Barbican Kitchen in City of London, Westminster

Nice options, good prices and fast service, perfect for a meal before the shows. The place is beautifully decorated and feels friendly and chill. Staff are really nice

Great place if you want to work whether it is alone or with other people. The atmosphere is very warm, great location, good view and everyone is friendly. It can get a bit loud but you get used to it. Perfect if you want to have a snack or drink with friends, it does get crowded around dinner time. Their hot chocolate hustles hit the right spot, perfect.

I’m surprised that a cafe with such high prices has so few gluten free options.

Handy place to have something to eat before a performance, but in terms of atmosphere it is more like a canteen or cafeteria than a restaurant.

The way of getting your food at lunch is a little confusing. Cold salad buffet get and pay for in one place. Hot food pre-pay and pick up. But it was worth it, the hot food looked great and the falafel salad I created was delicious. Bottled alcohol served too.

Das Essen ist für ein Selbstbedienungsrestaurant sehr gut. Es gibt drei bis vier warme Gerichte zur Auswahl. Das Ambiente ist das einer Mensa. Die Preise sind sehr günstig.

Great atmosphere and nice pizza. Enjoyed stopping over here for a quick lunch. Depending on the time of your visit, seats may be limited but staff are accommodating.

Seriously overpriced and pretty terrible service. I bought an iced americano and it was £4+! I initially sat outside but the weather took a turn and came inside and finished my coffee. I then sat back outside when the sun came out and a member of staff stormed outside and told me to move as the space was only for customers. I explained that I’d already bought a coffee and she said that you’re only allowed to sit there for half an hour within buying something?! How ridiculous

Met an employee named Ayan who was very friendly. Drinks are overpriced.

Love this place, especially in sunny days. All the plants and sunshine with the Barbican view from window is so nice that reminds you London is such a magical city.

Customer engagement was not good. Flatbread sandwich (mozzarella, pesto & tomato) not appetizing and then placed on bland lettuce, which caused lettuce to wilt as flatbread hot and wet. Overall really disappointing for the cost!!

An error with my order this morning was dealt with swiftly and generously. The food is more or less reasonably priced, I'm giving 5 stars for the atmosphere and general experience.

This restaurant is not worth the cost. The food is both unappetizing and overpriced. I ordered two Margherita pizzas, a salad, and three drinks, which totaled £47. While I wouldn’t have minded the price if the food had been good, one of the pizzas arrived cold. The service was disappointing, with clear communication issues among the staff, who seemed inexperienced and uncoordinated. The manager appeared exhausted and irritable, which suggests broader management issues. Overall, a highly unsatisfactory experience.

The food and service are way below from what you would expect in London. My family felt discusted and sick after trying the food. No one finished their meal so we left right away.

The place is lovely but the coffee is shocking and very overpriced. This was also after multiple conversations trying to communicate a very average order (1 americano + 1 oat vanilla latte). The vanilla syrup tasted exactly like perfume and we also noticed mice walking around the shop!

I do enjoy coming here and it's a beautiful spot by the water. The coffee is good and the food. Only thing I would really really appreciate is, is if the baked goods could have covers, even clear cloches.

Been coming to Barbican for many years since it's my favorite spot in the city. The atmosphere is fantastic both at the kitchen and other places. In all these years, I've always witnessed the same issue in Barbican Kitchen; tables are cleaned very seldom so you need to bring your own wipes. Food is also quite expensive for what you get.

It's canteen style service which is why 3 stars but the atmosphere is great. Food is good but a bit on pricey side

Lovely place to sit and refresh

£9.5 for that🫢 Portions are super inconsistent.

I looove working at the Barbican Kitchen - the coffee is always amazing and the staff are so friendly. Niko, the barista always remembers my order everytime and he's always helpful! This cafe is a little gem in London!

The food is so minimal…. They give you a handful, such a rip off. :(

Small portion sizes of chicken, asked for more chicken was told “no thats the portion size” when it was half of what was displayed. Liars and cheats

A bit confusing for a first time, but having done it once, we have the hang of the ordering.

As good as it ever was.... Just good food, served by good people, well priced and very tasty, good menu options too

Coffee is good. Healthy and tasty food / lunch options from stalls. Many seats available

Everything is good. Good service.food quality excellent.

Can’t believe the low level of food or the poor customer service. Awful experience, eat upstairs.

