Samuel Pepys — Restaurant in London

Even Samuel Pepys—famous for chronicling disasters—would have struggled to put this fiasco into words. Though, given his love of good food and drink, I imagine he’d have slammed shut his diary in disgust and marched off to find a proper meal—probably with a much quicker service, even in the 1600s.

We had a perfectly planned day out with family visiting, but this place clearly had a different vision: one where we spent most of it waiting, wondering if we’d ever eat again. My partner had been before and recommended it—he’s now questioning all of his life choices.

Let’s start with the service, or rather, the complete lack of it. There was one girl behind the bar who seemed to be operating in a parallel universe where time moves at half-speed and customer service is just a vague concept. She took orders with the enthusiasm of someone reading tax legislation, then disappeared at random intervals, presumably to reflect on how little she cared. It took 15 minutes just to get a round of drinks, which is impressive considering the bar wasn’t exactly bustling—unless you count the growing queue of confused, thirsty customers.

Now, the food. Oh, the food. We waited an hour for the first dish to appear, and another 20 minutes for the rest to trickle out, making this less of a meal and more of an endurance challenge. By this point, we were starving and already running late for our plans, but at least we got to experience the fascinating spectacle of a wedding party working out how to use the coffee machine because a staff member—one of the two people who appeared to be on shift—handed them a 2-litre bottle of milk to do it themselves. When they asked if there was anything to froth it with, he simply shrugged and walked off. Inspirational leadership.

When our food finally arrived, the fish and chips were so undercooked that I considered releasing them back into the Thames. Not wanting to risk food poisoning as an added bonus to our already ruined day, we asked for a refund—only to find we were in good company. A queue had formed at the bar, full of people asking for their money back, wondering where their food was, or just looking for someone—anyone—who might care. One poor kid had even fallen asleep waiting for his meal, which really says it all. The one person vaguely acting as a manager was desperately issuing refunds and apologies, he was fighting a losing battle and I did feel sorry for him. But if he was the manager. Why was he taking bookings with no staff and a wedding on. Those poor wedding guest!

With no time left to go anywhere else, we ended up grabbing an emergency sandwich from Pret instead—because that’s exactly the kind of special meal you hope to share with visiting family.

A word of advice to management: maybe consider hiring more than two people, training them in the revolutionary concept of doing their job, and possibly avoiding situations where customers have to make their own drinks. As for the bar staff member? If there’s an award for “most disinterested person to ever work in hospitality,” she’s got it in the bag.

The only redeeming feature? The view. But since you can’t eat scenery, I wouldn’t risk coming back unless they start offering...

🚇 Cannon Street 🍺 £6.30 Spitfire Lager

The Samuel Pepys is located just off Upper Thames Street on Stew Lane next to Queenhithe Dock on the banks of the Thames in the City of London.

The pub is situated in a 19th-century former Thameside tea warehouse which was transformed into a pub in the 1970’s.

When visiting the pub, be sure to check out the Queenhithe Mosaic and Queenhithe Dock, the only remaining Anglo Saxon dock in the world.

This is a one bar pub that is traditionally decorated with a modern stylish feel. The main bar area is long and fairly spacious with the servery stretching down the right hand side. At the end of the bar is a low level seating area with windows looking out over the Thames. At the back of the main bar is a comfortable dining area. The star of the show is the balcony with views across the river to Shakespeare’s Globe and the Tate Modern. The decor consists of wooden floorboards, full-height windows,, mixed seating, exposed brickwork, an impressive staircase and a shuffleboard.

This @shepherdneame pub has a good selection of beers that included, familiar favourites, brewery brews that included three cask ales. I decided on a Spitfire Lager, my pint was excellent, price point was a smidge above average. The food menu consists of classic pub dishes, Fish & Chips costs £17.95.

We arrived around 2.30pm on a drizzly Thursday afternoon in February. I was with fellow pub enthusiast @pintandanotherone having a couple of beers and a catch up. The pub was fairly busy with a post work punters and a few tourists. The atmosphere was convivial and relaxing with a welcoming feel. The service was first class, we were served by a warm and friendly member of the team who was lovely natured.

This pub was a great find, it felt like you were away from all the hustle and bustle of the City, in a place that those who know, know. The beer was great, the surroundings comfortable, the service was superb and the views across the river were the icing on the cake. Loved it here, next time you’re in the city, make sure you pay a visit to the @samuelpepyslondon

📅 20th February 2025

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Where do I even begin? We were lucky enough to hold and share our wedding reception with Dave, Toby and the Samuel Pepys team and it was THE most amazing day. I will be forever grateful to the team for making it such a relaxed and utterly fabulous day. 6 months on and our guests are still raving about it as one of the best wedding receptions they’ve been to and it really was!

As a venue Samuel Pepys is an absolute hidden gem, tucked away down a Harry Potteresque alleyway - it’s such a stunning venue. A wonderful space, spacious, light with a gorgeous balcony overlooking the Thames, stunning views of London and exceptional value for money. I’d looked at other options in the area and it was a ridiculous amount of money, with only shared or sectioned off spaces but you get the entire venue to yourselves at Samuel Pepys and the teams attention to detail and constant help and support throughout the wedding planning made for such a stress free, fun and perfect day.

Caters for both sit down and buffet options, with gorgeous choices and variety. We had buffet lunch followed by the most amazing cheese boards and pizzas - the quality and quantities of the food was above and beyond and we had very happy guests able to take the additional pizzas all boxed up back to their hotels!

Honestly can’t recommend enough and how lucky for us that we get to go back to celebrate our anniversary there from now on. Such a special and unique place with amazing food, staff and value for money. Easily one of the best choicest we made for our wedding and all credit and thanks go to Dave, Toby and the team!!! Exceptional from start to finish. We love...