I first heard about St. John when I was reading about London restaurants many years ago, I think for a trip with my then boyfriend in 2010. We're married now, and just went back to London with my side of the family, a party of 11 including three small kids. I was in charge of booking restaurants for a few massive dinners, and I decided we would all try the iconic St. John. This involved contacting the restaurant over a month in advance and going back and forth with events manager Thea Elder, exchanging over 20 emails about menus, children, signatures, etc. She was great, always prompt and helpful. With our party size, we had to pre-order the feasting menu, which was £100 per adult, and no charge for the children. It included two starters, two mains, and two desserts, served family style, which I selected with her guidance. I also added some extras, a starter and a few sides. Unnecessary, but I have no regrets. After all that, I had a sick kid the day of our reservation, and St. Grandma ended up staying back at the hotel with both of my sons. I let the restaurant know, but it didn't really matter. I understood we were on the hook for a dinner for eight, and to be honest, my mom wouldn't have eaten her share anyway. The restaurant was instantly likable, a casual, vibrant place with the easy air of a beloved institution. Service was professional and friendly. We didn't need much, as everything was pre-set. We weren't even shown the daily menu, and weren't given the option to order anything a la carte (I wouldn't have minded adding a thing or two that not everyone would have wanted, but Thea had told me this might not be possible, and we already had too much food). We did get an XL bottle of red wine to go with our XL dinner, as well as two other red bottles. Good wine at decent prices, especially for a Michelin-starred joint. The food was outstanding. I'd heard from multiple people that St. John was British cooking at its best, and that was certainly my experience. Everything was delicious, and unlike anything I ever see where we live, in California. The presentation was homey but nice, the platters intimidatingly large. Dinner started with the house brown bread and butter, fantastic, and langoustines with mayonnaise, one of my additions to the feasting menu. These were sweet, plump langoustines in their shells, served with mayonnaise and lemon. For our starters, I went with the roast bone marrow and parsley salad and the poached salt fish, samphire, and potato. The bone marrow is famous, a St. John signature, on the menu continuously since 1994. It's the direct ancestor of all the bone marrow dishes in upscale restaurants across the world, and also an approachable example of Fergus Henderson's nose-to-tail cooking. It was delicious and fun to eat, the rich gloopy marrow served in open bones with bread to spread it on, coarse salt and bright parsley salad to put on top. The salt fish was equally excellent, sort of a big salad with delicate cold fish and creamy potatoes with samphire, a salty seaweedy plant I'd never had before. I loved this dish. I ordered the roast beef and crispy pig's cheek for our mains, figuring the roast beef would be safe and the pig's cheek adventurous in the St. John spirit. The roast beef was lovely, tender and flavorful, served with horseradish, greens, and trenchers, bread to soak up all the juices. The crispy pig's cheek was great, meaty and gelatinous, tossed with green beans, roast shallot, and a dressing to bind it all together. There were enough vegetables in the mix that we probably didn't need our extra order of green salad, but it was nice. Likewise the potatoes. The Welsh rarebit, on the other hand, was definitely additive. A fat slab of golden toast smothered in a delectable hot cheese sauce. Desserts were splendid. Moist, spicy ginger loaf came in sticky butterscotch sauce. On the lighter end, a lush berry mousse with thick cream and sweet raspberries and strawberries. Both top tier desserts, as notable as the meats. This was a wonderful dinner, truly a memorable family feast. I hope to come back to St. John whenever I'm able to visit London. Maybe next time, I'll try a little more nose and tail. read more

St. John is a restaurant for those that really enjoy food and understand what they represent and what Henderson has done as a pioneer of nose to tail cooking. A real food nerd's destination and an open mind is needed to be able to order and experience the offal and off cuts that reclaim some English, classic dishes. It's important to do a little research because the dishes served are not things often seen on menus, especially American menus. The bone marrow and welsh rarebit are classics and a must. The crab on toast is another menu mainstay; the whole brown crab is the alternative for those willing to put more work in. The green sauce is also ever present with the a daily fish. Our table went offal with the gizzard salad (wow, so tender and the dressing had good zing), rissole (mince meat croquet that packed intense meat flavor), roasted heart special (the cut was packed with umami and had a nice balance of toothsome and tenderness), and the cockles bacon and samphire (wonderfully smoke from the bacon and grass and salt in the sea beans). Service was pleasant and straightforward, but it was the food that really shined for us. A wonderful meal with the madelines being a nice finishing touch. read more

