The Cow Pub & Restaurant in City of London, Westminster

Yes, the fresh seafood is nice (not like it requires a lot of cooking skills). However, the staff are incredibly rude, bitter and resentful. Why are they so unhappy about working at this pseudo-restaurant? Try other places (e.g., Le Petite Poissonnerie).

Not the cheapest option, but can’t fault the food or the service in the first floor dining room.

Super fresh seafood and good beers galore

Perfect Guinness, lovely staff. Great food.

Booked online, unfortunately had to cancel. Called The Cow over 48 hours before booking to cancel, no response. Called multiple times, left voicemails, sent emails, no response. Was charged £120 for no show. Unacceptable system

A gem in London. The food is great, the Guinness is better, the atmosphere is unique and Petro and Princess are the best people.

The best food in West London. The people never fail to delight alongside.

It's the best pub in the world by far. The Guinness is royal, and the vibes are sublime

Never make a reservation here. I’m being charged £90 as my friends became ill the day of our booking. It took me 3 tries and 2 different phone numbers to get anyone on the line. Person I spoke with said okay. Got a call back from a man telling me there was no way they’d let me out of their cancellation fee. After a very uncomfortable phone call, he agreed to let the cost go. That lasted 20 minutes until I got the below email. The restaurant is claiming they’re enforcing the fee due to the demand on their tables. This was for 3 people on a Monday. Screen grab of their booking system on the Monday night in question. How do they expect to have any good will with patrons? They’ve since replied reminding me I confirmed my booking. Of course I did. My friends didn’t have 48 hours notice that they’d be ill. Bad things happen and good people can’t always keep a reservation. That doesn’t make it right for an establishment to take £90 from them.

Excellent character pub with some of the most superb seafood in London. Super chilled vibes for a Monday. Will be back 👌

Gorgeous pub!!!! BEER, crabs, pate - everything is delicious. I recommend

Dining room atmosphere is top notch. Cosy and vibrant, but not too loud that you can't have flowing conversations. Food was excellent - oysters and rib eye special. Attentive service. 10/10 meal

Best fish stew I've ever tasted. Great atmosphere. Rustic and intimate with open fire. Love the murals too.

Had to pay £60 because I got extremely ill before the booking. Nobody picks up the phone - it is impossible to get in touch. I wrote an email but it has been ignored too. Booking was on a Sunday evening and it is not exactly the most demanded time so I don’t see why it was impossible to just cancel my booking without charging me a fee of £60!! Also, since when is it acceptable to have an automatic reply when people call you that says nobody is available? How do people get in touch? I’m only writing this review because hopefully someone will see it and I can get my refund.

Visited the Cow, not thinking too much about it really, and I was pleasantly surprised! The dining room is on the first floor, small and intimate perfect for a quiet Sunday lunch. The seafood platter was lovely with the prawns being extremely tasty and that crab cooked to perfection. The star of the show was definitely the fish stew. Hands down, the best one I’ve had in London. Incredibly rich and with the right amount of spice to tingle your tongue and make your tastebuds explode! They were also generous with the quantity of fish and seafood inside of it. Absolutely recommend!

Went with a group of friends to have drinks and then dinner upstairs. The girl behind the bar was possibly one of the rudest girls I’ve ever come across in 56 years of being a Londoner and having at The Cow when it first started… probably before she was born. More attitude on her little finger than the whole of Notting Hill put together and I can say that having been a Notting Hill girl for most of my life. Served Bad drinks and when I told her that she had misheard one of them, she didn’t even offer to take it back and give me the right one. Upstairs the restaurant looks like a 70s tandoori restaurant however the waitresses were nice. My food, of the limited and poor choice, was grilled squid with rocket and was literally just that. I think the chef must have pulled out a bag of rocket, dumped it on the plate and then chucked a whole squid in a frying pan with a ton of garlic, chopped it up and mushed it into the rocket. It was an absolute disgrace. The other food around the table was no better. The fish stew was tasteless. The half chicken was exactly that. All in all a disastrous outing made only marginally better by the cheery attitude of the two waitresses upstairs. Never again. That goes for me and the 12 people I was with. I’d like to give the whole place no stars but feel that would be cruel so solely on account of the waitresses. As for the bar girl… I’d sack her in an instant.

A traditional pub with a terrific kitchen. Very enjoyable visi.

