Brel

Visited Brel with friends today. Not an overly friendly welcome. We walked in about 11:50 to be barked at by a member of staff: “WE OPEN AT 12”. We came back 30 mins later and sat in the front space/bar. No member of staff approached us, offered us menus… or acknowledged our presence. After about 15 mins we walked up to the bar. We were advised that there was a seating area out the back. We moved and were served. I opened for a “Kiss on the Hill” cocktail. Recommend it. It wasn’t expensive (£5) but packed a punch. We ordered food fairly quickly, however the service after that was slow. A good 35/40 mins until food appeared. I had the beef tacos with a side of frites. Very delicious, perfect portion size. All in all, 4/5. Service and pace let the side down, but food was very good.

Called in for a late afternoon drink, after a day touring the West End. It offers a great selection of beers and an interesting beer garden with a "hill" on which you can find seats. It was fairly well booked up, but we found a seat. There was some contradictory information offered about service, and a dedicated smoking area might prevent people leaving their non-smoking tables and standing by other non-smoking guests. Also, it was disappointing that Mr Brel's music was not being played, instead of the mildly irritating tunes heard so often in pubs. However, this is well worth a visit.