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Listen. St John is not for the faint of heart. It really helps to be an offal enthusiast. I had to start with the bone marrow, since it was Tony's favorite. Then my partner and I shared a green salad (don't skip it, the dressing is amazing and full of umami) and I ordered the snails and sausage. I wanted to be blown away but my first bite was a snail and it was so gritty, I felt like I had a mouth full of sand. That really put me off. The rest of the bites were fine but I was leery with each mouthful. My partner ordered the blood cake and loved every bite. The eggs were cooked perfectly. For dessert, I opted for the brown bread parfait. It's incredibly interesting but I'll never order it again. Ever. It was unpleasant, but well executed. Just entirely not for me. Service is prompt and helpful, if not a bit brusque. It matches the stark interior nicely. St John does an amazing job, I just think maybe it wasn't for me. I'd recommend it for others but would be unlikely to return. read more

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Came by for dinner the other night and it was a decent experience. St. John is featured in the Michelin guide as a 1 star. The entrance to the restaurant was extremely confusing with people smoking on the sidewalk and in the bar. In order to access the restaurant, one has to go through the bar and up the stairs to the all white restaurant. Meal started off with complimentary bread and butter which was ok. Started off with the bone marrow appetizer and it was tasty. There were 3 gigantic pieces of bone marrow, a gigantic slice of toast, some greens, and some salt. Moved on to the nmngalitza as the entree and it was decent. The skin had a nice layer of fat underneath and the meat was cooked to perfection. The char was blended with some mustard making it a slightly zingy experience. The brown bread ice cream was definitely unique as it featured some toasted bread and rum mixed into vanilla ice cream. The portion was gigantic! Staff throughout the evening were super cordial. The restaurant is super casual and dinner was done within the hour read more

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Food was okay, it's a bit overhyped in my opinion. The service is terrible though. Would not recommend dining there

The quintessential british restaurant, this restaurant excels at their infamous bone marrow. They've masted the perfect combination of fat, salt and acidity for the perfect toast. Besides that, the fish was one the best we had on this trip. The rest of the dishes were decent but nothing to rave about in my opinion. This place is def the place to go if you enjoy bone marrow. read more

St John Bar and Restaurant - Bread and butter - British Near Me - London, XGL

What a great way to end a trip to London with this Michelin starred experience. I'm assuming we were lucky to get a 9:45pm rez with only a week's notice. We are still thinking about that meal weeks later. 'Can't wait to go back. read more

I was curious about checking out more classic British cuisine while looking for an experience that would be harder to get back in the states. While searching online, I saw various sources recommending a restaurant called St. John that has been a staple in London for a while. I decided to book a reservation here for lunch, and as I entered the first thing I noticed was the striking minimal but rustic decor. Another aspect I noted was that the chefs seemed to also act as the waiters here, and so it looked like they ran the show for the whole restaurant. The service was good, and they seemed to be knowledgeable about all the dishes. I decided to start off with the brown crab meat on toast for the appetizer, as it was one that was highly recommended. This was delicious, as the fresh creamy brown crab paste paired with the acidity of the lemon made for a great opener. Then came the bone marrow, which is what St. John is really known for. Although I've had bone marrow before, this is the first time I've had to scoop it out of the bone itself and onto the toast which took a bit of trial and error. However, once you're able to get it onto the toast the fattiness of the bone marrow goes well with some salt and parsley. Afterwards, I got the buttermilk pudding for dessert which I feel was an excellent choice. The texture of the pudding was silky smooth, while the sweetness of it combined with the plum on the side made for a memorable dessert. Overall, I enjoyed this experience a lot and think it's worth checking out if you want some iconic British cuisine in London! read more

