Paul Hamlyn Hall in Newham

I visited with a friend for a pre booked, three course dinner to celebrate my birthday and see Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland. ( Fabulous!). This was my first visit. The hall is beautiful and huge. We were seated at a table by a pillar with uplighting. Not good for my friend’s migraine. We asked to move and were. There was some confusion about all our details coming with us but all fine. My starter was crab cakes. Three tiny patties, fine for a starter, but I could taste everything but crab. The Waldorf Salad was mainly apple with a few bits of celery and leaves and the patties tasted predominantly of lemon. My main was Crispy Gressingham Duck. It wasn’t. The skin was soggy and the duck over cooked. With salad and a side of potatoes swimming in garlic butter. In the first interval dessert was a deconstructed apple crumble of sorts. Nice, but weirdly dry and a bit bland. The hall is beautiful but, on the ground floor area, you are seated alongside the busy bar area. Very noisy and bustling. The service was great, but overall I didn’t think our meal, at that standard of cooking, plus a bottle of wine was worth over £100 a head.

Absolutely lovely in every way ! Martin our waiter from Blackburn was so attentive Thank you

Thought it would be lovely to find in such a beautiful setting pre opera.... It would appear that to actually eat here you have to go through an arduous process of choosing your food BEFORE getting to the venue- something that isn't clear anywhere I searched. Archaic. So the morning of my dining experience I miss a call from an unrecognisable number (no message left( and later that day get a mail that the restaurant had tried getting hold of me several times (a blatant lie) and were therefore cancelling my table! When I called to query no apology or recognition that this was unacceptable only offered a ' choice' of one main course. I dined elsewhere, really disappointed by a complete lack of any attention.

Beautiful building, fantastic, professional service, good quality food. Book a table for dinner before a performance and enjoy a dessert and coffees in the intervals at the same table! Perfect evening.

Beautiful view of Covent Garden, ideal for working on the move

A most beautiful beer, served in distinctive 2/3 glass, in the most elegant of buildings.

This is a must-do if you have tickets for opera or ballet at the Royal Opera House. The adjoining Paul Hamlyn Hall is an airy space giving the impression of a garden atrium. Making a reservation requires you to pre-order food and decide if you want to dine before the performance or during the interval. We ate pre-opera and returned to our table for relaxed dessert and drinks during the intervals. Good choice because we saw people rushing to wolf down their food during the intervals. Pricey if you're drinking bubbly at 17 per glass, but our mocktails were reasonably priced and delicious. Our young server Nessa made sure we were taken care of throughout the evening. She is a treasure! As for the food, we didn't mind paying for the convenience and the overall experience. My meat-eating companion was happy with the soup and beef cheeks, but I found the vegetarian options to be tasteless and overpriced. That's the only reason it's 4 stars instead of 5. Here's hoping they improve the vegetarian offerings. Bring your credit card, they don't take cash.

Incredible experience to see Andrew Lloyd Webber walk in front of my table, unforgeatable

Disgusting service from the lead/head server. Rude and aggressive. He threw a sandwich away when we changed our mind about getting it stating, "we don't play around at the Royal Opera house". Thought I was in an Alan Partridge sketch. 0 stars if I could.

Fantastic visual setting of the domed roof, with the balcony restaurant on the mezzanine floor. Fizz is served at £17 per 125ml glass but it has to be done once!

Loved the light and the ability to see the sky in the great hall. Didn't eat here this time as we came to watch a workshop! Brilliant atmosphere

Always good to have a glass or 2

Lovely interior, wish had more time to enjoy it

I love the ROH but the food at this place is really letting them down. Very low quality food, the potato salad served with the smoked salmon was very old and tasted disgusting. The cheese plate totally devoid of any flavour with damp/hard crackers. I expected salad with my quiche, instead I got a plate of leftovers/factory floor sweepings (see photos), very old and totally inedible. I looked around and every table seemed to have been given a plate of this atrocious and frankly offensive “thing”. What an absolute shame. I did not expect this at the ROH. Never again, I’d rather go to McDonalds.

Beautiful venue with wonderful staff

Nice venue, I imagine it must be great when full. I ordered the Plant Burger which was one of the worst vegan burgers I've ever had. I also had wedges which looked and tasted old. They were served to me in compostable 'plates' with tomato sauce sachets. At a place like this?!? The wine was good.

Love it and miss it when far away for a long time!

Lovely atmosphere and very pleasant to walk around.

Restaurante y bar del Opera Royal House. Muy bien

Великолепных аристократических залов здесь есть !) Очень впечатляюще !!! Ковент Гарден, #royaloperahouse

Why don't you have hand sanitizer in the bar???

Expensive pre-opera dinner but very nice. Excellent staff.

ROH is an inviting place to sit, day dream and have a little cake with your coffee if you wish.

