access so we just paid with no top (we always tip). Also their gluten free options for kids have reduced. No longer any GF pizza. Instead they had kebab skewers, salmon, tarragon chicken and ribs. Weirdly they had no GF burgers but grey had GF burger buns for breakfast instead of toast - go figure. We had a great time in the park and the rest of the hotel, but sadly based on this dinning situation I don't think we will stay at the hotel again.

Lovely food with a top view! Was done after the prawn cocktail starter, it was amazing! Main was lovely too. Very convenient being on site

We had to ask of we could order as no member of staff seemed to know what was going on. Everyone just seemed to be standing around. Once the food did come it was ok. Prob not worth the price but it came quick enough. Needs better management and some sort of direction/instruction.

So the second time we’ve come here to eat and figured the service would be better. More fool us, 3 months apart same poor service 40 minute wait to be served and that’s without people being seated and served around us. We had to go to the bar for drinks as there was no menu and no one to serve us. Then proceeded to wait another 40 minutes for food because the staff were ignoring some customers including the family next to us with 2 little ones. When our food did arrive which was just 2x garlic breads 1xsoup and 1x ribs the garlic bread didn’t arrive and the soup was cold . By the time we finished which was 30 minutes later the family next to us still hadn’t received their food of which they ordered before us. Also bearing in mind we had staff members ask us multiple times if we were still waiting for food or drink of which we were we still didn’t get our drinks/food. Everyone around us was sending food back due to it being wrong orders/tables etc And had to go back to the front desk to pay as we were sick of waiting for the bill and table to be cleared. So much for a romantic birthday meal.

We were seated and then left with no drinks menu. Then had to wait nearly an hour for the waiter to ask us what we wanted to drink!!. Ordered food at same time, which took gor ever to come and other guests had been seated, eaten and left before ours came. Not a great service at all. Staff walked around like zombies. We got told it was because of the volume of orders. Yet people before us got theirs, all we ordered was 2 Pizzas and fish finger's and chips.

The view was definitely worth it and to be fair, the food was better than expected. However, there were lots of little things that really let this place down. We were a little early and asked if we could sneak in before our booked time,...

Booked a table here as we were staying in the Safari hotel. On our first night we ate in the outdoor seating area, it was lovely and sunny and we had a perfect view over the wanyama village and all the animals. Food was ok,...

We took dinner and then went to the bar. As you would expect; both food and drinks are well overpriced, but hey, you know what you have signed up for. What I didn't expect was the lack of experienced bar staff, just one young guy...

It started great, they gave the kids crayons and a colouring sheet. We ordered our food. The kids food was to come out with our starters which it did. The food came before the drinks. I had wanted a flavoured cider which they said they...

Food was very yummy, my Steak and Ale pie was huge and delicious! There was also a very generous amount of gravy! Waiters nice and polite. All my food arrived very quickly as well. The ambience is very nice, even though there should be some...

We had dinner at the Zafari Bar & Grill to celebrate our daughter’s birthday (while staying at the Azteca Hotel) They saw it was my daughter’s birthday and seated us at a lovely table overlooking all the animals - our children loved watching the zebras...

Great atmosphere, lovely location and views. Family friendly with good choices and very tasty food. Friendly staff who were all very happy to help with any enquiry. The service was quite fast from time of ordering which was done via a QR code.

Having enjoyed a lovely visit 4 years ago, we were excited about our dinner after a day in the park. Wow, what a fall from grace this place has had. The overarching issue here is lack of any interaction between staff and customers. We were...

Awful! Please avoid. Terrible service, inedible food. Money wasted that will never get back Walked out half the way through mains left before desert. No refunds given.

The poor review is not because this restaurant is bad in and of itself. The staff are absolutely lovely - so friendly and sweet - the decor is nice enough, the hotel is fun. The thing that ruined our meal was the price! The food...

