Willy's Wine Bar in City of London, Westminster

I was always a local to this bar and spent many happy evenings here - that was 10 years ago before I left the UK - my leaving do was held here - so it has many memories - what a joy to come back to tonight - the staff may have changed but the ambiance and warm welcoming remains the same - the music is updated but still in keeping - there are not many places in the world where you can find perfection - here you can - nothing falters and I am now just eating the best food - Thank you all dxx

Terrible experience! Met a friend hoping for a nice dinner to catch up in a fun sounding bar near work. The place was dead, with two bored looking. We were seated, and approached almost immediately by a rather unpleasant waitress who demanded our food order, saying that the kitchen closed at 9 - this was at 8:15?? We debated ordering steak only to be told very tersely that there would be a £5 extra charge above what was on the menu. We then enquired as to their wednesday 25% off wine offer and were told rather snobbily that it was only for bottles over £80, which she doubted we'd order. We hurried to order and the food when it arrived was extremely mediocre and rather tasteless. Dry chicken with seemingly microwaved mash and a very anaemic mushroom risotto. As I was finishing my last mouthful said waitress scurried over and took the plates, returning a minute later with our bill even though we still had glasses of wine remaining. Overall a very disappointing and unwelcoming experience.

Almost a year since my last visit, and I was not disappointed. My group was welcomed back like long-lost friends, with a glass of prosecco. Service was wonderful, food was excellent, as always, and my group had 'our' table and enjoyed a long overdue catch up. I hope it's not so long before the next visit! PS sticky toffee pudding!!!!!

A proper bustling business lunchtime venue. Great atmosphere and quality service

Great old fashioned city eatery. quality food and good sized portions

This is a great venue and great value for money. Often busy, which is good sign and adds ambiance to the venue without being too noisy

I was walking about the area when I saw they had a sign our advertising their Friday special, Fish and Chips. Since I was in England I wanted to try some. Unlike the prior reviews I found the fish and chips not much better than I would get here in Virginia. The meal came with beer, but it was only an Italian or Japanese brand?? My server was pretty good, but overall it was rather disappointing.

Very helpful staff - organised food for two of our party who were late.

Great fish and chips and lovely wines, always a winner

Waiting staff not very friendly, when the food arrived it was almost thrown down on the table.

Great service. Lovely fish and chips. Especially Friday deal with a glass of wine.

Smart basement bar with delightful women serving. Reasonably priced and very high quality food. We had smoked salmon and the fish and chips is the best for miles around. Excellent wine choices available catering for all budgets.

Willy's is very well placed to be able to accommodate both the casual and relaxed occasion via the spacious bar area as well as the more formal and discreet seating available in the restaurant area for business meetings.

Broker Christmas lunch went down well - Service was good - Only criticism was the smidgen of crostini that accompanied the 'slab' of chicken liver pate

Fantastic service as always with a fantastic wine list and also had some lovely mulled wine which is great!

As always a great place for a business lunch with a great atmosphere to boot

Service not the best - attitude of one waitress was a little off.

My favourite London lunch-time wine bar & restaurant. Small but good menu, excellent daily specials (although I prefer my fish off the bone), very good food (& drink selection), first class service and great ambience. Good value for money too.

Great place, great food, good service. Willy's has always been a great place to go and so glad to see that is still the case. Would definitely recommend to anyone.

The ladies loo was out of service, which was unfortunate as I had a female guest. The wine we chose was was unavailable.

Food was very slow in arriving, and when my guest asked for more gravy, it came (eventually), but was done so begrudgingly without a word. Also, one of the main course dishes was not availabel (the fish and chips, but only advised when I went to order it, and not before I started looking at the menu.

Sandwiches were not up to your normal standards Seemed noiser than usual

Brilliant as always. The cheese cake was a dream!!

Lacking atmosphere as it was exceptionally quiet, really not helped by it’s location surrounded by a construction site making it difficult to locate and no doubt killing passing trade. It remains great value and a longstanding city tradition, shame about the construction but that is the City at the moment

Very disappointing experience. My friend and I were looking forward to going to Willy's Wine Bar as we hadn't been there for a while. The fish and chips are always excellent, however they'd ran out of fish by the time we ordered which was just after 1pm!

As always, a perfect location for a business lunch. Well priced and friendly

One of the first City venues I went when my London career started 20 odd years ago and still one of my favourites. Despite living and working overseas, it’s one of the first places I go to when back! Legendary in every way!!

