Westerns Laundry — Restaurant in London

I had a really pleasant meal the first time I was here a few years ago but unfortunately since then the experience had changed quite dramatically for the worse. I’m going to list out the things that annoyed me through the evening as I was typing away while I waited eons for my food.

We ran out of bread as you only get 2 teeny post-modernistically sliced slices for 2 people and I reminded them 3 times to bring me some more. When they did it was 2 of the end pieces of the loaf... Considering they take bookings way in advance you would have thought they could resource properly - sadly not, ordering time was long and the waiting staff were rushing around with little attention given. The wait between dishes was around 30-40mins. This ones a personal opinion , but if I’m going to go to a restaurant charging £50-60 a head and wine that starts at £30 a bottle you would expect a better atmosphere. Sadly I was surrounded by obnoxiously loud hipsters having a shouting competition. No plate change until requested, despite the plates sodden from the starter. Again refer to above price, you would expect a plate change. We ordered the lambs heart hummus chermoula - essentially a plate of offal in hummus without anything to dip - perhaps I’m not refined enough to enjoy this dish. For me it was just swimming with oil and crying out for something carby to go with it. I then paid £22.50 for a half portion of sea bass smaller than a child’s bowl of cereal - in fairness it was very fresh but I felt like a starter rather than a main. I donate regularly to my own charity but the fact they put a stealth £1 streetSMART default charity into the bill was unprofessional.

I think I’ve figured out the problem with Western Laundry in that it just can’t decide between being a great local modern restaurant or a fine dining restaurant. There’s a guarantee that at least one word on the menu you will not recognise in order to make one feel privileged/fancy (bouillabaisse, nduja, chermoula etc)

I really want to like this place as there’s some really cool things going for it, simple interior, open kitchen, local, menu changed daily and posted on a board in the back of the room and on Instagram (naturally) but sadly for me it’s now fallen into the category of overpriced and try-hard.

P.S check tripadvisor as there are more balanced...

Definitely overrated. Overpriced wine list. Food decent nothing to go crazy about. Very poor organization on the service. First thing they don't seem to notice how dirty the table outside can get, most likely from the breeze and they let you seat at the a visibly dirty table which have to be pointed out to them. Dust and particles have settled on the plate and jug of water, it is very obvious. It got wiped when requested but at this price point, you would expect careful attention to detail. Second, with the small drink selection they have, they say they ran out of gin from the busy day before (which should be available to buy in any supermarket or amazon same day delivery if they really want). Our drinks: 3 beer and one non-alcoholic, it arrived after the food and it took a while and three staff members to eventually get all of us a drink. ( 15 more min for another order of 2 more beer - were they brewing this in real time? Who knows?!). Lets not even talk about the wait to ask for extra servings of bread. The wait feels like they have been baking the bread in real time too. It got a bit frustrating. How tricky is it to slice the bread and send to the table? Service by kitchen and floor staff appears all over the place and disorganised. We left very disappointed and the food highlights were overshadowed by the underwhelming dining experience to a point that paying the service charge is just not worth it. The wait staff must be trying their best on a busy dinner service but definitely need to improve on keeping an eye on their tables and better coordinated. There are many restaurants in London that become one`s regular spot but unfortunately this will not be one of those. Definitely not recommend and we will...

My fourth visit and the first time I left mildly dissatisfied (it would have been 3 stars for this time but leaving 4 on account of the previous excellent visits). The food was great but for the first time I felt the value for money was not there in terms of flavours and quantity. I remember eating more and better and paying about the same amount of money in the past which isn't a great sign.

Another major mood spoiler was just on arrival to the restaurant. The waiter manning the reception demanded that I put on my face mask whenever not seated - despite the fact we were sitting outside. I explained to him I am 100% sure there is no law that obliges me to wear a face mask outside, he said this was imposed by the city council. I don't believe this as this would have been an illegal requirement, but I wouldn't have argued if he just said this is restaurant policy. Unfortunately, then he started preaching to me about how we all need to play part in protecting others and that this is not a major inconvenience. It so happens I do play my part as I wear face masks whenever in public spaces indoors, and as for the inconvenience, I'd rather he let me be the judge of how inconvenient this is for me. Apart from coming across as preachy, he was simply unpleasant and rude - e.g. was speaking over me and not letting me finish my sentences.

On a side note - fix your double standards dear Westerns Laundry as while you were ordering me to put on my face mask outdoors to move the 1 meter distance from the reception desk to my table, half of your kitchen staff had their face masks off and often so did the waiters when waiting to collect the plates from...