Long Waiting to be served. Poor choice of food for kids. Fish fingers and chips weren’t nice. Drinks overpriced. Asked to pay for our dinner whilst still eating. Don’t recommend.

After our first night poor experience at the Temple restaurant we were looking forward to our meal in the Zafari on our second night. The bar area is nicer and the staff at the restaurant entrance were much friendlier. Shout out to Willow who couldn’t...

Food was nice, location, but App to book, App to order not good Food can turn up random times, takes long time to get Icecream, but dinner very quick?? Expensive for what it is, £7 for a beer, £4 plus for a Coke

Poor service and freezing cold. Spent day in park with family and booked the restaurant for a party of 10. We were all squeezed on a small table close to the bar. There was a fierce draft from both doors and it was freezing, everyone...

Had the buffet (all you could eat) whilst staying at the hotel. Great selection, full english, pastries, fruit etc along with juices and self serve hot drinks. Staff were great at clearing away and keeping food topped up.

Our experience was ok, food was average. Had to order via an app, which was fairly easy to do. Didn’t seem to be much staff about though if you did require assistance. Depends where you get seated in the restaurant whether or not you get...

Visited this restaurant when we stayed at the chessington hotel for my daughters birthday. The food was amazing. I had the fish and chips and it was one of the best I have tasted. The whole table loved their food and we could see all...

Had an evening meal here for my granddaughter 9th birthday weekend the food was amazing we had the salmon which we asked for well done nothing was too much trouble I had pizza delicious kids meal and we also had the fish and chips which...

We tried to book for breakfast here as part of our hotel stay. Impossible on both days fully booked. We tried for an evening meal, also the same. We managed to get takeaway pizza, chips and garlic bread £22. Food quality was average. Staff were...

I visited with a friend between the 21st and 23rd of June. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in October and have been in and out of hospital since, so going to a theme park like Chessington was something that was a huge challenge and...

Second time staying here. Arrived and was pleased with our two rooms as they were clean and well stocked for the length of our stay. Sadly though, a meal at the Zafari Restaurant tonight has ruined that promising first impression. We had booked for 7:30...

Possibly one of the worst meals I’ve had the displeasure of eating. We have just come back from a weekend stay celebrating our 4 year olds birthday, staying in one of the themed rooms (3001). The room itself was clean, well presented, and suitable for...

We booked dinner here for our night at the Safari hotel. Shown to our table and found it was all via QR code to order. No problem for us, and we ordered our mains and drinks at the same time. Drinks came really quickly from...

Myself and my family visited this restaurant during our stay at the CWOA Resort as I had heard good things about it. The staff were lovely and explained how to use the online ordering system. The table and ordering info stand were sticky and couldn’t...

Booked table for 2 adults and 2 children. QR code to order food now. Extremely expensive for what it is, £3.75 for a soft drink?! Half of which is ice, horrendous. Food was extremely bland, half the plate served is rocket salad. They now have...

Came to stay at the hotel and booked a table for dinner for my son's 2nd birthday. No paper menu, only qr code but doesnt bother us. The food came quick. It's a bit pricey yet poor quality. Mac and cheese tasted like the ones...

Ate as a family. Was told to order on the App but could not get it to work so waitress took our order. Food took a long time to arrive, was not very hot but was ok. Did not bother with desserts as kids were...

Really poor that you can’t order via a person and they he staff didn’t want to answer any questions or even give a menu food was overpriced and very slow. App only ordering when you a charging these prices is lazy

Bizarre place when arrived we are shown to our seat then have to put a qr code in and do it all ourself whilst staff just stands there watching surely they could come over and take orders that being said it’s arrived quickly and was...

Having let a bad review a few years ago for a very bad experience I think it’s only fair to leave a good review for a great visit experience that we had this time. Attentive staff, food delivered promptly and the lemon chicken was one...

Have dined here quite a few times before and honestly it’s really gone down hill so disappointing Last time I was here was 2 years ago and food and service were lovely however most recent visit has left a lot to be desired Prices are...