About 15 mins after taking our order, we were told they had run out of mashed potatoes and would have to wait 20+ mins or have an alternative. No alcohol free beer available.

You need to check out Fishy Friday ! Fish and Chips and a glass of house wine (or soft drink etc) for £16 ! AND, this is one of the best fish and chips I've ever had. The batter is delicate, yet crispy and the fish was huge and perfectly cooked. The chips are always good at Willy's Wine Bar :) I think that I, and my fellow diners, have now been through everything on the menu and have never been disappointed. In short, this is an excellent place for a meal, be it for pleasure or business. The staff are always helpful and attentive. Give it a go. You owe it to yourselves. AnnieO

As always, very good service and simple but very enjoyable food.

Good food and service but tables are too close together making conversation difficult.

Outstanding as always ! Group of girls wanted a chin wag. Opted for the bar menu and three of us had the fish finger sandwich .. OMG ! One had the Club Sandwich which is outstanding :) Looking forward to the next visit on Friday !

A stone's throw away from fenchurch street station, the food was good and good value, the staff was attentive and accomodating, the ambience was comfortable, couldn't find fault with our experience if I tried.

A little dark, but cozy and very nice for a quick pub style lunch. Fish Finger sandwich was good!

Terrific service and food reasonably priced in the City.

Lovely little wine bar - wish I’d known about it sooner !

Food excellent as always ! Great selection (even more so if you can persuade the staff to let you look at both menus 😊).

I came to Willy's on a Tastecard for the 2 for 1. I searched for restaurants around the area, then checked Google reviews for ratings. My minimum standard is a 4 star rating with no more than 3 reviews around the 2/3 star mark (for over 100 reviews). Willy's didn't let me down. Service was good. I came a bit late and the waitress from the bar handed me menus. She came a few minutes later and offered me a drink respectfully, applying no pressure to order as I explained that my friend would be there soon. The next time she came round, she took our ordered, then we ordered drinks. She didn't apply pressure for drinks. We asked her first. My friend liked Willy's overall and so did I. We're early/mid 20s and the demographic here tends to be older, hence the decor is pretty old school and quite impressive. We really liked the interior. This was on a quiet Friday weekday. We ordered Whiskey Sours on recommendation which I've never tried before. I have no reference to compare it to. From first try, it is a good cocktail and their entire cocktail menu is reasonably priced for Central. All cocktails are £9.50. The food menu isn't cheap, but not expensive for the location either. We ordered corn-fed chicken with a bean casserole, crispy bacon and rocket. The chicken breast was cooked whole, if not almost whole. The reason I mentioned this is that the breast was charred a little on the outside, yet it wasn't dry. It's very easy to get a chicken breast wrong, when you cook it whole, so it was encouraging that it wasn't dry. I was fairly satisfied, but it was when I bit into the the bean casserole, that I really felt that I got my money's worth. It was a very nutritious meal and it exposed me to something I hadn't eaten before. I had eaten some kind of bean stews in the past, but this was different. It had a similar-ish consistency as mash, but not too mushy. Overall, it was a good trip in an excellent location behind Fenchurch Street and around the corner from Aldgate. I would recommend for an intimate underground Winebar in a 'hidden' location.

Always a lovely lunch here and the team running it have the best bedside manner

As always, attentive staff and glorious food. Club Sandwich was amazing!

Great place ! Food was lovely. Will definitely go back.

We had a booking for 6 people, our wishes for an area as opposed to a table were fully met. Considering how busy it was, overall the service was excellent - in particular, Eva and Anna made sure we were very well looked after throughout our stay. Would happily visit Willy's again.

Very quiet with only a few customers. Food, wine and service was good.

I have been to Willy's numerous times before and always enjoyed the experience. This time the food quality was okay (at best) but the service was not. The waitress was not really interested in taking the order which resulted in the wrong order for one person (who took the food to avoid further delay). When we were brought our food there was no cutlery provided and I had to get up and ask the waitress for cutlery, condiments etc. When we asked for the bill we got it fairly promptly but again had to chase the waitress as we sat for 10-15 minutes waiting to pay it.

Always a nice atmosphere there and it was rather busy, which was great to see. I have to admit i was disappointed that there was only 2 kinds of bottled beer, no pints. And additionally, I felt the Fish and Chips (whist very nice) did seem to be lacking in the chip department.......when compared to previous visits.

Great, old school wine bar with good food and wine at a reasonable price but the best element is the staff! Always a warm welcome!

