Gilgamesh

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 28 reviews

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The Stables,
Chalk Farm Road,
Camden,
London,
NW1 8AH

(020) 7428 4922

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Reviewer cat888
05/02/2012
It does not deserve any stars for its rating. Horrible food which I would not eat even if it was served for free. We ere served a salad which was not fresh: looked not fresh and tasted the same. No wonder flies were flying about! Sashimi was awful as well. Decor is tacky and over the top in a bad way. Tasteless place in all the meanings of this word.
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Reviewer mahashemi
28/09/2011
The Gilgamesh has a very impressive atmosphere with great interior ,lighting and statues .
I find the food average and over priced for what it is,
their selection of dim sum are the best and most impressive looking depending on what you order , the sushies are not very good and look like something from a supermarket, I guess you really need a Japanese chef for that and you would expect them to have one as the place looks like it should.
I haven't tried the desserts but they look nice and they have amazing looking dry ice cocktail hich I haven't tried yet.

I had a Thai vegetable curry a few times hich is pretty much the only vegetarian option for the main which tastes really nice but It isn't much different from what you get from any nice Thai place.

The service is very average , most thing the staff do is smile and being polite but they don't seems to have a proper catering training and are very amateurish , they often spill things, drop things or attempt to take your unfinished drinks and you really have to wave your arms around to attract their attention and I have noticed this in many different occasions .They have a massive turn over which I guess shows they over work the staff and loose them very quickly .

The toilets are the other thing which is bit disappointing, as soon as you enter the stairway the atmosphere changes, it looks like a simple fire exit with some artworks on the wall and the toilets are done very cheaply unlike the rest of the restaurant but they still managed to impress you with the golden wash basins, dryers and urinals for men's and at busy times it looks like any other busy venue , with tissues and mess on the floor .

I definitely recommend you to try Gilgamesh out but bare in mind that you might be disappointed with the service or you might get lucky but its worth checking out as there aren't many interesting looking restaurants in London and most are just boring and neat and this one definitely pleases my visual appetite
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Reviewer QU3NTIN
21/07/2011
I recently went to Gilgamesh for my first time and it was a fantastic experience. The menu was really interesting and diverse, it had something for everyone in my group of 10 people and the restaurant itself was very cool and interestingly decorated and furnished. Great food, better atmosphere and friendly service, I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone looking for a fun evening in Camden
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Reviewer dtrey70
20/07/2011
I have been to Gilgamesh twice now and I will continue to visit this lovely restaurant. I love the decor and atmosphere and the food is delicious. The menu has a really good selection of dishes. I highly recommend this restaurant.
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Reviewer VA86
15/06/2011
Gilgamesh has a great atmosphere, lovely food and attentive staff. I can't wait to go back. The crispy squid was amazing and my partner thoroughly enjoyed the chilli chicken.
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Reviewer simz
13/06/2011
Great restaurant!
Love the atmosphere here aswell as the amazing friendly service!
The food is presented beautifully and tastes delicious!
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Reviewer Mrman123
05/05/2011
Was there last week for dinner when i heard about a celebrity table tennis charity tournament. Apparently it was in aid of "Topspin" opening on May 18th. A night where you can drink,dance, eat, party and play Ping Pong! Similar to the Spin nightclub idea in new york. The pre launch was great and got to meet JLS and Frank Bruno so expecting big things for the opening night!
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Reviewer krupa_queen
18/04/2011
This venue is amazing!...the decor that is! We had a seating area reserved in the upstairs club after paying the minimum spend of £350. On arrival the doorwoman pointed out that we had too many men in the group and would have to wait in the bar for the ladies to arrive...complete rubbish! We made our way up to the club and no-one questioned the male-female ratio, infact those girls were great as they let a few extras in who weren't on the list after they paid £15 entry. My only complaint about these girls is that they did not show us to our table, and so I had to go back out and ask.... The service charge is a JOKE as they did not provide any service. I ordered the first round at the bar and waited 20min for them to bring it over....the only efficient part was payment of the service charge (what a surprise). Music was fairly good and there was a good mix of people there, but I wouldn't have had such a fun night if it wasn't for my friends.There were a couple of "celebrities" there, but that shouldn't impact how the rest of us are treated. The following week I wrote an email describing the lack of service, and it's been over one week and I have yet to have any acknowledgement. I wouldn't go out of your way to visit this place.
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Reviewer kerakovacs
23/03/2011
Poor service! Worst restaurant I have ever been! I received much better service from cheaper restaurants so far. Staff made mistakes on every single courses, they ended up giving me 50% off the bill. Food wasn't bad but I was expecting something special for that price. I won't go back to the restaurant ever again however I might visit the lounge bar. I would give 5 stars for the interior design;)
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Reviewer Kate2b
11/11/2009
I had my party at Gilgamesh, the decor was great but other than that I wouldn’t bother going as there are better places to visit. The food was overpriced and not that great and the staff are completely rude with most of them verging on stupid.

Our waiter couldn’t do simple maths in his head and after swiping 15 peoples cards once he realised he had undercharged by £5 and had to do the whole thing again.

