The Folly

Had a colleague’s leaving drinks held here. Reserved an area for 15 which was quite small, but the guests didn’t complain. :)
This place is massive. Love the bathrooms, very spacious. Bartenders and front reception was very nice and helpful. Would come back again.

Nice place with lovely music! I liked the style and decoration and the overall impression is of place to have fun. The staff is kind but the barman a bit slow with the coktails. However, they tasted really good!

Mixed feelings about The Folly. Located close to our office building, we had a team dinner while several of us were visiting London from the US. It’s got a great vibe, and we were seated immediately when we arrived on time for our reservation. We were seated at a long picnic table with long benches. Three of us had to pull the bench out and then find a way to gracefully get ourselves seated on this bench while wearing dresses.
We ordered drinks and it took a while for them to arrive. We had a mix up with one of my co-​workers, every type of wine she ordered was not available. Finally they found one she was happy with and then left the whole bottle even though she only wanted a glass. It took 10 minutes before someone came back and we could get the error corrected.
We ordered main dishes and sides and everything was delicious. I ordered fish and chips and a beetroot salad (I don’t like mushy peas). Fish and chips were great and the beetroot salad was amazing. A few of us ordered desserts and we had an issue with the apple tarts. Three of us ordered the same thing. Only one came out properly cooked, the second was slightly burnt and the third was inedible. It was a production finding our server and getting it taken away. I really could not believe they served them that way.
Before we had finished desserts, a man came over and informed us that we would have to leave immediately, as they needed our table for someone else. He said we should have been told when we arrived that we had a time limit (we were not told that). We had not even been given the bill yet, but he stared at us uncomfortably from across the room as though we were disobeying his order. Our bill finally came and it was wrong. They made an attempt to correct it and it was still wrong. A replacement dessert was brought for the burnt apple tart but then we had to ask for it for take away as we were not being allowed to stay at the table. The server did not seem to understand that which led to more confusion and more time. On the third attempt the bill was finally correct and we were able to pay, but my co-​worker who was paying said she wanted the service charge to be removed. That led to a series of questions, but she finally agreed to remove the charge.
The food was good and the company was wonderful, but the experience overall was tainted by the service and the attitudes of the staff.

When we went it was pretty busy. So the staff did pay that much attention. They forgot to bring my friends mimosa. They didn’t charge her for it, but it was still disappointing, because they remembered everyone else’s drinks. The good was really good but over priced. Normally j wouldn’t mind the extra cost because I’m paying for the service and the atmosphere, however they were short staffed and only came over twice, on top of forgetting the drink. There was one saving grace, the amazing bathrooms. I could live in those bathrooms.

Staying in the Monument area and looking for somewhere close to eat on a Sunday led me here. Options were truly slim, so I’m grateful this place was open. It’s nice enough inside. Menu is a little limited but the food I ordered (a roasted chicken/​streaky bacon/​avocado salad) was very fresh and well prepared. Servers were all friendly. And, for the business travelers out there, they accept Amex.

Went for a Sunday roast a couple of weeks later and was so disappointed! The food was very mediocre and some lukewarm with hot vegetables. After wanting to experience a roast here for a long time, I was so unimpressed!

After my third visit here (and fifth to one of these chains) I figured it was time to write a review. I’ve had brunch, lunch and drinks+snacks here so have covered all my bases…
Food is generally okay — I think the brunch fared the best of the food I’ve eaten here. They have a bizarre habit of not cutting up foods that go on salads — friends have received both lobster salad and tuna salad in this way. More weird on the former but an odd choice on both. The cocktails are always good and a bottle of wine is reasonably priced.
I love the décor in here and, if you ignore the fact that every branch of this place looks the same, it can almost feel original…
The Folly is enormous. Like, you go downstairs and are shocked enormous. That said, I’d still recommend booking for brunch or an evening — it’s gets incredibly busy!

This place is MAHOOSIVE. Its got drinks. Dining, downstairs bar and private dining. It just spans a large area and that’s a good thing considering the sheer amount of city-​workers on a Friday night. It was rammed.
We came here after be at one for a few more drinks and it was great, if a little too loud and also it’s a mission to get a drinks perch/​space to chat. But if you’re up for mingling with city boys, this is the place! The drinks were good, I like the bar staff more– they were really cute! :)

On the pro side, the décor is great and this looks like a good spot to have a business lunch in Bank.
Had the burger here for lunch. When you order a burger, and they don’t ask you how you like it cooked, just change your order to something else. The burger here looks good with its tall stature and brioche bun but, upon closer inspection, the meat patties have that preformed frozen from the factory look. You know, that machine formed hockey puck like hard edge (not ground or hand formed on prem). And it tastes like it. They cooked the thing well done and it was dry and tasteless. The fries that come with the burger were underdone and not crispy enough around the edges. When you have thick steak fries, there is little chance of the center drying out, so why not cook it a bit longer?

It’s an ok place. Lively, spacious, friendly service, good food… it would have been 4-​star if it wasn’t for the smell of urine in the dining room. It’s hard to get over that detail… so your experience will probably be better than mine.

This place is really cool in terms of décor — totally unique and very beautiful.
The food and drinks are amazing; although it can be a little inconsistent in terms of service. Have been several times and often waited a long time for any food /​drinks to appear which gets pretty frustrating.

Went to The Folly for a few drinks on a Friday night. It was nice and busy, spacious, and had a good friendly atmosphere, making for a good time meeting people and having a lively chat with friends.
Downstairs is very crowded and had an overly crowded club sort of feel. Drinks seemed pretty expensive too (even for central London), but we did at least get some nice glasses with our gin and tonics.

