Welcome Inn

Featured reviews

• P

  Prince Woni

  ·1 month ago

  “A deeply disappointing experience I am not someone who usually leaves negative reviews, but I feel strongly that this experience needs to be addressed. I visited this restaurant with two friends after spending weeks recommending the place to them and speaking highly of the food. We sat down, ordered our drinks and food, and were then approached by the waitress who asked us if we could “pay before we eat.” I politely declined and explained that I was happy to pay in the same way as the other customers — after our meal. The waitress then told us that everyone else in the restaurant had already paid for their meals. Shortly afterwards, she quietly stated that they had “had teenagers like you guys just run away before.” For context, we are all approaching 30 years old. What made the situation particularly uncomfortable was that the restaurant was predominantly occupied by white customers, while the three of us were the only Black/African customers we could see. As a result, we felt extremely uncomfortable and, understandably, felt that we had been racially profiled based on our appearance. We were not given any explanation as to why we had specifically been asked to pay before eating, and the explanation that we were being treated this way because of previous experiences with “teenagers like you guys” did little to alleviate the situation. We ultimately paid for our drinks and left because we no longer felt comfortable staying for our meal. I appreciate that businesses can have policies and may have experienced customers leaving without paying in the past. However, if there is a policy requiring certain customers to pay upfront, it should be applied consistently and transparently, rather than making assumptions about individuals based on their appearance or perceived age. This was a very upsetting and disappointing experience, particularly as I had personally recommended this restaurant to my friends. I hope the management takes the time to reflect on what happened and considers how situations like this are handled in future. I would encourage the management to look into this incident and provide an explanation as to why we were singled out and asked to pay before our meal.”

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• C

  Ceri James

  ·1 month ago

  “We had a very good meal hear and very good service. Looking forward to our next visit. The sizzling steak is amazing!”

• J

  Jordan

  ·1 month ago

  “The UNwelcome Inn. Massive disappointment and major disrespect! So I travelled from London specifically to celebrate my mate’s birthday at Welcome Inn as he spoke very highly of the place. Unfortunately the experience left a very bad taste in my mouth before I’d even tried the food. We were sat down and the waitress took our order. She brought out the water and soft drinks as normal but then came back. I thought this was to tell me that my order wasn’t available so I should order something else but no.. she had the audacity to ask, “Do you mind paying first?” We were genuinely confused and asked where this is coming from as this is not a normal request in a restaurant. When we queried it she said that teenagers had been dining and dashing. Okay.. the 3 of us are 30 next year and when my friend asked whether everyone else had been asked to pay upfront we were told “yes”. Blatant lie. For context, the three of us are black men and every other customer was white. The restaurant is very small so this conversation would have been heard by the other diners, most definitely by the table closest to us. So given how small the restaurant is, other diners could clearly hear what was being said. We felt extremely uncomfortable, embarrassed and frankly disrespected. What made it worse was being given the impression that this was standard practice when, from our experience, it clearly wasn’t. Validated by the fact my friend who’s birthday it was had been previously with his white mates and didn’t experience this strange request. We had already travelled a considerable distance to celebrate a birthday and were looking forward to having a good evening. Instead, we felt singled out and unwelcome. At that point, we decided we would rather leave. We paid for the water and soft drinks we had already ordered and left without eating. We ended up to settling for Nando’s instead, which was obviously not how we expected the birthday meal to go. I appreciate that restaurants have to deal with genuine incidents of people leaving without paying, but there are respectful ways to handle concerns about payment. The way this was handled was not one of them. Sadly, based on this experience, I would not return or recommend the restaurant. The food may well be good, but no meal is worth feeling violated, singled out or unwelcome. Spend your hard earned money where it’s appreciated and if you are black think twice before giving your custom to these people.”

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• D

  David G

  ·2 months ago

  “Having frequented this establishment for decades, I am pleased to report that the exceptional standard of food has endured despite a change in ownership. They offer genuinely outstanding Chinese cuisine in a pleasant dining environment. While service is efficient rather than memorable, and the venue can get quite busy, it remains thoroughly recommended.”

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• R

  Rachna Chopra

  ·5 months ago

  “We have been coming to this restaurant for over 10 years. Despite change of management ( for the record the previous owners were absolutely amazing) the new management I believe , is the staff that have taken over the restaurant, totally rude very bad customer service and have the audacity to charge for take away boxes which have always been free. You want to change that's fine, but the way they talk to customers is so bad!! We pay for our food it's not free , therefore the least we expect back in return is decent customer service. On many occasions I have seen they can be quite rude to ethic minority customers but we have always ignored it but today was absolutely ridiculous behaviour and the way they spoke to us. Zero ratings and constructive feedback they need training how to speak to customers. We shall not be returning back to this restaurant. Rude and disrespectful behaviour !!”

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• A

  Ayesha A

  ·5 months ago

  “We have been coming to Welcome Inn for over ten years, but unfortunately my recent experience has made me decide not to return. Over the years, I’ve often felt that the staff have a negative attitude, as though they are doing customers a favour rather than providing a service. On this visit, my friend and I chose not to pay the service charge due to the staff attitude, In response, we were told we would be charged 50p for a takeaway box as soon as we said we didnt want to pay for the service charges, something we have never been asked to pay before. When we questioned this, the staff member became argumentative and dismissive. The behaviour of the lady with shoulder-length black hair was particularly rude and unprofessional. We have also, on multiple occasions, felt a sense of discrimination from the staff, which is very disappointing after being long-term customers. Due to this experience, I will not be returning and will be advising friends, family, and others to avoid this restaurant.”

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• D

  dave barker

  ·6 months ago

  “Was taken by a friend to this place and was totally in awe of what I tasted. Chow mein excellent chicken ginger and spring onion amazing and the chicken dish my friend ordered was unbelievable, chicken so crispy and no sign of grease or oil very succulent and the taste was awesome. Great beer and very very reasonable price.”

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• P

  Paul Pablo

  ·9 months ago

  “Had a fantastic New Years Eve at Welcome Inn. The team were fab, David, as always going above and beyond to help. Set menu was a great selection, with some new dishes too. A tasty treat.”

• C

  Clarence Hanson

  ·1 year ago

  “We went to the Welcome Inn in Hornchurch on Wednesday evening and had another wonderful meal. It was just as good and tasteful as always, something we expected and never been let down now or in the past. Fantastic staff and good service . Booked for another meal on Friday night. Well done to all at the Welcome Inn. 🙏🏾👍🏾👌🏾”

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• S

  Sophie Rebeiro

  ·6 years ago

  “I went here yesterday evening for a family dinner & had a lovely time. They have managed dine in really well with plenty of space. Everything is spotless and the food was amazing! This will now be our regular, could not fault anything at all!!”