Barge East — Restaurant in London

UPDATE Following the negative experience we had with the sunday roast as described in the original review, we were offered a 3 course dinner so decided to give it another go.

I guess the conclusion is avoid Sunday Roast, but workday dinner may not be a bad idea.

The atmosphere feels more classy inside the boat than on the deck. The menu also gives a more fine dining feel.

We had trout and mushrooms for starters, beef sirloin and duck confit for mains, and blueberry parfait and the "lost" bread for dessert.

My friend and I both agreed the beef sirloin was our favorite - good quality beef at medium rare with lovely sides. We also quite enjoyed our desserts.

The duck was mediocre. Starters portions were too small for their prices (there were like 5 small pieces of trout).

Would note that the service was much better than what we experienced on Sunday, maybe because the waiters and waitresses were less busy. They were friendly and attentive throughout our dinner.

Not worth visiting from any perspective... ingredients are not the freshest, food is mediocre at best and overpriced, and service is terrible.

The three of us had Sunday roast. It was for a birthday celebration so we figured a lunch on a boat sounds special. We made it clear in the reservation that it was for birthday, but there were no greetings/card/table decorations/complimentary cake or chocolate - nothing whatsoever.

We started with sourdough for the table, which is priced at £2pp, and they served 2 tiny pieces for 3 people... my friend had to ask twice for the waiter to give us 3 more pieces.

Then came the appetizer. Beef tartare has small pieces of beef buried in crumble, beef was not very fresh, and the sauce was way too salty. My friends had fried fish which they also found too salty.

The main was no short of a disaster. I ordered porchetta. The pork was ok ish but the skin was not crispy at all - almost impossible to cut with the knife they provided. Roast potatoes are surprisingly good. Yorkshire pudding is mediocre - not fluffy and creamy enough to my taste.

My friend ordered the beef, lamb and pork trio. She told me the lamb smelled badly (the lamb looks very pale), and the beef was not tender and not fresh. She complained to the waiter, and the waiter said he could ask and see what can be done. A few moments later another waiter came back and told us condescendingly that "we can't take anything anything off the bill due to personal taste", as if it were our taste's fault...

The bill came as £162, which should work out to be £54 per person, but the waiter got the wrong table's bill and charged us £65 per person. After we pointed it out to him, he offered no apology, and eventually pulled out a calculator to recalculate rather reluctantly, and said something like "yea I guess anything is possible", whatever that means.

Also the environment is not as pleasant as we hoped for. The chairs are very uncomfortable (with no back support) and the tables look like they haven't been cleaned properly for years.

Overall, we paid £162 (or almost £200 if we hadn't checked) for a low quality Sunday Roast in a subpar environment with terrible service. Not an experience I'd recommend to...

*UPDATE

After my heartfelt review last time, where I expressed my disappointment, I’ve been invited back to Barge East for a meal. Hands off to the whole team; this time it was the most wonderful experience I could have. Food remained better than anywhere else in London, but the atmosphere changed completely. Staff was attentive and kind, we felt welcomed. Thanks a million for that. That’s why I love London; people listen and learn. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Very tasty food and beautiful place. Really shame about some of the staff and very poor customer service experience. I was not only heavily overcharged but then also made to feel like an idiot and like I was the one who’s done something wrong. And by the manager himself. Whilst processing the refund he was utterly intimidating and rude. Unfortunately not only we were charged for the wine we didn’t drink but also the staff Failed to inform us about the service charge, it wasn’t clearly mentioned if at all on the set menu we’ve been given. I’m not even sure how much it was as in the process of refund I was so intimidated I’ve stopped asking questions. Also, I have booked the pre-theatre deal which was £30, yet it wasn’t an option when we arrived and we’ve been given the £45 menus which was the only one there was. No other choice. The place is very small and there was plenty of staff, looked like there was one person serving per table yet we had to wait every time we’ve asked for anything, a very long and unpleasant time as the staff just kept passing by. I also am not happy about false and pretended hospitality. It feels when the smile is forced and the person doesn’t really like the job they’re doing. It’s called a hospitality industry for a reason and people who don’t enjoy their jobs at restaurants really would do us all favour choosing another profession. Overall, except from really fantastic food, it was a big disappointment. Even the most fabulous food won’t taste well in a...

I am a Gluten-free pescatarian, so this review will only be from my own personal experience as someone who has dietary requirement. Went for Sunday lunch at the weekend, and the food was disappointing to say the least… I know that I am a tricky customer because I have Dietary restrictions… therefore there was only one option on the menu available for Sunday lunch… And I understand that traditionally Sunday lunch is very meat heavy… So I know that wherever I go there’s always gonna be a limited amount of food that I can have however there were no alternatives offered to me… I couldn’t eat the Yorkshire pudding And they didn’t give me any potatoes… And offered nothing Extra Meaning that I had a small piece of fish a bit of cabbage and one carrot. The cabbage in the carrot were okay and the fish was tasty… But it was a very small meal and I was quite hungry afterwards. I understand that should probably have had sides, but I’m not a big eater And those that had a normal roast with very full and glad that they didn’t order sides. We were also put in a separate room to the main restaurant, which obviously meant there was a lack of atmosphere and it was a bit cold. The bloody Mary was delicious and the best part of our dining experience… Everyone else had the full roast and really enjoyed it. Service wasn’t bad, but as much as I should’ve asked to have more food on my plate, I really think they should’ve known that they were giving me a very small dinner. I reluctant to return and eat from the normal menu given my experience with the Sunday roast… However it does look really good so I might return in the future But not for the...