Lin-S

Nov 22, 2023

Events booking: buyer beware!

I booked a private-room event at The Cube Birmingham for a work gathering, for 25 people at £40 each for the meal, drinks on top. We had to pay the entire amount of £1,000 well in advance. I told them 18 days before the event that we would only be 17 people and assumed the balance would go towards drinks and any remaining balance would be refunded. "That's not how we do things" was the response, and I was told that there would be NO refund at all, regardless of amount. The balance remaining on the account was £400 or so, a lot for a few glasses of lunchtime wine. I was absolutely appalled, so my advice to anyone thinking of booking an event here is this: book for the minimum number of people and add on as required! That way you won't be fleeced. I asked if any unspent balance could be used to tip the waiting staff and I was told that was possible, however a few roundabout enquiries to people in the know told me that this restaurant does not share tips with their staff, which is totally reprehensible. When we arrived, the young woman at the desk said she had no record or our reservation (almost giving me heart failure!!). After several minutes of tapping at her computer she said "Oh, you have a private room booked". As I had told her that at the beginning, a lot of worry could have been avoided if she had just listened. It was an embarrassing few minutes though as I had work colleagues around me who understandably though I might have messed up! The meal - no more than ok. The food is very pretentiously named.... "Mr White's Scotch Egg" had a suitably runny yolk - achieved by sous-vide rather than soft-boiling judging by the consistency, but the sausagemeat around the outside was actually unpleasant with a very strange texture as if the sausagemeat was uncooked. I didn't eat much of it. The fishcake I chose for main looked pretty much just like the scotch egg. It was acceptable but almost entirely made of salmon which is a fish I don't enjoy. We ordered some sides of chips and they looked ok although I didn't try them. Cheese was my pudding choice (at a supplement) and there was lots of it, but served with some little crackers that were the texture of cardboard and about as tasty, no butter was offered. Following the event I asked for an itemised invoice which arrived - minus the bar tab which was just shown as a single cost. I asked for an itemised bar tab to be sent and it was eventually emailed, showing a small balance left which I didn't even bother to ask them to give to the staff as I knew they would ignore this request. The lobby is very strangely decorated with endless photographs of the 'great man' himself, including a whole-wall close up photograph of him. Just how narcissistic does someone have to be to cover the walls of their restaurant with photographs of themself? Summing up: the views from two glass walls are magnificent, making it a gorgeous venue if you're not afraid of heights, but their business practices AND the food leave a lot to be desired. I would not dream of returning - I've eaten in a MPW restaurant in London before which was equally unimpressive.