Norfolk Arms — Restaurant in London

I generally only post fairly positive reviews and leave the places I'm less taken with aside but, unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with the Norfolk Arms this evening.

The food was fairly bland and unappetising whilst being quite expensive. I spent a fortnight between Portugal and Spain this year so the tapas on offer here falls well short of even hole-in-the-wall establishments on the continent.

Similarly, the wine was averagely priced (by London standards) as was the beer (again, by London standards). The wine was pretty passable, although £28 per bottle less service, but the beer was flat.

The 'dining room' itself is pretty drafty. It also lacks character and charm especially in the period where you can order drinks but not food (we weren't aware that you couldn't place food orders until 6pm). The extra wait for the food makes it even more disappointing when it arrives; considering a large proportion of the small plates we ordered were served cold I don't see why they cannot offer more before the kitchen opens.

The service was fine. No real complaints but nothing to celebrate either (usually, I will rate a place on charm when the staff are great even if the offering itself is standard).

My parents and I were just looking for a place to call in between Farringdon and Euston whilst they were visiting. It amazes me a little that this establishment was so busy (we had reservations). They were evening turning guests away! Perhaps I am...

Fabulous venue and food and wine

I had my 60th birthday party at the Norfolk Arms on 28 September 2025. I already knew and greatly liked the place for excellent tapas, a great décor and atmosphere, and overall nicely unstuffy. Man did the managers Aleksandra and Deborah and brilliant team deliver. There were 34 of us. I had preordered Prosecco, white and red wine (all house but delicious), and friends kept up a steady stream of requests to the bar, all handled with ease and good humour. Then an amazing spread arrived, drawn from a special event menu which included a great and extensive selection of items from the full menu – totally delicious. Plenty for vegetarians too. And afterwards great desserts. My friends and family were all blown away with the occasion and venue. We had the tables for a great amount of time from noon until 5.30, though we convened at the start around the tables in a reserved outside space (in a quite backstreet south of kings cross) and then reconvened outside afterwards. There were awnings which helped when it drizzled briefly. The whole event worked brilliantly. Want to thank all the staff, and especially Aleksandra for her help with planning and flexibility with arrangements all delivered faultlessly by Deborah and her team on the day. And not unimportantly the costs were very reasonable. Very...

My family and I had a roast lunch at the Norfolk Arms today (Sunday 27/10) and unfortunately, the customer service we experienced was quite disappointing.

From the moment we arrived, the some of the waitresses made us feel unwelcome. For example, when I asked politely if I could leave our pram next to our table, one of the female staff members told me "no" in an unnecessarily abrupt and aggressive tone. I then asked where it could be left, and she told me, "by the door, but make sure you move it by 3 p.m. because we have another reservation."

I was then made to feel rushed in ordering my food even though the pub was not particularly busy. Finally, when I went to change my one-year-old in the female bathroom the same waitress happened to be there. She told me that as there was no baby changing table I should change my baby in the corridor rather than in the bathroom itself. I was quite surprised by this suggestion, but I followed her instruction, even though it felt inappropriate.

Overall, I felt that the staff did not make any attempt to accommodate my family and would not recommend going here with children, in part due to the lack of child-friendly facilities, but mainly because of the unwelcoming attitude of some...