Food was overpriced for what it was, kids meals were good value but the adult dishes were quite expensive. I wouldn’t bother eating there again, plenty of places to eat in about 20mins away

Just had only breakfast as part of our stay , good selection of breakfast, very helpful staffs, tables cleaned very well after every customer, But the buffet not organisation well, I been told that there is a one-way system to go around the buffet, but...

We are here one night as we stayed in the hotel. It was me and my 4 year old daughter. She had Mac and cheese, which she did not touch as it was covered in a cheese she didn’t like. Italian hard cheese I think....

We ate in here twice during our stay and the food, service and surroundings were perfect on both occasions. I had a burger on both my visits, my partner had a chicken burger and beef burger and our little girl had sausage and chips and...

Lovely lovely restaurant! A great solution when staying at the hotel. Caters for all. Great ordering system. We were reluctant as we read not so good reviews. So happy we decided to book as we enjoyed it very much so did the kids. And we...

Can only order via the app (think Wetherspoons) - stressful to get the app working with limited signal- they do have WiFi which works but had to ask. Had to order drinks and starters seperate to mains otherwise all the food would turn up together!...

Actually preferred the temple buffet for dinner. Lack of atmosphere with no music, tables close together and bar service was awful, ordered mineral water just given a plastic bottle and no glasses, no ice etc. Food ok - think weatherspoons but more expensive. Nothing wrong...

This afternoon we had afternoon tea at the Zafari bar and grill. They call it a giraffe-ternoon tea. The whole experience was first class. Food was great and our server was delightful. I would recommend the whole experience to anyone who likes an afternoon tea....

The food here is alway nice we have found and the atmosphere is so much better than the school canteen style Temple restaurant. Here’s the issue the app ordering system is shocking there’s no reason to be using it now it’s really not hard to...

In the past I rated this restaurant as not bad but something has gone very badly wrong; and no, they can't blame it on Covid. This was an execrable experience. The food was indescribably bad whilst the drinks prices were ludicrously, laughably expensive; higher even...

We went for a lovely evening meal on Saturday 17th. The staff were very friendly and welcoming and talked you through how to order using the QR code on the table. The food was very nice. My mum had a pizza with peppers, onions and...

Staff are very friendly and accomodating, went out of their way to make sure I had an extra item that was not on the breakfast buffet. Breakfast buffet has a great selection I'm just fussy and it's always nice that it seems no bother for...

Very expensive limited menu food ok bur beer selection awfully not a dingle English beer available only redeeming feature breakfast the next day was good

We stayed for 2 nights at the hotel and ate at the restaurant on our first night . I really wasn’t expecting much from it to be honest but it was worse than I thought . My husband had a burger which he did not...

We booked the restaurant before we visited as it was quick and simple using the link that came with our booking confirmation for Chessington The restaurant overlooks the animals, which is great for the kids to watch. Our food was served quickly and was all...

Great restaurant. Need to book the restaurant the day you book the hotel to make sure you can get in for both dinner and breakfast. Was worried after reading teviews, but was great. Betty, our waitress, was brilliant, got us everything we asked for. Chef,...

Food was awful. Chips were barely warm. Child’s Mac and cheese was boiling hot in metal bowl and could not be touched for 10 minutes. Burger was tasteless. Don’t waste your money

I’ve been to this restaurant many times and this time was awful, the worst by far. We visited for dinner and then again for breakfast thanks to a stay in the hotel. The evening menu was limited with stuff they’d run out of by 6.30pm....

Having read the other reviews, and knowing that this was a hotel restaurant on resort, my expectations were low and I was anticipating getting fleeced. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The food was actually okay, even pretty good I would say. The...

We ate here as we were staying at the hotel, though in hindsight it would probably have been nicer elsewhere. We’d reserved a table for 7pm, though when we arrived we still had to queue for around 10-15 minutes. You’ll need to order via the...