Had a lovely pint of 'Cow' pale ale but, unfortunately didn't eat. It has a good reputation for food.

Good standard of food and the Guiness was lovely.

Super lively atmosphere and great food great drinks, got seated by the stove in late March so we got super comfy too. Old memories never fade, still happy I got to take my mom here in 2014 :)

A buzzing Sunday evening with delightful waitresses serving us upstairs in the restaurant. Most places we passed on the way there were closed or empty but we had to squeeze our way past many chatting customers to make our way to the first floor. I had a salmon remoulade followed by their (slightly spicy) fish soup. Both were delicious. We didn’t have room for pudding! Many thanks and well done.

Bavette steak special was very disappointing for £34. Plate was cold, pub was cold plus service charge of 12.5%. Will not be returning.

Came on a Friday night and it was packed with young people from the neighborhood. Ate upstairs and the food was underwhelming for the price. We had fried squid, roasted chicken, and beef shin Vibe was buzzing so if I came again I’d just have drinks and maybe something more traditional like bangers and mash

Really nice staff, very good homemade Bloody Mary as well 🤩

Food was quite expensive and really sub-par, got the gnocchi romana was 3 pucks or mash on top of unseasoned mushrooms, and unseasoned trout served with brown green lentil mush. 3 tables around us removed service charge. Could have just been off day as have heard good things before but food was the worst tasting meal I’ve had out of 4 years in London.

We went on a Sunday to eat a roast. Some friends recommended it to us and we really liked it!

Very slow service. Very noisy. Average food. Pretty expensive for what you get. Removing the intestinal track of a prawn before serving would be a good improvement.

Visitamos para un domingo asado, y aunque el servicio era bueno, la comida fue extremadamente decepcionante. El asado sabía como si hubiera sido muy microondas — definitivamente no fresco. Un verdadero fracaso. No volveremos.

Absolutamente 1 clase de calle - gran calidad Guinness, excelentes mariscos y un impresionante servicio amable, especialmente por la princesa de Kildare

Entirely overrated. The food was average, we ordered prawns and the skate, prawns were fine, skate was disappointing, decent cook but lacked flavor and were given a fin, so basically over paid for cartilage. There was a 4 pound cover charge, for nothing. Drinks were fine.

Great pub, the locals are so chatty!

Absolute stunner of a pub. 10/10. Great Guinness, and even better atmosphere. Didn’t eat there but the food looked superb. Naughty pictures in the bathrooms too. What’s more to love.

We had a death in our family on the morning of our reservation, so had to cancel. Despite us leaving voicemail and emailing The Cow to explain, they still charged us £60 cancellation fee because we cancelled within 24hours. That is very poor.

The fish stew was marvellous. Really recommended!

A classic yet updated pub! Good vibes, beers and oysters. Will go back for dinner.

We have been here a few times actually, since we live around the corner. Each time it is packed and we think we won’t ever get a seat in the back. We have since learned to chill out, because the Cow has your back! We always get a table within a few minutes. Have a Guinness and shut up. Let the staff take care of you. Go outside and have a smoke. Once seated, there is no wrong choice on the menu. Oysters? Yes please. Shrimpies in a pint jar? Of course ma’am. Snails? Well, gee, by golly give it to me. You have all the rest of the reviews to look at photos. You know what you like. What I liked is the fish stew. Asked the server, two different types of fish in that soup! Won’t tell you which, or I would ruin the surprise!!! Best fish soup of our lives. I became the sea during this meal. Their bangers and mash are a smash as well. Just go here. Do it.

Had a fabulous afternoon. What’s not to like? Lamb chops and squid cooked to perfection. Lovely waiting staff and friendly atmosphere. Upstairs dining area a little noisy though but still going back😍😋

The last time I was here was in 2011. The place has not changed a bit, in a good way!!! The staff members are friendly and chatty and the clientele are also friendly... Love this place! And the seafood is still there. Perfect

Pint of Guinness and a fish stew in the saloon bar. Heaven. Quiet on a Friday lunchtime

Lovely meal with friends, absolute quality. Had oysters, the fish stew, bangers and mash, and the banoffee to finish. Stuffed and super happy. Decent Guinness too. Staff were great fun and professional. Would definitely recommend, a lot of history and unlike a lot of places on the Eve Standard’s top 50 pubs, this totally justified it.

