The Dairy Bar & Bistro

4.5
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1196 reviews
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£26 to £40
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British
Modern British bistro.
What 1196 People Are Saying
Overall ratings and reviews
Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant
4.5based on recent ratings
4.6
food
4.4
service
4.4
ambience
4.2
value
Noise · Moderate
90% of people would recommend it to a friend
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CA
1 review
Dined on 5 January 2020
Overall5food5service5ambience5

Amazing. The Sunday set lunch menu was divine and very reasonably priced.

H
London
453 reviews
Dined on 4 January 2020
Overall4food4service4ambience4

Yet another delightful weekend lunch, grazing through the short but varied menu of small plates include duck pate, mushroom croquettes and skate wing. Delicious

FR
London
1 review
Dined on 30 December 2019
Overall5food4service5ambience5

Amazing ambiance, superb staff, wicked music. Had such a great time here, only thing portions were very small... otherwise we absolutely loved it!

r
London
3 reviews
Dined on 28 December 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

My girlfriend and I make the trip down from Manchester every year for The Dairy's taster menu, and every year we are blown away by it. She is coeliac and they do a fantastic job of catering to her requirements; gluten free bread, and anything with gluten replaced with delicious alternatives. The staff are always incredible helpful, chatty and attentive, and for the price, the quality of the food is unbeatable.

We always leave with a huge smile on our faces and you will too; long live The Dairy!

JS
London
14 reviews
Dined on 28 December 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

Fine dining with good music playing, lovely food and friendly service. Had a wonderful laid back afternoon with the tasting menu, and we didn’t feel rushed at all. Would thoroughly recommend.

AM
Berkshire
2 reviews
Dined on 14 December 2019
Overall4food5service3ambience5

Food was delicious but it was incredibly noisy and the service was a little hit and miss.

EK
Berkshire
1 review
Dined on 13 December 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

Had such a fabulous evening enjoying the vegetarian tasting menu and wines pairing. Food was great, wine pairings well matched and explained to us before each course and there was a really nice atmosphere. We were there for hours and weren't made to feel pressured or like they were trying to clear the table. Would highly recommend for a celebration!

o
London
1 review
Dined on 13 December 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

Absolutely amazing taste! Definitely need to have one of each course as they are small dishes, but don't be fooled they are bursting with flavour! My brother and I couldn't stop talking how tasty and amazing it was. Made our family very jealous.

FF
London
2 reviews
Dined on 10 December 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

Have their taster menu and it was absolutely gorgeous. Lovely atmosphere and staff. Great wine with the taster. Would highly recommend.

MM
Toronto
4 reviews
Dined on 7 December 2019
Overall4food5service3ambience4

Food was lovely! However the service could have been quicker and more engaging. They recommended 3 plates per person, we had 4 between two of us and it was fine.

J
London
11 reviews
Dined on 7 December 2019
Overall3food4service2ambience3

Decent food. slow service.

D
London
1 review
Dined on 6 December 2019
Overall3food3service2ambience1

Underwhelming tasting menu and poor service for the price point - basic things like pouring/refilling drinks. Very loud table behind us ruined general atmosphere; spacing of the seating meant rubbing backs with them was unavoidable. Disappointed having been recommended - Trinity, Chez Bruce etc (same area and similar price, though a little more expensive) leaps and bounds above

y
London
359 reviews
Dined on 6 December 2019
Overall3food3service3ambience3

We chose the lunch menu which is made up of small plates. Delicious chicken liver pate and bread but then more bread for the truffled cheese on toast. Minute fillet of red mullet accompanied by cabbage and fir potatoes was interesting and we finished with the quince upside down cake. Overall for £60 a head including a carafe of wine I thought it was overpriced. It’s only lunch in Clapham after all! Also a minor complaint that the lightning is very dim - lovely in the evening but a bit gloomy at lunchtime

HD
London
15 reviews
Dined on 4 December 2019
Overall5food5service4ambience4

Stunning food, amazing unique wine list and the best rustic restaurant in London with the best food.