Lovely lunch but it was so loud it was hard to hear my friend talk.

Size of fish portions was extremely disappointing. Price was expensive for what we got. No dessets available due to "problem in the kitchen". Wouldn't accept American Express. Overall a disappointng experience.

I have been going to Willys for years however it has been a while since I last went there but they didn’t disappoint. We only had a relatively light lunch of sandwiches accompanied by both sweet potato and normal fries. The wine has always been good selection too. Staff are attentive and friendly.

Great place for a work lunch Halloumi sandwhich is so delicious

Fab food and staff. Was not rushed between courses. We had the meat sharing platter and Caesar salad / fish and chips

Always a pleasure to visit Willy's. the Food is consistently excellent and I have never had bad service there.

Great service as always. And lovely wine! Nothing to not like!

Great venue with a good range of wine. Plenty of options to suit every budget. The staff are friendly and accommodating.

Lovely place , staff highly attentive without over bearing Prawn linguine didn’t blow me away but the rest of our dishes were delicious. Good wine choices and the cheese menu was excellent

This is a good wine bar just north of the Palais-Royal. The space has a few large tables and is a good place for groups. Business get togethers as well. Food is good and they have very well priced menus. The guinea fowl is very popular. Wine list is extensive but not that many by the glass options. If you are in a group though, just get a bottle.

We stopped here for a couple of drinks early evening last Friday. The drinks were amazing and the service was friendly. I was advised to book as it tends to get fairly busy but we were there early enough. Would highly recommend the grapefruit mimosas. Although we didn't eat, the food looked incredible so I will definitely be back for a meal. Thanks again!

Excellent as always. My favourite wine/bar restaurant in the city!

Received a warm and professional welcome. Excellent service from start to finish. Good choice of wine and the steaks were excellent.

Marvellous as always. Although no yet had the sticky toffee pudding!

Food was excellent, I ordered the corn fed chicken which was delicious. I booked a restaurant table and glad I did as we were sat in the corner which suited us. Staff were very efficient. Definitely be going back.

Very good bar meal with excellent Patagonian Red; will be back soon

Friendly bar staff and nice ambience. It was my friends birthday and the staff really looked after us and brought our brownie cake and a candle :).

We arrived seeking port. They had a sum total of 2 full bottles of port, and one of these had to be extracted from a cellar across the road. This seemed rather limited for a wine bar. However, the staff were helpful and friendly about the matter

Love Willys wine bar. Great atmosphere good selection of food in restaurant as well as bar snacks. Oh! Here I am again!

Good food and unassuming service

Willy’s is a great place to have both lunch and dinner. Staff is very nice, friendly and professional. Angelo assisted us and he has been brilliant. Food was also very very good and very fast in being served. Keen to come back again.

Willy’s is a great place to have both lunch and dinner. Staff is very nice, friendly and professional. Angelo assisted us and he has been brilliant. Food was also very very good and very fast in being served. Keen to come back again.

Excellent food service and beverages/wine

Food was outstanding but disappointed to receive a 12.5% service charge on my bill which is excessive for a table of just 3 people!

Great food and wine, improved by the fact that someone else was paying! Only problem was the cheese board which had obviously been in the fridge and was very cold.Nice atmosphere and service

Popped in here with a colleague for a quick lunch and ordered the Fish Finger Sandwich, was very disappointed that the fish fingers, so thin hardly any fish in them and the roll (which was lovely) was quite big that I felt as if I was just eating bread rather a sandwich with a filling - at £9.50 I felt like I had been taken for a proper ride! Would have raised my disappointment with a staff member if we could have actually got some service, they seemed very thin on the ground this particular day and practically invisible, miserable and uninterested. Poor showing from what is usually a reliable lunch spot.

Well established City favourite - has always offered fish 'n' chips as a signature dish and invariably excellent too. Today (22 March 2019) no exception. Hugely warm welcome, attentive and first class service - great fish 'n' chips. Only criticism is that I felt £12.00 a little steep for a 250ml glass of 'Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc'. I was offered a Picpoul free of charge in fact - but given EU hostility to the UK and its people, I preferred to pay £12.00 for the NZ product than to consume a French one presently. The Commonwealth's wines should be those offered as a complimentary accompaniment.

Went in last week with a colleague for lunch. We hadn’t booked however we were accommodated without fuss, which was great as the place was full. Service was very attentive & welcoming, food (sirloin from the steak board & fish & chips) were exceptional. Will definitely return & ensure we book in advance. Bravo team.

