Somerset House Terrace in City of London, Westminster

I have been to the San Miguel bar many times, with lovely Spanish Ibiza vibes. On this visit, the bar was playing awful reggae grunge music. This is not a Red Stripe bar, it's a Spanish San Miguel bar. I will not go again unless the bar goes back to a San Miguel bar.

Sat down for the atmosphere, stayed for the service! Special thanks to Carina and Alex who were extremely friendly and attentive. Will be back soon 🙏🏽

Food and service fantastic as always

The food was very good, which I’m pleased about as unfortunately the service was dire. I’ve don’t think I’ve ever left a negative review before, but this does need some improvement. Firstly, although they were helpful in seating us a little earlier than our booking it took 3 people to organise this. It later turned out they had three tables free with reservations not until 7pm, and although we were asking to sit down at around 4pm they didn’t initially want us to have one of those tables. Very odd as we had to leave by 6.10 anyway, and you’d think they’d want more table covers than one for the whole afternoon and evening. We ordered lemonade mocktail without the spice around the edge but it arrived with the spice. Mistakes happen and waitress was apologetic and said she’d send one without, but after we waited around 20 minutes and the replacement hadn’t turned up we asked again. She seemed annoyed and said she’d put the order through again, but the drink never turned up so my friend sat through the meal without a drink. Service was extremely slow (not all tables were full), and we felt as though we were being annoying if we asked for anything (ie: food and drink that should have arrived). The staff didn’t have note pads so the first server said he couldn’t take our order as he wouldn’t remember it, so he got someone else. A lady then took our order (didn’t write it down), then came back 5 minutes later to check she’d got it right before putting our order through! We also had to chase up our flatbread as ours was taken to another table. All in all the location is nice, the atmosphere is nice and the food is good, but the service really needs a boost. Having staff who carry notebooks would help, and ensuring your guests receive what they’d ordered would be good.

Yesterday, we observed at least three mice running back and forth between the flatbread preparation area and the kitchen. Our table was very close to these areas, which made us quite uncomfortable. When we attempted to bring this to a waiter's attention, he was very kind and assured us he would inform his manager, asking us to wait for a moment. The manager came over, and we explained the situation. Unfortunately, he responded with an angry stare and said, 'I can't do anything; it's an open area—you'd see this in the tube too.' I pointed out that we don't use the tube to eat and drink, to which he replied with something along the lines of 'no, you'll do,' which was rather odd. His demeanour was very rude. We simply wanted to make him aware of this health hazard and expected at least an apology for the unpleasant experience, along with a commitment to take appropriate precautions. Instead, he was dismissive and implied that this situation was acceptable and that we should tolerate it. Additionally, we noticed that the waiters appeared overworked and exhausted, though they were clearly doing their best. It would be beneficial for the team to have better working conditions, especially given that the manager seemed indifferent to these concerns. As King's College London often hosts summer events at this venue, I will be sure to share this negative experience with the university's organising team to ensure they consider other options in the future.

Great place for a summer's evening drink!

An inferior selection of overpriced beers, a surprise 12.5% "processing fee", and a rude manager. Save your time and money for one of the many more deserving establishments in the area.

We reserved a table and went for dinner. My husband went earlier and arranged the table for us when I arrived At 20.25 they said the kitchen closes at 20.30 so we can’t order anything. Never coming back!

It was a lovely venue with friendly staff.

It was very nice. We were with friends for about 2 hours for coffee and pizza.

Peaceful location in Somerset House, close to Embankment for an evening drink

Thanks so much, great service and atmosphere. Special mention to Zoe, Sarah, Conrad, Paige and Ru for being such great hosts.