Although the staff were friendly the food was awful. There was not much to choose from, there was chips and a selection of unhealthy foods available. A pasta or some chicken and gravy. It was definitely not worth the £20 per person that i paid....

Given a 5 star based on the lovey meal which exceeded expectations however there is room for improvement. Having to order and pay on the app is a pain. The staff were not really sure on it when I asked how to order drinks on...

After reading the reviews we were dubious about trying the hotel restaurant. So pleased we did. After our journey we didn’t want to be venturing out so it was ideal to eat in the hotel. Ok so the menu isn’t massive but what we ate...

We had the misfortune of eating here 23-24 September. The menu was restricted due to covid, 6 mains only. What could go wrong? Everything ! The food we were presented with had clearly been reheated in a microwave, it was vile ! With only 20...

Stayed for 2 nights in hotel, can’t fault room or reception team was amazing! Temperature checks when you enter and wrist bands so you don’t have to be checked every time! However breakfast was shocking! Looking forward to a nice full English WRONG! All cold,...

After 2 fun days at the park for my sons 4th birthday our experience was completely ruined by this restaurants incompetence and attitude! 2 orders from the same table came half hour between each other. One side of the table had drinks and no food...

Stayed at the Safari hotel and decided to order to eat in our room rather than dine in, because the room was fabulous and we wanted to make the most of it. Had to order on an app (same for dine in) which had a...

We ate here as we were staying in the hotel. Due to Covid19, the choice is very limited and we had to order off the adult menu for our vegetarian children. The food was tasty albeit basic and staff were friendly. We lucked out with...

We booked an early dinner and it was half empty. There is a limited selection at the moment but it's all pretty much junk food. We ordered our drinks, starters and mains on the app but the starters and mains came at the same time,...

Just had a super experience at zafari bar and grill. Staff are doing exceptionally well considering the circumstances . Easy to book table online so were sat down at our table instantly.QR code was easy to use and ordered food within 5minutes. Grace was very helpful at the front of house and was very professional and welcoming, which made our experience great. Young lad on the floor was super helpful too . Thank you Only 4 stars as menu was limited.

We had pre booked a table for dinner during our stay, there was a reduced menu which was very limited and extortionate pricing. For 4 of us to eat, 2 being children cost us £94!! And the food wasn’t even that nice. We had 2 drinks each, a starter and main, couldn’t stretch to pudding at the prices. It was too late to find somewhere else to eat with 2 tired and hungry children so had no other option. Don’t know how they can justify the prices they charge! £14.50 for a burger and chips, which came out wrong, and they wanted us to have mains and starters together which we said no too and when the mains came they had obviously been prepared at the same time as the starters and just kept under a heat lamp and were only slightly warm. We had hoped to spend some of the evening in the bar but The one meal used up nearly all of our spending budget for the whole stay and when I queried the price was just told that’s the prices! Don’t eat here unless you’re willing to sell a kidney or remortgage to be able to have an enjoyable evening.

The staff were courteous and helpful when asked and the food was pretty good, if overpriced - although the ice cream tasted a bit chemically. The failure to sign up to Eat Out to Help Out smacks of the place not wanting the admin but it would help customers at a pricey place.But the ordering system, through an app, just doesn’t deliver for customers.We ordered drinks, starters, mains and desserts at 6.33. Drinks arrived somewhere around 7.10, about 5 mins after we were finally able to get staff attention about them.Starters arrived at 7.15 or 7.20. And then mains arrived within a minute. So now the table was completely over-full and we had mains at the table going cold.We got on with it and finished the food and then ... nothing happened. After about 20 mins sat waiting for plates to be cleared and desserts to arrive we finally were able to flag some attention. The desserts arrived a few minutes later, but with no spoons, so we had to wait minutes more. In the end, we left a good 2 hours after placing the order.The staff’s response was pretty telling - like they knew the problem but weren’t really going to do anything to remedy it. I guess when most of your customers are only here for the one night and are a relatively captive audience, you can take that attitude.