Excellent spot for oysters and Guinness. Decent atmosphere even at 1pm on a monday. Knows their stuff

Excellent spot for oysters and Guinness. Decent atmosphere even at 1pm on a monday. Knows their stuff

All in all a great pub! From the Guinness to food It’s still the best pub in the area

All in all a great pub! From the Guinness to food It’s still the best pub in the area

I popped in for dinner this evening and the food was incredible ! The staff are all so lovely 10/10 recommend 💕

The roast beef was nice, although the rest of the roast was average. Oysters were good, but overall value and decor was sub par. One of my pet hates is disposable tablecloths, it made me feel like I was at a fast food place Very average establishment, but at £80 a head it felt very mediocre. Wouldn’t go again in a hurry.

The most iconic pub, honest food, great vibes every time. It is home away from home. Pedro and his team are simply the best! x

I think the term “neighborhood pub” fits the bill quite well. Not the classic pub you would imagine, more of an alternative café. The waitress was probably on her first day in service and had brought each of the four drinks individually. Safety first. We didn't eat anything, but we didn't like the atmosphere.

What a jolly, interesting and unique establishment! I’ve been a patron for the last 4 years and never had a bad experience — great staff, delicious and hearty food, and good company all round. A must visit for those visiting London for an authentic, independent pub experience. The Cow is filled with character, from the artworks, décor and patrons.

As somebody who has reviewed many an establishment in my time, I usually give ratings be it postive or negative based of how I felt at the time when at an establishment. However, my very poor rating and review for The Cow comes some weeks after many reasons. Being new to London I've been excited to try her numerous restaurants, canteens, bars, and market stalls to eat and drink everything humanly possible. So when 2 very close friends suggested a trip to the famous Cow in Notting hill, I jumped at the opportunity. I was told some of the best Guinness and chicken Kiev the city has to offer. The first issue came after being seated upstairs of the Irish pub to find that it's a seafood restaurant (yes I understand you're just as confused as me), and they despite there being the one kitchen, it was somehow physically impossible to order the chicken Kiev because god forbid it travel up a flight of stairs? Now, I'm not in the restaurant business but I would have thought one kitchen making all the food would then be able to evenly distribute the the food across the establishment clearly not. Dismayed at the inability of the Kiev to journey up the 12 steps, we decided on ordering seafood, as one does when at a seafood restaurant above an Irish pub in west London. Being Australian I am well versed in the art of seafood, and safe to say just about everything we ordered was very sub par, ESPECIALLY Considering the prices. After enjoying the company of my friends and partner (not the food), we paid our expensive bill and left a tip and parted ways. Feeling let down by the whole experience I decided we could strike the cow off the list of places to go back to. Simple, right? Scratch it from the memory for good, and get on with our lives. But alas, this cow had a few more kicks left in as we soon discovered. At approximately 4am both my partner and i woke up in unison a raced each other for the toilet where we proceeded to be violently ill, watching each other expel our overpriced meal from the cow wasn't how we planned to spend Saturday morning and the next few days. We then spoke to our friends who had the exact same experience as us, very unpleasant and glued to the toilet. Food poisoning is something that occurs in life and guess what, it happens. Our friend reached out to the Cow to let them know what happened, it wasn't a coincidence that 4 of us all got sick, that was the only place any of us had been in the previous 3 days. And despite the cows best efforts to avoid any from of blame, the fact of the matter is: we got food poisoned whilst eating at their restaurant. The communications with the cow were rude, as they absolvoed themselves of any blame, and refused to acknowledge our sickness as their fault and simple gave us the 'all the best'. No apology, no compensation, not even a free Guinness on your next visit. I don't love to rip into small businesses, and I wouldn't have written this review if it wasn't for the abhorrent communications with the cows team afterwards. Shame on them all and I can only assume that if they treat their kitchen like they treat their customers, there will be many more of these reviews to come out of the woodwork. Do better cow, if you can stomach the bill you might struggle with the food.

