The Oyster Shed

British·
££££
·

SquareMeal Review of The Oyster Shed

For all its cutesy nautical styling, the Oyster Shed’s wow factor owes nothing to its designers: a waterfront location directly facing the Shard is the reward for City suits who make it across the urban race track that is Lower Thames Street. What they get is Geronimo Inns’ tried-and-tested vision of a modern, mid-market watering hole, with all the elements in place: a fail-safe, please-all menu that covers sandwiches, burgers, trad Brit mains of Lancashire hotpot or fish and chips, a daily special (perhaps toad-in-the-hole with onion gravy) salads, old-school puds, bar boards to share and yes, oysters – Jersey rocks at £1.75 a slurp, rather than the full bivalve blow out that the vast, double-decker venue’s name implies. To drink, expect classic cocktails from £5 and plenty of potable wines by the glass, plus Adnams and Young’s on tap. There’s little not to like.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £30 - £49
Cuisines
British
Perfect for
Group dining [8+]
Food Hygiene Rating

Location

Ground Floor, 1 Angel Lane, St Paul's, London, EC4R 3AB

020 7256 3240 020 7256 3240

Website

Opening Times

Mon-Sat 11.30-3pm 5.30-9.30pm Sun 12N-4pm

Reviews

Share your thoughts with other diners

Write a review


6 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Anon

30 May 2021  
Food & Drink 0.5
Service 0.5
Atmosphere 0.5
Value 0.5
Terrible everything.

First time in my life to leave a bad review but this place warrants it. Actually upset over this experience.
We booked a special dinner to celebrate being engaged. Our reservation was for 4:15,we got there at 4:10 and told our table would be ready in 5 minutes. So we sat down at the table by the door to wait for our table. 25 minutes later after reminding the lady we were still waiting, she went over to a table, cleaned it and we finally got seated at 4:35.
That was it. No interaction from staff after that. I had to get up and find a waitor to give us a menu. At 5PM I got up again and asked a staff member if there was anyone looking after our table. He said he'd get somebody. No apology. About 5:10, an hour after arriving, a waitress came over to take our order.
My food came 10 minutes before my fiancé's. So by the time hers came mine was cold.
Her food tasted like it was nuked in a microwave. She had the fish pie. It literally made her get sick. She was pale and ill for the rest of the day. Really ruined a special day for us both.
Finally, I had to flag down a waitor again to ask for the bill. 90 quid for the worst service of my life. Wow. It was a hard pill to sallow paying any money after such a shocking experience.
Again, no staff member came near us so I had to walk up to the bar and ask to pay. They told us it's table service and to sit back down. Table service does not exist in this place.
Honestly, the worst restaurant experience of our lives.
So thanks for the non service. Thanks for treating us as if we are invisible. And thanks for the overpriced food poisoning.
Much appreciated.

Charlotte H

03 July 2015  
Food & Drink 3.5
Service 3
Atmosphere 4
Value 4
Lovely view of the Shard and London Bridge
I regularly go to The Oyster Shed for lunch as it is very close to my office. The food is always good as is the service. There is a nice small outside area but it is first come first serve. When booking ask for a table by the window. It is a good place for lunch but also good for drinks in the evenings.

Charlotte H

28 February 2014  
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
The food was really good and the service was very quick, waiters very friendly.

Stephen B

13 March 2013  
Food & Drink 4.5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 4.5
A hidden Gem
Stumbled upon this gem a few weeks ago when i was out running. I spoke to a few of my mates and decided to give it a go. The Oyster Shed is right on the River Thames with spectacular views of The Shard, HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge. The floor to ceiling windows gives you a panoramic view. The inside has 2 levels with a more formal dining area in the Mezzanine level. The food offer was great with daily specials and a wide range of options all reasonably priced. I opted for the Chicken Kiev which was succulent and juicy followed by the chocolate pot. They have a huge wine list covering all regions and all price options. The staff all seem to have fun and very efficient and their services standards are fab. Went back the following week on a Friday night and it was buzzing. Didn't take long to get served and found a table to soak in the atmosphere. I can jus imagine this place in Summer. I definitely will be going back.

Edginton H

30 November 2012  
Food & Drink 0.5
Service 2.5
Atmosphere 1.5
Value 2.5
Embarrassingly bad. The nervous waiter explained to us that the guinnes (sic) and oyster pie listed on the menu was in fact the beef, guinness and oyster pie. We asked for gin and tonics and were told they only had slimline tonic. We ordered Albarino and received the worst bottle of Albarino we have drunk in London. We now realised why the waiter was nervous. We ordered the lamb burger with chilli jam and mums chips special. Despite only three tables out of eight or so being occupied, the lamb burgers turned up without chilli jam or mums chips as they had run out. We decided not to order pudding. The restaurant sits on a mezzanine level above a bar full of shouting city types. If you also shout at the top of your lungs, communication is easy. Nothing like the peaceful picture in the advertising. Basically, one to avoid.

Jan H

12 July 2012  
Food & Drink 3
Service 1
Atmosphere 4
Value 3
We just visited the Oyster Shed for lunch. It really is a lovely venue right on the river's edge and done out with a nautical theme with more seating outside. There were 8 of us and we sat in one of the areas at the window with lots of cushions. So far so good, BUT the service was awful. We had to wait ages for someone to come and take an order for drinks and then had to wait a very long time for those drinks to come. Then as I was quite hungry I had almost finished my drink before someone came to take our order. Then we had to wait about 40 minutes for our food order to arrive. One of the burgers was almost pink inside and then we noticed two people on a nearby table who had ordered the beer battered fish which were really large portions although the person in our party who ordered exactly the same dish got a piece of fish less than half the size. The food was generally good despite what I've said above (the burger was taken and replaced with a properly cooked one). They seem to have a thing about not giving out any ketchup – they gave us a tiny little jar containing about three teaspoons of ketchup and that was to share between us (which is laughable as five of us had chosen dishes with chips). Nobody once came to our table to check all was ok. In fact they generally don't seem to have enough staff even though the place was only half full. To be fair when we complained about the fish incident they said they would not charge us for that item. It's such a shame because it really is a fab place and could be really popular – the service is generally always a bit slow but today it was awful.
Book a table

Call The Oyster Shed to make a booking on:

020 7256 3240 020 7256 3240

Visit their website

Sorry, you cannot spend SquareMeal vouchers here yet.

Other restaurants we like near The Oyster Shed

The Don
City of London

The Don

The Wolseley City
City of London

The Wolseley City

1 Lombard Street
City of London

1 Lombard Street

Check availability