please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Wandering past on a Saturday evening as we were considering stopping for a pint, it’s definitely more of a restaurant and kitchen than a pub.
Apparently they still have real ale on tap but I didn’t venture in as it didn’t seem like the place or the crowd were quite my cup of tea.
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Correction - it is part of Gordon (the mouth)Ramsey's empire. Apologies to Sir Jamie.
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The Narrow is now part of Sir Jamie of The Oliver's pub and restaurant empire and as such is more food led than beer although it did have 3 handpumps offering two Adnams and one Greene King brew. It sits right by Limehouse basin lock (National Waterways) and has an outside seating area with views over the river etc. Up market? Probably, but as the other pubs in the area (Grapes for example) close in the afternoon then this was a welcome stop off on my walk from Excel to Central London.
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Now this was really not good at all. Dirty pumps on the bar, poor service and a VERY overpriced menu.
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this place is awful. dirty. no loo roll and no loo flush handle. poor service. no jugs for pimms. no record of our booking - even though we confirmed it that day. awful shop bought generic deserts. worst cheesecake known to man. the food is poor and the place is grubby. avoid it at all costs
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Surprisingly shabby and uncared for in places - bar staff were removed.
I'm not surprised Gordon's had to sell his Ferrari.
Clientele were mixture of Friday night boozers and overdressed diners - clearly a big night out!
Didn't eat but the menu looked overpriced.
Great for views down the river and you can smoke too.
Beer was OK but left feeling like I'd just exited a Wetherspoons for the middle classes.
Poor.
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Badly kept and pulled beer, in what was quite a good pub. Good view across the river,but put off eating here by noticing staff leaving toilet without washing hands! God help those who eat here.
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Got to admit, what's happened to this pub is just plain sad.
The great outside space has been covered up to fit more tables, the food ironically is nowhere near as nice as it used to be (and yet several pounds per course more expensive) and the staff are plain awful - which is strange as I eat at GRs restaurants quite regularly and the staff are superb.
I really don't know what their problem is, often there's about 6 people behind the bar and it still takes ages to get served. They don't even attempt to serve people in order and i once saw a man in his 60s told off (yes, really) by a barmaid because he politely commented it took a long time to get served. It's almost like GR's concept of a "real pub experience" is bad staff so they've been told to behave that way.
If you want a drink by the river - go here, there's just not as much space as before. If you want a nice meal go to La Figa down the road. The food is fantastic and the service is brilliant.
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Beer needs more attention especially when offering 3+ handpumps.
Everything else is top quality, staff, location, food, even the prices are not too bad.
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Not much like a pub now that it has been taken over by Gordon Ramsey. In fact it�s not really a pub, it�s a restaurant. Bit it did have Deuchars IPA and Adnam�s Regatta on handpump. Took a fair while to get served at the bar (there were only two of us at the bar) because the sole barman was kept busy by the waitresses filling drinks orders for diners in the restaurant section, and it was only when he had no other calls on his services did he get round to serving me.
It has an excellent setting with spectacular river views, and is probably a great place to go for a meal. But it�s not the kind of place to go if you�re just looking for a drink, so I probably won�t be going back � The Grapes down the road is far better.
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Fine location by the river and bar food nice. Potted salt beef very tasty and good ploughmans all reasonably priced for a Ramsay venture. However beer (had Adnams and Deuchars) both pretty mediocre - they need to remember it is pub (or is it?)
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A restaurant, not a pub. As the former, it functions very well indeed - and in spite of the stamp of Sir Gordon, is actually reasonably priced. The herring roe on toast is a winner. My pint of Deuchars also slipped down nicely.
Faux jazz reflects the owner's Desert Island disc choices and the pub bit is as bland as bland can be with a powdery blue colour scheme denoting mediocrity. Go for the food though and you will be content.
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Went here on a Sunday night (20.30), to eat, without reservation. Told by the manager that he would have to consult the kitchen to see if they were still serving. He came back and informed us that they weren't as 'one of our fridges is broken'. Nice.
My dog could think of a better excuse.
A couple with reservation, turned up ten minutes later and managed to get served.
1. Think of decent excuses i.e. kitchen has burnt down
2. Do not let chefs run the place
3. Clean the lines regularly
Inept
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Very nice place..
But
When I make chips I peel potatos and fry them, nice chunky home-made ones.
Harry Ramsdens do fantastic tasting chips even better than mine, perfect.
This place, frozen oven, micro-wave chips???, �3 per portion. Now I'm not Gordon F***ing Ramsay but I have never been more f**in dissapointed!
