The prices applied are only justified in my opinion for the view and the setting.I have no problem paying the price for good quality restaurants but that was absolutely not the case for this brasserie.£6 for bread, the same for olives as an aperitif?! The worst concerns the two old fashion cocktails ordered, with the unpleasant surprise of discovering on the bill that they cost £22.75 each while the cocktails are displayed at £16 on the menu, the waiter did not warn us and paying £45.50 for 2 cocktails is clearly excessive.Finally, my partner's dish looked like a starter and when I was served the Caesar salad there was only salad, 3 cherry tomatoes, and a few shavings of parmesan, I had to ask for the anchovies which were listed on the menu (yes because no chicken, otherwise you would have to add £6!!).Finally, to top it all off, the waiter was smiling but oppressive, we felt that he wanted to send us away and it was very unpleasant.In short, I was disappointed with my choice and sorry to have brought my loved ones to this brasserie.
Noémie Riffaut
I went there in December, the food was absolutely delicious, the atmosphere very pleasant and calm, plus the view was
Lily Brown
Normally I don’t leave reviews but this one was just so bad that I had to warn people.. what a scam. Out of the five mains that we ordered, two were very bad and the other three were mediocre.The potato gnocchi was bitter because it was drowned in sauce that was made of blended rocket leaves… bad decision made by the chef. Everyone at the table had a bite of it and was unbearable. I would pay to NOT eat that dish again actually.. I had to give my plate to someone else because I couldn’t stomach it at all… what a waste of money. The fish cake was crunchy but it tasted like it was filled with salt, no other seasoning.Our server Hita was very rude to us… when we talked to her about the taste of the fish cake and gnocchi, she didn’t apologize at all, her attitude was bad, she even implied that we didn’t read the menu correctly, when the menu didn’t say anything about using rocket leaves as a sauce.The portions were all very small and not worth money… £26.5 for one SINGLE fish cake that was palm sized… £17 for a basic Caesar salad with no special ingredients.Very overpriced for the quality and portion of food - DO NOT VISIT
Ilias Mpelos
Waiting for 1,5 hours our food. Steaks was dry like well well well
Hsin-Han Chang
The food in the restaurant is very affordable and the service is first-class. We, two Asian girls, decisively arranged for us to sit in the corner of the glass window with the best view! The waiter's attitude is very good. As the first restaurant on this trip, this Very satisfied with the opening
Ruzina Begum
Kostas was amazingMade me and my partner feel so welcome :)Kid-friendliness: Saw a lot of kids here, looking like they were enjoying their experience and the views
Micha
Great view, tasty food, we got tags for our luggage and didn't need to have them beside the table. You need a reservation and because it is fully booked, it was little bit loud. The fruit smoothies were absolutely amazing.
Keyla Araujo
We really liked the place, beautiful views and the waiter Marco who spoke Spanish served us very well.Vegetarian options: GnocchiDietary restrictions: They asked us if there were restrictions.
antonio-mihai ciobanu
Exuberance, Excellence and
Brian Chen
The view is awesome! If you are paying for the view then it’s good. The service was great. I was just caught surprised at the end when our server asked for tip in cash. The bill does already include service charge. He said kitchen gets all the service charge and waiters don’t receive any. I didn’t argue and gave the tips. Maybe I’m wrong but I thought service charge does include tips for waiters? The food was really just okay. Do not set any expectation.
The Darwin Brasserie is a lovely restaurant with truly amazing views. Great food and excellent service. Felt really looked aftert. But be warned;Entering and leaving is via one lift shared with free entry guests. The security is coarse and belligerent as too many people and not enough staff or equipment. Expect a long wait to get in and out and to be shouted at if you don't stand in line next to a wall or take your coat off in time (others guilty not me but don't think they understood the direction due to language barriers). This was in the queue for paying guests, although the security did try and push through 'resturant guests' until told by others that it was the restaurant queue...There is a shared single metal detector and this means also long and very uncomfortable q inside. Took 30 mins to get through security albeit got straight in the building as had a restaurant booking and took a further 15 mins to get out (another queue). Pushy and shovey queue and crammed in 1 lift up and down for all free vistors and booked restaurant guests.If you want overall customer service and experience, pay the extra.and go to the Shard or alternatively dont pay for the restaurant and go for free to the Sky Garden and accept the pushy, shovey wait and shouty security.I would choose the free entry next time and take sandwiches for the q and ear defenders for the security.Shame really as a few changes and it would be an amazing experience.
