Grumbles in City of London, Westminster

Grumbles is everything you want in a traditional bistro—great food, relaxed charm, and a team that makes you feel right at home. We managed to grab a last-minute table and were immediately struck by the warm, bustling atmosphere. The cod and chips was a standout—fresh, light, and perfectly crisp. Everything arrived promptly, and the service was effortlessly smooth, with staff who were genuinely friendly and seemed to love what they do. It’s rare to find somewhere in central London that delivers on quality, service, and value all at once. Already looking forward to coming back!

Stumbling upon Grumbles was a stroke of luck! This charming bistro has an old-school warmth that’s hard to find, with a cosy atmosphere and a welcoming team who couldn’t have been friendlier. From the moment we arrived, service was seamless—attentive without being intrusive. The menu offers fantastic value, but the real highlight was the food itself. Every dish felt thoughtfully prepared, and the portions were just right. The moules marinière was rich and perfectly seasoned, and the desserts looked so tempting we wished we had room to try them! Next time, we’ll be sure to book ahead—this is a place worth returning to.

To dream of grumbles is to dream of glory thou escargot guzzling house wine sipping liver and bacon adoring glutton with your tasteful cutlery and well shined crockery thou art a greedy little plate licking piggy with an eye on famously good desserts and a beautiful family history.

With BYO on Monday evening this makes restaurant eating more accessible

Reliable local bistro with tasty dishes and excellent service as always.

Lovely traditional restaurant the good food and service

Wow. This place is so absolutely awful. Their customer service is so horrible. I have never seen worse customer service. I witnessed two young women come in and one had a newborn baby with her. They were seated and ordered dessert. The male server told them they aren’t allowed to only order dessert and he literally removed them from the restaurant. It was despicable and disgusting the way those women were treated.

Loved this restaurant Great service, good food and that traditional small restaurant feel. Would definitely go back.

everything was delicious but the Mexican style crayfish starter was particularly delicious. My main was liver which was cooked to perfection and I think the frites were possibly the best I have ever had. one of my friends had a dish of moules marinieres which was also excellent.

Went for their Sunday roast and was not disappointed! An institution on its own.

Esta fue la tercera vez que visitamos este restaurante y en cada ocasión disfrutamos de nuestra comida. Pudimos reservar nuestra mesa y la mesa que nos gustó, el servicio fue muy amable en cada ocasión y también, lo más importante, la comida estaba deliciosa y perfectamente cocinada.

We enjoyed an excellent lunch for four on New Year's Eve. It wasn't too busy, our food was very well cooked and presented, and the service was pleasant and unfussy. It was all that we had hoped for.

Really loved the whole place. Really warm people and banging food. I advise anyone who is looking for a place to eat to go to GRUMBLES

Great meal and exceptionally friendly service. Wonderful place! I highly recommend it.

We have been coming to Grumbles for several years now and have never had a bad experience. Food, service and atmosphere are all second to none.

Fabulous! My daughter’s 19th birthday. Have eaten here many times. The best place to go for a quiet dinner or a lively celebration depending on your mood.

First time back in quite a few months and it’s as good as ever: step inside you feel transported into a wood panelled, warm, cosy, restaurant, with comforting food and a happy bustling atmosphere. brilliant team.

Really fabulous and everything we hoped it would be. We’ve just moved to Pimlico and had heard all about this local treasure and were really looking forward to visiting and it was just our cup of tea. Now that we live here it’s sure to be a firm favourite. Great menue, great service great ambience. We feel very lucky to have Grumbles on our doorstep.

A very nice 3 course menu. This was the first time I had invited some friends to the restaurant: which I have previously visited several times. Unfortunately, the carrots/parsnips arrived at the table cold and had clearly been microwaved. I mentioned this to the staff but beyond a reassuring comment nothing was done. Apart from that that, we enjoyed the evening.

Great atmosphere. Lovely cosy restaurant. Staff super friendly . Great wines and no hangover

I love this place - a perfect neighbourhood restaurant perfect for any occasion. The home made soups are amazing.

