Great Queen Street

Spot on service, great ambience and a good value lunch menu.

Haven't been back to Queen Street for some time but was pleasantly surprised - despite some reviews it has not 'gone down the pan'. My starter of potted shrimps was OK - a little over peppered. But the main of a Barnsley chop (lamb) with creamed spinach was very good. Pleasant enough staff who were helpful on the wine list. Unpretentious and good value for what it is. Will go again.

We certainly would not recommend anyone to come to this restaurant at all - don't waste your time here. There are easily much better restaurants nearby. The service was one of the worst we have ever experienced in London. Ambience was aweful, we all lost half of our appetite the second we walked in. We have already told them we needed to leave the restaurant by a a certain time for theatre in advance when we booked the table. Yet they kept hassling us about when we were going to return the table to them 15 minutes after we sat down. Unfriendly, terribly rude, unhelpful service, never felt so dissatisfied and offended after a meal. Told us we couldn't have a wine glass to drinks wine because We ordered 'cheap wine not expensive wine' (the waitress' exact words, who certainly doesn't look anything like a diamond herself, and btw the wine wasn't too bad, ordered as recently recommended by the Decanter magazine). This is a gastropub, we were hoping to have a relaxed, enjoyable experience, most certainly no need to be pretentious. Food was average at best (at least better than their service), but the Menu was incredibly dull and boring. Some of the very saddest and greasiest potatoes ever came out of a professional kitchen.

I was sure Great Queen Street would be a new favourite when I visited for the first time recently. I was dining with my partner and our good friend, who is a vegetarian. My partner and I ordered a roast crown of duck with cherries (£40) to share. It was amazing. The duck was delicious and perfectly cooked. Our friend ordered something along the lines of “Polish gnocchi with peas and girolles” (£14). When the meal was served we were amused to see that this dish amounted to a layer of peas and mushrooms on the bottom of the dish and three small pieces of gnocchi. THREE. For £14. The manager was called and my friend explained that she had expected a main course-sized portion. His response? “That dish has been on the menu for months and we've had no complaints” and “It's a light summer salad”. She persisted with her argument, but to no avail. At no point did they offer to replace the dish. He even had the nerve to suggest that she help herself to some of our duck (we’d have happily shared, but she’s vegetarian and it was rude of him to offer up our meal to someone else!) In the end she was offered a free side dish, but that took a hard fight. Their argument was that their dish was perfect, so there should be no argument! Ridiculous. I hardly ever complain in restaurants, but on the odd occasion I have complained I’ve never been so poorly treated. I’ve always been given the option to choose another dish, or not charged for the dish. The appalling attitude shown by the staff amazes me and I would advise everyone to avoid it.

Warning: this may sound over-the-top… but, we had a truly perfect dinner. Some previous reviews had me a bit hesitant… ALL of the food was creative and beyond delicious. The bartender is charming, informative and patient. The food came at perfectly-timed intervals… and did I mention it was delicious? Great staff all around. Thanks for a perfect dinner!

A firm favourite and popular with friends too. The menu is good wholesome British cooking, and it is served in an unpretentious setting. The atmosphere is fun and it is rare to leave without feeling full and happy. Go if you like rustic cooking and comfort foods. Avoid if you are on a diet (or vegetarian).

Nice venue, good menu, reasonably priced BUT poor service, cold sides, undercooked partridge.

On a sunny friday lunch we took a table outside- great- inside it looked rather dark- fine in the evening or if the weather is gloomy. Choice beer was good , the waiter was very competent in talking us through the menu. Interesting menu: it took some understanding. Frankly i'd say a bit over fussy, but, 7 out of the 9 dishes were really good. the other 2 trying too hard. for a Covent Garden restaurant the food and service were really good, and not over priced. i recommend it.

Very impressed on our first visit to Great Queen Street. We arrived late, post theatre, without a booking. The place was very full and busy, so we sat at the bar to order / eat. We were transferred to a table as soon as one became available. Some of the earlier / older reviews are very negative on service, so maybe things have changed – we thought the service was very professional, helpful and friendly, especially given how incredibly busy they are. The place had a really good buzzy / busy atmosphere. I liked the mish mash furnishing, which can work well in a pub / bistro. Makes it more informal. Food was simple, gutsy, very tasty and of very good quality. The in season asparagus was good but not fab (I'm very fussy about my asparagus), but the star of the show was our rib-eye, which was really excellent – Beautifully cooked, and very tasty and tender. Good value at £75 for 2, inc service, ex drinks. Not surprisingly, a very similar setup to Anchor & Hope, but with the big advantage of taking bookings (why we stopped going to Anchor & Hope). A gastro pub version of Hix in Clerkenwell, or perhaps an English version of Terroir ? Both are compliments. Overall, strongly recommended.

I thought this place was absolutely fantastic- the service was incredibly knowledgable whilst lacking any pompositity or condecension. The food was an absolute treat- we had wood pigeon with snails and lamb's breast, and this was coupled with a very palatable Corbieres. Along with a great cheese board, dessert wine, aperetifs and coffees the bill still only came to just over £50 a head. If you haven't been there yet, and you like English cuisine, you've really been missing out.