White Cross — Restaurant in London

The White Cross is a very lovely venue for lunch and/or a drink with friends though there’s room to consider making a few, small changes that would improve the experience. 4/5 stars

The Good: -Great location! The riverside views can’t be beat.The vibes are fun, light and relaxed - which is a huge plus! -Amazing food! I ordered a steak sandwich with carmelised onions and chips and it was really delicious. Would love to come back to order this again! The menu was priced well too. -Friendly staff. We sat outside but opted to order inside at the bar for our meal to be delivered to the table which wasn’t a problem. When the midday sun was very bright, staff quickly came to open the shade over the tables. I’m not sure if someone requested this or they did this on their own but it was shortly after our arrival. Though my friend and I chose to sit facing the river in the direct sun to people watch instead. -Clean toilets: Always worth mentioning especially when an establishment gets very busy.

What could be improved on: -The ordering system! 0/5 stars! Like many establishments, you are directed to order through your phone. . However, you can’t order as a guest, and you can’t order through their website, you have to download their app! Ok, fine. But the app was so slow to respond and the worst part is that it was requiring you to not only enter your email and birthdate, you couldn’t proceed without giving a phone number as well! It was very frustrating to use.This is such obvious data mining, I shouldn’t have to give all of my information just to order lunch! We were hungry, and I became increasingly uncomfortable with how much personal information was being requested, that we went directly to the bar to order - which went smoothly. The staff were friendly and I got the impression that many people order opt to order at the bar too. The website advertises their Aperol Spritz as a specialty. My aperol spritz was mediocre at best. Thankfully the ambiance made up for it. -The seating in the back patio is arranged in such a way where one side either faces the river and the other side gets a view of the back wall - which is dull and boring. I’d suggest moving those tables 90° so both parties can look at the river from the side, just like the centre tables. Or make the back wall more interesting to look at with some climbing plants or a mural on...

I’ve been avoiding writing this review as I really don’t like to write negative reviews, but overall the White Cross was really disappointing. To be fair we did go on a busy Saturday and some of the problems were outside the control of the team.

Starting with the service, I’d booked so I made sure they knew we were there when arrived (you have to leave a credit card and face a 30 quid no show penalty to book - which is kinda ok). After checking out names we were told to sit anywhere that was free. We did and were given menus by another staff member before someone one came by and told us off for sitting in the wrong seats. The rest of the service was friendly but slow with us having to remind staff to bring drinks we’d ordered etc.

Food wise: my bangers and mash were great with Cumberland sausages and homemade onion rings, the pasta dish was small and kinda bland, and the the Caesar salad small and with really chewy inedible chicken. There wasn’t a quality check so by the time the staff came we’d eaten what we could (I was happy the others not).

Atmosphere - we sat upstairs in the restaurant and it was the longest restaurant I’ve ever been in in my life. In no way was this the fault of the staff (who I’m sure where struggling to hear too). There was one large table shouting at across to each other and one table near us shouting over the large table. The large loud table left as we decided that we were still very hungry and would have desserts (happy that we could talk and no longer have to lip read). And then another loudish table took their place - we gave up on deserts.

Maybe we were just unlucky based on the other reviews. Overall the White Cross on a Saturday was easily the worst dining experience we’ve each had for a very long time. Was it all the fault of the establishment and staff (and personally I liked my food)? No, the noisy and slightly drunk shouting customers made it extra unpleasant. Generally the food and service were below par so I can’t recommend it from any angle and would seriously avoid eating there...

CHILDREN NOT ALLOWED (EVEN IF ASLEEP IN BUGGY AND RESTAURANT QUIET, BE PREPARED TO BE KICKED OUT). TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. AVOID THIS PLACE. My family was told no buggies allowed in bar area and to take the buggy up the flight of stairs to the empty dining area. After struggling up the stairs (with no offer of help), we sat down where directed and as looking at the menu, we were told that the buggy wasn't allowed in the empty dining area either and that the only place we could sit was outside. It was 30 degrees so no seats outside but when we raised this to the staff we were told it wasn't their problem, so we left and found a much nicer place to eat right next to the bridge. Would give no stars if I could. Really don't like giving poor reviews but my family felt that my sleeping son was treated worse than a dog Very upsetting for all of us. The staff could have been so much nicer, but I guess no need when this pub relies on having a good view. Having read the reviews I see that many others have had similar...