Timmy Green — Restaurant in London

Poorly run restaurant that's about as "Australian" as Tony Macaroni is a British restaurant. Like... sure, I guess? But there's no authentically Aussie cuisine on the menu, so it just seems like a trendy brunch spot with a bunch of ferns sticking out of the walls.

Service was awful — the host told us that, since we didn't have a reservation, we had to sit at the bar, though there were several tables in the restaurant that, despite being cleared and ready for presumed reservations, were unoccupied for an hour or more. So clearly that was just a lie. Along with this, the upstairs level wasn't seating guests, despite there being more tables up there. If a trendy brunch spot isn't operating at maximum capacity at 11:00 am on a SUNDAY, what is it doing!??! The actual time it took to take our order was laughable, too — you either know what you want the minute you sit down or you need to wait 15 minutes until the waiter remembers you exist. It took so long for our pretty simple breakfast order to get made that the waiter had to come over and reassure us that the food was five minutes away. It took just as long for our cheque to come at the end of the meal — most of the staff is just pretty inattentive and unhurried.

My partner and I ordered a fresh-squeezed OJ each, which was a tad watery and overpriced at £5.5 for about 350 ml, and the Dirty Daisy and Smoked Salmon Royale. The Dirty Daisy was wonderful and flavorful, with lots of sauces and excellent salty black beans. Too few tater tots for the £14.70 price tag, though, and I'm not sure Timmy Green gains anything by making it's own tots from scratch. They taste a little less oily and more fluffy than the store-bought frozen ones, but given the choice between a bowl of store-bought tots and eight good homemade ones, I'm picking the frozen ones.

The Smoked Salmon Royale was atrocious. Bland, flavorless, and lazily plated. The avocado was presented as an unsliced half as if to say, "Do it yourself if you're so smart." The chili pesto tasted fine, but it didn't compliment the salmon at all, and the dark rye bread was equally uninspired. It tastes plain and cakey without toppings to liven it up, and the avocado-salmon-egg-hollandaise combination wasn't enough. It was like a bad smørrebrød.

Overall we paid way too much for a pretty bad meal and lousy service that treated us like garbage. Literally just go to the Pret next door — you'll have a better meal for a fraction...

ANSWER TO THE OWNER'S REPLY: Good morning, Thank you very much for your reply, explanation and offer. I wanted to point out that while it is true that you offered us a hot drink as you say in your reply (which we declined because what we wanted was to finish as soon as possible and get out of the rain), that does not exempt you from the responsibility of having customers getting wet in the rain while there are empty tables inside. In any case, thank you very much for your offer which we politely decline. I would simply prefer not to return to your business if possible. Kind regards. ORIGINAL REVIEW: We visited this restaurant yesterday Sunday afternoon. As locals who have lived in the area for over 20 years, an after three previous attends, we were hopeful this time would be different. Upon arrival, we asked if there would be a chance to get a table inside within 20-30 minutes. We were assured it wouldn't be an issue, so we decided to return after that time. When we came back as agreed, a different staff member told us all the tables inside were reserved, despite there being four empty tables at the time. They offered us an outdoor seat, promising to move us inside once a table became available. We agreed, but shortly after, it started pouring rain. We asked again if we could move indoors, as some tables were still empty, but they refused. We ended up eating outside under an umbrella during heavy rain. Even when we left, three of the four indoor tables were still vacant. I pointed out this inconsistency to the waiter, who admitted that the system was flawed. It's clear their reservation system and overall management of the dining area need serious improvement. To top it off, they charged us a 13.5% service fee, despite everything being handled via QR code – there was no actual service to speak of. In summary, poor service, poor management, and a dishonest service charge. I won't be returning, and I definitely won't recommend this place to anyone. Maybe the food was good, however there were too much water in it to...

We dined at Timmy Green's at the Victoria location twice, and both times were a 5-star hit for both myself an my partner.

We were seated both times without a reservation, probably because we had our meals somewhat before the main dinner service. The wait staff were friendly and professional. Even though at times they were very busy setting up for the evening meal, both the wait staff and manager took time to answer our questions or listen to our ramblings (jet lag was still setting in lol) without making us feel like we were interrupting.

I had the aged ribeye both times, and as my partner has stated, it was worth crossing the Atlantic for. And this from a person who lived in Chicago in the 50's and 60's when "prime" cuts were still prime. Both times my steaks were cooked to a perfect medium rare. The chips were seasoned with that something extra that made them rise above the ordinary.

We dined there on our last day, mentioning this to our server, and were treated to an excellent example of their desserts, which--again--was worth the long flight over :)

The atmosphere of the dining area was at once relaxing yet energetic. There was what I would describe as a positive energy to the place, yet the greenery and flowers that were interspersed around the restaurant were made the room inviting and somehow more private (which I, as an introvert, enjoyed).

I won't hesitate to revisit this establishment given half a chance, and I do recommend it to anyone staying...