This was a lovely place to eat, especially after some horrible arrive we had at Sushi Samba. The food here was excellent. I also loved the way the waiters and chefs worked together. They have a very nice system going.
The reason I give the folly 5 full stars on because our waiter was such a nice guy. Though he was absolutely swamped, he was still very friendly and cared about what we thought of our food.
The food itself was also extremely good. Though I don’t usually go to bars, I would definitely come here after work with some friends to unwind.
Well done!

Super restaurant avec une ambiance et un lieu unique dans la city de Londres!
Pour repas d’affaires ou familles de passage, très bon restaurant.

I like The Folly comparatively to your other choices in the city. It’s got great eclectic décor, and a decent cocktail list (big fan of the skinny mango mojito). It’s almost always absolutely rammed in the evenings — and downstairs can get pretty rowdy. With large crowds of suited men prowling the landscape for ladies (yes, it’s a total meat market), it sometimes can smell pretty unfresh down there. But don’t let that deter you, this place is fun.
I’ve eaten here a couple of times (you should call and make a reservation, as it’s very busy Thursdays and Friday especially). The food is a-​ok, the Christmas meal I had here was lacklustre, but the other time with the main menu was decent enough — good burgers and sweet potato fries in particular. Oh, and surprisingly decent bread.
Overall, i prefer The Folly’s sister bar, The Anthologist (at Bank) — it’s the original and the best. However, The Folly is a great place to kick back in the city of London and have some after work drinks in a busy spot.

Nice big place with plenty of seating options, a nice selection of food and drinks. Came with a big group for a birthday and plenty of nice options for healthies, veggies and meat eaters. The entire downstairs was being used for a wedding reception but didn’t affect service speed which was nice. It is a buzzing place so not ideal for a quiet chat but fun for groups.

Ducking in out of the torrential rain on Saturday the initial impressions of this place are good. It’s a big space but broken up well into smaller areas, and that’s before you realise how big it is downstairs. We had a couple of drinks, ventured out to see the fireworks for the Lord Mayors parade then, as we don’t know the area well and it was still raining hard, headed back to get something to eat.
The staff are friendly and the menu interesting. They have a good range of drinks as well so on that front it’s all good.
We both ordered the Fish & Scampi main course, and it arrived pretty promptly. I was hungry so tentatively forked a couple of chips, blew on them and shoved them in my gob! It was then I realised they weren’t all that hot. The food wasn’t cold but it didn’t seem to be all that fresh either.
My guess is the chips were under a heater, and the fish/​scampi was re-​deep fried at the last minute.
That said, it was a nice combo, scampi, chunks of haddock and salmon, with a sauce that wasn’t tartare but… well I’m not sure what it was (chive and onion?) but it was tasty enough.
Not somewhere I’d choose to visit again I don’t think. And whilst it was very loud, down to both the music and the number of people all shouting to make themselves heard, it did seem to be quieter than it seemed, clever acoustics?
All in all a pretty standard pub that happened to be en route. Next time we’ll look further afield (depending on the rain…)

My experience here has massively varied on the 2 times I’ve visited so it very much depends on what you are after. I can wholeheartedly recommend coming here for a drink. There’s a really good selection of beers, the wine is fairly priced and the cocktail menu is ever changing. It’s also a really cool space with lots of little nooks and crannies and it’s great for people watching.
Sadly it seems to be all about style over substance when it comes to the food. While everything looked good the taste was very much lacking. I was served easily the worst chicken satay I’ve ever had and the fish and chips was lacking in seasoning and the batter was undercooked and very greasy.
If you can avoid eating here you’ll probably enjoy your visit

Had I reviewed The Folly after the first time I’d visited, I would have given it at least four stars.
It was my friend’s 30^th birthday party on a Saturday night and she’d hired out a private room down stairs. The bar was up market and cool without being pretentious and the people were friendly and upbeat.
I came again on a Thursday night. The bar was so packed it was impossible to move. The bar staff were rude. The security staff moved us every time we settled somewhere.
Also, as it’s in the middle of the city, it was full of bankers. Cockney rhyming slang as well as literal bankers.

Went there for a friend’s birthday. I had a duck flatbread as a main, but found it quite disappointing to be honest. Simply a bit tasteless.
The service is good though. They have a cutest sweetest little waiter from Bulgaria that danced all around, a true hunty! If there’s any reason why this place is always so crowded, with this kinda quality of food, I’d say it’s totally because of their cute waiters.
The cocktails were okay. We had mojitos and Zombieland. The taste was great, but, there simply was tooooo much ice!

Why is Sunday Roast not a thing in the US??? Best meal I had in London. Hands down.
Went here for Sunday Roast per a friend’s recommendation, and I’m so glad I did. The service was fabulous (even walked away with some suggestions for other great places), the clientele was cool (chatted with a few locals), and the ambiance was just what I like. Modern and open but still somehow cozy.
I ordered the pork belly roast, which came with au jus, stewed carrots and red cabbage, also a small side of lemony dessert, which was delicious. This was also my first time having Yorkshire Pudding, which was flaky and delicious and I sopped up a lot of the juices with it. Also had one of the special cocktails (something with spiced rum, spices, coffee, and kahlua), and it blew my mind. Super spicy and super tasty. I ate everything they set in front of me, even the big knicker-​bocker glory that this Harry Potter fan was simply unable to pass up (remember Dudley having one at the zoo?). Prices were appropriate.
When I go back to London, I will definitely be having Sunday Roast at The Folly, and I recommend that you go too.

endroit extra pour déjeuner tranquille ou d affaires.
Carte variée et déco fabuleuse. Le resto est sur 2 niveaux avec une cuisine spectacle.
Budget plat entre 8 et 14 pounds.
Great !!