The Windmill, Mayfair — Restaurant in London

Update: The pub management has been in touch, apologised, and addressed my concerns in a satisfactory manner.

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Disappointing experience and lack of accountability.

Pay attention to the recent reviews that say the food quality has declined.

I visited The Windmill on 17th January with my partner to try their much-hyped pies. I had the chicken pie, which was fine, while he had the seafood pie. Within a few hours, he became violently ill, vomiting over 25 times throughout the night. We struggled to get home as he was unable to move without getting sick.

I tried calling the pub multiple times that evening to warn them, but no one answered. The next day, I finally got through and was referred to Food Alert, a third-party food safety consultancy hired by Young’s Brewery. After two weeks of "investigation," they responded that they could not determine the cause of his illness, citing a "lack of evidence" (no stool sample, which was impossible given his condition) and wrongly assuming the cause was something he ate abroad—despite the fact that he had been in the UK for nearly three weeks, and we had shared every meal together at home except this one.

We also contacted NHS 111 three times, speaking to a nurse on each call. They strongly advised going to A&E, but my partner was too unwell to move. This is all documented.

Their investigation focused entirely on their records rather than acknowledging that food safety procedures do not guarantee mistakes never happen. Given the severity of his illness, the most likely cause was improper reheating or mishandling of the seafood pie. We were offered nothing, not even a refund for the meal.

We were not looking for anything unreasonable: just a fair acknowledgement of what happened and compensation for the ruined evening, multiple taxi fares, and the cost of the meal. The lack of responsibility, the delayed response, and the unwillingness to offer even a goodwill gesture were extremely disappointing.

The Windmill may have once been known for its pies, but given other reviewers mentioning the food quality as of late, I strongly advise caution before...

UPDATE - we returned to this pub, this time on a Sunday. The pies again were outstanding but on Sundays they serve it with essentially the same sides as a Sunday roast but all was average, not very hot and didn’t go. We asked for mash instead of roast potatoes (as a table of 8 we all wanted this) and they said no. We were there for over 3 hours because the service was so slow. We had to ask for the dinner menus after waiting ages for them to attend the table (prior to this nobody even came to ask for our drinks order). We had to ask for more drinks again because nobody attended our table throughout. And then when we asked for the dessert menu because again we waited so long we experienced deja vu as they said the kitchen was closing in 20 mins so we had to order on the spot. This is frustrating considering they didn’t clear our table, nor bring desserts menu knowing we would be out of time. If we hadn’t had asked for the menu again we would have missed the opportunity or order dessert. Poor and slow service with staff having no awareness at any stage of our dining of actually serving the table. And then adding 12.5% tip to the bill when nobody once proactively came to our table . . . ! It’s just not worth it

The pies are so damn tasty. We had 1) chicken, bacon & leak, 2) pigs cheek, rabbit & prune pie 3) crab, king prawn & haddock pie. All were delicious, their suet pie more similar to a traditional pastry pie. I would however suggest not bothering with the dauphine potatoes which was swimming in oil & butter, literally a pool of it. The only disappointment was weren’t offered the dessert menu and when we asked if they had dessert they did but the kitchen had closed. They did kindly offer to make us something still which was kind but we decided not to knowing the...

Do not go here unless you want your bag stolen. My colleague and I have had our bags stolen on two different occasions. Here is my experience... I went to the Windmill for drinks following work on a Friday a few weeks ago. While there I had a few glasses of wine and before leaving went to the toilet. While in the toilet, despite my friend watching our bags, my work bag was stolen from the middle of the bar. I would not say the bar was incredibly busy or that there were many people there so it was a bit of a shock coming back and finding it taken. What concerned me the most is that when I went to the bar to ask for help they said it was a regular occurrence and several bags go missing each night. The bar assured me there is CCTV and to make a police report and they would be able to share it. I made a police report and gave all relevant details. The police then told me that there actually was no CCTV and nothing could be done. I understand that bars are typically targeted for bags being taken, but after an admittance by your own bar staff that SEVERAL bags are stolen each night, I feel like the establishment is either in on the ploy or they simply lack the duty of care to their constituents. Both are quite off-putting. A simple security guard at the door or proper CCTV would mitigate some of the risk and also show a consideration for the patrons that pay money to the restaurant. The Windmill simply must do better and have a duty of care. Overall, this place is not...