Had booked for a 10th birthday meal after Chessington trip. On check in we were told by staff our reserved table we could not be seated at, as we are not staying in the hotel we would not be allowed to enter, even though we had a booking, a family and birthday girl at the door! Obviously this was very upsetting and the fault is of chessingtons doing! We spoke with the owner Ben’ who we explained the situation and asked if he could suggest somewhere else locally or if he could help in anyway? His reply ‘what you can do is leave my restaurant!’ Never before have we been spoken to in such a disrespectful and rude manner, all we had done was make a reservation! The birthday girl was in tears and it ruined her birthday. Ben assuming he is not actually the owner, requires some serious basic re-training or removal from this customer facing role, I cannot believe he work at this restaurant. Actually the following day we did see him again inside the park, and he was walking through litter picking, so perhaps he’s been reallocated to a position more suited to his personality. As a family of annual pass holders, and having stayed in the hotel and eaten in the restaurant several times before, we won’t forget the birthday you made a bad one!

Dinner experience - Do not use the app to order food - you will have to use the WiFi as signal is so bad . You will have to ask for this , you will then have to register for it . Then you will have to register for the food app . Then the food app with not work . And then you will have very hungry children.- limited menu . Very limited . - Expensive .- Fast food - in the sense they want you in and out . - no dining experience whatsoever . - nice views though .

Firstly I’d like to say how phenomenal the staff were. Kind and courteous, working under extremely difficult circumstances. I couldn’t work a full day with a face mask! Why on Earth would you not opt into the eat out to help out scheme? I work in the restaurant industry and it is incredibly easy. We were out of pocket £50 due to this oversight. Also the children’s menu was appalling, chips, chips and more chips. Chessington leading the way in its contribution to the national obesity crisis.

Very limited menu. Generic basic food. Horrific house red wine. Extremely overpriced for what you get, which isn’t much. Staff all seem new & are trying hard. Disappointed. Will be eating outside the hotel tonight.

Turned up today following a day at Chessington to celebrate my triplets’ 9th birthdays. Had booked over 2 weeks ago. Was told that the restaurant is only accepting reservations for hotel guests. Whilst I appreciate these are challenging times, I should not have been allowed to book if that were the case. The manager was apologetic, but was not interested in finding out how I booked in order that this doesn’t happen again (he told me this was the first case he’d had). He also did not appear bothered that my 3 disappointed chn were sitting on the steps outside. Better processes and communication required. Won’t look to return.

The food for burger and chips nearly £15 mcdonalds is cheaper and better tasting. This restaurant is ridiculous in it's pricing and is nothing special. Lucky for them they have a captive audience otherwise i think they would be a dead duck. So rubbish and not worth going to. The only redeeming feature is that the staff are attentive and caring.

Terrible experience. Kids food OK. However, pizzas were burnt, black to the point of eating charcoal. When we expressed our opinion that pizza shouldn't be burnt, we were told it was cooked in a pizza oven, apparently that is justification for burnt pizza. I then asked the waitress if she would eat it, obviously she said no. So despite giving us attitude, she herself wouldn't eat charcoal pizza! Incredibly overpriced, £2.65 for a half pint of diet coke. Menu incredibly limited.

