The Counting House, EC3 — Restaurant in London

Quite a generous two star review here. A lovely pub and you can’t knock a Fuller’s pub generally. Was really impressed by the beer selection with Krombacher and a couple of wheat beers on draught. First round went by as a dream, although it was crazy expensive even for the City compared to other pubs nearby such as their counterpart The Swan. The young black girl behind the bar didn’t have a thank you to offer which was a shame for the prices charged and there was non engagement whatsoever. The beers might be expensive but customer service is free and being polite is a basic life skill.

The second round it all started to unravel. There were plenty of staff and no one was waiting to be served other than myself. The main priority for the staff was stock taking and preparing for breakfast for the hotel it would seem. About three staff saw me and made eye contact, but continued to ignore me prioritising these important non human tasks - given the cost of the rooms I sort of understand but you have to live for the here and now.

Once served after ordering a Pride and a Vintage Ale. Having paid I was told the Vintage was off and would I like anything else. Erm yes I would but if it was an ale it would be cheaper. Once I’d signposted the young bar lady to refund me and what I wanted next I enjoyed my ale. Surely that should be her job to know what’s on offer and the fact other options would require some recompense. I felt like the pub should’ve been paying me at this point.

The pub is good in principle, the beer is good but the staff were woeful and had no idea what they were doing and were borderline rude. They seemed to suffer from low morale and weren’t prioritising the right tasks for the present moment in time. They all looked a bit sad and didn’t want to be around people. It was sad to see as a customer. It can only be put down the a lack of training, not great basic social skills and poor management.

For the money they’re charging it was really not good enough. There’s plenty of competition in the area and you can’t take your eye off the ball for a moment. Even your stable mates round the corner are head and above this pub so there’s really no excuse. I wonder if they’re still Fuller’s managed. If so the head office by Kew Bridge or at the Griffin Brewery (wherever they are now)light get some direct feedback.

Better do better. I...

The Counting House is an award-winning pub located between the Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral. The Counting House received the City Heritage Award when it opened. The building itself is rich in history dating back to Roman times, with the building's foundations partially supported by the wall of a 2,000-year-old Roman basilica. The Counting House is part of the Fuller's Pubs & Hotels Group, which has been in business since 1845. The pub is located between two famous landmarks, the Tower of London and just a short walk from St Paul's Cathedral. The pub offers an extensive seasonal menu. As well as classics such as beer-battered haddock or beef burgers, it also offers pan-fried salmon, lamb steak and Owton's 12oz sirloin steak. The menu also includes four traditional British pies. It's worth to mention that Owton's has over 750 years of beef farming tradition and experience, with the earliest known records dating back to 1257. I found out their beef is one of the best when I ordered their sirloin for Sunday roast. I recently had the Fisherman's Pie for lunch at the Counting House for £19.95. It is a traditional British dish of smoked cod, salmon and prawns with a parsley sauce and vegetables on the side.My Fisherman's Pie was a delicious dish full of flavour. The fish was succulent and tender. Sautéed baby cabbage was a delicious side dish. Overall it was a satisfying meal with a balance of flavours that worked well together. For a drink I ordered Cornish Golden Cider. This cider is delicious, slightly sparkling and immensely refreshing with fruity apple notes. The Counting House is an award-winning, beautiful pub that exudes 19th century decadence. It is the perfect place for dinner and drinks in the City of London. The opulent pub also celebrates tradition on its menu – with classic British handmade pies as well as a 12oz sirloin steak on the bone. The Counting House offers 15 hotel rooms and four elegant function rooms for private hire, perfect for weddings, birthdays or business meetings.

If you would like to see a video of the fisherman's pie I had there, you can visit my YouTube Channel:

https://youtu.be/UrLiQWcciHo?si=DLJVFbcHD8ddQaIt

where you can also find my reviews of other dishes...

Affraid not a good experience at all, to the point that I will not put another foot inside the building. Me and my wife had booked to have dinner at The Counting House as my wife had won a dinner voucher for two at a charity event and we were going to use it for our 5th Anniversary which was the same evening we attended The Counting House. When we got there we will walked upstairs and we selected a table to sit at, from there is where it all went wrong. First the waiteress's just left us sitting there for 15 minutes and it was not even busy, not even to come over and say hello and ask if we wanted a drink!. I had to get up in the end and ask if we can order a drink. We then showed the voucher that my wife had won in the charity raffle which was printing on a normal piece of A4 but did not have any reference number on it, but it came from good sources and was part of the charity event. We were told that they could not accept it as it was not an offical voucher or signed by anyone but we explained that we have the email etc. where the voucher came from. The waiteress still ignored the problem in hand to which we then asked for the manager. (Milan) - Duty Manager. He then actually made things worse by accusing us of faking the document and did not even attempt to help us, instead he stoood there with a laughing grin on his face as to say.. "not my problem, dont care"

Even when my wife booked up on-line and said that she had a voucher which she had won at a chairty event, The Counting House did not contact my wife to confirm the voucher details, if they did then we would have sorted the issue before arriving there and having our evening ruined.

A letter / email is making it's way to head office in relation to...