Gran pequeño hallazgo. Estábamos aquí para el almuerzo del domingo, un cumpleaños de amigos. Esta es una pequeña joya de un lugar con personal amable, me gusta que no es una cadena e independiente. La comida era muy sabrosa, yo tenía la lubina que estaba muy bien cocinada, otros tenían el cordero asado el domingo y a todos les encantó. No es caro y un poco peculiar que me encanta. Muy cerca de la Tate Brittain que estábamos visitando para una exposición. Recomendaría, tenemos que mantener lugares como este.

They turned people away on sketchy grounds such as the party being too small. It was 1.5 hours before closing time so makes no sense that they reserve spaces like that. Seems to be a racist establishment. I was ignored for a while standing around before being told that. Lots of reviews about selective treatment so I'm not surprised but am disgusted. The stupidity of alienating large swaths of profitable customers due their misguided racism is laughable but not surprising.

another fabulous night at Pimlico legendary eatery, Grumbles. Always a pleasure to return for its fish pie and ice cream with almonds and chocolate sauce! The team as ever friendly and professional. Look forward to returning.

fantastic neighbourhood restaurant that never disappoints . Still going strong after 60 years

Loads of old school atmosphere, and a great place for a long boozy Sunday lunch

Great authentic vibe. Table 29 is perfect for a private group.

A group of us meet regularly for lunch- and where do we go? We always go to Grumbles. Its a lovely place. Good food and drink and great place for a chat - without being deafened by spill over noise.

Really charming. A place that time forgot, and long may time continue to forget. No Grumbles from me.

Subdued, refined-rustic, french cafe. Wood paneling; interesting historic photos; French songs playing (1940’s?). I selected the fixed price meal: Fillet with fries, avocado and prawns, and fruit/cream/crumble dessert—all prepared perfectly and delectable. The included glass of house red wine was simple, but acceptable. I upgraded to an excellent Bordeaux on the second glass. I ate late evening, so very quiet (which I prefer) and the staff appeared tired. Friendly, but inattentive.

Lovely starters all around, main course was a fish pie for me which was bland and watery. Dessert was good. The service grew better as the evening went on but it took 25 minutes before we got our first drink! We asked for a corner table because we brought along our (well-mannered) dogs but didn't expect to be squashed under the stairs with hardly any space let alone get up from the corner seat without two other people getting up aswell. All in all completely overrated from our point of view. Not for us.

Excelente comida, servicio amable y acogedor, todo lo que quieras en un restaurante local - su obsolescencia tiene un verdadero encanto.

Always enjoy everything about Grumbles. Have been a patron for many years 🤩

Excellent food, very welcoming and friendly service

My family and I love Grumbles - the friendliness; the constancy of the loyal staff, some over many years now; the lack of pretention; the relatively swift service - it is always our first choice in London. And I love the fact that they bothered to repair the old railway station-style clock when it failed, instead of opting for some modern alternative. It proclaims on its face that it was made in “CATERHAM” - where I grew up! A very appreciative Tony Marshall

Genial! Comida y servicio! Acogedor, cálido, camarera eficaz, rápido, amable y agradable Volveré sin dudarlo

Old style bistro, furnitures are quite old and wobbly. Apart from that Food was pretty decent. We tried the steak and chicken salad. The steak was very nice with creamy sauce and salad dressing was very good too.

Grumbles always delivers a real quality meal in unchanging and delightful surroundings. We ate Sunday evening, the restaurant was full, a party of four was actually turned away while we ate, such is their reputation. Service always attentive and efficient, although I've been going there for 30 years, so maybe they know me by now.

Family pub with a warm and calm atmosphere

Delicious food, home made and fresh. Nice range of dishes. Lovely part of Pimlico and felt like a genuinely authentic, independent restaurant. Service was efficient but waitress seemed slightly aloof. Didn’t really go out of her way to make us feel special or to engage. The restaurant is on two floors. We were in the basement which has a markedly less ambient feel to it compared to the ground floor. It was slightly cold and lacked atmosphere. Request a ground floor table if you book in advance.

Very nice little restaurant. Food was fabulous and staff were very good!

Este parecía un lugar popular y tal vez elegimos el plato equivocado, pero la comida era extremadamente sosa y no parecía valer la pena el precio.

On a été bien accueillis (il y avait même quelques mots en français) et on a bien mangé (sirloin délicieux). Rien à redire.