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Amazing food. Amazing service. An experience not to be missed. Loved the trip and it was further enhanced by great food and service like here read more

St John Bar and Restaurant - Dining room - British Near Me - London, XGL

Adding a photo of my outstanding squab dinner, delicious, tender, moist, deep in flavor and succulent! read more

St John Bar and Restaurant - Pigeon and radishes - British Near Me - London, XGL

I ate here for dinner with my family. It was busy in the restaurant and at the bar downstairs. I enjoy a menu that rotates with what is fresh and in season. The Roast Bone Marrow is so delicious and juicy- great start to the meal. The Grey Mullet was light, moist, and flaky. To finish the meal we ordered three of the dessert options. The blackberry & hazelnut tart and strawberry pavlova were both light and had fresh flavor due to the fruit. read more

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This restaurant has been on my list for years, and I finally got to it on a recent trip. Came with a large group and booked the private room, which was perfect for our needs. Service was excellent. We ate: + Roast Bone marrow and parsley salad + Kohlrabi + Whole roast suckling pig + Potatoes and greens + Rhubarb pavlova + Ginger loaf and butterscotch sauce The bone marrow was as perfect as everyone says - such a generous portion in each bone. Definitely the most amount of bone marrow I have ever seen in one place. It was the large format dining option, but still. The whole roast suckling pig was just ridiculous. Really good. Also enjoyed the potatoes and greens because I am a huge cabbage fiend. The desserts were tied with the bone marrow as my favorite dishes, though. I think I ate more of the dessert than anything else. This location also has a mini bakery counter during the day, where they sell the bread and doughnuts. I grabbed a vanilla doughnut the next day and it was excellent. Amazing all around!!! read more

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I was quite disappointed by this meal, from start to finish. I'll start with the parts I enjoyed - the potatoes were great, dessert was great, and wine was great. The pigeon was prepared very well. Unfortunately, I don't have many positive things to say beyond that. We had to push through a crowd to enter the restaurant, and then we were seated in a dining room that felt like it belonged in an American bbq joint. The doors to the dining room were opened the whole time as servers were going in and out, which led to an unfortunate draft throughout the meal. This was probably a night-specific experience, but it set an unpleasant tone. Service was slow and impersonal, although allergens/dietary restrictions were accommodated well. The braised lamb was added onto the menu as a substitution for the game pie, and I truly could not eat more than a few bites of it. Flavors were unpleasant, and it was not prepared well. Everything else was forgettable - the cabbage that came with the pigeon was ok, the beef and lentil broth was ok. Altogether it felt like a disjointed, careless meal. I am disappointed because people talk about this place with such reverence, so I hoped my experience would be more pleasant. Not the place for me! read more

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Food was inconsistent - some were very good, whereas some were terrible. Ambience was unappetizing - it retains its appearance as a former smokehouse and, historical or not, it was almost unsettling especially with the all-white interior. Service was ok, but it was difficult to communicate as the place was extremely loud. Overall the price didn't feel justified for the experience. read more

We were super excited to dine at St John. Many food loving people recommend this place to us. I love whole animal butchery and simple honest cooking methods so why 2 stars?   Sad to say, we did not enjoy what we ate at St John Bar. Maybe it was an off night? Or I was expecting something more. I prepare similar but better food at home on a week night. For example, the bone marrows were just ordinary and needed more parsey. I prepare it the similar way but I cook local grass fed beef bone marrow over hard wood fire, sprinkle with flaky Læsø Salt & Tellicherry Peppercorns then dress it with fresh parsley from our garden and splash of white Balsamic vinegar. Other dishes were ok as well but we felt they were overly rich and not balanced. Fish was fresh and fine but I do not understand their sauce pairing. Greens were overgrown, tough and too fibrous. People call me Bunny because I love raw greens more than anything but I could not eat it. Kids enjoyed a mountain of the freshly baked Madeleines. They were 5 stars. read more

