Wonderful example of how traditional can be more of a novelty these days in a crowded ‘trendy’ restaurant scene.
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What I like - after the food - is a no tourists attitude, take it or leave it. One of the few remaining London bastions.
This is as straight forward restaurant. Great service and amazing food. This is a truly exceptional establishment !
Lovely food. Great service traditional surrounding. Highly recommend.
Best food , company and atmosphere ❤️❤️❤️❤️
My wife and I had been in Europe for 3 weeks and travelled and enjoyed the food throughout a number of countrys, the Best meal we had was by far at Sweatings. We arrived late for Lunch after a day out in London and the staff could not have been more welcoming and professional. Allen our waiter was fantastic nothing was a problem. We had seen Sweatings on an episode of Anthony Bourdains Layover series and being a big fan of Anthony we had to go, so terribly sad to hear of Anthonys passing you were the true Rock n Roll chef, you inspired us on many journeys and new eating experiences with your unique take on the world will be very missed you led us to this wonderful restaurant.We were not disappointed, we highly recommend this long standing, wonderful piece of London restaurant history.
Sweetings' slim but concise website leads with the sentence 'Sweetings Restaurant first opened in 1889 and has carried out serving lunch ever since'. They could almost add that they have carried it out in the same way. There's an understandability to this much along the lines 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' and on the times that I've eaten there, I would always seek to get there early to ensure a seat for Sweetings has 120 years of not taking reservations and arrival mid way through a lunch service will almost always see the restaurant full. Why then would you change the formula? Second thing to know about Sweetings is that it is a very City restaurant and opens accordingly. Opening hours are 11:30am - 3pm Monday to Friday. No dinner service at all, no weekends. While they have probably owned the freehold since it cost a pound and two shillings, the economics of the place must nevertheless be quite challenging being open just 17.5 hours per week, 17.5 hours only in which to make enou
Sweetings is a unique city institution, famous for serving fish and black velvet to city traders. They have a no booking policy and on a busy day you may be forced to knock back a few black velvets before getting a seat. I popped in here at lunchtime with a friend and was seated at one of the traditional counters, making for an unusual dining experience. We ordered devils on horseback (oysters and prunes), followed by lemon sole and finally roes on toast as a savoury. The food was great but not cheap! Worth doing once for the unique experience but could not become a regular haunt.
A nice, recommended experience if you want to try something different and positively old school. Most tables are sharing tables. Service can be improved
Went after a long time, but as usual great staff, buzzing, food was excellent. Halibut was cooked to perfection and service was efficient and friendly. A real city institute and the sticky toffe pudding was my fav :-)
The first place in london to sell oysters. Dated 1889 I believe.
The Dover sole is a MUST TRY.
IMO the bacon - scallop was salty because of the bacon. :/
Chaxi the server was really welcoming and we had an amazing time!
I completely understand why this place has been open for so long. It’s every seafood lovers dream. We were recommended this place by a local and I’m so glad we took his advice.
We came during a very busy lunchtime. Seating didn’t take too long. My roommate and i enjoyed many dishes here and very much over indulged on the delicious food.
We had eel, the pot pie, and the lobster mash. I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the eel. It was some of the best eel I’ve ever had in my life. The lobster mash was full of flavor and paired well with the wine the server had suggested. My roommate was extremely satisfied with the well made pot pie. Def have a look at this gem!
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Yes, it's old school but if you give it the benefit of the doubt you'll enjoy the experience. Our food was well cooked, fresh and tasty. We had the haddock fillets, fried in light breadcrumbs - see my photo. Many years ago it used to be plaice fillets which I always ordered. With chips and peas this dish is close to perfection for anyone wanting that British "fish & chips" meal, except it's a bit more reassuringly expensive here! And I thought the tartare sauce was excellent.
Unbelievably, a waiter who served me back in the 80s when I was a young gun starting out in the City is still here. I forget his name but congrats to him for still working hard at Sweetings. And I hope my server who is going back home tomorrow to Gran Canaria for two weeks holiday has a lovely time. I'm sure she deserves it.
My only gripe here is the somewhat uncomfortable nature of the bar stools to sit on. Maybe some new ones with some flexible back support could be purchased?
So, with a portion of whitebait to start and two glasses of Sancerre, our bill including service came to £106. Not cheap but if I'm only doing this once every five to ten years or so, I can live with it (no company expenses for me these days!)
Stuart, Friday 8 Sept 2023.
Haven't been for a while and since covid it was different. Somethings that hadn't changed - you can't book.
The service and welcome was just as warm. The setup is slightly different but there were still the high bar seats.
Guinness still served in pewter tankards and was excellent.
The fish was as fabulous as ever - I had dover sole. We shared potted shrimps, whitebait and the eel for starters.
The best freshest chips ever and the sole was cooked to perfection.
Thank you Sweetings team for staying true - I will not wait so long.
One of the last holdouts of proper City cuisine. Intrigue and gossip takes place over fish based boarding-school fare at narrow wood tables, fuelled by the signature cocktail of half champagne half Guinness in a battleworn silver tankard. The mature, personable waiters are pure class. Yes it's a bit pricier than its equally storied carnivorous counterpart - the nearby Simpsons Tavern. But while the latter still sadly remains closed while locked in a fight for survival against its unscrupulous offshore landlords, Sweetings is the only game in town. Use it or lose it!
Excellent food and lovely service. Make sure to order a Guinness in a silver tankard.
Absolutely English.
Even the Guinness and Champagne!!
We ordered as much as we could to try it all.
10/10 would recommend
My new favorite! You can feel the age of this place. Great service, great selection what can I say... Good was perfect, the sides were great! Smoked eel as an entrée was the right recommendation as was the bait fish! I will be back!
One of the most try sea foods restaurants in London
Totally charming drinking black velvet from a silver tankard and eating delicious sea food. Very English. They only sell native oysters so you can only have them when they’re in season September - April, but there are many other lovely things to eat in the mean time and great staff.
Lovely fish restaurant. Bit pricey, but nice for a change.
Absolutely superb. My favourite fish restaurant in London and has been for 20 years working in the city. Very popular and top quality food and service of a traditional old English style still adopted. Always a need to get there early to ensure of a table or bar table area. I recommend this to everyone at least as a must try. Plus there is flexibility on how you would like any fish cooked or served
Great seafood restaurant with attentive and convivial service. Great seafood cooked simply. And the chips were fab as well!
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