I have been to this restaurant so many times over the years and I love it. The staff and food are always great and if you get one of the upstairs booths it’s even better.

Food, service and atmosphere are always on point. Reasonable prices and very drinkable house red. A neighbourhood cult classic for good reason. Long live Grumbles!

Great English food and the loveliest of staff, all of that in a very cosy atmosphere. Would definitely come back and recommend to friends !

Have been before and really enjoyed the food and ambience. This time they have a special menu celebrating 60 years of being open. If you like liver and bacon, this is a must. The food was superb

We were visiting from Australia and staying nearby. I ordered the Roast of the Day which was Beef. I agree with a prior review that the meat was tough and the rest of the meal was barely warm. The mains came out before the entree which I do understand mistakes happen. Then adding the 12% onto the Bill was a bit rich. I would totally not mind paying this if the Food and service was on point. Sadly it was not. Also the waitress was rude when we questioned the 12%. Sorry, but for the price, I would expect a half decent meal.

A delightful find. Best steak I've had for a long time. Excellent service and look forward to returning.

Tasty comfort food, great very accommodating service.

Excellent food and service, attentive but not in your face, honest cooking packed with flavour. We brought people who thought we had made a mistake when they arrived they soon changed their minds. Would highly recommend.

Came for set lunch served by charming waitress - it’s got rather pricey as main course was 2 small sardines on potato salad of a stuffed pepper. Ham hock terrine starter good though

Grumbles was fantastic as always! Similar to other restaurants, portion sizes at Grumbles have reduced in recent times and the bacon accompanying the calves liver is not the high quality it used to be, but overall, Grumbles remains a favourite restaurant with good value for money. Will continue to return!

I visited this location in 2019, great food, great service.

After seven years, we decided to have lunch there again. The food was simply bad—the beef was tough and hard to chew, the Yorkshire pudding was burned, and the service was minimal, limited to just delivering the food. Unlike in the same month in 2017, the place was empty, which should have been a warning sign that something was wrong.

As always, excellent. Be brave and have liver & bacon. It’s super stuff. Add a decent red wine and you’ll be well fortified.

The only reason I didn’t score this ‘excellent’ was because it’s very simple. That really works for me and that’s what I look for, but doesn’t work for everyone. I’ve been going here for years and really enjoy it. It never disappoints. The staff are friendly, I like the age of the restaurant, I like the simplicity of the food and the ensure that is cooked well. They change the menus and I always appreciate specials. Grumbles is connected to the old heart of London. Go here if you want a nice cosy atmosphere, affordable wine and good food.

Great place to eat, food really nice. Excellent staff

Fish n chips were greasy which bled over to the fries. Taste was good overall though. Beer was good. Prices were excellent.

So disappointing. Extremely embarrassing as took an old friend there. Over priced for poor quality food. Cannot recommend. Lady serving us was very pleasant though

Another great evening at this fabulous venue. Took friends here who were not familiar with the area. Everyone had a lovely time, was able to sit “Al fesco “ Service was excellent, food amazing and it’s nice to be Al fresco, without it being noisy and crowded. A good time was had by all, and would thoroughly recommend Grumbles for a dining experience.

I have been to Grumbles several time and really like the interior, the people who work there are really nice especially the tall waiter Alex ! The food is great and I love the interior , my cousin that I took there wanted cheese for desert which I think they should consider adding ! Thanks

Very nice place and very good food with average prices for Westminster. Absolutely impeccable service. The obligatory 12.5% ​​tip is not exactly appreciated, but apparently it is a London custom.

The menu is short but well chosen. Reasonable prices. No long waits between courses. Efficient staff. A very enjoyable evening.

Retro ambience,which I in my 70s like. Reasonable prices, well-cooked food and not pretentious.

Delicious authentic French food in the centre of Pimlico. We had a bottle of excellent wine, and three courses, all for under £75 per person, which we thought was great value for the quality of the food. Would definitely recommend.

Exceptional, as always. Staff are wonderful and the menu is delicious.

Great food and service. Fish was fresh.

Really charming restaurant, staff were lovely and attentive and the food was excellent

Lovely to find a reasonably priced restaurant, with delicious food and friendly service, so close to Victoria and Belgravia.

Simple, classic menu, perfectly cooked. Ideal bistro environment and atmosphere. Thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.