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It may sound like an oxymoron, but an unpretentious Michelin restaurant. I had a business lunch and it was great. The atmosphere is more like a bistro than a formal dining room, the service was efficient and formal rather than pretentious. I started with the brown crab, which was nice but the star was the saddleback, pork loin cooked a little pink. It was flavorful, tender, as good as can be. An enjoyable restaurant. read more

St John Bar and Restaurant - Saddleback - British Near Me - London, XGL

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Last evening on my trip to London and saved it for a dinner at Michelin Star St. John. Made reservations a few month's in advance and were seated immediately. The restaurant itself is not very large and the seating is mostly indoors. There are a tables outside, but only a few. Menu changes daily and the prices are surprisingly reasonable for a restaurant of this caliber. The atmosphere is relaxed and there's a nice mixture of casually dressed folk and the London mobile fashion district. You'll fit right in, so long as you make a reservation. The food is quality, as expected. It's nose-to-tail food, as described by the restaurant, meaning they aren't afraid to use all parts of the animal. So, if you aren't into bone marrow or lamb hearts, then this probably isn't for you. Ordered the following: - Roast Bone Marrow - 4/5: Came with a parsley salad and some bread. Two large bones and they give you a utensil you can stick inside the bone to pull out all that goodness. Very good - Pork Cheeks - 2/5: Roasted and crisped, this had way too much salt. Almost made it inedible. If they didn't overseason it, it would've been excellent as it's super decadent and fatty. Just too much salt! - Roast Middle White with Carrots - 5/5: My favorite dish of the evening. Large pork shoulder cut that was cooked and seasoned perfectly. Nice balance of meat and fat. Roasted carrots were perfect complement to the dish. - Grilled Lamb's Heart - 4/5: Lots of pieces, very filling. Haven't tasted lamb's heart before, so I didn't know what to expect. Very palatable, tender, and tastes like beef. Nice dish. - Buttermilk pudding - 4/5: Never had this before. Looked like Panna cotta, but a lot softer. Has a little tart, kind of like yogurt. Very good. Everything was nicely presented and the wait staff was excellent and helpful. Would definitely come back if I was in town. read more

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I had dinner here, and I thought it was just alright. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I found the food to be just ok. The service was great, though! To start, we had the smoked cod roe on toast and the bone marrow and parsley salad. The smoked cod row basically just looked like smeared canned fish on toast, and that's how it tasted, too. The star of the whole meal was the bone marrow. That was amazing! For my main, I had the ox tongue with bacon and peas. It tasted like corned beef to me, but I'm not opposed to that. I really enjoy corned beef, but I wasn't expecting the tongue to taste like that. For dessert, I had the madeleines and Abbey's chocolate cake. The madeleines were warm, fluffy, and so light! I loved them! The chocolate cake was HUGE, and it was quite dense. I couldn't finish it. read more

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Boldly going where no lactose intolerant has gone before: deep fried rarebit. And despite the devastating effects that dairy poses for my digestion system, I will go back for seconds -- and thirds! -- and fourths! That's the mf'ing quality we are dealing with, folks. This little joint absolutely lived up to its reputation. Excellent service from the staff (S/O to Amelie for being lovely and charming and in general, an all-around dope ass baller). Now say a quiet prayer for the dairy sensitive among us. read more

Overall, ok place imo. The bread at St. John's is really good, along with the hot Madeline's that you can end your meal with. It's hard to get dinner reservations for St. John, which is testament to how good its perceived. Personally, not a fan, but did enjoy the bone marrow which is a most order along with the Madeline's. Our other main dish, was the special of the day, which was pig's head- a soupy type dish. Reserve a month in advance to get the date and time you want; lunch reservations are much easier to come by. read more

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I was very excited to eat here. The menu changes daily and uses the animal head to tail. I fear my expectations weee too high for this place. The dishes were good but extremely simple. And that's their style. Simply dressed and seasoned. The very present Welsh rarebit and Madeline's were not to be missed. Reservations are must. Service was unexpectedly spotty but there may have been a shortage. Michelin rating very questionable in my opinion. read more