Mad Max
Very good experience, I recommend!We were served by Kristian who was very friendly and very professional.The staff in general is very friendly.The food is certainly not haute cuisine, but as its name suggests it is a good brasserie and at a fair price for the experience and the view!
Johanna P
We had a wonderful dinner at the most beautiful restaurant we ever been to. The dishes and Cocktails were tasty and worth the price. The ambiente was fabulous!
Rita
This restaurant has potential, but instead chooses to capitalize on the location and gets away with questionable practices.First of all, they do not have a cloakroom or a hanger for long coats. You see people tossing their coats on the ground, which I found odd for a restaurant claiming to be in the high-end range.If you want to have a brunch, you have to come early morning, because after 11 their ‘brunch’ menu is basically a set lunch menu.So we booked for breakfast to have a brunch. The refill unfiltered coffee tasted burnt and old - we had to get coffee from a coffee shop on our way back after the meal. The English breakfast and the eggs royale plates we ordered looked empty; small portions on a big plate with not even a bed of greens next to it. Later that day, we both had abdominal discomfort, I suspect it might be from the salmon in their eggs royale, as we did not eat anything else before feeling sick.The servers seem to be instructed to say touristy prompts to people, and our server even repeated the same prompts more than three times interrupting our meal with stuff like “Enjoying the view? What a way to start your day! What are your plans for the rest of the day? Where are you from?”They have an included set service charge of £9.25.If you decide to celebrate an event there, they send you an email pushing for you to buy a piece of cake for the price of a whole cake if you wish to celebrate at their establishment. What a joke. I went to a bakery and got the best cake for a fraction of that price!The most appalling is that we were charged for tap water at 1.5 pp!Unfortunately, the whole experience felt like a tourist trap. Not recommended, you can enjoy the views while skipping on Darwin.
Franklyn Whittick
Krisztian was an excellent host , made some brilliant recommendations on the menu and made the dinning experience specialDietary restrictions: Took note of allergies
The prices applied are only justified in my opinion for the view and the setting.I have no problem paying the price for good quality restaurants but that was absolutely not the case for this brasserie.£6 for bread, the same for olives as an aperitif?! The worst concerns the two old fashion cocktails ordered, with the unpleasant surprise of discovering on the bill that they cost £22.75 each while the cocktails are displayed at £16 on the menu, the waiter did not warn us and paying £45.50 for 2 cocktails is clearly excessive.Finally, my partner's dish looked like a starter and when I was served the Caesar salad there was only salad, 3 cherry tomatoes, and a few shavings of parmesan, I had to ask for the anchovies which were listed on the menu (yes because no chicken, otherwise you would have to add £6!!).Finally, to top it all off, the waiter was smiling but oppressive, we felt that he wanted to send us away and it was very unpleasant.In short, I was disappointed with my choice and sorry to have brought my loved ones to this brasserie.
I went there in December, the food was absolutely delicious, the atmosphere very pleasant and calm, plus the view was
Normally I don’t leave reviews but this one was just so bad that I had to warn people.. what a scam. Out of the five mains that we ordered, two were very bad and the other three were mediocre.The potato gnocchi was bitter because it was drowned in sauce that was made of blended rocket leaves… bad decision made by the chef. Everyone at the table had a bite of it and was unbearable. I would pay to NOT eat that dish again actually.. I had to give my plate to someone else because I couldn’t stomach it at all… what a waste of money. The fish cake was crunchy but it tasted like it was filled with salt, no other seasoning.Our server Hita was very rude to us… when we talked to her about the taste of the fish cake and gnocchi, she didn’t apologize at all, her attitude was bad, she even implied that we didn’t read the menu correctly, when the menu didn’t say anything about using rocket leaves as a sauce.The portions were all very small and not worth money… £26.5 for one SINGLE fish cake that was palm sized… £17 for a basic Caesar salad with no special ingredients.Very overpriced for the quality and portion of food - DO NOT VISIT
Waiting for 1,5 hours our food. Steaks was dry like well well well
The food in the restaurant is very affordable and the service is first-class. We, two Asian girls, decisively arranged for us to sit in the corner of the glass window with the best view! The waiter's attitude is very good. As the first restaurant on this trip, this Very satisfied with the opening
Kostas was amazingMade me and my partner feel so welcome :)Kid-friendliness: Saw a lot of kids here, looking like they were enjoying their experience and the views
Great view, tasty food, we got tags for our luggage and didn't need to have them beside the table. You need a reservation and because it is fully booked, it was little bit loud. The fruit smoothies were absolutely amazing.