O
London
1 review
Dined on 30 November 2019
Overall4food5service2ambience4

Food - excellent
Drinks - excellent
Service - poor - both waitresses appeared to be unhappy to be at work and their attitudes reflected this. One of the waitresses audibly sighed when we asked her to repeat herself after mumbling which order she was carrying. We did ask the first waitress for some substitutes on the menu which were accommodated by the restaurant and this was much appreciated.

CB
London
4 reviews
Dined on 29 November 2019
Overall5food5service4ambience4

Absolutely loved it! Tasting menu and wine both incredible!

JB
London
3 reviews
Dined on 27 November 2019
Overall3food5service5ambience3

Great Food but our table was near the door and was every cold which spoiled the evening. My wife had to put her coat on towards the end of the meal.

AT
London
1 review
Dined on 22 November 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

The food is delicious, the vibe is really cool, the staff were super lovely and attentive. 100% recommend a visit!

OT
London
6 reviews
Dined on 16 November 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

Had a great meal the staff are fantastic as they have been every time we’ve been and the food is amazing

L
London
4 reviews
Dined on 16 November 2019
Overall3food2service2ambience5

Had huge expectations but was very disappointed. Service was a little to cool for school. Bashing water bottles down. Staff not engaged with tables. Starters bland. Might have been the choices we made but all 3 were different and none stood out. Mains were delicious but very very small. No sides suggested either on ordering so we left hungry really. Not an evening to be remembered. Shame as I was so looking forward.

J
London
2 reviews
Dined on 16 November 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience4

Stunning food, highest quality sharing plates. Excellent service and knowledgeable wine recommendation. Excellent lunch and can’t wait to return

MH
London
1 review
Dined on 15 November 2019
Overall5food5service4ambience5

All perfect except the 45 minute wait. Incredible food.

J
Edinburgh
1 review
Dined on 15 November 2019
Overall4food5service3ambience4

We loved the restaurant and definitely will be back, the food was fantastic only problem was the mallard was under cooked and made those that ate it unwell later in the evening. The vegetarian food was truly delicious and so was the wine.

OT
London
23 reviews
Dined on 14 November 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

we love this place, whether for drinks or the full tasting menu. this was the full tasting menu and it was even better than last month, when it was outstandingly gorgeous. The snacks are so quirky and intensively flavoursome and architectonic masterpieces; the bread course with its homemade chorizo and a gorgeous dipping thing, is a brilliant novelty; the pollack and beef were wonderfully cooked. Wev washed it all down with a superb Pecorino, then a Dolcetto and then got well-squiffy with a 500ml bottle of vin sant to wash down our Baron Bigod on toast and the two desserts. The service is fabulous and friendly. I have no idea what other people have experienced who have complained of service. But I do lunch, mid-week and that's the secret for superb service!! Cant wait to get back there.

A
London
3 reviews
Dined on 9 November 2019
Overall4food4service5ambience4

Helpful and knowledgeable staff made our visit. I've eaten here before and really enjoy their menus, tasty creative dishes (delicious bread a bonus) with perfect portions (not too much, not too little). Staff seem to delight in your visit, their manner is relaxed but attentive and all were enthusiastic about their restaurant's offering. We were very impressed with them. Happy attentive staff is a good sign of how valued they feel by the powers that be. The restaurant was busy and buzzy but we had no problem with noise levels. We had a lovely evening, our late booking allowing us to linger. Recommend.

WP
1 review
Dined on 9 November 2019
Overall4food4service4ambience4

The food at the Dairy is as exciting as it has ever been: I still think the tasting menu is fantastic value for what you get. Wine by the glass definitely isn't such good value - some of the more expensive options especially - but it's hard to begrudge...

EM
1 review
Dined on 9 November 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

Really fantastic meal at the dairy, The food was delicious and really good quality , a real treat
Will definitely be back

OT
London
2 reviews
Dined on 2 November 2019
Overall4food5service3ambience4

Great food, though there was a slight hickup with the order. The guy waiter was brilliant but the female was extremely unfriendly - she would literally state what the plate was and walk off. Great value for nice food though.