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I had the pleasure of eating at a collaborative dinner between Fergus Henderson and David Chang at Ssam Bar back in 2009 and was blown away with the amazing tastes that Henderson could coax out of the nastiest bits of meat -- made a promise to myself I would try to make it to St John one day. Fast forward almost 14 years and my wife and I were in London and at St John. Despite going there the day we arrived thus running on little to no sleep, St John was still the best meal we had in the 10 days we were there. The ambiance is literally non existent, with white walls, no noise and no decor except for lots of coat hooks (which came in handy considering it was January). Service was perfunctory but polite. As to the food: 1. Bone marrow salad -- as much as it is a definite must order it was my least favorite of all the dishes; 2. Crispy pork with chicory -- fantastic, shatteringly crisp pork in a mustard dressing with assorted lettuces; 3. Welsh rarebit -- the best cheese toast I've ever had; 4. Mallard with beetroot -- the duck was a tad chewy but the tastes were fantastic; 5. Braised halibut with Swede -- assertively fishy but wonderful with the turnips alongside it (a combo I never would have thought of) And 6. Madelines -- not too sweet and perfectly baked, great way to end the meal. read more

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All around great food experience with high quality ingredients! Highly recommend the chicken liver toast to start! Dishes were full of so much flavor! I got the monkfish and my husband got the park beef, it was extremely tender. Menu does change daily though. Our server was helpful and walked us through the menu and his favorites. Reservations are a must! With seats still available guests walking in were turned away. I believe they run out of food and only have so much to serve each day. In other words, ingredients are fresh!! You won't be disappointed with any of the dishes you can't go wrong, it's truly an explosion of great flavors in your mouth with each bite! read more

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Delicious, unpretentious hearty food. Everything was excellent, from the bread to the exquisite bone marrow starter, the guinea fowl and rabbit entrees, to the decadent chocolate cake. The staff were super attentive and helpful. read more

This was a pilgrimage of sorts, very well worth the effort. I can't recommend it enough to anyone with respect for nose to tail cooking and eating! I arrived with No Reservations. My heart nearly dropped out of my chest when I saw that the bar area was closed for a private lunch function, but fortunately the staff were very helpful in finding me a table in the upstairs dining floor. Unfortunately I only had just over an hour before a better organised diner would take my spot. An hour was all I needed... I started with a pint of light pilsener (my starter suggested the waiter!) and launched into the roasted bone marrow, my dream dish. Everything was perfect, I can see why some have described this as a component of their favourite or final meal. The special of the day was devilled duck hearts. Peppery spicy and lots of umami from Worcestershire sauce, meaty without being heavy. This was washed down with a Fergroni - Fergus' boozier take on a Negroni. A starter plus a cocktail equals a main by my measure! All I had time for after was a surprisingly good espresso shot. The service was smart, formal but cheery. I felt special to be there despite being a jeans-wearing blow-in. My hot tip is plan ahead and book so you can take proper advantage of your time here. I certainly will, next time! read more

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St John is well known by now, championing nose to tail cooking. Overall, it was excellent food, but rich and heavy. Even so we managed to order the Madeline's with a cappuccino - you may want to order them mid meal as they take 15 minutes to bake. Our reservation was for 9:00 pm, which meant not everything on the daily-changing menu was still available. Like others, we anticipated having bone marrow, but to no avail. For starters, we ordered the crispy pork skin salad and steamed artichoke salad, followed by roasted tomatoes on toast with goat curd and roasted middle white with lentils as our mains. As expected, the food was prepared and presented in much the same way you might imagine a home cooked meal - unassuming. Everything was enjoyable, but service was a bit erratic. Halfway through the meal our server went on break without letting us know, or apparently anyone else. He made a big deal about whether or not we preferred our coffee "straight away" or with the Madeline's. Once the brief confusion was settled, the coffee didn't end up coming out either straight away or with the cookies. In fact, we had to ask for it. Outside of that, its got a great casual atmosphere and a very well deserved reputation- no regrets. read more