And apart from one member of staff walking slowly AND a black bin bag of rubbish carried through the main seating zone by another staff (quickly, to be fair) everything else was impressive!
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Impressive menu - great food - pleasant service. Pricey, but not overly, given the surroundings. Classy crowd.
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Great location by the river but that's just about it. Wasn't impressed by the crowdedness and a very mediocre pint of London Pride.
Geoff Brandwood
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We were there on the day of the London Marathon. Lots of lagers. Dissapointing and unimaginative two ales on tap (Pride and Deucar's), and the Meantime Wheat Beer was only available out of the bottle. Drinks were served in plastic pint glasses, which is an instant turnoff, but I guess that was just the nature of Marathon Day. Menu looked OK, and prices seemed fine, but as you can only eat in the restaurant or the upstairs private room, we didn't get a guernsey. To rub salt into that wound, whilst a friend was up getting a round in, a waiter came and tried to swap his chair for a stool. When challenged, he replied "the chairs are needed for the restauarant". After brief verbal altercation, the situation was remedied in our favour. We were, after all spending money in the pub, and bar or restaurant, one would think that a customer is a customer.
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Because of the great thames-side location, this pub has always been worth a visit... but after the decent enough makeover, the adding of three good real ales, and a very good and easonably priced food menu push this up into one of the best pubs in London.
If you want to eat but can't book a table, turn up anyway as the outside seating area can't be booked so you should be waiting too long.
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Walked past here the other day. Asked the staff and they said it was due to reopen on the 19 March. Should be interesting, great location.
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Closed for refurbishment, The Narrow is scheduled to re-open in early March. In it's perfect location by the Thames The Narrow will be the perfect place to enjoy a hearty english meal accompanied by a nice english ale! I live on Narrow St and am really looking forward to it's re-opening, it's about time that a good chef (Gordon Ramsay) takes over my favourite pub :-)
anonymous - 21 Feb 2007 13:59 |
Now owned by a celebrity **** (chef?). The blokes in the kitchen look like they've been replaced, a few pound per meal had been added to the price, the once excellent pork belly is now a thin slice of meat over mash, and the "don't fill them up so they need desert" rule definitely applies. Cheers Gordon, much appreciated.
anonymous - 19 Nov 2006 17:48 |
Located in the middle of a year round typhoon - with cormorant sh*t intermittently dropping out of the sky. I love the Thames.
Good selection of continental lagers - Paulaner was off though. Afflingem was an able substitute. Food looked decent too. Worth a visit.
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Surprisingly good venue. I say 'surprisingly' because this is yet another gastro pub, the type that have taken over London. However the Eurobeers on tap are a delight and the food really is very good. Even the packets of lobster crisps behind the bar are special!
As has already been described the river views are fantastic and the dining area is quite classy.
Add this to your list for your Narrow Street pub crawl.
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was about to deny it was me that made the yuppie comment then realised it was. i am entirely irrational. i don't know why i made that comment. i have only been once, i can't even remember if i liked it or not. i have zero credibility
anonymous - 31 Mar 2006 11:39 |
Totally with tombola's comments. I didn't expect to like this place but I do.
Disregard the 'YUPPIE' comment. That was made by Stonch, who is our resident pub fascist (his words....not mine).
anonymous - 13 Mar 2006 14:05 |
I really shouldn't like this pub but I do. It's uber-modern, slick, and they renovated a great "old mans" pub to make it. But the fact is... it's nice. The views of the river are excellent (esp in the summer), the drinks are good, the staff friendly, the customers are a laid back bunch (they've obviously got a bit of cash, but yuppie is a bit harsh), and the food is awesome - not pub grub but serious high quality restaurant food. You can see the fellas cook it in the back - they're definitely pro's.
anonymous - 11 Mar 2006 10:58 |
Very 1990s - could only be described with a similarly outdated expression - "YUPPIE"
anonymous - 22 Feb 2006 14:45 |
Had a pre-Christmas bash in here with a bunch of mates and was pleasantly surprised. The food was really excellent and reasonable priced. Staff were welcoming and polite. Nice ambience.
Looking forward to some al fresco drinking here over the summer.
anonymous - 17 Feb 2006 11:02 |
Pleasant if rather ultra modern and a definite improvement on the old Barley Mow. Good selection of lagers etc but no ale to speak of. I've eaten here a few times and not been disappointed. Outside seating area is a winner on a sunny afternoon. A good pub but doesn't even come close to giving the Grapes anything to worry about.
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A place for yuppies - normal people should avoid at all costs.
