Salvador & Amanda Covent Garden

I'm afraid that we went into the basement of Salvadore and Amanda on Convent Garden after seeing a clear sign that specifically stated "2-4-1 on Cocktails" before 9pm. It was about 8:40pm when we went into the bar, confirmed with the barmaid that the cocktails were still "2-4-1" and that we could 'mix and match' our drinks, then ordered two cocktails off the list as pointed out. Placed order at 8:50pm, but had to wait for another bar man to make our drinks as she said she wasn't confident making those that we had chosen and so we patiently waited as we were advised the offer would still be honoured as we ordered prior to 9pm. The bar man made the drinks we had ordered, but then requested payment for 2 x cocktails, I explained that we ordered before 9pm and that this was "2-4-1", but he informed me that this was the price that needed to be paid and he referred to another deal that they offer prior to 9pm on cocktails which was specific drinks "2 for £10", which is not what the offer on board upstairs showed, some of these drinks were as little as £8 and so "2 for £10" is not and no where near "2-4-1"!!!!! I made the payment as I had no alternative option and was made to feel uncomfortable and embarrassed, we drank out drinks and went to leave. We agreed that this was complete mis-representation and so raised it with the manager, but received a very negative and dismissive response. If an offer is advertised, it should be honoured as this is quite simply 'conning' its customers, afterall they honoured other offers such as 4 bottles of beer for £10!!, exactly as stated....... I also have requested details of the companies 'complaints procedure', but this has not been forthcoming, it is obviously a legal requirement to have such a procedure but this seems to be ignored. Therefore, I feel that visitors should know of this experience, hence my report on Tripadvisor and I am also reporting to trading standards. As per a response made on TripAdvisor in respect of this review I emailed in order to reach a satisfactory outcome, however although the error has been acknowledged and it appears from the response that this would be resolved, upon contact with Salvador and Amanda they refused to offer any solution in resolution. Therefore, the response made that appears to show reasonableness, acceptance and an offer to resolve, but this was a lie for TripAdvisor response.

Very bad experience. Booked a table, before paying making sure that the table will not be moved at some point to make space. Looks like the woman taking bookings called Candice will promise you anything just to take your money, because guess what, comes 11pm and the security comes showing us around (it was my husbands birthday party), manager called doesn't care about anything even if you show him you have the promise in writing, and leaves. After that additionally and totally unnecessary the security super rude, aggressive and threatening. All of this on top of overcrowded space, songs on repeat and only 2 actually working barmans for that many people is much too much - there's plenty of other places in London to spend your money, especially if you invite guests for some occasion.

Very bad experience. Booked a table, before paying making sure that the table will not be moved at some point to make space. Looks like the woman taking bookings called Candice will promise you anything just to take your money, because guess what, comes 11pm and the security comes showing us around (it was my husbands birthday party), manager called doesn't care about anything even if you show him you have the promise in writing, and leaves. After that additionally and totally unnecessary the security super rude, aggressive and threatening. All of this on top of overcrowded space, songs on repeat and only 2 actually working barmans for that many people is much too much - there's plenty of other places in London to spend your money, especially if you invite guests for some occasion.

I have been to Salvador and Amanda quite a few times now and have never been disappointed. Went once with a group of 15 and I would say it is definitely worth the money. I have also gone there in a small group, and the waitress was very nice and helped us pick out things we would all like. Our meals came out in a timely manner, and the sangria is to die for. Salvador and Amanda is great for big groups, small groups, a date, or just for drinks.

I visited Salvador and Amanda last week, and was pretty unimpressed I wasn’t expecting too much as it is near to Leicester square, and most of the places round here are touristy chain restaurants – we only went as I had a Taste London booking and some of the reviews were quite good. However when we got here they wouldn’t allow us to use the discount off the a La Carte menu which is a standard of taste London, but provided a cut down menu with only half the dishes on it. The food was distinctly average, of La Tasca standards or less. The calamari was ok, the meatballs in a tomato sauce were flavourless, and tasted quite cheap. The patatas bravas with chorizo, consisted of soggy potatos in a bland tomato sauce, with barely any chorizo and topped with a half fried egg, with the white uncooked. The scallops (which I had to pay the full price of £8 for, as this ‘luxury’ was not on the Taste London menu) were bland, overcooked and covered with teeth breakingly hard pieces of ‘parma ham’? Not particularly appetizing. It was a shame, because the service was good and the staff seemed very sweet and keen to help. However they then added a 20% service charge on the bill instead of the stated 12.5%… oh dear. Wouldn’t go back here to eat, maybe it's an alright place to come for a few drinks.

I love this place! I know the other person to review did not think too highly of it but after being 2 years in a row for my birthday, I don't really have a bad word to say about it. Booking can easily be done online and if you have any problems (ie want to change the time etc) they are really helpful. It has a lovely atmosphere and the staff are all really polite. I even love that I managed to spill off an order as long as my arm without the waiter writing it down and we still got everything we ordered. The calamares was excellent, and the first time I have eaten it where it hasn't been overcooked. Also love the olives. No idea what brine/vinegar they are kept in but they are delicious. Actually, the only bad point I can think is the desserts aren't much to write home about…but then I am normally so stuffed I cannot fit one in. Its good value for money. Each time I've been I think I've spent less than if I'd gone to another restaurant and I'm probably more satisfied after my meal. Yes, it does turn into a bar later on in the night. The easy solution if you don't want to be listening to “naff techno ” (i think they were referred to) is to go to an earlier sitting. Then you can enjoy your dinner with some quiet salsa/latin music in the background. If you do want the music, eat about half 8 and then have a boogie after!

The executive summary: nasty tourist trap to avoid like the plague I have lived in London my whole life and I go out to eat regularly; Salvador and Amanda is probably the worst dining experience I have had. We were seated at 8.15pm and by 10pm we still hadn't been brought our food. We were forced to go with the set menu because we were a group of over ten, and that was the classic group rip-off that tapas dives do: not bringing anything like enough food for what we were paying. We had about four patatas bravas each, one piece of chorizo, two mini bell peppers, etc. All for an extortionate £18.50/head! We complained to the manager, who, rather than apologise for the fact that two hours into the meal everyone was angry and hungry, started disputing how long we had actually been waiting. It was Fawlty Towers without the humour. He then lied and said that he'd bring some calamares on the house; which then appeared on our bill! To top off this awful experience, naff techno is blaring out over the speakers to create the “fiesta” atmosphere. Utterly, utterly horrendous.