Schöne große Halle übersichtlich gut eingeteilt

Cafetería pajarita acristalada añadida a la Royal Opera House, precioso lugar, eso sí no sirven en las mesas

Lovely venue, amazing building, great shows, friendly and helpful staff, lovely champagne and or wine. Everybody i see who has never been there before always takes photos of the venue / building. If you want to impress somebody, this is the place to take them.

Great place to go just for a coffee

Lovely area that used to be part of Covent Garden flower market. Sells great coffee drinks and sandwiches(at a price) during performance intervals. Often given over to quite amazing events - including a tea dance - and has definately become a family friendly hub. Check ROH website for programme of events.

Pretty opera spot. Not the best bar but not the worst.

Fantastic outlook from gallery. Clean, tidy, fast efficient pleasant staff

Great place to dine before the opera or ballet.

Pricey but compliments a visit to the opera

Love this space, beautiful ,a lot of times they have free shows,used to be able to join in the lunchtime concerts singing with great artists opera sopranos etc performers from the Royal Opera House but they don't seem to do it anymore a great shame.

In my opinion the best venue for intermission snacks and drinks

A wonderful relaxed dining experience before the performance.

Dull, tasteless food. Main course of shrimp was bland and tasteless. Service was virtually nonexistent and that that was was slow and amateurish. Clearly poor or no management. Will not use again.

The service makes this an experience worth doing. The food is good but not exceptional, but from the time you arrive to the time you leave, the quality of the service is first rate. A great way to start a visit to the Opera

All food in the Champagne Hall is cold (bar my soup) but all of high quality in a relaxed & stunning setting. Beef melted in the mouth! Wines excellent. Should book.

A lovely space but the food is limited and the prices are very high for what they offer.

I was coming to the Opera House with my old Mum and we needed to guarantee a seat. The only way to do this is to book to eat, So we booked into the Champagne bar and needed to spend a minimum of £15 per head on food. We had canapes (which we ordered two of as it did not specify that they would serve two) and a starter each, a cocktail and a glass of champagne, It was over £100 so not cheap But is was great to soak up the experience. The food is a bit odd, as it is sitting waiting on the table for you when you arrive, So, as it was a heat wave, our canapes were sitting there getting very hot, The beef carpaccio and, more worryingly, the crab arrived later and was very warm as though it had also been sitting waiting, Delicious though.Good service. An added bonus is that they will save the table for you at the interval if you order more. So overall a good experience but expensive, As we were early we could have actually got a seat at the bar and could have had the sandwiches. But we'll know for next time and might take the risk of not booking. Enjoy the experience, and don't look when you pay the bill!!!!!

Book a table here pre-show, and get something special. Great atmosphere and location, and the food was lovely. Good service.

Drinks are over priced but perhaps worth the premium as it is a spectacular building

Overpriced food. Make yourself favour dine nearby and come for drinks only. 6no prawns with watercress....and special sauce...pure mayo...£27.

The Paul Hamlyn Hall is part of the Royal Opera House complex and is stunning. It has a large floating bar in the centre serving wines, champagne, drinks, coffee and bar snacks. It's balcony has a restaurant. The food and snacks are top quality. The service is attentive and you don't wait long to be served. A new outdoor balcony has been added to the Bow Street end this summer. An ideal place to eat and drink before a ballet or opera.

バレエ鑑賞の途中で立寄るお洒落なバー。最近テラスもオープンし益々素敵になりました。🎶

An attractive space, but the prices are quite high and the selection of food and drink a bit limited

The new varanda is a huge improvement.

Superb building that is part of the Royal Opera House, for Al a carte meals and top quality cocktails and champagne.

Great place for nice glass of champagne smoked salmon sandwich during the interval

Cool interior, extremely expensive drinks!!

A glorious hall... Such a pleasure!

Nice place to dine while at the ballet

A chic bar in an amazing space. A great place for a glass of bubbly or three.

Si se va al Opera Royal House es visita ineludible para tomar algo (o cenar) antes de la representación

Such a beautiful place. But when you order an expensive wine and get it in dirty glasses? Already the second time. When mentioned , the waiter just gave clean ones afterwards without a word or apology. Ignored us completely. Very rude.

Apparently, this is the only bar currently open at the ROH, and the crush is really unpleasant. It's a nice airy space, but completely inadequate to the crowd. The experience was like being in a very crowded bus station. And, 30GBP for a glass of wine and a sandwich seems a bit steep. I could have had a drink and snack at the Savoy for that. If you're going to the opera here, go somewhere else for your pre-performance drink and be prepared to manage the equivalent of a rugby scrum at the intervals.

Paul Hamlyn Hall is a part of the Royal Opera House. Our advice is: Make sure you arrive early for the opera, and spend some time at this amazing venue. You may dine, if you want, at the balcony, or you may do as we did: Have drinks and sandwiches in the bar area. The architectural design of the place is remarkable, and the service is good. And you can really enjoy the hour of expectation before the opera starts :-)

Delightful sandwiches - we had a plate of smoked salmon and mixed. Yes they are expensive but beautifully prepared. Coupled with a sipsmith gin with fever tree tonic. Wonderful.