We really liked the place, beautiful views and the waiter Marco who spoke Spanish served us very well.Vegetarian options: GnocchiDietary restrictions: They asked us if there were restrictions.
Exuberance, Excellence and
The view is awesome! If you are paying for the view then it’s good. The service was great. I was just caught surprised at the end when our server asked for tip in cash. The bill does already include service charge. He said kitchen gets all the service charge and waiters don’t receive any. I didn’t argue and gave the tips. Maybe I’m wrong but I thought service charge does include tips for waiters? The food was really just okay. Do not set any expectation.
Restaurantji Recommends
The Darwin Brasserie is a lovely restaurant with truly amazing views. Great food and excellent service. Felt really looked aftert. But be warned;Entering and leaving is via one lift shared with free entry guests. The security is coarse and belligerent as too many people and not enough staff or equipment. Expect a long wait to get in and out and to be shouted at if you don't stand in line next to a wall or take your coat off in time (others guilty not me but don't think they understood the direction due to language barriers). This was in the queue for paying guests, although the security did try and push through 'resturant guests' until told by others that it was the restaurant queue...There is a shared single metal detector and this means also long and very uncomfortable q inside. Took 30 mins to get through security albeit got straight in the building as had a restaurant booking and took a further 15 mins to get out (another queue). Pushy and shovey queue and crammed in 1 lift up and down for all free vistors and booked restaurant guests.If you want overall customer service and experience, pay the extra.and go to the Shard or alternatively dont pay for the restaurant and go for free to the Sky Garden and accept the pushy, shovey wait and shouty security.I would choose the free entry next time and take sandwiches for the q and ear defenders for the security.Shame really as a few changes and it would be an amazing experience.
Very good experience, I recommend!We were served by Kristian who was very friendly and very professional.The staff in general is very friendly.The food is certainly not haute cuisine, but as its name suggests it is a good brasserie and at a fair price for the experience and the view!
We had a wonderful dinner at the most beautiful restaurant we ever been to. The dishes and Cocktails were tasty and worth the price. The ambiente was fabulous!
This restaurant has potential, but instead chooses to capitalize on the location and gets away with questionable practices.First of all, they do not have a cloakroom or a hanger for long coats. You see people tossing their coats on the ground, which I found odd for a restaurant claiming to be in the high-end range.If you want to have a brunch, you have to come early morning, because after 11 their ‘brunch’ menu is basically a set lunch menu.So we booked for breakfast to have a brunch. The refill unfiltered coffee tasted burnt and old - we had to get coffee from a coffee shop on our way back after the meal. The English breakfast and the eggs royale plates we ordered looked empty; small portions on a big plate with not even a bed of greens next to it. Later that day, we both had abdominal discomfort, I suspect it might be from the salmon in their eggs royale, as we did not eat anything else before feeling sick.The servers seem to be instructed to say touristy prompts to people, and our server even repeated the same prompts more than three times interrupting our meal with stuff like “Enjoying the view? What a way to start your day! What are your plans for the rest of the day? Where are you from?”They have an included set service charge of £9.25.If you decide to celebrate an event there, they send you an email pushing for you to buy a piece of cake for the price of a whole cake if you wish to celebrate at their establishment. What a joke. I went to a bakery and got the best cake for a fraction of that price!The most appalling is that we were charged for tap water at 1.5 pp!Unfortunately, the whole experience felt like a tourist trap. Not recommended, you can enjoy the views while skipping on Darwin.
Krisztian was an excellent host , made some brilliant recommendations on the menu and made the dinning experience specialDietary restrictions: Took note of allergies