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This was hailed as the temple of modern British cooking, yet the food produced was mediocre. The bone marrow paired with crusty bread certainly delivered, yet that was the only one that was show-stopping. The pork cheek was just outright salty, to a point where the salt flavor takes away from the umami and meatiness of the pork. The sweetbreads, which I'm accustomed to eating, were decent. Just nothing out of the ordinary. The snails and trotters with barley had good flavor depth from the slow-cooked trotter, yet the other components didn't coalesce well together. I found the acid in the dish to be a touch too overpowering. I'm not against eating "adventurous" proteins, they just have to be executed well. They weren't exactly at my visit. read more

Our experience here was very underwhelming. We were very excited to eat here, as it was highly recommended by close individuals and well known chefs. However, it fell completely short. We started off the night with the bone marrow, which was delicious but very small portions. For the table of 3, we got 3 small bones and 1 piece of toast. Regardless of the small portion, this ended up being the highlight of the night. For dinner, we got the ox tongue and braised hare. The ox tongue was pleasant, tender and had great flavor, but the sides were substituted without upfront knowledge which was confusing but not the end of the world. The hare was a big negative on the evening. It was dry, stuck to the bone and had hardly any meat. The sour cabbage was very watery, which made the texture of the meal undesirable. Unfortunately, the cabbage and the hare were also lacking in flavor so there were not redeeming qualities here. There was nothing we enjoyed about the hare dish, and both of the 2 portions were not well done. Overall, we left disappointed and frustrated that we spent so much money on a meal that tasted much worse and with smaller portions than a local restaurant you can find anywhere in London. I wish we could've understood the hype after dining, but this is one that we will tell people to pass on when coming to London. read more

We were so excited to come here for the Nose to Tail dining. Minimalist surrounding with fantastic service. Here is what we ordered: - roasted bone marrow: superb 4.5/5 - roasted pigeon medium rare: 3/5 slightly chewy - tender braised tripe with chanterelle: 4/5 super juicy - fresh baked madeleines: 4/5 light and fluffy read more

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Both the late great Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerman showcased this place so of course I had to check it out. Very white and bright minimalistic interior decor. This is a true nose to tail place, If you want burgers or steaks this is not the place for you, if you culinary tastes are more adventurous then you need to come here. Their most famous famous dish is the bone marrow with parsley salad. Such decadent marrow that you push out of large bone and spread atop crusty bread and top with some tangy parsley salad. Oh so good. We also tried the braised rabbit and escargot and sausage soup. All were such a tasty delight. The staff were great, the beer was cold and the atmosphere was warm. This is a must go for all foodies out there! read more

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St. John is a must-stop on our visits to London. Since the menus change regularly, I was concerned on our scheduled date that some of the "big hitters" wouldn't be available. Well, we hit the menu jackpot! Deviled kidneys for a starter and goat faggots & mash for a main course. Seriously, it doesn't get any better for nose-to-tail enthusiasts! Mussels, Welsh Rarebit, green salad, and braised cabbage, hokey pokey ice cream and apple sorbet w/ vodka were some our other choices - all excellent. Service was efficient and friendly. Atmosphere was energetic without being loud. SJ spaces out the dining room well so you never feel crowded. And finally, this has to be a "best value" Michelin star restaurant. We ate at Dishoom (love it!) the night before, and our tabs were pretty similar. Cheers to the staff at St. John! read more

We had a very good and very interesting (to us) dinner here. This is not usually our favorite type of food, but we went in with a very open mind and were pretty happy with the result. After a lot of deliberation, we got the crispy pig skin, the Welsh rarebit, the beetroot, the roast bone marrow, and the roast tamworth, followed by a half dozen madeleines, a lemon tart, and a scoop of mint ice cream. Our favorite was probably the Welsh rarebit -- we had no idea what it was coming in, but we were sold when we found out it was essentially like a cheesy bread / grilled cheese, and this was among the best versions of that I can remember eating. The bone marrow was also great, in exactly the way you'd expect. We enjoyed the tamworth and the lentils that came with it as well, but I didn't think it was overly memorable. Same for the beetroot. The madeleines are much-hypes, and deservedly so. We liked all three desserts, but this was the obvious standout. Overall, really solid food, and a good excuse for us to branch out a bit. I wouldn't have it as one of the top 100 places in the world, but I'm really glad we went regardless. read more

