Mr Lau's

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Reviews

1. Summi Kwan ★☆☆☆☆

   My visit to Mr Lau for dim sum on Saturday was completely ruined by the staff's poor service and attitude. Before placing our order, I specifically asked a blonde-haired waitress about a previous "three dim sum dish deal." She went to check and came back to confirm the offer was available: £12.95 for three dishes, but only for steamed items (which was different from my previous experience, but I accepted the new terms). However, when the bill came, the discount was not applied. Upon questioning this, we were told the offer is only valid on weekdays. I explained that their colleague had confirmed it was available before we ordered. The situation escalated when an Asian female manager (speaking Cantonese) came over to handle the complaint. Her attitude was absolutely appalling and made me feel like she was accusing us of trying to cheat the restaurant out of a discount. She insisted that all offers are detailed online and that if a colleague gave us wrong information, she could only call that colleague out to apologize, but the discount would not be honoured. The most frustrating part was her complete lack of apology and her condescending manner. While the subsequent white male manager was more polite, the damage was done. The initial employee's misinformation, followed by the Cantonese-speaking staff member's incredibly rude and unprofessional attitude, was unacceptable. Mr Lau needs to seriously re-train its staff on providing accurate information and, crucially, how to handle service recovery with professionalism and respect. I will not be returning and cannot recommend this restaurant. Follow-up comment after Mr.Lau’s feedback: Thank you, Mr. Lau, for your detailed response. I appreciate you clarifying the terms of the promotional offer and confirming that you will address the internal communication issue. Regarding your comments about the staff and discrimination: My core concern is solely the unprofessional and rude conduct of one specific individual, the Chinese lady manager, and the way she handled the situation. I wish to stress that the rest of your team, including the staff member who provided the incorrect discount information, was polite and friendly. I am not correlating her appearance and ethnicity with her professionalism. I myself am Asian and a native Cantonese speaker, just like the manager. My descriptive language was used only because I did not know her name and needed to ensure the right person was being identified. It was absolutely not a point of criticism based on her background. The reason I needed to describe her was precisely because she initiated the finger-pointing. When I raised the issue, she insisted on using a rude and demanding attitude to force me to point out the specific staff member who gave the wrong information, stating, "The only thing she could do is to ask her to apologise to me.” This approach is unacceptable. A professional manager should apologize on behalf of her team for any incorrect information provided and focus on constructive resolution. Her choice to shift the focus to individual blame demonstrates a lack of professional leadership and also implying that I was lying. My comments were intended to be precise and only reflect the truth of the manager's poor conflict resolution skills. I would have been much happier if she had simply offered a polite apology on behalf of the team instead of adopting that attitude.

   almost 4 months ago
2. Patrick Lewis ★★★☆☆

   Food was average at best. Alleged fillet steak might have been fillet, but perhaps not bovine? Drinks choice was very poor, and no information in the menu as to bottle size or beverage strength. I ordered a cider in the end and it came with ice, which I did not request. Why? The mildly sparkling cider was already chilled, so why add frozen water (of questionable quality as most commercial ice machines are not very well cleaned & maintained) which will water it down and make it go flat very quickly? Maybe ask, or state in the menu that it is served with ice? Had the 'banquet' menu. Where I live, all the Asian restaurants that offer a banquet provide small plates of everything on the banquet menu. Here, you have to choose one starter, one main .... so not a banquet, just an old fashioned table d'hote menu (i.e. restricted choice for a fixed price). Waitresses were friendly and very efficient (apart from the above issue with the ice).

   almost 5 months ago
3. Lisa ★☆☆☆☆

   Initial thoughts were that it was going to be a good experience as the restaurant was busy and seemed popular. We were seated and after around 20 minutes our drinks order was taken but they couldn’t take the food order because that wasn’t their role. After another 10 minutes somebody else came for the food order who was very apologetic that we were still awaiting our drinks to come. Our order was taken and the starters were quick to arrive. The ribs tasted good but for the price I was surprised by how little of them there was. We waited for about another 30 minutes for the table to be cleared and was asked if we wanted our mains or did we want a gap. We asked for them to be served and off they went. Another 20 minutes passed and finally my husband’s main and my rice came, followed on by his rice. At this point I was advised that the dish I had ordered wasn’t available and did I want something else? I explained that I had ordered the food an hour ago and that I should have been told before this point as we were expecting to eat together and that the rice I’d ordered was already going cold on the table. They were very apologetic but at this point we were both very disappointed with our experience and sent the food back paying only for our drinks. It’s unclear what the real reason was as there were plenty of staff, all of which were very polite and courteous, however it seemed very disorganised and as if nobody knew what was happening. Other customers in our proximity were experiencing the same and the chaos quickly became topic of conversation amongst us. We finished our drinks and went home for cheese on toast!

   almost 6 months ago

1. Sophie Thornton ★★★★★

   We booked in advance to ensure a table as it’s really popular. Service was so quick and the staff were really accommodating and lovely, can’t praise them enough. Food was incredible, I’ve never had a bad meal there - the beef and pork belly were cooked to perfection, and the wonton soup was served piping hot. Amazing place, wonderful staff and beautiful food!

   almost 2 years ago
2. Marc Regan ★★★★★

   Recently ventured to Mr Laus for lunch. We were first in the restaurant for the day and the staff could not have been more attentive. The food was lovely and £15 for a 4 part banquet is fantastic value for money. We've have been to Mr Laus a few times and always found the food and service great. I can highly recommend the firecracker beef!

   almost 3 years ago
3. Mike Cooper ★★★☆☆

   Food very average. We were totally unimpressed. My salt and pepper chicken was far less tasty than the local takeaway's. Staff acted in an uninterested manner. Best food of the evening was the fortune cookie!

   almost 4 years ago

1. KY Lai ★★☆☆☆

   Children’s menu cost £10 each, with only one main and one dessert, which is more costly than adult menu. Kindly of ridiculous. It is not exactly Hong Kong dishes, no choice of dim sum. The taste is not bad, but not really Chinese dishes.

   almost 4 years ago
2. Mark Jepson ★★★★★

   We've been meaning to try it this place for a while and it didn't disappoint. The food here is so good and tastes quite authentic South Chinese (I lived in Hong Kong for a while so hopefully I should know). Service is attentive and welcoming with an upscale atmosphere. The range of dishes is good and although on the expensive side, the taste to cost ratio means it's good value.

   almost 4 years ago

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