Was walking past and stopped for a drink. Lovely space. Friendly staff and food was great

Went here on a date last night and it was great (the restaurant was great, the date was okay). Evie is an incredible host - personable, smiley, warm, engaging, offers personal favourites, she’s great. Food was incredible (essential: the morcilla, walnut & honey flatbread, not to be missed!!). Pineapple Marg 10/10. I’ll be back for sure. Solo, or with a new date

I had to organise last minute work drinks and as I wasn’t able to book in advance Eveline was amazing, scoping out a table as soon as it freed up to get us comfortable. Olivia took care of us for the rest of the evening and made sure we all had a great night out and no one had an empty glass :) Thank you Evie & Olivia. I’m sure we’ll be back to see you again soon. Cheers!!

rude and unhelpful staff, i asked them to put a tiny dash of lemonade in my drink and they refused and said i had to buy a full £8 lemonade, so stupid and were extremely rude about it. also very expensive

Had a great time here with some friends earlier this week. Food was delicious, drink choices great, and fabulous service! Special shoutout to Kleo who was an amazing server all evening, friendly and great fun :)

Nice place for a drink but predictably expensive

I would like to give a huge shoutout to our waiter, Kleo!! He was very attentive with our group and provided superb service, we were honestly so impressed! Somerset House Terrace please give Kleo a raise he deserves it!!! On behalf of LSE Sociology Class of 2023

A wonderful time and great atmosphere. What really made it special was Kleo, he was an amazing host, was so welcoming and kind! He pointed me towards and ordered me all the drinks and food that I can have given my dietary requirements and it was like he knew what you wanted before you even realised it yourself!

Best place to be in the sun, the service is good, the vibe is awesome , and the views are amazing . A great place to meet and have a drink with friends

I don't know how they can justify their prices with the level of service and atmosphere and public toilets

If you are white you are transparent to waiters and everyone smokes.

I always go to this cute cafe for tasty snacks and drinks

Go when you get a chance - it will be absolutely rammed in warm weather

Very nice. I had exceptional service from Kleo today. Will come again.

Had a lovely lemon mocktail. Kleo was kind, accommodating and personable. He remembered serving my friend two years ago and reassured us we were welcome to stay.

Great setting... shame about the guy heading up the front of house team. We booked, waited 15 mins to be seated, he was immediately really aggressive and rude and told us we couldn't sit now as the table stays for 15 mins only (he refused to acknowledge we had spent that full 15 mins waiting). We then sat, and it took forever to be served. 45 mins in, the same guy came and said 'you have to leave now, we need the table for a booking'. We explained that we had booked too and he said really sarcastically that it was a pub and so tables are only for one hour... it was all just very unecessary, rude and aggressive. We all felt uncomfortable so left. Shame, as I booked it off having a lovely drink here a few weeks back in the sun.

Generally a nice place to hang out at Somerset House. They could do with a bit more signage and a menu upfront for easy browsing. The croquettes and patatas bravas were good and we also got some mocktails which were refreshing.

Lovely spot, great staff! And they have blankets for chilly weather!

Nice terrace overlooking Thames River. Staff are friendly and it should be very even nicer on a summer day.

I loved it. We go to various events and exhibitions here regularly and it never gets old, mundane or boring. We also like supporting the place as it's such a wonderful resource for the community. Highly recommended for anything that's going on, or even just a casual visit and.walkabout.

No food here except olives but the vibes was nice

I found this a moderate place.. recommended

Just make a reservation first. If you go for a walk-in they will let you buy drinks which you can enjoy right outside the venue in some public seats nearby

Fantastic spot. Decent if not ama ing food, but really it's the location. Also they do San Miguel on draft

Dropped in on way to Marco Pierre whites for a little tipple service fabulous

Good place to chill and drink :)

It's a sponsored bar so you drink the sponsor's products. Staff were pretty good. Priced were unfortunately what you'd expect from this sort of pop up venue. Meh.

San Miguel bar is the best place to chill in the sun!!!!!

It’s a very nice place and the pizza is good too. Reason for the 2 stars? The manager and some of the men staff who work there are a disgrace! Rude people, probably drained out by their job… but as long as you ignore their bad vide you can have a great evening 😉

Bizarre place. Fantastic location but seems to have gone for a mykonos beach club vibe. Incredibly tacky and not in-keeping with the surroundings. An insult to Somerset house and its patrons.

