The Parlour - Canada Square

International·
££££
·
Bronze Award
·

SquareMeal Review of The Parlour - Canada Square

Bronze Award

The guys behind Docklands’ spiffiest ‘bar/kitchen/cocktail lounge’ clearly had fun while shopping for accessories to fill this all-dayer. It’s like a trolley dash through the Conran Shop – Bertoia bar stools, Eames rockers & the rest look ‘super trendy’ under the modish exposed ductwork, & there’s design overload on the tables too. Clipboards, pegs, takeaway cartons & pots of herbs are, frankly, a surfeit of ‘stuff’. The Brit/global allsorts menu is very busy too, a crammed page of sharing boards, sandwiches, burgers, steaks, salads & mains. ‘Quirky’ presentation occasionally trumps flavour: neither prawn ‘lollipops’ (not deveined) nor underpowered Thai beef salad tasted half as good as they looked. Overall, it can seem ‘distinctly average’, but the vibe inside & out is kicking; ‘yummy’ cocktails & an everything-by-the-glass approach to wine are also commendable.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £30 - £49
Cuisines
International
Ambience
Lively
Alfresco And Views
Outside seating
Perfect for
Dates
Food Hygiene Rating

Location

Park Pavilion, 40 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5FW

020 7715 9551 020 7715 9551

Website

Opening Times

Mon-Fri 8am-11pm (Thurs-Fri -12M) Sat-Sun 10am-12M (Sun -7pm)

Reviews

Share your thoughts with other diners

Write a review


13 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Belinda L

14 January 2018  
Food & Drink 4
Service 4
Atmosphere 5
Value 3.5
Lovely looking restaurant with great food
Lovely looking restaurant and a nice atmosphere. Good overall service but the only thing I would say is that our food (mainly burgers) arrived within 5 minutes of ordering however, the food was really good and very tasty. We had 2 desserts to share between 5 of us (chocolate brownie and a knickerbocker glory) both were delicious and next time I will order my own dessert so I don't have to share....lol

22 July 2015  
Food & Drink 4
Service 3
Atmosphere 4
Value 4
Great place to go after work
My first time visiting The Parlour. Great place to go for after work drinks and dinner. We were seated promptly and the place wasn't too busy inside but still took a while for our food order to be taken. It seemed like we were being served by 2 different people and had to ask twice for another drink. Overall a good place to go, value for money.

Helen L

20 June 2015  
Food & Drink 3
Service 3
Atmosphere 2
Value 3
A Parlour with no ice cream. Just NOISE
I confess: I'm frightened of Canary Wharf. The proper grown-ups (with suits 'n' everything!); the incalculable heights of Canada Square that make my brain go funny; the number of supremely hammered folk before 6pm on a Friday. (Triple that when the sun's out / it's a bull market / it's all gone Lehman Brothers). So I faced my fears and visited the Parlour one evening, arriving on my tod. Firstly, a parlour it ain't. It's raucous and rammed, with mercifully high ceilings to dissipate some of the volume. Someone's been pretty smart with design, as tables topped with honeycombed ceramics plus a hint of dogtooth and tweedy upholstery prevent the place being entirely soulless. The staff I encountered were very cordial (contrary to many reviews) and held up admirably under the strain of a billion traders out on the razzle, spilling out across the lawn. Cocktails are fairly priced for these parts, or maybe I was seduced by everything being listed as £9.95 rather than the actual tenner it means. It's also nice to see that everything's available by the glass, from Sancerre through to Chapel Down Brut. There's bar food to soak up the excess, with the usual suspects of the posh pub grub realm. Tasty ballast includes hummus and baba ganoush, or a meat platter so gluttonous it may be solely responsible for global warming. (I counted double pig, mini burgers and token poultry for good measure). A seafood option seems the more refined choice with its frilly blinis and smoked salmon, until you spy 'prawn lollipops'. A deeply disturbing concept. Anyhoo, sharing is the way to go, but don't expect the nibbles to go far; order a couple of dishes if there's more than a few of you. I can't speak for the sit-down offering, but the ring-fenced dining area overlooks the kitchen and is slickly put together. Still a deafening spot though, unless your snide intention is to sidle up to your unsuspecting target. If you're unwinding after work, on the pull or partying for no reason in particular, the Parlour's probably alright. The music is loud - so very, very loud - and the bar queues are long, but every group in the vicinity appears to be having a ball. It's entirely down to personal preference that it's akin to my own version of hell.

Shirley R

22 April 2015  
Food & Drink 2.5
Service 2.5
Atmosphere 2.5
Value 2.5
Disappointed!
I am disappointed when I booked this restaurant. I was really looking forward to my lunch with my colleague. I have booked this restaurant before for my boss so it would be nice for me to try the restaurant especially it is just next to our building. To begin with my booking was not on the list. Not sure if we are in the right place, but it is definitely the place. I have ordered lollipop prawn as a starter. I love prawn but when the starter arrived, find only 4 pieces and saw my colleague's squid on the plate, thought a big mistake of ordering prawn and especially the 4 prawns were coated with flour and the shell was still there especially one of four prawns, the prawn head was not removed! The prawn should have at least peeled when coated with flour! The main I have ordered club sandwich,again, my colleague ordered fish and chips. The portion of my sandwich was disappointed also the bread were toasted so eventually the bread became chewy, but had no choice but to eat it because I was hungry. The restaurant looks nice but I have to think about recommending this restaurant again..I didnt feel have the good service and the food was not that great!