A largely miserable experience. Best avoided.

Canteen style but choice good and tasty for a plate of food

Food was all dried out and old by late afternoon. I imagine better earlier in the day.

Seem to struggle with lunchtime crowds

Food tastes really bad, but staff were nice

I love the Barbican Kitchen! I wish it were possible to tip the staff, they are so friendly and kind!

Excellent place for coffee and a great variety of cakes.

Busy cafe/restaurant. Not cheap but serves a variety of snacks and meals. Slice of cake was £5, and bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese was the same. Hot food obviously more expensive. Easy place to go when visiting the Barbican. Slow coffee service and batistas were quite sloppy (literally) making coffee

Great pizza deal for a good price. What makes it all better is the atmosphere, dine in or take out, incredible spaces outside to sit and eat too!

Very quick service and a decent number of choices.

Wow how can you make the food taste so much of nothing🥲

We had a lovely evening in this beautiful place thanks to Santiago and Alina that took care of us! Robyn&Adele

Basil Smash x2 thank you. The nachos were a good attempt with room for improvement. The chicken satay nuggets were lovely. With the setting and people, it was an experience indeed.

Very nice place. Menu for hot meals was not good.

Food very much canteen over priced & overcooked. Waffles like bricks today!

Good for fast great pre-theatre food. Good quality, reasonably priced. Bit noisy but not meant for relaxing place to eat. Recommend for quick simple meal. Fish cakes generous & full of flavour

It's a canteen. Nice surroundings in Barbican with ponds and fountains

Convenient location but otherwise an overpriced canteen, food quality similar to school meals. Staff seem very stressed/angry.

I'm a Barbican fan anyway, but the salads are well priced and generous, and we had no problem finding a seat at lunchtime despite there being a graduation ceremony in the hall the same day. No bins though, so hard to clear away yourself.

Two staff members were very unpleasant and unhelpful! One staff member talked down to me assuming that I hadn’t understood the answer to a question I had asked, which I had. The food provided was also not great considering the price customers are paying.

Awful coffee and potentially the worst matcha I’ve ever had for £5. Joke

Sloppy canteen. They intentionally tried to charge me £30 for 2 fish and vegetables cost 12.5x2, too little servings. Not recommended

The place has a great vibe. Food and drinks are good considering the pricing. I have been here twice. In busy moments (lunch/pre performance) service is really struggling with the amount of people. It is not understaffed but rather a management issue. The self service process is shaped really inefficient ( requiring everyone to wait at the counter till their order is ready, clogging up everything). This visibly leads to frustration with both customers and staff who are unnecessary put under pressure. It is a pity that this unnecessary ruins what would otherwise be a fine experience. Please just consider the buzzer system.

Handily located if you have arrived early for a matinee at the theatre and need something to eat. It was quite busy, and the queuing felt a bit chaotic, but the pizza was ready as soon as I got to the counter, and it tasted good

Absolutely adequate for some food before a show. I had a burger which was quite big and tasted good. Not meat liquor level obviously but absolutely fine.

The food is decent but not exceptional. The menu offers a variety of sandwiches, salads, pastries, and some hot dishes. While everything is fresh, the flavours can be somewhat bland and uninspired. This is a solid choice for a quick meal or a coffee break while visiting the Barbican Centre. It might not be the place for a gourmet meal, but it serves its purpose well enough. If you're attending an event and need a convenient spot to grab a bite, the Barbican Kitchen will do the job.

This restaurant is spot on for a pre-show meal. The menu is a little limited, but that allows them to deliver good quality in a quick timescale. We've eaten here several times (normally some sort of burger with sides) and it's always been reliable. Pricing is reasonable given the location. We've always been able to find a table although booking may be advisable if you can only hit the peak times.

Professional and friendly service. The interior is pleasing to the eye. First you have to go to the cash register, then take the receipt to the chef opposite. We had 2 pizzas and a veggie dish with eggplant. Everything was great. Especially the eggplant, perfectly seasoned and perfectly grilled. Prices are reasonable for London. Also the coffee was great.

This is billed as street food, but really, this stall would be run out of business if actually on the street in some far flung capital. Dry, sad looking falafel, barely accompanied by meagre quantity of equally unhappy salad and flatbread of some description. Won't be hurrying back, round the corner for a Tesco meal deal next time!!....

