1 /5 AJ D: Scam warning - table bookings
Great pub to walk in. Don’t make a booking
Had visited The Lord Napier Star many times before - good selection of beers, great space, and the food was decent. Staff in the pub very friendly.
The bad - having last year booked what was presented as the roof garden for a party of 20, I was asked to pay a £50 fee, which would be reasonable for a private space or as a deposit, and so is what was expected.
However, on arrival, when we were directed to the roof, there was no private space - only a standard table as if we’d just booked a table for free in any other pub, which had other people on it that we had to ask to move. The table was dirty and too small for the 20 of us.
Multiple staff told me the £50 was a refundable deposit. Having tried to get this refund a few days later via email, I was told it was non refundable!
So essentially, a £50 fee to book a table in a public area, that we could’ve politely asked for anyway! I.e. £50 for nothing at all.
Utter greed, bordering on a scam, and the email exchange experience ruined for me what was a great pub in a great area.
