![Joanna"s London](https://images.tipped.co.uk/images/listing/0001/7458/joannas.jpg "Joanna"s London")
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Joanna's London
3
3
Reviews
British in London
- Norwood
56 Westow Hill
, Norwood, London, SE19 1RX
+44 (0) 20 8670 4052
http://www.joannas.uk.com
Joanna's opens for coffee and brunch and remains open until late. The dishes they prepare only use fresh ingredients and the menu is accompanied by a specially selected wine list.
Tags:
Bad for Food, bad service, cuisine: bistro, cuisine: british, overpriced, price for 2 (exc. drinks): £55
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Joanna's
London
Reviews
Love Joanna's! - Apart from the fact that you have to pay for a bread basket, Joanna's is superb. My first choice every time! Lovely sevice, gorgeous food. The fact that people have been going to Joanna's for 30 years speaks for itself.
09-10-08
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My fave place in CP - I appreciate that the previous reviewer felt they had a bad experience at Joannas and saddened at their incredibly strong review, but I can only assume that it was an unfortunate one-off or they are incredibly rude and picky diners.
Me and my hubby have lived in the area for four years now and have been going to Joannas regularly ever since. Perhaps it's because we're such familiar faces but we always get a very warm greeting. Even if they're busy (we never remember to book in advance) they always find us a table. They made a point of finding out our names very early on and if they ever discover that it's a special occasion (birthday / anniversary etc) we've always been given a free glass of champers each. We have a great rapport with all the waitresses / waiters / bar staff too and not just the maitre 'd, and have been sad to see some of them leave and move on to other careers.
We've almost always found the food to be fantastic - we wouldn't consistently go on an almost weekly basis to pay £70 for two people if the food and service was at best okay, let alone awful. On one occasion my fave dish - the lamb - wasn't too great - and although I felt a bit awkward complaining (being on first name terms with everyone), when I was asked how our meal was I let them know that the meat was a bit chewy. The maitre' d was immediately apologetic, whipped the plate away, replaced it, and took the price off the bill.
I'm sorry the above reviewer had a less than favourable experience but I wonder if it had anything to do with their manner? When I go out for dinner with my father, he has a manner about him which immediately puts the backs up of any waiter / waitress, and the way he complains is so rude and patronising that I try to avoid ever going anywhere for dinner with him (especially my fave haunts). He has failed to learn that you get what you give. Courteously explain to someone that the meal could have been better and give people the benefit of the doubt (we all have off days) and you may just find that you can have an enjoyable evening with fantastic service wherever you go. It works for me almost every time.
I love this place and just felt that it needed supporting in light of the previous bad review. One off day or bad experience does not tell the whole story. I'd recommend this place to my bestest friend for a romantic evening out anytime.
26-08-08
Tags:
Joannas
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rubbish food, rubbish service - Joanna's is a traditional, pleasant looking kind of place. Wooden panelling, etched glass, proper napkins and waiters wearing aprons give it a nice, classy bistro feel. Don't be fooled. The food and service we experienced were so overwhelmingly poor that in future, I will urge everyone I know to avoid Joanna's like the plague.
Earlier in the day, my partner and I had booked a table for dinner. The Maître d' had taken great pains to ensure that we were aware that they'd need the table back by a certain time. We easily agreed to this, so didn't need to be reminded when we turned up to dine.
We were reminded twice.
We ordered starters of "Sweet Onion & Parmesan Tart with rocket & walnut dressing" and "Caramelised Pear & Roquefort Salad with toasted walnuts". Neither dish was exceptional, but both tasted fine. They arrived less than 2 minutes after ordering, which felt a bit rushed and pressurised.
There was no bread basket brought to us, although we did see some on other tables.
At no point did our waitress ask how the food had been and whether everything was okay.
We then moved on to "Thai Beef Salad with grilled baby Aubergine" and "Confit of Duck with creamy mash, wilted spinach, & orange sauce".
The Thai Beef Salad was absolutely abysmal - a complete and utter waste of time. Largely comprised of raw bean sprouts, it was *supposed* to be served in a sweet chilli dressing. Unfortunately, the dressing looked and tasted like watered-down, light soy sauce and featured no other discernable flavour. The beef was bland, overcooked and chewy and there wasn't the slightest hint of chilli flavouring the dish. There were maybe TWO pieces of baby aubergine. How decadent!
Meanwhile, the Confit of Duck with creamy mash, wilted spinach, & orange sauce, "was okay", but left my dining partner hungry.
No one asked how the food had been and whether everything was okay, so we politely complained.
The Maître d' came over to speak to us. I explained that I was very unhappy about what had arrived on my plate. I went into detail about the failings of the dish - particularly the meat being bland and the dressing lacking flavour/not actually tasting of chillies.
"It's not meant to be spicy. It's *sweet* chilli", I was told in a very patronising tone.
I pointed out that yes, I was very much aware of that and also aware of how sweet chilli is *supposed* to taste, but that it tasted of chillies in NO FORM WHATSOEVER - not sweet, not spicy, not *anything*.
"It's a new dish", I was told.
"Okaaaay, fine, that may well be the case, but that's not really the point, is it?", I said. "I'm really disappointed by just how poor it was. It wasn't any good.".
And that was when the killer line was delivered to me:
"Well, sorry about that. Thanks for your feedback", the Maître d' said, before walking off!
There was absolutely no attempt to make amends - not even the offer of a cup of coffee. Joanna's apparently don't give a rat's ass about whether or not you return to their establishment, yet in a position where they're surrounded by far nicer, friendlier places to dine, I feel that they really ought to be a bit more careful in regard to PR.
So we ended up resentfully spending >£70 on 'dinner' at Joanna's, and then had to go elsewhere, where we bought snacks to satisfy our hunger.
Did I mention that it was supposed to be a romantic kind of evening out? That we wouldn't see each other for another week?
We were both disgusted.
Joanna's has proven itself to be a badly run, poorly catered place.
Don't believe the good hype that surrounds it - I reckon that standard, Wetherspoon's re-heated pub grub could give the the food here a run for it's money... and at least if the Wetherspoon's food were rubbish, you'd still have change from £70 to drown your sorrows afterwards.
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This gets a one star rating, but only because the system won't let me give it zero.
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And just as a follow up, for the benefit of the people who think I'm rude, I eat out quite a lot and have had good and bad experiences. Ultimately, restaurants are a service industry and your dining experience should hinge on service. If it's not service focused, problems arise and if they can't be sorted out by staff on hand, you then have BIG problems.
When I go out to dine (restaurant, caff, anywhere), I expect that the establishment will
* Be staffed by politely spoken, respectful staff.
* Provide value for money (not be *cheap* necessarily, but be good value)
* Leave a pleasant, lasting impression
As a customer, I am ALWAYS polite, respectful, patient and offer praise where it's due. This should work both ways.
My review was written the second time that I'd been to Joanna's and although the service was better the first time 'round (couple of years ago now), the food wasn't anything too special back then. Still, benefit of the doubt was given and we went back!
For the money, I'd prefer to go somewhere like Chez Bruce, which is only 10 minutes away. Yes, it's a bit more expensive, but it's not actually *that* much more and you are getting Michelin starred food.
25-07-08
Tags:
Bad for Food, bad service, crystal palace, cuisine: bistro, overpriced, patronising
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