The Folly Bar in City of London, Westminster

We shared the arancini balls and I had the pie and mash. The pie was lovey, arancini was basic. On a whole the restaurant was a little underwhelming, also VERY cold. It was already a cold evening outside but felt like the air on was on - didn’t improve after speaking with the waiter. The folly was fine for the visit but probably wouldn’t be going back.

Rats seen downstairs during a corporate event

Good and drinks were excellent. We had Scotch Eggs and Chicken Skewers to start. Baked Salmon, Joan Curry with Chicken, and Chicken and Oyster Mushroom Pie for mains. Good beer selection and cocktails especially the Pink Negroni. The restaurant was packed and loud which didn't bother us.

Cannot even hear my thoughts because of how the music is out of this mind loud.

My wife and I love it here. Lovely staff. Good beer and incredible food. Not too expensive either. Also, it looks really cool!

Came for a mixology class in an Hen Do and we were blessed to be led by Ethan. His knowledge was second to none and he helped us make amazing cocktails. The bride had a fab time and I recommend this to anyone 💗

Peppy place but the food and service is lacking in quality. Several missed drinks, glasses and starters. The grilled sea bass was more cremated then grilled. Poor fish. The creme brule was tasteless and no caramel on top. The brownie was ok.

Had another brilliant meal at The Folly. Food is such good quality and service by Chloe was excellent. Very attentive and friendly. Will definitely come back .

Very pleasant service - he helped with everything. And when he wasn't sure, for example, whether a food contained or contained gluten, it was easy to check. He was on hand but not intrusive at the same time. There is also nothing to complain about when it comes to food (for children and adults). All were very tasty. The location is also great, close to Sky Garden. They are also excellently prepared for children, who upon arrival will be given coloring books, various fillers and at the same time a children's menu from which they can choose and tick what they want. They have an interesting concept here in that a good restaurant is hidden under one roof, but at the same time the other part of the room serves as a bar. The only downside to this concept is that the music here is quite loud, so it's not a good location for a quiet dinner. The toilets are also located in the part with the bar - so it's a good idea to accompany the children to the toilet. They accept cards, just beware that the tip is automatically added to the price (12.5%).

Awesome pub with music. Very good dishes, very good chicken pie. Attentive and perfect service, the girl who took care of our orders was very kind. Possibility of gluten-free dishes. Absolutely worth trying.

Really good, a pearl in central London, they offer Gluten-free options for both food and beer, excellent service with extreme attention to the customer. Advised,

Always top tier - from the welcome at the door to service at the bar. The team are always friendly and know their stuff when it comes to cocktails. Atmosphere is forever on point - just a great venue in the City for either a lunchtime business catch up or late night drinks!

Magnificent restaurant with tasteful decor. I adore! Special mention for the women's toilets. The service is not great however, very long and the dishes were served to us before the cocktails. The prices are very reasonable for London. And that's good. I recommend it!

Not sure why you can't leave zero stars, as that would be a truer reflection than thinking there was something I liked about it ... Awful experience from start to finish. We were greeted by a security man at the door for our 7pm booking on Sun. He asked if we had a booking & when I said I did he asked for my name. Why I have no idea, as he simply pointed to the staff inside. First impressions were that we wanted to turn on our heels & leave as it was like a nightclub inside. I totally get that people were celebrating after running the marathon, which was great, but when the waiter has to crouch down to hear you or you have to shout across the table to your partner, it doesn’t make for a pleasant experience. A (very loud) open bar & restaurant don’t work if you want to have a conversation, but worse was to come. We placed our order (bao buns, piri piri chicken skewers & chips) plus a bottle of wine. It was at least 20mins before the wine was brought to the table. We were seated in full view of the open kitchen. I could clearly see chicken skewers & bao buns sitting on the pass being moved around, (the skewers in particular, were not under any heat) while other orders were being fulfilled (plus a large bowl of chips, which the suited man was serving), so it wasn’t like they were waiting for anything else. Sure enough when the food finally came after sitting for 15-20mins, the skewers were cold, so I sent them back. I saw the chef setting another portion on the pass & indicated to the suited man that they were for our table, to which he looked around for our waiter & not seeing him, pushed them aside, despite being less than 10 steps away from our table. I had to call another waiter & tell him I had seen my meal left on the pass & could he get them before they too were cold. Unfortunately, they weren’t worth the wait, the first lot were spicey & tasted of chicken, the second had no spice whatsoever & the texture was soft (like chicken thigh meat), I didn’t even want to eat it & couldn’t bring myself to chew most of it, but couldn’t be bothered sending it back again. The bao buns were hard & too thick & the duck was dry. The chips were just about passable & the only thing we finished. Quite a while after eating, our plates were cleared & the first waiter came with the dessert menu & didn’t reappear for 25mins. His first words were ‘do you want more wine’. I told him we had been waiting 25mins for him to come back & he said ‘you were still drinking’. What that has to do with anything I don’t know, but I asked him to remove the service charge from the bill, which he did, with no apology whatsoever. The only good thing about the whole experience was the wine, because they didn’t make it. Never again!