Very good fish and chips served at Willy's. Made with fresh cod and perfectly fried. Not greasy and not wet. A special thank you to Angelo our friendly server. He has been a staple at W's for years. Recommend.

Not that busy and yet 30 minutes to be asked for our first drink order. Meal then served and wine arrived 5 minutes later. Sadly, one of the meals returned, the lamb shank may have been slow cooked but certainly not for sufficient time...the only compliment I can pay is that it was replaced promptly with fish and chips (this was not included on the final bill, which was kind). Not sure who is at fault for our poor experience ....but I am fairly sure I won’t be back....unless things dramatically change

I am a regular at Willy's but this time, was very disappointed. We were seated quite quickly but not asked what we wanted to drink for 20 minutes, followed by another 10 minutes before being asked for our food order and then, another wait for the food to be brought to our table. Unfortunately, there only appeared to be one elderly gentleman, waiting the tables, during a very busy lunchtime. Having been to the restaurant before, I think this is the norm. The food was ok but not great. Will not be at the top of my list for future lunches, although would still be happy to 'pop in' for bar meal/sandwich.

Haven’t been to this bar in years, but met up with an old colleague. Had a bottle and sandwich lunch. Staff very attentive, wine good and sandwiches as expected, not changed a great deal in decor over the years, but as welcoming as I remember it.

I happened to stumble upon the place as I looked at “the Gerkin” and decided to go in seeing seared scallops on the menu. Service is great friendly and quick. I was asked about the new menu and my food options and my feedback was taken in a professional and friendly manor. I would recommend everyone to go for a drink or some food and enjoy the lively atmosphere and friendly service. Exceptional wine bar. I am sure to return.

Great atmosphere and very polite and knowledgeable staff! Food and wines are great, we really enjoyed our time there as usual

We went there for lunch after a long time. Food was amazing, I had the special skate wing and my friend had the liver with pancetta and red wine sauce. We had a nice chilled Tiki sauvignon blanc with our meal recommend by our waitress.

Fuimos en la oportunidad de conseguir algunos aperitivos para el almuerzo, fue bombardeado por el personal para nuestra orden de bebidas antes incluso dirigido a encontrar ningún sitio donde sentarse. Se sentó, le pregunté a la camarera si sirven pan de ajo, a la que ella no podía responder. Dos porciones de pedir cortésmente patatas fritas y esperamos pacientemente macizos por 30 minutos (el lugar no estaba para nada cerca). Preguntamos dónde nuestro las patatas fritas eran después de 30 minutos, para un miembro del personal independiente para intentar procesar más patatas fritas por el hasta, al que mi amigo señaló que había hecho ya ordenados. Cinco minutos más tarde y una porción de piel de patatas fritas presentamos lo cual rechazamos, ya que no era lo que habíamos pedido y pedimos la factura. Nos dejaron por unos minutos antes de intentar hacernos aceptar las fichas de nuevo. Una disculpa por la confusión se hizo, mientras estaban felices para aceptar pagos de nuestras bebidas! No encontramos el personal amable en todo, y sin duda no volveré!

Otra visita al bar de Willy vino hoy para almorzar con un largo tiempo amigo. Mismo camarero como la última vez y estoy seguro de que la uno antes de eso. Demuestra que es un buen sitio, si el personal permanecen invariables durante un alargado periodo de tiempo.

Loved this place from start to finish, the atmosphere was great. Staff were extremely friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. Really enjoyed the food and impressed with the price considering the location, highly recommend for a lunch time destination for a quick bite or drink.

I ordered the battered haddock special and my guest ordered the fish cake. My haddock was well seasoned and the peas were delicious. My guest's fish cake was lovely apparently, the poached egg was superb and the yolk very yolky, just right. Service was prompt and we didn't have to wait an eternity for the food, all washed down with the recommended glass of Rioja.

Mi amigo y yo estábamos buscando algo diferente y fácil para el almuerzo; pude reservar una mesa de 30 minutos para el tiempo que adquirió para la semana de Navidad no fue fácil por todas partes!

Came to Willy's for our work Christmas Party. We had an area in the bar for about 30 of us. It's a very relaxed and not stuffy bar which is so nice to see in the City. The service was great, the girls behind the bar kept our beer buckets topped up and wine glasses full, and were very helpful and accommodating. We pre-ordered food off of the Christmas buffet menu, it was great, exactly what we expected. The pigs in a blanket and mini fish burgers were a hit! We will definitely be coming back!

