Isla — Restaurant in London

Really terrible!

I came here to try out Ixta Belfrage’s new menu and was very excited.

However it was really poor (not so much the food itself, which was good, all credit to Ixta) but the rest of the experience.

Lots of the food items were missing when I arrived vs the menu that was originally advertised when I booked a few weeks back. The plantain crisps, aguachile and plantain dessert, as well as all the sides and both main dishes other than the king prawn lasagne. Disappointing as I had specifically booked the restaurant to try this menu!

Secondly, the king prawn lasagne (the only main remaining on Ixta’s curated menu) was actually a beef / pork (?) lasagne with a crusty prawn head stuck in. It was definitely not made according to her published recipe, which includes plenty of prawns and no meat at all. I couldn’t taste any prawns / seafood at all in fact despite it being advertised that way?

To add insult to injury, I have a version of the menu saved on my phone from two months ago (when the menu was released) and the lasagne has increased by 20% since then… Yes, in two months. It is now being sold for £30 rather than the originally advertised £25. Oh yes and did I mention it contains no prawn but is literally a jazzed up meat lasagne.

Finally despite the lovely waiter who served our table, I noticed that there was an expectation that each time we wanted to order, we had to ask with the wait being really long to even get served. The restaurant was not busy and at about half capacity. The guy himself was lovely but the service was really poor and each time we wanted anything, we had to ask. I also noticed this same pattern for the tables around me. And yet the service charge was 15%!

Really below average for these high prices (which I would have been happy to pay had the experience been better) and really poor. Was considering emailing the restaurant themselves but I don’t want to go back so not sure what this will achieve!

In summary - good food but a badly...

Review for Isla Terrace at The Standard, London

I’d love to share my experience photographing a wedding at the wonderful Isla Terrace at The Standard, near St Pancras Station in London.

I recently photographed the gorgeous celebration of Simon and Roddy, joined by their two adorable dogs. They had their official ceremony just a few minutes away at Camden Town Hall, then continued their day surrounded by friends and family at this truly unique venue.

The Isla Terrace feels like a tropical haven in the heart of London, full of lush greenery, palms, and natural light. It has that beautiful greenhouse feel, warm and relaxing, yet so stylish and modern. The atmosphere is vibrant and welcoming, and it honestly felt as though we were somewhere far away and exotic.

The team were exceptional, especially Hannah Hillier, the senior manager on the day, who was kind, efficient, and incredibly accommodating. Everything flowed beautifully, and the couple felt completely relaxed, which made the whole experience a joy to photograph.

If you’re planning a wedding near Camden Town Hall and want a venue that’s modern, creative, and effortlessly elegant, I can’t recommend Isla Terrace enough. It’s pet-friendly, beautifully designed, and has that perfect balance of style and comfort. I can’t wait to return, it’s definitely one of London’s hidden gems. I love it!!!!

(Please note: my experience was as a wedding photographer rather than a...

I booked a table for 10 adults and 1 child for Christmas and the experience really took away from our day. We had a pre drink in the outside area which we waited for 45 mins for our drinks to arrive, friends joined just for a drink and left because of how long it took. We waited an hour and a half for our cold starters , another hour and a half for mains, the drinks were incredibly slow that some family members ordered two at a time. The child’s dinner needed to be sent back twice, as she just wanted a plain burger with nothing on it and it kept coming out with blue cheese. All in all we sat down for dinner at 3.30pm and didn’t get to leave until after 8pm , even though we were originally told we would need to leave by 6pm. We had other plans for the night which were altered as a result. There was very little Christmas like about the experience, including no Christmas music, no Christmas tree just crackers). If you cannot do Christmas , do not take bookings for it. Staff were nice, just incredibly slow given how little tables were occupied. Food when it eventually arrived was okay (main primarily) but we were so hungry we didn’t fully enjoy it. Bottled beers were warm. If it was not Christmas Day we would have walked out. I never write a review but as this was my recommendation and that I had family fly in for it, I feel obliged to...