I don’t like to leave a bad review but for families already spending a lot of money - don’t waste any at the restaurant. The setting is wonderful but the food is terrible and expensive. Garlic bread was a baked fajita that tasted like cardboard brushed with oil and was genuinely inedible - it isn’t garlic bread in any shape or form! The veggie stack was chewy and the roll dry and powdery, the coleslaw looked like it was out of date and my wife didn’t even attempt to eat it, it was awful, disgusting to be honest. When we mentioned it, all we got was a lecture from the chef that vegan rolls are like that - I’m sorry but vegan rolls don’t have to be inedible dry powdery and stale! Really sorry but don’t waste your money here at the moment

My husband, son and I visited during the beginning of July 2020 not long after the theme park/restaurant had opened following Covid-19 lockdown. Obviously the buffet was closed and the menu was a reduced selection however that doesn’t justify the quality of the food and the steepness of the prices.My son and I had a pizza each and despite each pizza being over £10 each the quality was lesser than a Morrisons Savers oven pizza. My husband had a burger, which just tasted burnt, and chips which had no flavour at all. We had Coca Cola which came (warm) in a tiny glass yet once again it wasn’t cheap.I get that this wasn’t their usual menu due to Covid-19 but the prices for that quality of food were totally unacceptable. The service was great and the wait staff were lovely but once again it just can’t justify the low quality of the food and the steepness of the prices.By the end of the meal we owed a bill for £63 which included 2 starters, 3 mains and 3 drinks however the way that food tasted I‘m shocked we were asked to pay more than £15. Fingers crossed they’ll get it sorted soon and if not...save your money, get in your car and drive to McDonalds down the road.

I am as everyone else is aware that we are in the early stages of coming out of a pandemic 1. The menu consisted of around 10 items. 1 vegan option2. The food came out within seconds and was warm (cold by half way through eating)3. We sat with our food for 5 minutes before any cutlery was offered. No sauces or salt or pepper were offered.4. We sent the vegan burger back as it was fridge cold in the centre and asked for the cheese to be melted. Apparently they are incapable of heating the meal or melting the cheese and were not offered another meal.5. General cleanliness and sanitizing of areas is poor. Seating people at tables before being cleaned.General feeling of little to no care given about people's experience. Very depressing feel all around. Chefs clearly don't care at all (senior chefs)One FOH member (Grace) of staff very apologetic and explanatory. Shining star of staff in an absolute s*** show.

My daughter took her two daughters and one of their friends to Chessington, and stayed at the hotel for a birthday treat for the nine year old. The hotel was fine, and all was ok until they ate at the restaurant Zafari Bar and Grill. My daughter had a veggie stack, which she thought tasted really odd, but as it was a mushroom version and she had not had this before, she covered it in sauce and ate it. Within an hour she was in terrible pain and had to go back to the room with the girls. From then on she was sick all night. She had to phone a friend to come and take over looking after the three girls, and she did not leave the bathroom all night. A totally spoilt birthday for a nine year old. Chessington say they had 216 people in the restaurant that night and no-one else was ill. However when asked who else had the veggie stack, no answer as yet. Chessington will not even give a discount on a another trip or reimburse in any way. They deny all responsibility. So be warned, if you eat there and it tastes strange, stop and report it on the spot, or take it away and get it tested. Very disappointed girls and my daughter is still ill four days later!

it was so cold kids wanted a hot chocolate so got us all one £3.50 each £17.50 in the smallest cups for instant chocolate rip off

Scenic views of safari animals. Great service. Quality food, good selection. Fair priced. Kids eat free with paying adult

Breakfast was brilliant it was buffet style and also continental and a hot and cold drinks station. Great selection for everything, food of good quality and the hot food was hot. So much to chose from and we was all completely full. So impressed. Staff were lovely and attentive, cleared plates/bowls/cups so table wasn't full. They also made effort with our young daughter which was lovely

I stay in this hotel often however try to avoid the restaurant however the past 2 weeks I have used the restaurant!The staff take ages to come and ask what you would like or even ask for a drink. This happens even when there are as little as 8 people in the room! They forget to place your order which is a bit disappointing. This week we were seated next to the service pass so we could see our food waiting for 10 minutes before it was served to us. The waiter and indeed the chef were somewhat surprised when the food was returned due to it being cold. The restaurant wasnt exactly busy but the waiter for whatever reason couldnt come and deliver the food. A waitress did come and check the orders on the pass twice but for whatever reason she couldnt serve the food. We asked for the bill but it never turned up so in the end we had to walk to the till to pay.To be treated like this in any establishment is poor, i really feel that the service could be so much better but there is clearly no interest in improving it. We then went to the bar but all of the draft drinks were not available so we gave up on the evening! If i could avoid it i wouldn't eat here at all. I;m a business traveller so I shrug it off and move on. For families to arrive expecting a wonderful experience will be very disappointed.