Visited as part of my friends birthday celebrations so was only there for a short while due to other commitments. Staff attentive and the Aperol Spritz was spot on. The next day I realised I'd left my own personalised straw and was so happy when I returned that the staff had put it to one side for me.

Interesting location but very poor and unprofessional service.

A nice chilled out place to drink on a weekday evening.

Woman at the reception absolutely useless ; sat us and we waited ten min for no one to come , asked her if we could be served (she was surprised we wanted anything - yeah we probably came to have a sit down ) she asked he colleague to come who took about 5 extra Min to show up so that she could tell us the coffee machine was broken . We left and the reception woman asked why we were leaving , as if she was outraged , although she was standing 1 feet from our table when the other one told us the coffee could not happen … what the heck is this place

Great location and nice decor. Staff could be a lot more attentive.. often have to wait a while to be seated and to be served.

Food was amazing and the drinks were great. Service was a bit too slow, it looked like the waitresses were overwhelmed and it took them a long time to take our order.

Nice venue for a drink (expensive but not terrible for London prices) however long wait on drinks as the place has table service which is quite frustrating when they have a bar... Feels it would be a lot easier to just queue at a bar like normal! Other than that all good, toilets were in Somerset House

Definitely worth a visit great atmosphere too. Drinks decent just little slow with service.

My mum and I were just keen to have a quick drink here while we waited for my partner to finish viewing an exhibition. It was mid afternoon and the whole place was practically empty but we were told ALL the tables were reserved for “VIPs”. I explained to the waiter that we were going to be very quick and would be happy to go stand at the bar if said VIPs turned up but he was extremely rude and showed us to a table in front of the entrance - needless to say we walked away, there are plenty of places in this part of town to have an overpriced mediocre lager in, may as well go to one with decent service.

LA Mesera sisi muy linda , Manager soberbio arrogante malcriado, irrespetuoso abusivo , sin profesionalismo, no saluda, acabábamos de llegar y pues la mesera nos dijo pueden estar cómodos de repente el manager prácticamente nos saco Y ni si quiera habíamos terminado, (20 minutos y tuvimos que botar nuestra compra)dice ser un lugar donde visitan latinos de hecho escuchamos música latina, pero sentí de hecho racismo. NO LO RECOMIENDO EN ABSOLUTO a los dueños el local tienen un lugar hermoso pero jamás regresaría ni recomendaría a ningún extranjero visitarles.. hablen con sus meseros ellos les dirán la verdad sobre sus superiores.

Perfect place for a spring/summer drink and bite.. Great food and great service!

A great venue for temporary exhibitions. The recent Collect art show was excellent

Went to Somerset house for the Pokémon Go event last week and it was extraordinary. It was a wonderful experience although it was freezing; to be surrounded by Pokémon lovers of all ages and background was great 😊

Wonderful venue in a good location, great beers, pleasant staff. Would return again

Came here years ago and it was an amazing vibe during summer. Coming in autumn it was still lovely and a lovely vibe.

Excellent!!! Delicious! Excellent service! Excellent, excellent!!

Brilliant outdoor venue. Perfect for summer after work drinks, enjoying good company and brilliant service.

Great venue, service and food were good. Would definitely go again.

One of the best place for beer, cocktails and light food 😋 👌

Good outdoor bar with music in a central location. Best to book.

Very enjoyable place to sit and have a drink with friends. Not a huge selection of drinks but should be something for most people. If the restaurant is booked they'll serve you in plastic and you can go sit further down the terrace in the public space. I suggest booking in advance if you are thinking of going, I've not had great luck as a walk in. Pizzas look great, haven't had the opportunity to try them yet, but definitely keen to give them a go!

Everything was great! the food was fantastic although portions were quite small However the drinks made up for it. I also want to say a special thanks to Renee who did a lot to ensure our table was happy and comfortable.

It is a lovely setting, but the food was just average, took a long time to arrive and were very small portions.

