Jamil Ahmed

Review of Proud Group (Proud Camden, Pro...

Visited on Saturday 6 February 2016:

Visited on Saturday 6 February 2016:

Issues started happening before we entered the venue.

My friends and I rushed to make it on time for our 7:15pm table booking.
We ended up waiting for over 30 minutes in the cold and rain.
It would've been good to communicate what was going on instead of leaving us in the cold (literally (lol)).

It was nice to assure us our table wouldn't be taken away at the end of the night (because it was my birthday). Afterparty was a bit dead though.

We ran into a few issues with our food orders.

Our mains weren't served in one go. There was a 15 minute wait between some of them.

I asked what was going on with my steak and mentioned that I ordered it medium rare.
When the steak finally came, it was well done and cold.
The mash I ordered with it was also cold.

The waitress said the reason for the delay was because the chef didn't call for service when the meal was ready.
Good one.

One friend never got their mash. As a result, he died.

Two of us ordered the sweet red dessert wines.
We never got them. But we were still billed for them.

We were told you had inventory issues. So you gave us white wine instead. Not a good match for those who don't like white.

On the inventory issues, most of my cocktail choices weren't available. A waitress said this was because the previous night's service depleted your stock.

At one point, a waitress apologised to me for ruining my birthday.
I felt terrible, as if I was making her feel guilty.
This wasn't my intention when I expressed my disappointment at the situation.

The first print of the bill had charges for items we either didn't receive or didn't order.

Examples: 1x mashed potato (which a waitress promised would be deducted from the bill), duplicate cocktail orders (ordered two cherry cocktails but charged for four), and a dinner tea that never arrived.

I had to make several visits upstairs to challenge. Why not get it right the first time so you don't waste people's time?

I asked my friends what they thought of the night. They said it was really enjoyable, but the overall experience was let down by the food and cocktail issues, as well as issues with the bill.
The acts were brief, as if it was missing a few performances. So the value for money wasn't there.

The 5 star reviews on here are disingenuous.
They don't describe the experience in any meaningful detail.

They were obviously written by basic individuals to get a free shot. Except it's not free because you've spent your dignity.

I emailed Proud about this disappointing experience. They never got back to me. This feedback should be useful and even valuable.
Continuous Improvement .

I reckon the manager at the time had issues with his ego.
That's why he ejected other guests when they complained about the poor experience.
And then told staff to beg for 5 star reviews.

Update for Saturday 21 April 2018:

The food is still average. Every item, except the brownie, was served cold or barely warm.
No dish tasted fresh.

What exactly are you paying for?

The staff will add on extra items to your bill. I think they expect you to be drunk and settle without checking what you're paying for.
We had extra drinks added on to our bill. They also added on service charge even though we paid for that upfront during booking.

After reading other reviews, I was surprised our waitress didn't offer free drinks in exchange for a 5 star review. I guess they've stopped doing that because of changes in management.

The acts were great. I loved the fire lady and hula hoop girl.

The table spaces were cramped. A bit uncomfortable.

If you're going to come here, make sure you use Groupon to reduce how much money you give them.
And, if you can, pay the service charge upfront when you book.