Not impressive nor bad in terms of food. But the music is so loud that you cannot hear what the waiters or the people you are with are saying.

Very disappointed. From the outside, it looks like a trendy restaurant and it is ultimately just a well-decorated place but without any atmosphere. Unprofessional service, failed Cosmopolitan cocktail, standard charcuterie board, duck salad sold on the menu as "extraordinary thanks to their "touch" was in the end only a salad composed of onion, heart of lettuce, 1 hazelnut, pepper, over-roasted duck and a BBQ sauce.. tortellini well cooked but uninteresting sauce, dry children's hamburger.. I am sorry for this comment but this was our worst restaurant in London and I repeat: unprofessional service. More than 10 minutes to get the cocktail which remained more than 5 minutes on the counter. They bring dishes but without the table being cleared.. a disaster

Thank you Adriana; your smile and welcoming is inviting - before or after my run - 😜👍🏻 there is always time for a good wine

Found this beautiful place just walking around and absolutely loved it! Good and coffee was delicious. Our server Reshma was lovely and made our first breakfast in London great! Definitely check this place out

Great vibes , food, and service. Reshma was our sever this afternoon and she took great care of all of us and made us feel welcomed. Great place to start off the day!

We were very, very impressed with the great atmosphere at the restaurant. The service was outstanding. Our server, Angeles, was most attentive and made our experience very awesome. We also wish to say that along with great service, the food was excellent. We certainly intend to return. Thanks.

Reshma was so wonder full with her service, and such good food and coffee

Stumbled upon this place just walking around trying to find a breakfast spot and thank goodness we did. The service, food, and vibes were top notch. Reshma took such good care of us and made for a great first breakfast of our trip!

Always busy always a great atmosphere always great food

Super friendly staff! Great ambience! Just to feel good!! The food was super tasty and attractively prepared.

A bit too noisy for me, but the staff were very good and I had a pleasant time.

Great food but our waitress BEGGED us to leave a good review, multiple times throughout the course of our time here. If you need to beg for a good review do you really deserve it?

Well staffed and nicely furnished. However, the food is very poor and not worthy of the prices they are charged at. My minute steak was ghastly and had all the tenderness of a stale piece of leather. This is a cheap gastropub masquerading as a quirky corporate foodie spot that needs to go back to the basics.

Cool atmosphere and nice mood. Food is okey but not outstanding. It's a nice place for a cool out dinner with friends or colleagues

Sadly had a wobbly table which staff and ourselves could not sort, when we asked to move table as it was very annoying. Told no as all tables booked. No help at all, poor customer service I feel as we were just left to put up and shut up .

Kavya was an excellent bartender for the night we were there, very personable and organised with our orders. Served with a smile, kudos to her.

I visited in June 2018, so it's been just under 7 years. I haven't been to London since then, but it's still a place I think about sometimes. I remember the fish and chips being really delicious and clean. The chicken wings simmered in seasoning were also delicious.

Had a fabulous experience booked very last minute , brilliant food atmosphere and service they bought a complementary treat for the birthday girl and sung happy birthday

The Folly is a beautifully decorated restaurant with great food and excellent service. However, it can get quite loud, making it difficult to have a conversation while dining. That said, given that it stays open late and is a popular spot for after-work drinks, the lively atmosphere is understandable. Despite the noise, the food is delicious, and the staff are attentive and friendly. Overall, it’s a great place to eat, and I’d recommend it!

Very good meal, nothing to say, we leave in good spirits

I couldn't comment on the food since we only went for drinks on a Thursday night, and it was full to the brim at some stages of the night and with a good mix of people. The security, especially Dave, was tight but polite, and there was a decent number of staff behind the bar, ensuring minimal wait times. —- updated review 25/2/25 — I ordered the sirloin steak; it was flavourful but nothing to write home about. Could have done with one or two greens. The Cornish Roast Cod was could have been better. The outsides were a little tough but the middle was tasty. The chips were also just mediocre.

Kavya is clearly the best worker around

The Folly is a very cozy, well decorated restaurant. Great foods and options for kids. Their Mac n cheese is amazing! Avoid the steaks.

Food was okay but Sunday roast was a cold so had to be sent back......chef simply stuck it in the mircrowave

Fabulous venue. Great staff but some of the food was slightly disappointing.

Lovely place and good food. Special thanks to Reshma for making me feel very welcomed. Can only recommend!