Go to The Grapes instead
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Bit TOO modern inside and this is reflected in the lack of ales and prevailance or harsh continental brews. Had to go for a harmless Carlsberg! Loads of outside seating right on the river by the entrance to Limehouse basin, access by steps down from the road bridge. Very pleasant indeed. Would visit again simply because of the vista.
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What an amazing pub, we used this venue as our wedding reception and I would recommend wholeheartly, if people are looking for alternative to the normal hotel route.
Gavin and Morag were so helpful right from the beginning, kept telling us not to worry about anything, and how right they were.
Everything went so smoothly (even with our guests arriving too early due to the bus company speeding up the tour that was suppose to happen on the way)
The place was decorated totally to our requests and looked fanastic and the food was stunning. (I am definitely going down later this summer for Sunday lunch)
Staff were friendly and efficent, blending in well with our guests and became a huge part of the day.
anonymous - 2 Jul 2005 09:32 |
Good food and a great position on the river, I would like to see more commitment to bitter, I get the impression the one unlabelled pump was a bit of an embarrasement to the designer. The 50/50 split between restaurant/pub seems sensible in todays circumstances. Friendly staff from eastern Europe, its pretty obvious which one another poster described as "pretty", she certainly is! Overall, currently our first choice for lunch by the river in this area.
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I have just moved into the area. Did the rounds and liked this pub. Slightly pretentious it may be but it is still a very welcoming place.
The food was excellent and so was the beer. As for having no where to sit - I am sorry but would you prefer a pub that is empty?
If so there are plenty of places nearby just waiting for you!
colen - 20 Jun 2005 14:06 |
Excellent location - and the manager takes real pride in his bar which is a huge plus. The food is good, and there is a great selection of quality beers, namely AMSTEL, Paulana and Leffe. In the summer it's a real hot spot and often punters spill out on to the street - but it's always very welcoming and well worth a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.
anonymous - 7 Mar 2005 20:12 |
pretentious pub, ooops sorry nopt a pub its bar and dining....no room for drinkers only in this place.
Spent �10 on two glasses on wine and could not sit in the bar seating area becasue it was reserved, for who we dont know
but they never arrived while we was there and we was not allowed to sit inside the dining area either
even though it was empty........tumbleweed!!!!!
Wont be going back....avoid at all costs.
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I agree with the previous comment about the Barley Mow - that was a very average place to drink. The reincarnation into the Narrow Street was promising and very much suits the new generation of locals. The beer is good, the atmosphere is relaxed and there isn't a better place to spend a lazy summer's day, than the outside area, where you can dangle your feet over the Thames.
The wine selection can be mixed, and I've found myself following the recommendation, paying through the nose, and drinking something very poor.
The barstaff can be described as "pretty" and it is questionable as to whether they are hired because of their bar skills or their looks. I have spent many frustrating times at the bar while the young lad works out how to use a corkscrew!
I tend to disagree with the comment on the food. The food is adventurous but with mixed results. How can you mess up bangers and mash?
They should definitely open the restaurant out to drinkers. It rarely seems busy, and at the same time people are cramped into the bar area.
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excellent selection of beers. service can be slow at times. it can feel a bit cramped at times & the restaurant side gets shirty about sitting at their tables.
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As a Limehouse local, I frequent the Narrow Street pub quite regularly. The staff are very welcoming, the food is exquisite and in my opinion, reasonably priced for its quality. If you sit outside on a warm Summers day, you could quite easily forget you are in London. Highly recommend you try the newly addedd cocktails! My fav is the Orange Mojito.
Lou - 21 Jun 2004 13:15 |
lush place for a lazy Sunday lunch. Though it is tempting to spend the rest of the day there. Informal eating at its best. Not just another gastropub!
fi - 1 Apr 2004 16:15 |
This pub used tro be called the Barley Mow (and indeed still is by many people). As the Barley Mow it was a very unremarkable pub, serving average pub grub at inflated rates. Its incarnation as Narrow Street has seen a very marked differnce in decor (all white walls, stainless steel bar top, large, original paintings of colourful nudes on the walls) but the food has improved immeasurably. It's really not worth going for the standard fair (bangers and mash, burgers, etc.) as they are not value for money. Go for the steak and you'll not be disappointed but check out their ever changing menu of more interesting sounding dishes. Yes, they're expensive but stone me, they're tasty.
Paul Marcroft - 22 Mar 2004 14:00 |
Prices sreen out the net-curtained clientelle, but a great place for riverside drinking
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Definately competing for the "most expensive burger & chips in the world" record.
Damn good home-made burgers though!
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