An original Victorian Fish and Oyster bar established in 1889, located in the City of London, known for its traditional British seafood and historic ambiance.
Sweetings is an original Victorian Fish and Oyster bar, established in 1889, located in the heart of the City of London on Queen Victoria Street. It retains its original interior with long dark wood bars, offering a unique, old-school British establishment experience often referred to as the City's 'last canteen'. The restaurant does not take reservations.
Customer Perception
Customer perception is mixed but generally highlights the unique historical 'experience'. Many appreciate the attentive and friendly service, the buzzing atmosphere, and the generous portions. Specific dishes like the scallops wrapped in bacon, fresh oysters, and the sticky toffee pudding receive high praise. However, some customers find the food quality inconsistent, with dishes like the fish pie described as bland and the lobster mac and cheese as disappointing. Service can sometimes be slow or disorganized, and the counter seating is often noted as uncomfortable. While some find the prices fair for the portions, others feel the food doesn't always justify the cost, suggesting the restaurant might be 'coasting on reputation'.
Sweetings has been a fixture in the City of London since 1889, maintaining much of its original charm and decor. It is known for its traditional British seafood offerings and its distinctive counter-style seating.
Sweetings is very popular for lunch on weekdays and does not take reservations. It is recommended to arrive early, ideally before 12:00 PM, to secure a seat as it fills up quickly and is usually full by 12:15 PM.
3
Sweetings has been a fixture in the city for decades. I visited for lunch on a Thursday. Knowing it’s a very popular place that doesn’t take reservations I arrived just after opening time at 11:30am, but in hindsight this was too cautious as it only started to fill up at around 12pm (and was totally full by around 12:15pm). The layout is a bit unusual with the majority of seating being along a series of counters, apart from one section of regular tables at the back. The counter seating is quite uncomfortable being on backless stools while there isn’t really any space for your legs under the counter, so you basically have to sit further back and then lean forward while eating your meal.
I ordered a few of their headliner items, starting with the prawn cocktail, followed by the fish pie and then a sticky toffee for dessert. The prawn cocktail was fairly standard in flavour but nice enough, and was a strikingly large portion for a starter. I found the fish pie to be rather bland. The fish itself was fresh and well cooked but there was a lack of seasoning throughout and it was also a variant of pie with no pastry casing, but rather topped with a potato mash layer. The sticky toffee was pretty solid and my favourite item of the meal.
Service was very friendly. The bill for my meal came to £57 including an £11 glass of white wine. Overall I came away underwhelmed given the reputation and popularity of the place. Service was good and prices seemed fair given the generous portions, however the food itself was average and seating arrangements not great. It does get some credit for the “experience”, being a rarity of an old school British establishment which probably hasn’t changed in decades. But definitely a tick the box one for me, and I don’t see myself returning.
Such an institution and I was only able to visit this place as I had a day off on a weekday! The place is buzzing from the moment it’s opened and you must go there early to make sure that you get a table or wait for a while. We started off with the famous black velvet (champs and Guinness) and oysters. The service is very slow up until you finish your starter so don’t get there too hungry! The food quality is top notch especially loved the generous serving of salmon and eels. The mains were also cooked well. I definitely recommend a visit once in a life time!
Service was poor from the start. We sat at the bar, and the bartender directly in front of us had his back turned the entire time—never acknowledged us once. Instead, two other staff members intermittently stepped in to help, which felt disorganized and frankly odd.
It took about 10 minutes before anyone even asked us for drinks, and even longer to take our food order. We went with the crab rarebit—completely average and nowhere near justifying the price.
To make matters worse, they were out of fish and chips… at a place known for fish. That pretty much says it all.
The whole place feels like a banker lunch spot coasting on reputation. In a city like London, where you’re spoiled for choice, there are far better options.
In the end, they will of course charge you for service.
Would not go back.
One of those places where if you know, you know. The scallops wrapped in bacon was just perfectly cooked! Excellent fish pie. Oysters were fresh. The wine list is great. Perfect for a quick nice afternoon meal! Make sure you come early or you won't get a seat. And whatever you do, don't miss the sticky toffee pudding! One of the best I've had recently.
I was excited, but also a tad apprehensive to try this historic joint. Some places can be historic and still deliver to an exceptionally high standard whilst others are delivering mediocre food trading on their history.
Unfortunately, Sweetings falls into the latter category.
The whitebait felt mushy and the scallops might well have been a monkfish pretending to be scallops.
The worst, however, was the lobster mac and cheese. I mean, how can you get something so simple so wrong? There are only three ingredients.
This version was seriously lacking the cheese, was watery and included some sort of weird barbecue sauce.
I held my breath for two very traditional desserts, apple crumble and spotted dick. However, even these were disappointing. The spotted dick tasted like plasterboard with a micro portion of custard that might have helped it to redeem itself if they’ve been enough of it.
If historic Sheekeys in Soho can continue to do great food and a historic location I don’t know why this place can’t.