Nice place, excellent precise service

The Folly - a true “folly” of an existence. This is a public service announcement at this point, so I’ll keep it short. We reached here at 6.45pm. 1 hour later at 7.45 PM after we *asked*, we got our tap water and further 30 mins later we left as the waiter *forgot* to give our order to the kitchen. Read this and save your time and money . Thanks and welcome.

it’s been our favorite restaurant to have breakfast and drinks in. Reshma was absolutely wonderful, very attentive and super nice! The Atmosphere was stunning. we loved it. So much love in the details!

Funky place, fair priced drinks

We were served our breakfast by Reshma who did a fantastic job. Food was great.

Lovely! Great service from Reshma :)

Great experience for me and my wife. Faiza was a big help and we will be coming back

I had such a great experience at The Frolly. The atmosphere was lovely, but what really made my visit special was the amazing service from Faiza at the bar. She was friendly, attentive, and made the best cocktails. You can tell she knows her craft—every drink was perfectly balanced and beautifully presented. She also made great recommendations based on what I liked.

Fazia was amazing really lovely women

faiza was really amazing thank you 🙏

Served by Reshma lovely atmosphere, beautiful decor and fabulous food!

Food was great. Reshma who served us was really helpful, thank you again.

Very nice place, delicious food, great service. We were served by Reshma - special thanks to her! We will definitely come back.

Very good. Reshma was very good.

Security are very rude to females.

Food was excellent, solid portions for the price, nice decor. Our waitress Reshma was very attentive and kind.

Dining at Folly was an absolute delight! The restaurant offers a stunning ambiance, delicious food, and a welcoming atmosphere. However, what truly made our visit special was the exceptional service from Reshma. From the moment we arrived, she was warm, attentive, and incredibly professional. She recommended the perfect dishes, ensured everything was served flawlessly, and made us feel truly valued. Her friendly nature and attention to detail elevated our experience. If you’re looking for great food and top-notch service, Folly is a must-visit—especially if you’re lucky enough to have Reshma as your server!

Food was excellent, Duck salad and the garden fizz was so good. Reshma our waitress was very attentive.

The food was excellent. I ordered beef roast as expected, but the service was even better! Reshma assisted us throughout brunch.I would definitely recommend it 💯

Amazing food, amazing decoration, amazing architecture. Our waitress Reshma was so polite and helpful. Thank you Reshma, thank you Folly!

The food is good, the service is polite and the ambience is pretty.

Was here a few weeks ago - will 100% be back. Brilliant bartended called Louisa made our night!

All of these 5 stars go directly to a bartender ( I think her name was Louisa) who made our night!! Cant recommend this place highly enough

Absolutely adore this place 😍 just love the whole vibe & heart warming quality dishes and amazing service 👏 🙏🙏🙏

I had so lovely service from Louisa. The drink i had from a while

Louisa made great drinks, had great service, deffo would come again 👌

Louisa was fab such an bartender

Louisa was the highlight of our night, she made me a great margarita it was amazing. I will definitely be coming back!

Louisa made me feel like I was in my own living room

Had a lovely meal there recently. Louisa was a fantastic host. Treated us so well and she was super attentive! Will go again!

Louisa is amazing! She absolutely smashed it and made us feel super welcome!

Got some great service from Louisa, good laughs, good night

A solid place for lunch meetings and evening dinners in the city. This place strikes a fine balance between smart and casual and it has a very laid back and easy going environment. Sometimes it does get quite loud though so if you're trying to talk to your client, maybe ask for a table downstairs.

Louisa was a lovely, bubbly barmaid will definitely be coming back for more delicious cocktails

The hall is decorated very beautifully, dining here is pure pleasure!

Do yourself a favour and DO NOT order the Goan Curry. Flavourless watered down tomato sauce.

Had a nice weekend drink in a group (pre-booked). Was quiet, which is expected for the weekend, but service was good.

We went there for drinks and bar food. Nice atmosphere and drinks good. A bit noisy, although there are quiet areas in the basement.

Alcohol was watered down and food was bland

The Folly was an excellent experience. When we walked by it caught my eye, so much so, that we made sure to stop by for lunch on the way back. The atmosphere was stunning and we had amazing service from our waitress Mim who was so kind. The food was great, I’d definitely recommend the burger.

Amazing staff and service throughout The atmosphere and decor is unique and inviting. I booked a table in advance to ensure I wasn't disappointed . The food was OK, the wine was Brilliant

The food and the atmosphere was good but the music was really loud.

Nice environment for having lunch or a drink Very nice in the furnishings Definitely not intimate given the size of the place Right near the Sky garden

We enjoyed the fish and chips, the gumbo, in a pleasant setting, and efficient service

The atmosphere is a 5/5 maybe the music was a bit too loud but that’s all. Dogs were allowed wich is also a massive point for me. Unfortunately our service wasn’t quite on point. We didn’t got any „help“ for our questions about the Menue and we waited for ages (40-50min) that someone got our empty dishes away. Also we felt that no one really cared about us if we would’ve had more question or desert. In my case I wanted desert in the first place but we waited so long until someone came over I decided not to have one. The food was good but not superb. And for that category way to expensive. But it was tasty don’t get me wrong!

