Should I email??

[PrincessMiaToYou]

Really love a certain restaurant in London, used to go there a lot. Wanted to make it in time for brunch today with some friends for a special occasion so got there before 12 (as per website), maybe 11.45/50? We'd travelled from quite far away. When I got in I asked for the brunch menu, only to be told quite abruptly brunch had ended. The lady on front of house then gestured to me to stand to one side (bit unprofessional I thought) while she tended to other customers... Was just there standing like a lemon for a couple of mins. She was quite dismissive.

The lunch menu is about double the price of what we wanted to spend on brunch (and not as nice!) so we left it. It also wasn't just me cutting it fine re. timings as a couple came in just after me only to be told the same.

Should I email them saying anything? I don't want to sound like an entitled twat or complain but feel they should adjust their hours in their website, it was really annoying to be there before the stated time and then be dismissed without an explanation...

When you stay in a hotel and breakfast is served from 7-10 if you arrive down at 9.58 you still get breakfast.
If it said brunch was until 12 then they should take brunch orders until 12 pm.

That's completely different. Hotels tend to do buffet style. They wouldn't cook anymore fresh at that time.

If it's a breakfast that is cooked to order they may do it, they may not.

Also, The kitchen won't be switching to lunch service immediately.

The OP says herself the brunch and lunch menus are different. The kitchen needs time to rest before they can start serving lunch.

As a chef we always stopped breakfast/brunch service 30 min before lunch so it read breakfast/brunch served until 11.30, Lunch served from 12. This allowed the kitchen 15 min to finish early service and have a toilet coffee break and set up for lunch. 11.40 would see a refusal of brunch service from the kitchen and a sorry offer them a coffee/tea as lunch service not ready but order can be put in if they will wait. Those 10 min we would get were precious as they could be the only break we got in 10 hrs.

I've worked in many of restaurants over the years, I fully back the op. They should have stated somewhere that last orders for brunch was X time etc. We used to serve good till 11 in the night and if someone came in and sat down at 10.50 they could have what they wanted. This is a massive pet hate of mine if you say brunch is served till 12, serve it till 12 then not 11.45ish. Op send a email, about the times and the lady's attitude. Quite frankly I say she was rude!