I met up with my girlfriend and two friends at The Cow on a Thursday night to eat kiev. I've had the kiev before upstairs and enjoyed it. However, this time I was told I wasn't allowed the kiev upstairs. After trying and failing a number of times to get the kiev, I was guided to the seafood. Apparently, it's all about the fish at The Cow upstairs now... So, we relented and ordered oysters, crab pasta, fish of the day, mackerel, and the harissa chicken (as it was the closest thing to the kiev). The food we ate was unremarkable and overpriced, aside from the Guinness. As we left, we caught glimpses of kiev being enjoyed downstairs... Feeling quite happy to be away from the kiev chat that caused a lot of defensiveness from the staff, we said goodnight and went our separate ways. I thought that was that, a disappointing and expensive evening, but it could have been worse. But that wasn't that... Weekend break in the countryside for me and my girlfriend, we splashed out. We had a good dinner on Friday and went to bed. I'm going to speed up what happened next - a severe bout of food poisoning. The things you would expect plus the trimmings of being bedridden, fever, shivering, aching. It persisted for 5 days. Weekend completely ruined, money down the drain, and time wasted. We thought it was Friday night, until we received word from our two friends that they were suffering the exact same thing. The Cow was the only real explanation as it was the only place we'd all been and symptoms started at the same time. I have huge respect for hospitality businesses and contacted The Cow, anticipating a sympathetic response and some degree of compensation. I was met with more of the kiev defensiveness and a form to fill out, which I did. A couple of days later, 3rd party findings determined that because no fecal specimens were available - there was no chance of catching those! - then there wasn't enough evidence to say The Cow was responsible. So for The Cow management, that was case closed, which is why I'm sharing my unfortunate experience. My take is that the people of The Cow are not good folk, confirmed by other reviews. The Cow seems to think it's above this. To me, The Cow has never been about fish, so just let people have the kiev.

The Cow is truly special in every way a pub can be.

Authentic English pub, warm and welcoming

Larger than life personality... this is the vibrant place to soak in some atmosphere on a hot summers evening. Refreshingly cold lager (Paulaner to the rescue) and a fascinatingly simple dinner menu that excels on a cold seafood platter (choices of oyster, whelks - wow, and prawns from the 1970s). This place equals conviviality and a satisfying meal. It comes highly recommended!

How all pubs should be! Thank you for a great Sunday dining experience <3

Visitamos el jueves para almorzar. La forma en que me hablaron fue irrespetuosa y me hizo sentir incómodo. Esto fue por el hombre que estaba reservando mesas tan grosero - no recomendaría este lugar a nadie. No volveremos. Fue tan malo que el hombre de seguridad dijo que sentía la forma en que me habló

Excellent service, very friendly

The food was delicious and fresh, we were surprised for the flavor and the quality of the food. The stuff is so kind and servicial.

Gran almuerzo dominical con amigos en un ambiente relajado y agradable. La comida estaba bien cocinada y buen servicio. Excelente relación calidad-precio

Went for lunch. Food and service 5* Proper portions, the pie was awesome, Guinness perfect too.

Really awesome event - the deluxe seafood buffet was incredible.

Great pub 👍🍻fantastic atmosphere and service⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Delicious food 😎, thank you for accepting me and especially greetings to Petro 😎

Great service! Great food and perfect drink

Great food. Service between slow and absent. Great old school pub feel and atmosphere

Serving the dream combo of Guinness and Oysters. Great table service.

Best pint of Guinness in London - I love it.

Great local pub that serves big portions of amazing seafood, not to mention decent pints of Guinness.

Hands down the best roast I’ve had in London…and I’ve had a few

An incredible find! Some of the best oysters I’ve had with a super friendly and inviting staff. The cow special is an incredible deal and the entire seafood menu is fantastic.

Proper pub. Old school vibe, service and food. Can't go past the Irish oysters and Guinness. Only ate downstairs at the bar but would love to get back and see what the restaurant is about

2 weeks ago super sunny day and they don’t served beer unbelievable, food downstairs is much much better then upstairs, atmosphere super

Wow! What a treasure this place is. A select and refined menu and wonderful service - Cameron was attentive but not intrusive - exactly what you want. If you have a chance to eat here, make sure you don’t miss out on a rare treat.

Had a wonderful meal here - my second. Are upstairs in the lovely intimate dining room. The food was delicious and the service, delightful.

Guinness straight from the udder.....fresh and pure.

Very good French experience in London

Great staff, great recommendations.

came the other day for dinner and drinks and it was great! lotta served us and she was so so nice 💕💕

Great food and atmosphere . You will definitely bump into someone famous here...

