On a recent visit with a group of friends, we were looking forward to having an enjoyable meal with some fun entertainment at El Cantara in Soho. We had pre-booked a table and was told upon arrival that we were going to be charged full set menu price per person for no-shows considering that we had confirmed that the numbers were going to be slightly less than previous initial booking over the phone. After negotiating with the manager, we managed to reduce the cancellation fee. However, the start of the night was yet to come...whilst in the middle of tucking into our starters, we felt water being sprayed all over the table including our food from the ceiling. When we made the complaint, they told us it was a leakage coming from their kitchen pipes and assured us that the water being sprayed all over us was clean. We were not convinced, and a few of us went upstairs to do our own investigation and discovered that one of the toilets was based just right above our table and the toilet was leaking; the floors were soaking wet and there were cracks on the floor. After a second complaint to the manager, they left us sat there offering no apology or an alternative table until we kicked up a fuss. Then they moved us to another table and we ended up waiting a whole hour for our main course. After several chasing, they kept saying that it was coming. The main courses were not to standard and the portions were not enough to feed a group of 15 of us. I was promised that the lamb tagine was going to be swapped with the chicken tagine during booking and this was not the case. The food was cold and tasteless. Then the bill came, we were offered no discount considering our starters were ruined from the water being splattered all over from the ceiling and had to pay a considerable amount including unsatisfactory customer services. This is the worst dining experience ever and i would definitely not recommend it to anyone who wants a good night out.

I organised a large event at El Cantara recently and cannot fault any part of the experience. Food, service and entertainment were all excellent. The reservations manager is extremely helpful and made organising such a big event stress free. Our whole party really enjoyed themselves so I would thoroughly recommend it. The Shisha terrace is also lovely for a pre or post dinner drink.

only thing to let our evening down was the sangria very poor
the food n service was great

Lovely venue. The staff are really friendly and welcoming. Great offers on tapas. Very tasty Paela Valenciana which I had for the main course.
I'll be heading back to try more of their delicious dishes soon!