Wapping Food

We went there with three friends for brunch. The food was fine, but overpriced. Service was slow, and the owner was unpleasant. Unusual location though. I will go back for a drink to enjoy the setting and avoid the overpriced average food.

This place is no longer open for lunch on weekdays. Just had a wasted walk.

We booked to go to this restaurant on a Friday evening expecting it to be bustling, not so, in fact it was rather empty. The building is brilliant; the overall experience however has a lot of room for improvement. The main problem with this restaurant is that it is trying to be too ‘arty farty’ so to speak. I am very familiarised with complex restaurant menus but Wapping Food take this to a new level. While there is not much choice as the menu changes daily, the pure ostentatiousness of the way it was written was somewhat pathetic. I can understand adding a few foreign words to add flair to the menu, but not one person on my table understood what any of the meals on offer actually were and they are by no means intellectual lightweights. In fact they had to ask for assistance, which is somewhat embarrassing not only for those asking but for the restaurant itself. Perhaps they should have a read of George Orwell… Simple English. In terms of food, it was very good, but not the best by a long shot. Again I think they are over complicating the dishes they serve. I would much rather have simple but fantastic food. The portions were a bit under generous, especially in relation to their price. A meal for three of us, including one of the lower end reds came to £155 including service charge. I find it very cheeky when ‘high end’ restaurants add the charge onto the total, the level of service we received was not worth the £17 it cost us, and this removes a measure by which management can assess customer satisfaction with staff. As we sat at the table we touched upon the business model of the restaurant and how it felt very under-utilised. A Friday night here should be bustling; better music, simpler food, a classy bar, even the furnishings were a bit naff. This place has so much potential it’s a shame it is how it is. We talked about how it would be amazing if there was a bit of industrial noise, fluid lighting, moving parts, haze… Features that would make the place feel alive. At it currently stands it feels like a shell, somewhat soulless. My whole table left with the same conclusion. It was an experience dining in such a unique building, however the food is too complicated, over priced and the place lacks a serious ‘buzz’. None of us would return for a second visit other than to show foreign friends the architectural merit of the place. Put it this way… this place could be so much better.