You can’t access the club at Gilgamesh unless you are eating in their restaurant, or you pay for a £350 table which is apparently redeemable when you purchase drinks, but that is clearly not the case given the review below and that is yet another money making scheme by management.

However even if you are dining in the restaurant you can’t sit at any of the £350 tables even though most of them were empty all night.Overall the place is very average, and is littered with rude staff who don’t have a clue and think they know better than the customer.

My recommendation is don’t waste your time or money there are better places out there.
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Reviewer L9
11/11/2009
What an unfortunate place to go and celebrate a birthday. The club plays average music and the atmosphere is strangely quiet in such nice surroundings.

BEWARE pre-pay tables. A policy not made clear to me by the club is that none of my guests could pay as they ordered rounds of drinks.

I was left with a huge bill because the system really doesn't work. Other high end clubs manage this very well. Reservations staff were very rude when I explained the predicament I was put in.

There are better places to go, don't bother with Gilgamesh!
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Reviewer wacky barber
21/09/2009
have the sea bass and u Will want to eat here every day!!!!!!!!
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Reviewer Joy100
10/08/2009
The decor is interesting, the escalator entrance and view of camden lock market unique...however the crowd a bit pretantious and the service appaling!

Will never return there again!Portions small and not special with pricey prices taht are no value for money.

Staff were rude and unattentive to our needs. We were given wrong info more then once with no appology.Not recommended!
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Reviewer Anonymous
23/02/2009
My friend had her 18th in the seperate bar the other day. It was a great experience. The decoration is amazing. When you arrive you have to walk through the very very loud main restaurant, the atmosphere of which was alright.

Our private section was amazing. We had cocktails which the birthday girl had designed herself and the bowls of noodles and rice dishes were the best oriental cuisine i have ever tasted.

However, the staff were rather rude and not very well trained. The bathroom assistant just sat there on her phone glaring at customers and was very unewlcoming. You weren't allowed to take drinks out into the smoking area, not even water.

However, the night was made when Ziggy and Liam from Big Brother and one of the actors from Hustle showed up to celebrate upstairs.
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Reviewer Cactus
29/09/2008
I really disagree with the below review. When I went, the atmosphere was terrible! A magician going from table to table ruined the intimacy of our meal. Trains rumbling past, waiters getting our orders wrong then arguing the point. And the food was well below what I'd expect for the high price. A depressing evening all round.
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Reviewer jamestrev
16/02/2009
that magician is good though
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Reviewer spoiltrotten
11/05/2008
Went to Gilgamesh for my birthday celebrations last night and have to say had a really enjoyable time.
The entrance through the red carpet and pass the secrity leads up the escalators to a very loud entrance. We had a table booked for 10pm as I heard the later the better. We arrived about 20mins early and so were directed to the bar. Great atmosphere, loud, bubbly and quite friendly. Drinks at the bar quite expensive though.
We got seated at our table about 10.20pm, no apologie for the delay though. The menu is smallish, comprising of dim sum, sushi, very oriental. The food isn't what you go for though, the atmopsphere is definately what is being paid for.
The food was average, best bit was the dessert and a wide range of teas after. The bar and lounge were open for hours after, opened till 3am i think.
But it was a brilliant evening, good service, food served quick and hot, great decor and atmopshere.
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Reviewer Chiron James
01/04/2008
An evening in Gilgamesh is like being whisked away to an exquisite paradise somewhere far from the madness of London. Every time I arrive I’m blown away, both by the shear scale of the venue, and the goings on inside.

Entering, I have always been greeted by extremely friendly staff. I usually start with a cocktail in the smaller of the two bars, with a carved tree as it’s centre piece it provides an intimate start to an evening. Cocktails are exotic, and prices for a club of this stature are reasonable.

The restaurant is a wonderful place to eat, in the summer the roof comes off, to be seated outside in one of London’s coolest locations.

The main bar (which is apparently one of Europe’s longest and entirely hand carved) is more lively. There is always a nice crowd of people enjoying a civilised evening, having a little dance, or a few too many drinks. The DJ booths is one of the most amazing features in this room, huge carved Egyptian statues dwarf the DJ playing upon them.

If you can, exit via the stairs, the carved woodwork, or the ‘Tree of Life’ as I believe it’s nicknamed is absolutely breathtaking.

Fashion, art and business types mix seamlessly. If you’re looking for a fantastic night with interesting people, or a venue to wow a friend, Gilgamesh really is the place.

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Reviewer hpsauce
14/03/2008
Going to Gilgamesh was a truly odd experience. We went on their 1/2 price taster menu offer for £20 (instead of £40). The decor was absolutely incredible and the ambience good. We then ordered wine and food.

The service was dreadful - you would have thought we were speaking another language from the lack of understanding (even though it was a set menu!). The sushi then arrived before the drinks and without any soy sauce. It took us 10 mins to get anyones attention to get our drinks. The starters were ok, apart from the duck spring rolls which were lovely. Our veggie also received a chicken salad!

The mains were fine (curry) and the cocunut mousse pudding was bizarre. It was nice that we were not bothered to rush out but the waiter did keep clearing our plates one by one as we finished which was slightly disconcerting!