Love it here! Great selection of delicious food, lovely staff. Amazing if the weather is nice enough to sit outside by the water, but if not the inside has a great atmosphere too!

The service from the chef on this visit was incredibly rude. I was hosting international guests and seeking to show them the best of what London has to offer, so felt very embarrassed by this.

Food was good. Self service. The location amazing. Only thing is I'd you eat outside watch out for the pigeons. They are not shy. They will share your meal.

Not been for 6 years very good well done tony

We came earlier today. The pizza and veggie chilli were served at the right temperature. The service was friendly and the pricing good. We sat outside which was nice, afew more plants wouldnt go amiss though. Recommended.

Over cooked dry no taste food doesn’t go together

Disorganised, not very good quality food and the process of acquiring a meal was completely chaotic

Like eating in a transport canteen. So disappointing. Food is over cooked, tasteless, and stodgy. All really dry. Chicken tastes ok. Not enough sauce. Would absolutely not recommend. Wanted a nice meal before the show but very underwhelming.

Needed a quick snack. Chocolate muffin was a bit stale. Choc chips only on the top rather than throughout which was disappointing. Wasn't even served it - told to take it myself but not offered a plate or a napkin. Will go somewhere else next time where my custom is valued more.

Do not bother with their freshly pressed juices. Got the green goodness which was 4.60 for a tiny cup… there was barely any spinach in there might as well have just gotten an apple juice from Waitrose.

It was lovely to be able to sit outside by the pond to enjoy my drinks from the bar. It's great that there's a water station inside as well.

A good place to eat out. Love the atmosphere at Barbican centre. Not that much variety of food but it's good.

Great theatre meal with good customer service. Food seriously tasty and elegantly presented

Great food!Poor service!!Not very clean!

I liked it a lot, place is amazing, service is perfect and food was 8/10 , good portions, nice tasty food 😋 affordable, 33 pounds for the food in pics, it was 3 dishes fish with vegetables and 2 chicken curry dishes

We sat outdoors at the Barbican which was great. Service was fairly easy and efficient. Large space, great for meeting friends and the outdoor part is beautiful!

Food was okayish, nit really great. But it was a great atmosphere and the service was excellent.

Do not buy the bubble tea. £6.25 for a small cup, tastes like water and the "popping boba" ain't it. The location is amazing though.

Ang good value, especially for the location

Must remember never to have lunch here again. Portions are minuscule and overpriced. 7.5 for one small piece of haddock and broccoli, and the guy who serves draws an uncanny pleasure in saying “oh no, only one”, like in some sort of Nord Korean regime.

Must remember never to have lunch here again. Portions are minuscule and overpriced. 7.5 for one small piece of haddock and broccoli, and the guy who serves draws an uncanny pleasure in saying “oh no, only one”, like in some sort of Nord Korean regime.

They ask you to buy botled water if you need tap water, which is illegal in the UK.

Dry cakes avoid. But pizza is nice.

Indifferent service, bordering on rude. Salads that have been sitting around for a while, with wilting cucumber and tomato. And not cheap for the experience. It would be so easy to improve things, but they have a captive audience.

This is a nice spot to visit being the location and close to the hall, theatre etc. the staff were friendly and tried. But we waited about 30 min for burgers and when the did turn up the food was cold and it was sent back. Second time with fresh burgers it was warm. The taste was okay. I had a sense that they struggle with the amount of people due to the performance that was due to take place. They would do better on a quiet day. They had lots of vegetarian options, so something for everyone.

Food so-so....no different from a Costa but more expensive. Coffee same. The outside area was rubbish strewn at quarter past four. Was no-one cleaning up?

After finishing my pizza I was genuinely hit with a wave of sadness, having spent £11 on some mediocre crust topped with a thick, greasy layer of cheap mozzarella which gave way to bland pesto and an acrid tomato sauce. The Barbican kitchen always astounds me for its ability to use a range of ingredients and still make food that tastes of absolutely nothing. For a company charging £14 for a small piece of chicken and some cold sides , I would expect to have at least one flavour in my mouth. The staff are clearly trying to make the best of it, Ben and Hugo, do better!