Booked for a business lunch, my colleague had the "special" of steak and kidney pie. I asked if the chicken and chorizo burger was good, but the waiter wiggled his hand so went for the chicken breast and chips.

Cuando yo trabajaba en la ciudad este era un preferido. Creo que en ese momento era parte de la cadena Bill Bentley. Ahora es parte de un grupo más grande. Casualmente visité dos veces dentro de un par de días después de no haber sido por un largo tiempo. El bar es agradable, con un personal amable y servicial. Tengo que decir que me siento sin embargo la calidad de la comida ha empeorado. En mi primera visita tuvimos un almuerzo de comida tipo bar de bocadillos. Mi carne salada era pobre en cuanto que este tipo de carne debe ser siempre posible ya encubierto y luego el bocadillo con varias capas. La mía tenía dos rodajas de carne muy gruesas, lo que hizo mucho menos agradable y en £9 que me esperaba algo mejor. En mi segunda visita elegí una antigua favorita desde el restaurante del bacalao y patatas fritas como yo cariñosamente recordada el pescado rebozado crujiente, que era "de calidad" Por desgracia la tienda chip pescado presentado era claramente de los que traer y cálido que la variedad. De hecho, parecía muy parecido al tipo de presupuesto de un supermercado como pájaros Eye o Findus. A £13. 50 no muy bueno en mi opinión. Aunque acepto y me siento pagar los precios de la ciudad podría haber sido una experiencia mejor. Decepcionante.

Good food which reflects the description on the menu The specials are usually good Service good and food can be served quickly which is important if work calls after lunch

Siempre me encantó entrando aquí, es acogedor, pero su menú no es simplemente "comida de pub", me gusta pedir cosas de un menú que no cocinar en casa, así que sólo hemos pedido su maravillosa terneros hígado y tocino con puré. Que no puedo hacer justicia en casa. Su carta de vinos también es muy "apetecible". Servicio que he experimentado ha sido siempre educado y dentro de un tiempo oportuno.

Willy's has been doing what it does best unchanged for over 30 years. Even the free match boxes they give out haven't changed. We chose to stand in the bar area this time rather than the restaurant (the restaurant is always excellent, renowned for the Fish and Chips) as we felt like sandwiches rather than full on sit down. Again the sarnies haven't changed, always the Jamies City Special (chicken, bacon and chesse in Chiabatta) is well received as well as steak. good chips and the legendary honey mustard sausages... we need to go back shortly!

Having worked in the city for years, I regularly frequent Willy's for lunch. I love this place, very traditional old London wine bar with real character, friendly staff, quick service, and a great fish finger sandwich. It's good for a relaxing after work bottle of wine and cheese board too as its not busy, busy like most bars in the evenings.

I just wanted to write to say a very big thank you to all your team for my birthday party on Wednesday 16th evening. The food was fantastic, great quality and all your staff were just so helpful and friendly (they couldn't be nicer if...

Me decidí a ir ya que he estado dando el lugar por un tiempo, ya que la calidad de la comida no era de lo mejor ya.

El personal es muy amable y acogedor. Nos hicieron sentir relajado y feliz. La selección de vinos es buena y tenían buenas ofertas en ese día.

Un gran pub sótano con pescado y patatas. El pescado era abundante y patatas fritas en grasas y delicioso. Una pesadilla dieta ;). El servicio era amable. Me encantó.

Fab atmosphere, friendly service, superb selection of wine.A charming cosy venue with character, dark wood, candles.A hidden gem in an area full of loud packed pubs with city workers.

Apologies for the delay in writing this review!. After train delays from Fenchurch Street a friend recommended Willys for a drink one night!.The staff were very welcoming, as I was looking for a venue to hold my 50th Birthday party it seemed perfect.I was not disappointed. I hired the whole venue for a Saturday night in early December, and Ray and the team could not of been better. Food, drinks, dancing all fantastic.

We attended this venue after being invited by a friend who had hired out the wine bar on a Saturday night to celebrate her birthday and we were very impressed. All of the staff were very attentive and polite. The wine bar was clean and set up really well to accommodate the party. The food ordered for the buffet was tasty and very well presented and made a change from just sandwiches! The wine bar is a short walk from Aldgate station and was so easy to get to having travelled from North London. Would love to return during the week to try the full menu!