Latest reviews in New Barnet

“ DEMANDED ADDITIONAL PAYMENT AT THE END OF THE PARTYMy daughter’s had a Build a Bear party for her 5th Birthday at The Painted Pot in Barnet. The children loved the bear building though it was quite difficult for them to manage on their own and the store does not to allow parents stay for the party. Luckily my two older children were there to help the younger ones. The charge was £13.70 per child which included the animal plus a little T’shirt (for the toy) and a drink for each child and we are allowed to serve a birthday tea (supplied by us) at the table once the bears are finished.  Few complaints: No drinks were supplied, the fabric pens for the T’shirts were all virtually out of ink and the shop was unable to loan us a knife to cut the cake (had to borrow one from a nearby restaurant). I would have overlooked these minor issues if the event had not  turned sour. Five minutes before the end of the party, despite the fact that we were the only customers, I was told that we would be charged extra ‘studio time’ for every 15 minutes we ran over the specified time slot - this had never been mentioned at all beforehand, if it had, I would simply have asked parents to collect 5 minutes earlier. Luckily all of the parents were prompt to collect their children (as I mentioned earlier, they were not allowed to stay for the party) however after the last guest left, I finished cleaning up the table and went to pay. I was told that on top of the £178.40 (13 children) I was to be charged £15 cover charge for my own two older children who had only helped out - not built their own bears! Furthermore, they tried to charge me for the first 15 minute overstay of the allocated 1.5 hours. By this time it was 7 minutes after the party had officially finished, I had only overstayed to clean up the table  and there was not one other person in the entire shop! I felt that I had paid quite a lot for the party and objected to the extra charges added, which were not advised in advance and seemed to be simply trying to bump up the charge and embarrass me as the host into paying extra for nothing. I was very annoyed and refused to pay the extra, at which point the manager was phoned. I did not wish to speak to her so I simply paid the money I had agreed in advance and left feeling very angry and humiliated, suggesting they might want to sue me for the difference.  I have complained to the manager but have yet to receive any response. The absurd thing is that if they had allowed parents to stay during the party, I would have been happy to run a tea/coffee tab for them which would have bumped up their profit. Furthermore, the children could have been moved out a little earlier to make way for the non-existent customers they required studio space for. This is a nice, though pricey idea for a birthday party but I would definitely not use this shop again due to their underhand pricing policy and poor customer service. (mbartley, 06-06-2013) 1

“ An excellent, knowledgeable firm, highly recommended! Serviced my X5 and it was very competitive over the main dealers. Alan (AlanThom, 11-05-2013) 5

“ Ever since I was a little kid I have had the dream of having my very own pool table at my house so I can play whenever I want because I was sick and tired of going to the pool houses and waiting for a table to be available. Well that dream came true 2 weeks ago when I bought the "Havana - Dark Walnut" model. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the delivery was free and it was supplied with 2 cues, balls, triangle and chalk. I've been playing non-stop stop stop since then and I can honestly say that the table is simply perfect. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for some quality service and pool products. (Ben Lewis, 28-05-2013) 4

“ Hired their function room recently for my 60th birthday party, and found everything about it outstanding.  The room is pleasant, clean and accessible, spacious enough to allow for some guests to listen to music while there is a quieter space for others to sit and chat.  The catering was much better than expected (I thought I had only requested a few nits and crisps, but a lovely selection of snacks was provided).  The owner was extremely helpful and pleasant, in addition to being efficient, and the bar staff could not have been better.  All in all this was an excellent experience, and highly recommended. (Banjoguy, 28-04-2013) 5

“ I am a big fan of reggae music and im glad i foudn a palce to visit when i want to enjoy listening to music (JodieA947, 08-05-2013) 4

“ The cleaners did a thorough and conscientious job cleaning our 1100 sq. foot loft from top to bottom. They used great products and continually checked in to see if we were pleased and what else they could do to ensure we were happy. Jacob outdid himself making a gunky shower shine again! I will use them again for sure. (jerysons391, 26-03-2013) 4

“ The Royal Indian is not bad, fast service and most importantly a pretty decent standard of food. The lamb Vindaloo was tasty and hot without being ridiculous, the okra was very nice. My only slight gripe was the Tandoori Chicken, a huge portion for the price granted and it was 2 breast pieces but the quality of the chicken wasnt great and it suffered from being too big really as the marinade didnt penetrate deeply enough. All that said it is definitley one of the better takeaways in the area. (Howard32, 03-03-2013) 3

“ It’s not going to set the world alight but in the grand scheme of things the food at Suruchi is not too bad. I have a bit of an issue with their lamb dishes all basically having the same sauce, a kind of tomatoey thick thing. Consequently the Xacuti tastes like the Vindaloo which in turn tastes like the Jalfreizi, at least the Jalfreizi is hot enough to give it a little kick, more than the other dishes do. Authenticity is not on the list of words I would use is conjunction with Suruchi, but of the crop of fairly dismal Indian restaurants around Barnet church it is the best, not a glowing accolade I know but the best I can muster. Their Tandoori chicken is very nice however and the prices are very very reasonable and seem to be stuck at a level from about 5 years ago. The staff are also very friendly and have seemingly endless patience with some of the ludicrous things that were said to them in just the hour or so we were there. I quote, “I’m having chicken tikka because the english invented it”. Verdict, you are a dick. Asking “is it spicy, I dont want anything spicy” about EVERY item on the menu, for gods sake get fish and chips then. People were also Googling that exotic word Channa, and talking loudly about its possible meaning,seriously? Have you never had a curry before. At this point if I was the waiter I would’ve just walked out but he was all smiles all the way, he must have the patience of a saint. (Howard32, 17-02-2013) 3

“ Tony did a very good job for me, he was very proffesional and kind. Fixed my lock for a goo price. thank you (lisa478, 28-01-2013) 5

“ After reading all the reviews on here I was really skeptical about going down there to have a look as I recently wanted to join a gym.Iv'e got to say its one of the best gyms I have been to before and I have been a member of Virgin and Esporta and visited various bodybuilding gyms in the past!The staff are great from as soon as you walk in and get greeted by reception, the gym is on a HUGE 3 floors with all the equipment you could ever need, it has top of the range spin bike room, 2 very nice studios with 60 free classes a week, the personal trainers are also the best I've ever seen in a gym and the atmosphere is brilliant!They even has 2 sunbed rooms, a massage/physiotherapy room, a beauty room, a hypoxi center and colonic irrigation center. What else could you possibly want? There are always 2 cleaners around cleaning away so its very clean and the interactive touch screen boards they have which teach you training programs and allow you to book classes are amazing!And on here people are sayying the showers are freezing but if anything I find them too HOT! that is my only problem with the place!DON'T LISTEN TO THE BAD REVIEWS, BEST GYM EVER!! (dreamer91287, 26-01-2013) 5