Joanne B

05 March 2014  
Food & Drink 3
Service 2
Atmosphere 3
Value 3
The service was very slow, once we were seated the menu was given to us, then about 10 minutes later the waiter asked us what we wanted to drink, we ordered and then after about 20 mins i had to ask another member of staff where our drinks were, we ordered our food at this time, the starters came up really quick, during the meal another drink was ordered but never materialised. All in all the food was good, I don't think they had enough staff to cope with the volume of diners

Dawn W

03 June 2013  
Food & Drink 3.5
Service 4
Atmosphere 3.5
Value 4
2 courses and a glass of prosecco for £15
For a preconcert dinner at the O2 this is a great alternative than going into battle with the rest of the masses arriving at the O2. The Parlour is a great venue both inside and out (weather permitting) and is incredibly handy for getting to North Greenwich (1 stop). The staff on Saturday night were super friendly and helpful. The menu for the deal is just about the right size. The starters we had were the only let down, the squid and prawns need a bit of work, however the main course, duck salad and salmon were both good. If you have a hearty appetite you could go for something more substantial but as said if you are looking for a pre something dinner or a lunch then I would say give the Parlour a go!

Alex W

26 April 2012  
Food & Drink 4.5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 4.5
I went to The parlour last Friday for lunch and I have to say – it was a great experience. we booked a table for two and we got a window seat in the restaurant. we ordered 2 watermelon martinis that were absolutely amazing followed by fish & chips and a perfectly cooked steak. Desserts were lovely too – creme brulee and a knickerbocker glory (felt like a kid again :). Service was attentive and casual, I would definitely be back for lunch as well as dinner as I've heard they have some cool cocktails every night.

Nasty O

14 April 2011  
Food & Drink 4.5
Service 4.5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
been to the parlour for girlies catch up over the weekend! what an amazing space, especially the outside area! the atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly. the barman suggested some yummy cocktails it they were indeed impressive. these guys know how to wow their guests.

Ellie T

20 January 2011  
Food & Drink 0.5
Service 2
Atmosphere 2.5
Value 1
We visited here for the 2nd time at the weekend, and I so badly wanted to like it. We visited before when it first opened and were left with an impression of distinctly average and unsatisfying.. this was a while ago, and we were hoping that maybe since then it might have improved? Sadly this was not the case. When you first walk in, the interior is super trendy, and it looks like the perfect place to spend a nice brunch or lunch. And the menu offers an appealing variety of food. The food even deceptively looks nice, all presented in a quirky style, or on boards. Someone has clearly put some effort into the concept, so why is the food so bad?!! We ordered the bread board, and it arrived and looked like a nice selection of breads, but they were all stale. I'm not just being picky, they were all hard, and going white around the edges, they were old. Next arrives my main, chicken club sandwich, pretty small average looking sandwich, could have been nice if our good friend the super stale bread hadn't made a reappearance. It was supposed to have chilli jam on the side, but it was actually thai sweet chilli dipping sauce…very strange combination? I also ordered truffle fries with grated parmesan (I had them previously in Jamie Olivers restaurant and they were delicious, so was very excited when I saw they had them here too). They weren't fries, but more chunky chips, they were totally soggy, covered in grease and oil (no taste of truffle whatsoever), then covered in chunks of sweaty cheese. Not edible. My partner ordered the Beef stew, which again tasted average, very bland, and the mushrooms were disgusting. It just tasted cheap. The service was average, someone previously used the word ‘vacant’ which pretty much sums up the staff. I asked if they did a side salad with the sandwich's, the reply was ‘errrm, no’. We complained about the hideous food, and they took the sandwich off the bill, after I poked the stale bread in front of him to proove that it was, in fact rock solid. Such a disappointment for a place that could have such potential! After looking at other reviews, they are all shocking… why isn't the management paying any attention?!

Lee M

29 June 2010  
Food & Drink 0.5
Service 0.5
Atmosphere 0.5
Value 0.5
The Parlour, Canada Square. My first review!! Well where do I start? We arrived and waited just a little longer than was comfortable to be shown to a table. We ordered wine. They brought the wrong wine! We ordered a starter. It didn’t arrive. We ordered two mains. They did arrive. Phew! The waiter then, very kindly, decided to pour my dinner over my beloved’s crisp white shirt (ok it was somewhat damp and crumpled from a hot day in the city). Oh, and over his suit too. The gravy stain was most attractive, sticky for a while but usefully hardened in the heat of the restaurant. Now to the food. To be fair dearly beloved’s fish and chips were edible, just. My chicken and potato…..the potatoes were disguised as perfectly proportioned pebbles. Somewhat disappointing. My teeth survived the experience but my dentist is rubbing his hands with glee!! My recommendation. Don’t go! Just don’t.
Book a table

Call The Parlour - Canada Square to make a booking on:

020 7715 9551 020 7715 9551

Visit their website

Sorry, you cannot spend SquareMeal vouchers here yet.

Other restaurants we like near The Parlour - Canada Square

Roka Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf

Roka Canary Wharf

Oasis Bar & Terrace
Canary Wharf

Oasis Bar & Terrace

Big Easy Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf

Big Easy Canary Wharf

Check availability