Simmons Bar | Holborn — Restaurant in London

Do not book your private parties here. Arranged a viewing, staff had no clue I was arriving for it. Had to resend the guest list when I arrived at the venue with guests because it wasn't passed onto the staff at the door. There was a shot girl at my party which I didn't request. When it came to working out the minimum bar spend, I asked Eric (manager) for receipts to account for cash payments and any shots sold by the shot girl. Amy who I first liaised with said they don't permit shot girls in private events. They did not take this seriously until I said I had photos of her from the beginning of the event. They said they went through the receipts and tried to reimburse a small sum, but when I asked for proof they could not send them and then had to go through CCTV "to see how many shots she sold" because they refuse to give me the receipts. She was there throughout the entire night. I continued to press for cash receipts and I was then passed on to Lea who then said they have a cashless bar but cash was spent by guests - the shot girl also said she received cash. I eventually asked for all transactions, given how deceitful and unusual they're being around providing receipts which a business should easily have available. It took a lot to retrieve these. On the night, they printed a receipt that said there were 177 transactions but they sent two batches of receipts to my email, one contained 181 transactions and the other contained 201 transactions. I was offered my deposit back, like I'm not entitled to it, to try and shut me up. I was then passed on to Greta, the operations director, who did not address my concerns about staff stealing and clear discrepancies in total spends. They claim my deposit is a discount and so is the money spent from the shot girl. They have not addressed cash payments nor the missing transactions that they accidentally sent themselves. I don't know how many transactions there were because they won't disclose it but they keep making mistakes. Guests said bartenders were odd - mixing two spirits in drinks when they asked for one spirit mixer. One guest said they saw bartenders walk off with a card machine and another came out with a different one. Staff are stealing off bar spend with different card readers after seeing transactions from guests. The only helpful staff member was Byron who greeted me and made sure I had everything set-up but was not present throughout the night. They continue to withhold information. Spend your time and money elsewhere. It has been a month and this case is now being escalated due to lack of accountability and good culture/ethos within Simmons and staff. It is a shame. As with other reviews in this particular Simmons branch, it seems they keep overcharging people and attempting to make customers pay double for their...

I attended the Simmons Holborn NYE 2025 all-you-can-drink party, paying £70 for access to the venue, a table, and premium liquor like Absolut and Tanqueray. The venue itself was fantastic—a stylish two-story space with a DJ on each floor spinning a great variety of music that kept the energy alive all night.

However, the overall experience was disappointing. The liquor was shockingly watered down, which my friends and I noticed immediately—our vodka lemonades tasted like straight lemonade. When I requested a vodka lemonade with half the usual mixer, I was told this wasn't allowed. Frustrated, I tried the downstairs bar, where the bartender made a drink with just a splash of lemonade. Yet even then, it tasted like there was barely any vodka in it. Astonished, I switched to Coronas for the rest of the night.

I understand that with an all-you-can-drink event, the concern is to prevent people from getting overly intoxicated, but watering down liquor is absolutely not the way to go about it. The venue had plenty of security inside and outside to monitor guests, so I have to believe the real reason for the watered-down drinks was to cut costs. This is extremely disappointing and, in my opinion, fraudulent.

Adding to the discomfort, the restroom attendant in the upstairs toilets was demanding tips for keeping the restrooms clean. When I explained I didn’t have any cash on me, she replied, “Next time you come in here, remember to leave a tip, because how do you think these toilets stay so clean?” It was an incredibly awkward encounter, and my friends and I avoided the upstairs toilets for the rest of the night.

While the venue and music were great, the lack of drink quality, uncomfortable service experiences, and questionable business practices left a sour taste. I felt cheated out of what could have been a fantastic night and have no desire to...

came to the bar tonight at about 22.05. was stopped by security and asked 'where are you going?' I said 'inside to dance'. As I had passed him as he was on the other side of the barrier, he came around me and stood much too close to me - it felt as close as a boyfriend would. I said 'you are too close, theres no need to be'. Then he said You can't go in as there was a private party'. my reply 'on both floors?' him - 'yes' I reminded him that 'there was no need to be that close that I could feel the heat from his body. and that there are CCTV that will show that'. He said 'He wasnt too close' even though he had moved back when I complained.

I was very surprised by the behaviour tonight of the security as it is my local and I had never had a problem before.

Interestingly enough at present on Google it is showing live that it is not busy. I dont believe there is a private function on both floors or otherwise it would show that it is busy. I feel the security did not want me to go in and have a dance. Ageism at its worse. Little did he know that the Oxford Street branch is the former homegroound of Crackers - which was the place to go on a Sunday evening. A lady about 60/70 use to come by herself and dance. No one bothered her and left her to it, then she went home in chauffeur driven car. What he may not realise the young like seeing and dancing with older folks as some of the dances they do, go back to the 80s

I will go again, hopefully this security is at another branch and my spend, well I didnt get in - normally it would be at least two Baby Guinness. Well I will say they cant be complaining that the Night Tsar is not doing her job if I am...