SW
London
12 reviews
Dined on 1 November 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

Great atmosphere, so rare to be able to enjoy very high end cooking in a lively, fun atmosphere

PS
Dorset
2 reviews
Dined on 26 October 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

We booked a table for 4 people and we all chose the mouth watering tasting menu with wine pairing. The food was amazing, very elegantly presented, the wines to go with each dish were great and the service was impeccable, friendly but professional and attentive. It was so nice to be somewhere where the staff really seem to want to be there and are enjoying working hard. We could see the kitchen from our table and it was the same there. We got the chance to have a few words with the young lady chef there and told her what a great job she was doing.
It was our 3rd time there and we were still impressed by everything.
Well done everyone.

FH
London
7 reviews
Dined on 25 October 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience4

It’s a regular for us and the tasting menu always a choice as it’s delicious. This time I went with my dad (in his 70’s) and he found the acoustics too loud to fully enjoy the ambiance.

AW
Dublin
1 review
Dined on 25 October 2019
Overall3food3service5ambience5

Room is lovely and staff very pleasant. Food was a mixed bag - some excellent, some so-so.
Background music was much too loud for my taste.
I prefer to choose how much tip to give rather than have 12.5% service charge included automatically.

C
London
43 reviews
Dined on 23 October 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience3

Great food and service. The tasting menu is incredible - from the initial amuse bouche, selection of snacks to main course. Desert (pumpkin pie) was a bit underwhelming. Wine was fantastic and reasonably priced. They were slow with some courses (pollock turned up late & cold-ish) but they recognised this and gave a discount on the bill. Overall, really worth going - food & service is incredible.

NA
London
1 review
Dined on 20 October 2019
Overall4food5service5ambience4

The staff were very attentive and accommodating, and the food was both inventive and delicious. I would recommend this restaurant to friends, it is certainly one of the best neighbourhood restaurants in this part of London.

JO
London
1 review
Dined on 19 October 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

My wife and I aren't made of money, and we cannot afford to go to too many fine dining restaurants, but we hadn't had a date night in a while so I decided to push the boat out a little. Had never heard of the Dairy before but after having a look decided to give it a go. So glad we did! The Tasting Menu was absolutely amazing and considering the level of cooking on display was incredibly good value. The evening may have cost us a bit more than our usual night out but it was worth every penny. Every course that arrived was incredible and I can't count how many times my wife and I exclaimed to one another "oh my God!" after trying a mouthful. Heartily recommend this place and we'll definitely be back.

OT
London
24 reviews
Dined on 19 October 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

I was already a fan of The Dairy so I knew what I was getting. Except I didn't! The tasting menu has upped its game significantly since I last had it. The snacks were plentiful, arrived on one spectacular plate and every one was a gushing taste surprise. Marvellous sushi cuttle fish, something with pickled walnut; I can't remember every detail but, aided and abetted by a wonderful Pecorino (white), we started well. My favourite dish at The Dairy is always the bone marrow agnolotti ; followed by translucent pollock. There is now a bread course, featuring a wonderful gazpacho and a spread including subtle anchovy- just gorgeous on their sourdough bread.The pork dish was eversoslightly less brilliant than other dishes but it's hard to find fault. We had another bottle of wine, a dolcetto, which was divine. The baron bigod, as a supplement, was gorgeous and we indulged in a naughty bottle of Vin Sant to wash down the various puds and the cheese. The overarching success of The Dairy, though, to me , is reliant on the sheer bubblyness of the staff. Everyone will talk to you and, boy, do I like to chat at lunch. I think we were there for 4 hours (it was a special occasion) and I can't wait to go back for more of the same on 14 November!

CS
London
2 reviews
Dined on 18 October 2019
Overall3food2service3ambience3

Lovely place but food not nearly as good as it was in the past... Fingers crossed they get back on it!

OT
London
10 reviews
Dined on 17 October 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

Never disappoints. Every mouthful is a taste sensation! The level of food is second to none ... high end restaurants should take note of this Clapham establishment! Every dish was literally to die for ! Will be back again and again and again.

KM
1 review
Dined on 11 October 2019
Overall5food5service5ambience5

I love this place. Never lets me down. Great staff and delicious food.

AM
Dublin
2 reviews
Dined on 9 October 2019
Overall4food4service3ambience5

Lovely food but quite expensive overall. Nice for a special occasion!!