I’ve eaten here a few times mainly due to the convenience when seeing a performance at the Barbican. I always find it disappointing. Today was no exception. We went for salad as a healthier option. However the tuna with vegan mayo was way too salty and there was no mayo on it and the kale salad was full of salt. I’m also not sure why we could only choose 3 salad options and 1 protein - surely we should be able to choose the balance of veg and protein? Also I asked for a green goddess which was supposed to contain cucumber, green apples, spinach and lemon juice. We watched the guy make it and he put in a red apple and no spinach. When I asked him about the spinach he just shrugged his shoulders and said there isn’t any! What kind of service is this? Could he not have explained that first? And then finally my fiancé went the men’s and said it stank so bad it made him feel unwell and he said there was rust everywhere. Not good for a facility in a state of the art venue!!

Tasty freshly made pizza with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating

In my experience the staff were more interested in their chat than serving customers, who they made no eye contact with and were a secondary consideration who were made to feel like they were an inconvenience to them. My pot of tea took probably about 20 minutes in the end after I waited 10 and there was no sign of it. It had turned out that someone had gone to get a cup but no one informed me of this as I would have got one myself.

Really nice for afternoon cocktails and great views of the barbican centre. I would recommend a walk in the barbican to appreciate the architecture and finish it off with a cocktail or dinner here.

Good coffee and delicious banana and walnut streusel cake today. Yum!

Great place. Another hidden gem in London

The woman who made the salads should actually be put down. Why she act like my mother killed her entire bloodline after she wanted a little less on her salad? Rolling your eyes at a customer when they are nicely trying to communicate that they want less beetroot on their plate is crazy.

Variety of hot and cold dishes.

Decent quick bite, good selection of canned drinks. But very special ambiance and amazing views from the terrace. A must if you like brutalism, it shows the contrast of the Barbican really well

Nice place with beautiful view to the fountains and the waterfall in.the heart of London. While waiting for a play or a concert, it's a nice place to have dinner or a drink. Good quality food has a reasonable price. 👌

As good value and as welcoming as you'd expect in central London.

The ordering system is difficult, but the atmosphere is great. Used for dinner. First, order at the cash register. Take your receipt with you and go to each food corner, which at first glance looks like a buffet style, and tell them what garnishes you'd like and what you'd like to choose. This system was difficult to understand, and I had to tell the cashier what garnishes I wanted, and I didn't know where to get the beer from, which may have caused trouble for the staff. I'm very sorry that it took me so long to understand. I think I'll be perfect next time. The inside of the restaurant was almost full and crowded, but there were plenty of seats, including communal seating, long table seating, and counter seating, so if you were a small group, you'd be able to find a seat somewhere. I ordered beer and mac and cheese. It was a little cold, but it was delicious! This place is inside the Barbican Center. Just being able to eat here is priceless. I didn't eat outside because it was cold, but it's great to eat inside with a view of Speed ​​Garden. Next time I come, I want to eat outside on the terrace. The restrooms at the restaurant have an interesting shape, so be sure to try using them.

Dining at the Barbican Kitchen while waiting for a show is an experience best described as a voyage to the cinematic universe of Paddington 2, when the bear was wrongfully jailed, but way before he won over inmates with marmalade. To match the brutalist architecture, the service was as rough as the unpolished concrete exterior, I felt the need to apologize for my presence at the cash counter, and even more so to collect my order, where the jailhouse atmosphere was confirmed by the ever so subtle refusal of my choice of side dish. By the way, added bonus, you get to clean up your own table if you don’t want to balance the tray on your lap to eat. And when I said voyage, I meant the food is like low cost airplane left over food but colder. After years of combating the stereotype of bad British food, I can see that post Brexit, at least the Barbican Kitchen is doing a lion’s share of reclaiming British pride in bland, dried and overcooking.

I just wish people wouldn't waste their food... it's really good and I think plain wrong to leave it!!

Visiting The Barbican Centre, this was a wonderful cafe to find there. Great food, affordable and good choice. I chose from a selection of salads a large salad bowl with cooked beetroot and sweet potato in a delicate dressing. Penne pasta, kale salad and two thick slices of roast beef although eggs were an option. One of the best salad bowls I'd had from a cafe.

Different food options. Salads, Sandwiches, pizzas, fish, roasted vegetables and potatoes, chicken, coffee, tea, cakes and more. Delicious meals for good prices. Plenty of space to sit and enjoy a good meal before or after your visit to Barbican. Enjoy!