I love the opera, I really enjoy my visits to the Royal Opera House and this time I had decent bar food in the Hamlyn hall, namely the Trealy farm cured meats £12.00). A 125 ml glass of Ruinart champagne, however, at £13.50 is a bit cheeky especially as the quantity you get depends on the eye of the pourer. I am not sure what the local authority Trading Standards officers thing of alcoholic drinks poured without measured opticals or volumetric marks on glasses but I had a glass of champagne on two successive evenings at the opera house and while the glasses were identical, the volumes dispensed were not. I did mention this some time ago in a message to the opera house on its website but no reply after many months. Perhaps it is assumed that, as ticket prices are generally high, opera goers do not mind this but ordinary pubs would not get away with it.

Dinner before and during an excellent opera. Wonderful position in the bar area with great views of the world going round. Service was impeccable but food fairly ordinary - nothing wrong with it , just not delicious and pretty expensive. Overall , a good experience with no timing issues that you might get if eating nearby.

I had booked my dinner for 3 months before but they gave me a table just near where all people went back and forth. And the service was impersonal and not professional. I recommend you choose to dinner somewhere else.

La mesa reservado era muy bueno y el personal era muy organizado.

Only nice things about this place, classy atmosphere good food ...may be a little expensive but we are in London !

Siempre vale la pena reservar una mesa en el Paul Hamlyn Hall en el Royal Opera House, ya que le garantiza una mesa antes del desempeño y durante el intervalo(s).

Es un lugar excelente para una ocasión especial. El servicio es amable y atento, y el té comprende los tres platos típicos de tomar bocadillos, bollos con nata y mermelada, y pasteles. Éstos se sirven en platos con 4 artículos en cada uno, pero uno se ofrece platos adicionales ad infinitum. También hay una amplia variedad de tés, también en cantidades ilimitadas. El Floral Hall (ya que la mayoría de nosotros todavía saben que) ha sido hermosamente renovado, lo que lo convierte en un lugar sorprendente pero elegante. Curiosamente uno libros por Internet con antelación y paga, como si de un billete de ópera, así que cuando haya terminado que levantarse y salir (dejando una propina).

You can now have afternoon tea in the Paul Hamlyn Hall - such a beautiful setting for a tasty and beautifully presented tea. Full details and photos on my blog here: http://hyhoi.com/2014/10/royal-opera-house-afternoon-tea/- NinaHave You Heard Of It? London bar & restaurant blogger | HYHOI.com

When attending a performance at the Royal Opera House it is very convenient to eat in one of the restaurants. The Paul Hamlyn (Floral) Hall is slightly less expensive than the Balconies restaurant or the Crush Room Restaurant.There is a reasonable choice for each performance and the menus change slightly for each different opera or ballet.All the food in the Hall is served cold, so expect plenty of salad-type meals. The catering company do ask for menu choices a few days in advance and they prefer guests to use the rather complicated 'Tell the Chef' website/software. This always seems over complicated.The food is always of a good standard and usually well-presented. However, the portions are not large and I do not feel that the meals are particularly good value. However, it is worth paying for the convenience of eating in the Opera House and having a guaranteed seat during the interval(s).Service is always prompt efficient and helpful. The staff are skilled at serving food and presenting the bill during intervals of 25 - 35 minutes.

Билеты в оперу на 30декабря покупала в последний момент, поэтому свободный столик был только здесь. Прекрасное шампанское и коктейли с шампанским, забавная публика менее пафосная чем в ресторане амфитеатра, веселый доброжелательные официанты

It's not the Paul Hamlyn Hall, it's the Foral Hall. You walk into what is one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world to be met with the smell of fish and food. Every surface is used to shove food in someone's face - nowhere for a drink before or during an interval. I have never come across this catering commercialisation of a major arts venue anywhere else. They should be ashamed of themselves

Booked dinner in the bar area as part of a visit to the opera (Carmen). You can have 2 courses served prior to the opera and have pudding at the interval which is very nice. What a pity about the food though. We had a charcuterie plate to share as a starter and it was cut so thinly it was almost tasteless. We both had cold lobster for the main which came with a limp dull small selection of leaves and a small tasteless remoulade. No lemon or mayonnaise. The wine was good. We both had cheese at the interval which was fine. It was £220 inc tip. It is such a lovely venue and this is a very nice thing to do whilst going to the opera, I can't understand why a little more care couldn't be taken to serve interesting food. I would have been embarrassed to serve the meal at a garden picnic. A proper service to meet diners would have been good too as we had to search for someone to show us to our table when we arrived. I wish they would make a little more effort.

This was a special night on my wife and I anniversary. The cost of the food add drinks was well above £100. It was by far one of the poorest quality meal we had and there is a very French word to qualify this restaurant: 'surfait' - they benefit from the location so do not expect to be amazed by the food.