We last visited Grumbles over 20 years ago. It was as good as ever. Great food, reasonable prices and good service. Thank you.

A very nice discovery, especially with the meat with the mustard caramel, a great tasting success, and therefore a good address :)

I love Grumbles so much. Wonderful food, excellent service, joyful atmosphere. It’s glorious!

This is a great restaurant. Food is honest, well prepared and superb to eat. The fact that it's been going for such a long time is all the evidence you need. Highly recommended.

Poor food quality, poor service, high prices. Mussels were tiny and not freshly taste at all. Beef steak was £20 and comes with just a plain tomato cute in half. The plate was extremely hot and waitress wouldn't warm you! Burger was just not acceptable, bread bum came half toasted and half not. French fries were soggy, like from frozen. Prices are too high for the quality of food. The place is outdated, not enough space between tables for customers to get in and out, the staff must to move the tables every time. Not enough light to properly see what you eat. Overall not worth the experience, avoid it if possible! Dolphin

Great food, lovely atmosphere, friendly staff. Always a good evening.

Small restaurant very cosy feel, everyone super friendly, service was amazing, open kitchen, prices reasonable for the area but food wasn’t that great… snails were massively under seasoned (no salt or garlic). For the main i went for the special (veal with parma ham and mashed potatoes) wich was good enough but maybe a bit basic. We picked some wines in the 35£ area and they weren’t very good and too warm. We had a good time but I don’t think i’ll come back.

Was staying locally for the weekend and was looking for somewhere independent and interesting to eat. Looked on Google maps and found this place that, having been trading since 1964, I thought would fit the bill. It was very disappointing. Menu is small and basic, not an issue in itself, but it didn’t offer much thought or care with a weird mix of styles. We ordered fish pie and calves liver. Additional charge of £5.50 for mash to go with the calves liver. Calves liver cooked well and tasted good, but small portion. Mash was overpriced. Fish pie was sent back after a couple of mouthfuls as it was mostly mash and the fish that was there was lacking in any sauce making it very dry. The fish pie was removed from the bill. There are much better places to eat around the area so unfortunately I can’t recommend Grumbles. It seems that they are trading purely on being in existence for a long time.

Had to ask for water a couple of times. Otherwise, service was good.

Always fantastic at Grumbles. And great service for families too. Always recommend this local haunt!

Middle of the road - more than adequate with reasonable choice. Nothing special but perfectly ok

Great little place with great food and fantastic, friendly service. Definitely recommend if you’re in the area.

A quirky little restaurant has a good atmosphere to it but the food lets it down badly… good service friendly staff… food very bland and taste less…. Fish pie was extremely watery no flavour and only fish in it was salmon and frozen prawns.. rest of the mains were cold over cooked

The head waiter/owner was pretty surly. The food was only adequate. The fish and chips consisted of a very poor fillet, NOT skinned and the chips were worse than a wet week

Menu on here was out of date so prices were significantly different for set menu.

Omg! It was a nice surprise, amazing food

Small local restaurant. Varied menu with options for everyone.

Lovely, cosy place in the heart of Pimlico. Delicious food and friendly service.

It is always a thoroughly pleasant treat to eat at this fantastic venue.

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We’ve been to Grumbles several times now. The service is quick and efficient and of course, the food is wonderful. Highly recommended.

It is a delightful bistro restaurant with excellent food and friendly, discreet service. Magnificent atmosphere

Average food and average service. Sad we are there.

A quality French-style bistro, conveniently located in Pimlico. Definitely on the smaller side and an intimate environment. Our table was right by the entrance into the kitchen so we had a cool view the entire meal into what was happening back there. The food itself was good, not necessarily outstanding, and the service was decent as well. Altogether not a bad choice, and at the very least you're going to get a quality meal.

Sunday Roast Beef with Yorkshire pudding and vegetable medley excellent.

Great vibe, cute place, friendly staff, delicious and reasonable food!

We got to meet the original owner who started Grumbles 60 years ago 1964, Jeremy Friend! Mr Friend still dines at grumbles several times a week! So you know the food is always at its best.

Always love a visit to an old favourite with an old friend when in London

Nice atmosphere and simple traditional food. The restaurant has been going for over 60 years and was busy.