The Escapologist, The Grand Hall

Avoid the Escapologist - A Bottomless Brunch Nightmare! I recently visited the Escapologist for what was supposed to be a fun bottomless brunch experience with an ABBA sing-along. Unfortunately, it turned out to be shocking and disappointing, making it my first and last visit. Upon arrival, we were met with a frustrating delay, as the doors opened 10 minutes late. This lost us a crucial 20 minutes of our 90-minute slot. To add insult to injury, we were unceremoniously kicked out 10 minutes early. The singers performed for only 40 minutes, leaving us feeling shortchanged. As for the food, it was incredibly subpar. The portion sizes were laughable; what they called a salad was merely a few limp lettuce leaves, and the fries were limited to about 10 sad pieces. To make matters worse, I couldn’t even enjoy my pre-ordered burger a month before the date because it was laced with garlic, which I explicitly asked to avoid. The staff informed me that there was nothing they could do, leaving me without a meal entirely. I’m still waiting for compensation for the food I never received. The service was lackluster, with staff appearing jaded and overwhelmed by the large volume of patrons they were trying to manage. Overall, this was one of the worst dining experiences I've ever encountered in London. Save your time and money—avoid the Escapologist at all costs!

Beware, opposed to what is says on the website, the classic cocktails are apparently excluded from the happy hour deals as mentioned by the bartender, and only applies to 2 of the same cocktail. As per their website: "2-4-£14 on all Cocktails" Even the toilet menus says all cocktails in the menu as per the picture attached. They tried to get away with selling us 2 cocktails for full price during happy hour and when I asked for a second cocktail of the same for free (as per happy hour conditions), he tried to make it as if it was a favour rather than because it is the happy hour policy. Once he made the second cocktail, he made sure to make it extra extra spicy even though my partner specifically said she didn't like it too spicy. How petty... What a shame, as the bar actually seems pretty cool, but won't be coming back after being treated this way. We also waited about 20/25m for the cocktails on a Monday at 7:45 when it wasn't busy at all. After reading a few reviews it doesn't seem to be so uncommon. PS to whoever replied to my review: Not sure how you are still trying to argue about this. I spoke to the gentleman that seemed like the manager and even he agreed it wasn't clearly written. Since when does "all menu cocktails" exclude classic cocktails (which obviously are mentioned in the menu)? Also nothing is cropped out, it's clearly the full picture, and it does say 2 for 14 £ on ALL menu cocktails. Anyway, not worth arguing, not coming back. We only got the second cocktail offered after confrontation, completely unnecessary