What a brilliant place! Breakfast wasn't hot but it is buffet & plenty of choice. Dinner was fab and reasonably priced. All the staff throughout were fantastic.

Staff are lovely and helped when my son had a meltdown (he is autistic) by offering to bring me whatever I wanted from the buffet. Food quality poor though so not worth the stress!

Shocking food. I’ve had better at McDonald’s for a fraction of the price. How the hell can they even think of serving food like this at that price. It came out quick but was freezing cold, so we returned it to which it came back hot ‘at least’. I tried to flag down a manager to complain but he/she was nowhere to be found. I paid the bill begrudgingly, still no manager. The waiter did his best, but even he agreed that the food is ‘s***’. I will never eat here again. Should I ever want to return to Chessington I will make sure I take a picnic and certainly not stay in the hotel and eat there. I’ll book in somewhere else and treat myself to anything but the food served here.

Whilst staying at the Safari Hotel, we had breakfast at the Zafari Bar and Restaurant.There was plenty of room between each table so it didn't feel cramped.The jungle theme, with lots of monkeys and aminal statues about kept the kids entertained whilst eating.The selection of food was very good cereals, yoghurt, cold meats, cheese, pasteries, fruit and then the cooked breakfast also.The staff are quick at getting you seated and the place is very clean. High chairs for little ones are available and there were plenty of them.This was a good way to start the day before heading into the park.

In fact this is unfair to Wetherspoons, who are probably serving better food without holding you to ransom in the name of entertaining you're children.I've also drank better wine atvJ.D's than the bar was offering at £23 a bottle, which intermittently turns into a blast chiller every 30 seconds, when someone walks in from the other hotel.We went for a burger which was reccomeded by the nice waiter, which I must say had been dried to perfection under a warm lamp for a couple of hours, and the bacon professionaly welded to to the top with overmelted cheddar cheese.Unfortunately the accompanying frozenv chips and onion rings had not faired so well in the wait to be eaten and were cold. The waiter, knowing he was doomed to return anything that would resemble restraunt standard food, did his level best and returned back with some freshly re-fried ones shortly after we brought this to his attention.I would resign myself to the fact that that this is part and parcel of all such novelty factor establishments, had I not eaten a lovely meal at Euro Disney a few years back. Dam the french and their intolerance to crap food.I award the mandatory one star to the star to the staff ( not the manager), who was otherwise engaged upon complaining.

Really disappointed in my experience of zufari restaurant. After having a baby only 3 days ago thought we'd treat ourselves to a nice meal so I could feed the new baby in peace. It took the food 30 minutes to come out and when the food came out the chicken burger managed to come out cold and burnt and my husband's pie and mash was cold. We sent them back and 2 minutes the food came back clearly after being placed in the microwave and the gravy had solidified and the salad in my burger had wilted down and was made inedible! When we asked for the manager to report our findings it was treated with contempt Vera then asked what she could do and she said "this is how the food was meant to be". I asked for a refund and she gave me a strange look, I had to explain that I wasn't going to eat something that was burnt and then put in the microwave to reheat so making the salad inedible. I have never had such bad food and dreadful customer service. I want to however thank Claire and Henry for both trying to fox the problem after Vera gave such contempt to us as customers! On a good note dirty fries in park are delicious and hot!

After writing a critical review on Chessington resort, I wanted to single out Zafari and make one just about them. I had mentioned the hot drinks machine was not working on the first morning. Things break down - not a great problem.