We loved this place—the atmosphere was just right. We had some delicious chicken sticks, and the waitress was very kind. We definitely recommend this place!

Nice place for a drink, really handy tube lines too. Atmosphere is always good too.

Disfrutable hasta cierto punto, pero muy fuerte y difícil de hablar sin gritar! Mesas muy juntas. Menú limitado y no llevaba información calórica. Intentamos obtener esto a través de la aplicación en el menú, pero no pudimos obtener señal y estaba demasiado oscuro para leer de todos modos! Sin embargo, el problema principal es que se nos pidió que desalojáramos nuestra mesa en 90 minutos en lugar de 2 horas según la reserva. El personal nos encontró una mesa alternativa para tomar un café (que tenía una mesa extremadamente alta detrás de nosotros), pero nos sentimos innecesariamente apresurados y ambos habíamos viajado a Londres para reunirse. Mencionamos nuestra infelicidad por tener que mudarnos antes de que pasaran 2 horas, pero nos dijeron que estaban ocupados y ‘haciendo su trabajo’. 1 . 5 horas era todo lo que podían permitir. Si ese es el caso, por favor deje esto claro a los clientes cuando reserven. Necesitábamos más tiempo y habríamos elegido otro lugar si hubiéramos sabido que estábamos por debajo de un límite de tiempo tan corto. Además, una asignación de tiempo más corta no se vio favorecida por el hecho de que el servicio era un poco lento. En el lado positivo, dejé una bolsa atrás. El personal lo encontró y lo mantuvo seguro para mí, lo cual aprecio mucho. No creo que vuelva aunque solía trabajar al otro lado de la carretera y venía regularmente en el pasado.

Disappointing food with not great starters, we ordered a burrata and it is half a burrata on hummus for example. Grilled meat has no taste, and the fries are frozen. Nice atmosphere, service ok, but food needs to be reviewed - the opposite of homemade, without culinary interest

Edited: I appreciate the time taken to respond to my initial review and having taken the time to reflect, I've updated it. I didn't catch their name but one member of staff was a little arrogant, giving limited eye contact and mixing the service, breaking away from my order half way through to serve someone else. On the receiving end, that's not acceptable service. And for the person that interrupted, and was then served, I would be wondering if everyone was treated in the same nonchalant way. I know it's seemingly tough these days but common courtesy goes a long way. The other staff I interacted with were pleasant enough but certainly didn't go any extra miles. The glass collector was the most polite.

Management outright were incredibly unhelpful and rude at times. They refused to make any on-the-day adjustments to our pre-order, even for an unwell guest, and no apology was given for a mistake with their pre-order hyperlink. More generally, service from the waiting staff was slow, impersonal and careless. The selection of cocktails were excellent and most of the main courses were tasty (fish and chips, Goan curry and roast chicken) although all portions were small for our guests and the crumble seemed instead to be a muesli which was disappointing. Two steaks were served well done instead of medium rare. And if you’re paying a deposit, be prepared for this not to be deducted from your final bill.

Lovely venue. Terrible service. Racist and discourteous vibes from certain bar staff. Unfortunately poor show. Won't be going back in a rush

Friendly and pleasant place. Several cocktails to choose from but the brunches are too expensive for an empty and unappetizing plate.

Lovely restaurant with a nice range of options on the menu. Came on a weekday lunchtime and it was very quiet.

Feels like the food is often microwaved, very soggy but good ambience and service. Been here more than 5 times now

Go for the atmosphere, because nothing else is good here. The food is cold, tasteless and dry. We were a big group, hence ordered many different mains, starters and desserts - all very bad. The desserts taste like Tesco microwavable ones. The Expresso Martini's are the worst, for an infamous Martini bar. The service is good, nice vibe.

We had a private dining experience there. That was fun.

What an awesome place for food drinks and socialising. We were there on valentine's night and it was a really great evening. Thank you!

The ambiance is lovely, the staff is friendly and attentive, and the service is fast. The menu has lots of options to choose from. We will definitely be returning!

A beautiful location, beautiful decor and super atmospheric. For this reason we also walked in. Our food, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. The chicken burger was literally a sandwich with breaded chicken. No lettuce, tomato or anything else. So a dry bite. My tortellini with truffle sauce (which was on the big plates side) was a total of 5 tortellini! The sauce was very thin, but I thought it had some flavor. However, both were still hungry after this and went inside the coop. Are you going for your cocktail or wine? Then definitely do it! For an extensive meal? Then I would continue walking...