Decided not to take lunch some can't comment on food ... Guinness not matching the quality I'd expect at the price point or if I were having the oysters, but was acceptable. Likewise the house wine... fairly ordinary. The welcome wasn't fab, a staff member working away at a table and on a mobile, but us being told to sit near the door if we weren't eating, in a quiet pub. The shocker was being asked for the best part of £3 for a bag of Taytos.... Saying they had to be specially imported (they are the ones from Northern Ireland, not Ireland, so not importing anything)... Might be worth stocking up with the multipacks of six, available from most good supermarkets at £1.85 😂😂

£30 for 6 oysters and a Guinness, not cheap, but London prices I guess. They were served on ice and they were far too cold to have their taste potential. Why not give customers the option of tasting very good quality oysters at 13-15 degrees. Hence I was pretty disappointed. The rest was brilliant, service, welcome, staff, banter, bustling pub. ox cheek pie superb.

This pub is very hit and miss for people. Great atmosphere, lovely place and good people, both customers and staff but it does get packed. I’ve been here a lot of times now. Guinness is not well poured at all, you’re paying £7. We were sitting by the stairs and some diners were leaving saying the food was outstanding and some were leaving saying the food was awful, one couple walked out. The is now becoming a place of style over substance. Some customers are becoming obsessed to be photographed and have their faces on the faces of the cow instagram account. It has a very small drinking area, overall it seems like the cow pub doesn’t know what it is. Is it a gastro pub, is it a drinkers pub, is it a party pub, is it trying to appeal to tourists who want to ‘get off the beaten track’. I know will be returning, the atmosphere is just fantastic but they need to go back to the basics and do them well.

Excellent gastropub on the edge of Nottkng Hill

Good food, I think they cast Made in Chelsea here.

A well worn and much loved pub sitting on a corner close to Westbourne Park. The Cow, with a Welsh flag hanging proudly over the door, ahead of the Six Nations Rugby game against Ireland! Great to see. The Cow is a small place but packs a big punch, offering a great menu with lots of fishy things including three versions of oysters available. Other foods also available! A great place to visit.

Great food and wonderful service. Lovely wine too. Its a must visit.

Our waitresses were amazing, Maddie and Dani were super helpful and delivered our Oysters and Guinness, which were out of this world. Service with a smile and great food! Top banana!!

The best pub in west, great food , great service. Dannie and Maddies service is always impeccable, the epitome of service with a smile ❤️

Maddie and Danny top top service from lovely girls. Welcome a great atmosphere and friendly service.

Downstairs saloon bar. Walk in only. Came here at 17:30 on a Friday. What a vibe! 6⭐️ for atmosphere. 7🌟 for everyone who was there and including their outfit and all the staff. 1⭐️ for my photos that don’t do justice. Loud, buzzy, busy, great local pub. 90s music 🎵 We had: 🍤Half pint of prawns and mayo (literally, shell-on prawns packed in the glass, takes a while to get through and these were great) 🥖Terrine and toast 🌶️Fish soup (bouillabaisse?) 🍝Crab pasta 🍨Tarte tatin with ice cream 🥃🍺🍸🍺🥃🍸🍺🥃🍸💃🏻 Loved every bite. SO SO GOOD.

great pub! especially maddie, who is the sweetest waiter i ever met! thanks for all xx

Danni is amazing. The best waiter I've ever had! Would come back again!

Muy buen local para tomar una birra/copa y escuchar música en directo

Love this place... vibrant... variety of clientele... food is 5*

Amazing pub but the best part was the service , Jimmy and Petro make the experience unique

The best mussels in London, if you’re into that. The vibe here is a little cliquey, you feel that you’re walking into a real local pub and that everyone knows each other but nonetheless one of our favourite pubs in Westbourne Park and great for a Saturday afternoon stop.

The food is always spot on! Even the children love it and the ambience is chilled and relax.

Fishy business practices, and I'm not talking about their dusty oysters. 48 hour cancellation policy (get over yourself, you're not in that high demand). Cancelled in ample time due to illness. Never received a personalized response, just an automatic cancellation email, followed by a $38.47 USD charge to my credit card for the privilege of having held a single seat on their books. Lame. I hope they get crabs.

Great local, but really loud and busy!

What a great place! Excellent Irish atmosphere, just the right music, great staff, joyful customers!

Excelente lugar para pasar un rato muy agradable..