A popular restaurant - ranked as the best in the area on TripAdvisor - has hit back at a series of scathing one-star reviews, branding them "fake".
OTTO Restaurant and Bar, in Wanstead, north east London, has an overall rating of 4.5 stars out of five on Google reviews and tops the list for restaurants in its borough on TripAdvisor.
The Turkish eatery has lots of positive reviews online, with visitors posting about the "superb" food and the "wonderful team", reports My London.
One person wrote: "The food was delicious and the portions were big. The restaurant looks beautiful and cosy- we were sat next to the fireplace. The staff were very nice and attentive, particularly Erol. Such a gentleman, he was so kind to us I had to make sure that I get his name and thank him here for his wonderful service."
However, not all reviews of OTTO Restaurant and Bar were favourable. A handful of people chose to leave one-star reviews.
One disappointed diner wrote: "Absolutely terrible. After seeing the good reviews I ordered food for my elderly mum. I ordered falafel, mixed vegetables and rice. The falafels were burnt, I tried one and could barely bite into it. The mixed vegetables were soggy, my mum didn't even bother to try them.
"My mum didn't even want to try the rice, I tried the rice and it had a funny taste to it. The bread was stone cold. For the price they charge you would expect very good food but it was terrible. My elderly mum was left hungry and very disappointed."
The diner added that when speaking to a member of staff on the phone, he was allegedly "rude, condescending, obnoxious and arrogant" and "shocked" her by calling her "stupid".
The restaurant clapped back and wrote in a response: "I can’t say thank you for this feedback as it doesn’t reflect your true experience with us, you made an order through Deliveroo and then later complained that the food was cold of which changed to that the falafel was burnt.
"We can’t control if the food becomes cold due to the times of delivery, however the falafel you have shown in the photo is not burnt, this is how we have always served our falafel. The falafels are deep fried to create a crispy exterior and a soft interior, on the phone you said the falafel was blackened whereas in the photo it is nowhere near burnt."
It added: "On the day of your order, we served a total of 86 people, 18 delivery orders and nine collections of which none have complained about our food, it is strange that only you have complained about our food that day, saying that everything was bad, how come everything bad has found you? We have looked at your previous reviews and seen a similar trend in bashing places on their service. Take care."
Another negative review said: "This is definitely not Turkish food, is the worst food I ever had in my life. Ordered a takeaway, after I read the good reviews (probably fake reviews).
"The food is not fresh, is frozen and reheated, even the grilled chicken shish. The spicy lamb pot is just a mix vegetables stew and added grilled lamb shish on top.
"The mashed potatoes looked as made of instant powder. The vegetables were soggy. Even the takeaway containers looked to be reused. All food gone into the bin, money spent for rubbish. Avoid this restaurant."
The owner quickly replied, writing simply "Don’t do fake reviews man people know Otto very well."
Another bad review read: "AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!" The reviewer went on to detail how the drinks were "watered down" and the meze "tasted like it had been prepared days earlier".
They added: "When I queried my chicken sandwich being burnt I was told as I had eaten most of it there was no possibility to remove it from the bill. I then had a long and heated argument with the owner/manager! This was very embarrassing and distressing for everyone in the restaurant. Not to mention - Completely unnecessary!"
OTTO quickly replied: "I am responding to you, so people only know the truth of actually what happened. You came to Otto with your family, you ordered food. We give all our customers first complimentary hummus and bread, you wanted two baskets bread and hummus and you ate all your orders.
"You ordered a wrap sandwich which comes with chips and salad, which you ate practically all of it until the last remaining bite, and you called the waiter to complain that it was burnt and you don’t want to pay this. Really..?!
"Our important role is to make our customers happy and satisfied , so we made another small wrap but you refused and wanted the bill to which you didn’t want to pay for the order you had eaten. I asked you if you wasn’t happy that why didn’t you tell us from the start, you had said you was hungry and you just ate it."