Great outdoor space by the river

Great vibes and very reasonable drink prices!

Very peaceful no hassle about staying for ages. Out of the sun but views of the river and a breeze. Slightly expensive. Good service.

Firstly, fantastic location. Average food and wine but inattentive service, even though not busy when we visited. Also, the waitress needs deodorant. Seating mostly either very low or high bar stools; there are two tables with normal-height dining chairs - something you may need to consider if coming with older people.

Lovely terrace to have a drink. Attentive and friendly service.

Lovely place to hanging out with friends 😊

Kleo is the MAN. Such an attentive waiter and host - he made our night. Pre-empted what you needed and thought ahead. Plus he's a dude. 10/10 service !

London, England. GREAT Britain!

I was here with friends last Saturday 19th June and was made to feel very unwelcome .staff were rude and uninteresting..we actually saw staff refuse entry despite the fact they had booked..shocking behaviour displayed by a manager .Avoid this establishment at all cost

Stunning location, pizza was rely good, I would love more beer choices but really nice

Could be so much better. Amazing location. Overpriced drinks, terrible music.

After waiting about an hour for our food we were told that the kitchen was then shut.

Terrible service. We had to wait for a long time before getting our drinks. The waiter was sexist and was serving all women first. He tried to charge us for shots whereas it was an event where all drinks/food were pre-paid.

Been here a few times. It's a great place to meet for drinks with friends either before or after dining out.

A stunning venue with a great team looking after you, Thank you Elton, Valeria and team

Fantastic - staff were excellent. Good food and excellent service.

Fantastic atmosphere but no organisation. Waiting soo long for drinks and food. When i asked for the third time where my drinks/food was, the manager answered me in a badly way. The food was good, even if I been waiting for ages.

Awful service. Also if you are closing at 4.55, don’t say that you closing at 5.

Well fantastic location excellent service San Miguel, cocktails Pizza £32. What a location.

Beautiful venue, but very disappointing service. 25 minutes from sit down to first drink, had to get waitresses attention, for a second drink which arrived 15 minutes after ordering amd 2 prompts. Staff very courteous, but not attentive enough. Bar not full to capacity, and saw people walking away from the queue to get in due to lack of attention. Was presented with credit card machine, but not shown the bill. Worth checking as order was wrong in their favour, then a cheeky 10% service charge which I declined to pay.

Table service only works if someone actually serves you. Took 30 minutes from arriving to actually getting a drink. Also inflated prices even for London.

Pretty miserable service refusing to fill my pint glass to the full pint measure. Disgraceful and dishonest in my view.

Great service; great cocktails; great nibbles

Empty place at 5 pm, other than for a few tables at the river side. Yet the only available seats for us were hard benches uncomfortably along the outside line. A bar that reserves seating in such a way as to be virtually empty at 5 pm on a workday is missing the point of its existence!

A very pleasant and enjoyable place to have a drink. On the downside there was no food menu available until 6 p.m. but it is probably even better then.

Nice location, staff should be more friendly in my opinion.

A lovely place to meet friends. Slightly odd acoustics make it tricky to hear at times though

Very pleasant and staff is lovely. Sometimes not easy to have a conversation though.

Lovely place to sit in between seeing the sights. Great coffee but the most expensive San Miguel in the UK 🤣

Lovely little outdoor bar with DJ and heaters. Sponsored by San Miguel currently so decent beer and cocktails and pizzas cooked to order in a wood fired pizza oven.

A great venue. They need to use the auto sun visors for the seating roof tops.

Really good pizzas, lovely atmosphere and great drinks and service.

Very nice location for an afternoon in the sun.

A lovely evening and perfect for catching up with old friends after 2 years. Staff were great and because England were playing it was empty. Food was also good for sharing. Note the bar stopped serving around 9.30 bit we could sit and finish drinks until 11 when the lights went out! Not sure if that's always or just because it was so empty.

Nice stuff, good tapas, standard price for London