The Folly

Bars·
££££
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Bronze Award
·

SquareMeal Review of The Folly

Bronze Award

‘It’s chic and very now’ says one reader of this capacious, typically theatrical Drake & Morgan bar, laid out on two levels close to the north end of London Bridge. The decor has a garden theme, with lots of greenery, a resident florist and some pretty furniture with hints of Scandinavian modern and 50s ‘stil nuovo’; there are even some pop-up shopping opportunities too. Cocktails include classics-with-a-twist, low-cal ‘skinnies’ and punch bowls for sharing, while food is served from breakfast onwards, with a menu that rounds up everything from fondues to flatbreads, Thai green curry and club sandwiches. If looks and inventiveness were everything, The Folly would be an unqualified success, but quibbles over food and service suggest it’s sometimes a case of ‘style over substance’.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £30 - £49
Cuisines
Bars
Ambience
Lively, Unique
Perfect for
Group dining [8+]
Food Hygiene Rating

Location

41 Gracechurch Street, City of London, London, EC3V 0BT

020 7283 1880 020 7283 1880

Website

Opening Times

Mon-Fri 7.30am-11pm (Thurs-Fri -12M) Sat-Sun 9am-12M (Sun -7pm)

Reviews

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27 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Melanie O

03 June 2024   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 4
Service 4
Atmosphere 5
Value 4
London Girl

A fun venue but can be very noisy!  A varied menu but not so good for my guest as vegan options were limited.  However, an enjoyable experience overall.

Anon

29 January 2023  
Food & Drink 0.5
Service 0.5
Atmosphere 3
Value 1.5
The Folly is very bad restaurant

The Folly is a poor restaurant that I never tried in Central London.

The manager and the waiters are unpolite and really not helpful.

The food is so bad. The steak is totally dry and burnt that we cannot eat.

I will never come again and it is the most worst experience recently.

Anon

20 June 2021  
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
Amazing time

Visited The Folly with some friends and had the best experience! Staff were so attentive and friendly, and made us feel very safe (which is so important in light of the current circumstances). The drinks and food were amazing! Managed to get a couple of staff members names, so shoutout to Lucy at the front desk, as well as Ricky, Cindy & Hayet - such a great team and thanks for the best time. Will defo be back soon!!

Anon

24 July 2020  
Food & Drink 4
Service 0.5
Atmosphere 0.5
Value 1
The Opposite of what looks like from the outside

I was at "The Folly" one day and it has been the worst experience ever in a while.

The design of the place it's really Fantastic rather then the Service and the Managers and Supervisors whose work there. You can feel an Hostile atmosphere in there as soon you walk in as the Manager it's unfair with the team members instead of helping, just complain to them in front of the customers for several times. I could see just Supervisors going in and out and walking around pretending to be useful but just chatting with the team. The Front of the House was flirting with drunk customers and using the phone.

While all this was happening we were still waiting for our orders.

 

I kindly ask to review the Managing of the restaurant at The Monument Station because what I saw was just unprofessional and unfair for the team.

I think that the Staff has to work in good environment and has to be supportive between each others mostly now with this Covid-19 pandemic where the team needs works. 

Darian I

28 November 2016  
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
Great night
Fantastic all round experience can't wait to go again)

Maggie R

03 September 2015  
Food & Drink 1
Service 1
Atmosphere 1
Value 1
Noisy bar rather than restaurant
Was told restaurant doesn't get notifications of bookings through Square Meal so had to scramble around for a table. Wish we hadn't bothered. Very loud music in restaurant area, no need for it, can't hear each other speak. Food was awful. Thai curry had no sauce and full of carrots - in a Thai curry?? Chicken was literally just chucked on top as an added extra and cold. Fish pie was basically salmon, peas and mash, no other fish and steaming hot like it had been microwaved. Same cldnt be said for broccoli which was cold. Never go again or recommend. Stick to being a bar with music as it was packed out with city people on a Thursday night. Real shame.

Louise C

13 June 2014  
Food & Drink 4
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 4
I really enjoyed my dinner at the Folly – the service was excellent, very quick and also very attentive. The food was good, we had the set menu and the portions were slightly small, but very tasty. The place itself is lovely and on the whole it was a very enjoyable evening!

Jodi-Ann D

25 March 2014  
Food & Drink 3
Service 1
Atmosphere 4
Value 3
This place is absolutely gorgeous to look at and when you arrive you can imagine staying here all day. Unfortunately that is very nearly true because the service is so all over the place that it can take you all day to get the attention of a staff member just to be served. Even when I got up to get some sugar when I first arrived, I was ignored and then directed into the general direction of where I might find some. The menu looked great as well but two of the, what I would think would be basic, food items were no longer available. so as a pescartarian, the choices became limited. As I said the place looked amazing, warm and welcoming. Having an eclectic, warm and rustic feel. Lots of potted herbs on the table and fantasy/garden themed cocktails. Two friends and I went for lunch on Sunday and one of our group had to rush a glass of wine that took a long time to get to us so that she could catch a 4pm train. I really hope this was just an off day as I would really like to go back,

Ashley D

19 October 2013  
Food & Drink 2
Service 2
Atmosphere 4
Value 2
Disappointment at the Folly
Service was patchy and the food poor. Steak sandwich was very stringy and the fish was swimming in oil. The atmosphere was good though and consistent with my other visits to this restaurant. Food has been better in the past but I won't be in a hurry to return.

Lea E

02 August 2013  
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
A breath of fresh air ... Amazing!
I visited the Folly for the first time last week Friday. I was greeted by two lovely young ladies who were very polite and friendly. They showed me to a table and within 2 minutes I had menus and my drinks order was taken. My waiter was excellent, the service was superb and the food was great value for money. I had the beef burger with extras and it was very tasty. The Folly is a great restaurant for lunch, dinner and other special occasions. I did see a lot of Birthday treats going out. I will definitely be back.
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