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St John's has been on my must visit list for nearly a decade. Great experience, be sure to make a reservation. Everything is prepped in hoise, bread is great, drinks are good. Some of the flavors didn't do it for me but this shouldn't detract from the hardwork the chefs put into the food and experience. The items vary from visit to visit so yours might just add a 5th star! read more

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Outstanding food, service, ambiance. Classic British food, nose to tail, simply but exquisitely prepared. We started with olives and roasted bone marrow, a favourite we order whenever possible, and this was the best we've ever had. Accompanying parsley salad was flavourful crunchy and fresh, perfect accompaniment along sourdough toast. For mains we shared grey mullet, grilled shorthorn, white asparagus, green salad and a sublime braised mutton. Everything was superb and we were quite full but couldn't resist dessert. Both the lemon posset and date loaf with butterscotch sauce were incredible and we ate every last bit. Service was low key excellent and very helpful as we ordered wine by the glass having over imbibed over the weekend and server recommendations were perfect. read more

Discombobulated meal. Things came out without any explanation. We couldn't discern between a small side salad and a main course fish dish which tells you about portion size . It was underwhelming overall. Food was mediocre. Lights are super downstairs and there is zero ambiance. Wouldn't return. read more

Anthony Bourdain named this restaurant one of the places you must eat before you die so when I found out I was going to London, I could not pass up a chance to visit. Because of other plans we could not get dinner reservations so my friends and I went for lunch. I was unsure how they would feel about this menu since some do not eat food like this but they saw how excited I was and took a chance. I wanted to have what Tony had on the show however some items were unavailable. The signature Roast Bone Marrow was tops on the list for a couple of us and it absolutely did not disappoint, by far the best I've ever had in my life. The rich, fatty marrow spread on crispy toast and topped with the bright, fresh parsley salad was a symphony in my mouth. Some other appetizers ordered were the Brown Shrimp and White Cabbage and the Smoked Eel, all were enjoyed. For a main dish I ordered the Pigeon, Peas and Bacon which was very good, not gamey at all. My friends enjoyed the Roast Chicken, Carrots and Trotter; Halibut and Chips; Crispy Pig's Cheek and Dandelion and Lemon Sole. Again, everything was very good. For dessert the Madeleines looked and smelled way too good to pass up so we got a half dozen, one for each of us and a Bread and Butter Pudding. The Madeleines were cakier than most I had, not a bad thing however I found they were a tad overbaked. The real star for us was the pudding, it was just outstanding and a perfect end to a memorable meal. Service was really good and the prices were comparable for the portions and quality of food. read more

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My wife and I dined at the Spitalfields location with clients some years ago and were told the raw pigeon was "cooked perfectly," but not learning our lesson we returned to the Smithfield location recently. We both became ill hours later and remained unwell for several days. Again, the restaurant confirmed the meal was perfect and deflected blame. Could be coincidence. But we won't be returning. read more

First trip to London and had the most amazing meal. The Welsh Rarebit was the absolute best. I went local and had the turbot, leeks and lavabread, OUTSTANDING! The service was wonderful also. read more

Wonderful meal at St John! Definitely more for the adventurous meat eater. We loved the ox tongue, lamb heart, bone marrow and pork belly! It's actually a casual place and my kids loved trying all the new foods. Also the madeleines are divine! read more

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Yes, all the hype is true and it's worth the trip. There's construction on the outside which got us a little confused as to the location, but it wasn't that busy on a Friday lunch. The Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad was really satisfying, bone marrow was excellently prepared. Terrine of foie was good - not great. The fish special, Skate was very well executed - deliciously crispy and tender inside. I had the roasted squab which reminded me of my childhood days. The Madeleines were oven fresh and delicious. read more

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