Overall the food was not bad (definitely not worth £40 though) and the wine was nice and the decor incredible but the heaters they used started to make us feel sick after a while and the bizarrely dull music got louder and louder until you couldn't think!

Worth a visit on a special offer to see but for such an impressive venue, but the organisation and food was entirely underwhelming.
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Reviewer xxmissmiaxx
16/02/2008
I've never eaten at Gilgamesh because of the expensive prices but have been there for a drink numerous times.

The door staff and bar staff could do with a lot of training particularly in the field of customer service and manners. Drinks are pretty expensive... having said that, the decor is amazing and the atmosphere is pretty good so Gilgame is worth checking out at least once. The bar is fun and a good place to meet people.. just not great for customer service or value for money.
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Reviewer andrewoj
19/11/2007
So one summer evening I got told that I'd be having dinner in Camden Town with some friends of mine and not being a big fan of the area, I'm not expecting much.

But to my surprise, I was totally taken aback by this hidden gem in the middle of Camden Lock, which I had no idea existed!!

The decor is totally awesome and completely blew me away! The food was amazing and although it set me back a fair few quid (about £45 a head), it was worth every penny!!

This joint comes highly, highly recommended, try it for yourself, honestly it is very much worth it!
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Reviewer SAS
22/10/2007
I have visited Gilgamesh on numerous occasions since it opened last year...at times the service has not been great. However I think the new management seem to have cracked it!! Ian Pengelleys menu is stunning, the new lamb madras dish is incredible...I highly recommend it to anyone..a real mouth watering sensation!!

The service is much better, the are friendly as always but now they are very knowledgable about what they are serving and the wines are fantastic.

I am really into Pan Asian food and I was lucky enough to be given a Masterclass session with the chef for my birthday! Its genius and so much fun...well worth £100 for a full day in the kitchen learning brilliant skills and then the wine matching the Richard was great fun.

Dont miss out on this place...go see for yourself ...and it goes without saying that the decor is simply awesome..if you want to wow someone take them to Gilgamesh...
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08/09/2006
Gilgamesh Babylon Lounge is an amazing venue, we were very impressed - however the atmosphere was non-existent and the service was terrible. We had to wait for ages for the staff to serve us and then they got the order wrong, it all seemed a bit chaotic! The staff at Gilgamesh Babylon Lounge seemed to lack decent communication, english language skills and people skills. This is such a shame as the venue is so fantastic.
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Reviewer Elin Nordlund
07/09/2006
Me and my friends went to Gilgamesh Babylon Lounge last weekend. It has very beautiful decoration inside but we didn't enjoy it. There was no atmosphere and the bar staff were slow and talked to themselves instead of taking our orders.


We will go to the West End next time instead of Gilgamesh Babylon Lounge.

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Reviewer Anonymous
13/07/2006
At gone 11pm the Gilgamesh Restaurant Lounge was still serving, and we were shown to our table, but then abandoned. Even vigorous arm waving failed to elicit a response, and eventually my boyfriend went off to forage for menus. At the end of the meal the staff had obviously given up and we couldn't find anyone to pay.



If I was eating in any of Camden's other dismal restaurants I could have forgiven the menacing bouncer, dilatory service and grumpy desk girl but not when Gilgamesh is charging West End prices for a fast food service.



I should say that the food we ordered was both accurate and delicious, but the process of getting and paying for it was so tedious that it took the shine off it completely.
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Reviewer kipper
10/07/2006
The image on approach to Gilgamesh Tea Rooms is that of the Atlantic Bar, the god-awful trendy bar of the 90s. A roped-off space outdoors and a glam woman with a clipboard more like a guest list than reservations, then four minutes or so to be allowed in. Up the escalator, another desk for bookings, through into a cross between a vast chain pub and a brothel. Once seated no one approached the table to take our drinks.



There was a set menu at £45.00, so we requested the la carte menu and was told that for group bookings at Gilgamesh Tea Rooms only the set menu was available. Eventually got the wine list and at £50.00 a pop we decided to leave. They tried to get us to pay a cancellation fee, which we declined. As we left, there were a lot of folk queuing. Went across the road to Silks and Spice, had a great meal including drinks for £22.00 a head including a tip.
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Reviewer Anonymous
22/06/2006
What should have been promising is not. Gilgamesh is in a bad location, has bad decor, a one page cocktail menu, a one page food menu, inexperienced staff and the food is just ordinary.



We wept that we had wasted an opportunity to eat at Hakkasan or Yauatcha or Roka or Zuma to try out this place. Gilgamesh is very disappointing. Don't expect it to last six months.
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Reviewer Anonymous
15/06/2006
The surroundings at Gilgamesh are lavish and quite beautiful. The meal was ok. Not great. The presentation at Gilgamesh could be improved.
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Reviewer Anonymous
14/06/2006
The Gilgamesh Restaurant Lounge is stunning. Very exotic surroundings make a normal lunchtime visit feel like a holiday. The tapas style meal was delicious - I just love Asian teas. All in all, Gilgamesh is a fabulous place.
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