The Coal Shed London — Restaurant in London

The Coal Shed is a newly opened restaurant near Tower Bridge in the new 1 Tower Bridge complex just behind the theatre. It offers a few tables outside for al fresco dining as well as a two leveled restaurant with modern light decor. The staff were friendly and accommodating upon arrival and talked us through the different parts of the menu and the specials.

There were a good selection of cocktails including aperitifs. We had the:

Daisy Ash: Mezcal, Peach Essence, Citrus, seasonal Shrub, Peach Bitters Wise Elder: Citrus Vodka, Lemon Balm Cordial and Prosecco Rose Negroni: Gin, Rose Vermouth, Aperol. All of the cocktails came beautifully presented with detail around the rim and a flower in the negroni.

The menu is split into snacks, starters, meat, and fish and the ingredients are produced in Britain. For starters we had the BBQ Short Rib with peanut, chilli and spring onion (£9) which was absolutely stunning. The meat was so tender falling off the bone in an instant and the sauce was delicious and plentiful. We were similarly impressed with the South Coast Cured Grey Mullet (£9) and the Torched Sussex Mackerel (£8)

Many of the main dishes are designed for sharing around the table. The daily cuts of meat and the weight are added to chalkboards around the restaurant. When we visited there was the choice of Chateaubriand (similar to a fillet), Porterhouse steak (half fillet, half sirloin), prime rib (rib eye) and sirloin on the bone. Each cut of meat is charged per 100g. If you prefer fish, they had a special whole seabass for 3 people!

We opted for the 800g Porterhouse Steak (£9 per 100g) between the three of us and a selection of side dishes. It was impossible to resist the Short rib croquettes from the snacks list which were packed full of filling. We loved the Mac n cheese with a perfectly grilled top and the filling bubbling away. The Triple cooked chips were light and fluffy, the Jersey Royals were fantastic and the Peas, bacon and onion added different flavours and textures to the meal.

The sides were super impressive and whilst the steak was flavoursome, we did think it was slightly on the pricey side given around 150g is bone. However, if you prefer to not pay per 100g there are options for fillet, sirlon and rib eye individually.

That was more than enough for the three of us, yet we found it in us to try dessert. This was mainly because of the words “Sweet Selection for Two” which changes daily. This featured Chocolate coal, fudge, marshmallow (toasted), hot lemon filled doughnuts, macaron and crepes. It was an absolute feast that was more than enough for two people. The coal and fudge were so rich and delicious literally making your eyes open with amazement.

We loved the atmosphere at The Coal Shed restaurant near Tower Bridge and the friendly staff always willing to make suggestions. The food was fantastic – particularly the short rib – and the location is just stunning.

Keep an eye out for the pre-theatre menu which is served from 5pm – 6.30pm from Monday to Saturday. It offers 2 courses for £20 and 3 courses for £24. With a choice of three starters, three mains and two desserts, there should be enough to please diners.

Alternatively, if you fancy a quick lunch, The Coal Shed offers one course for £10.95. Finally, they have BYO wine Monday where corkage is...

This was booked a month in advance for a very special 70th birthday (which will never happen again - so very important to us as a family!). 6 of us attended on 9th August 7:30pm. The restaurant was very dark and extremely hot, no aircon. We asked to be moved to the terrace, we were told it was closed, (it was empty on our arrival, but people were being seated on the terrace a little later). The only good starter was the pork belly, all others ordered were tasteless, the scallops were bitter. 5 of us ordered the ribeye, all were extremely thin, 1 was under cooked, 2 were medium on the edges and over cooked in the middle and 1 had too much gristle and was inedible. The ribeyes cut and quality were the poorest any of us had ever experienced (especially for the price compared to Hawksmoor, Gouchos and even Miller & Carter). Our waiter did move us, but only to another hot uncomfortable part of the restaurant. The acoustics/environment was very noisy even though there weren’t many people seated inside. The seasonal greens consisted of only cabbage, bland and had no taste, the chips tasted like standard oven chips, the cauliflower cheese had no flavour. The greeter and waiter did smile, but all other staff that served us our food were very sour faced. The kitchen staff changed during our ordering and they were dressed very casually compared to the day kitchen staff, which we thought was strange. The waiter presented a special birthday plate, with a rock hard chocolate truffle and half a strawberry, it would have been better if he hadn’t of bothered, was insulting really. For almost £100 per person this experience was shameful. Nothing was said at the time as we didn’t want to spoil a very important 70th birthday, which we were trying to salvage. The worst and poorest quality...

Don't buy the Virgin Experience Day voucher 'Sunday Roast with Glass of wine for two at The Coal Shed, London' (which on the website, currently coats £80) you will have to pay extra, and who knows how often Coal Shed will change their prices!

The server implied that I bought the voucher a while ago, even suggesting December last year ( I felt he was trying to put the blame on me). I bought the voucher on the 28th of July and dined 17th August. He said that the voucher only has a set monetary value(£78 this time, less than the cost of the voucher on Virgin Experience Days) and that the prices had gone up since I bought the voucher. I should have asked if I would have the full package paid for if I had bought the voucher last week! I checked the Virgin Experience Day website and there is nothing in the description that says the prices might increase and I'll have to pay extra.

I purchased a voucher for the 'Sunday roast with two glasses of house wine', so surely I should get this without having to pay extra. Coal Shed are mis-selling the experience on Virgin Experience Days. Either change your description of the voucher online or change it to a set monetary value. Stop misrepresenting your product online and breaching trading standards and ASA standards.

It was embarrassing having to negotiate for the full product advertised in front of my guest.

Food: This time round the roast potatoes were overdone and hard. Cabbage has reduced in quantity significantly from previous half a pointed cabbage to a small amount. I understand given that everything has gone up in price.

However given the customer service relating to the way the Virgin Experience Voucher was dealt with, I am put off and will not...