City Social - London

Aj Wilson

I am a bit confused on how the restaurant got a Michelin Star if I am honest. It took more than 5 minutes of us standing at the front desk to be welcomed. They looked short staffed, based on how busy the bar was. The table, chairs and light fittings were dirty. Wait time was 15 minutes plus for a drink. Really not worth the price we paid. It's a shame as the experience in the restaurant ruined what was potentially good food. It's more of a location for the areas finance client's, rather than people who want a nice dining experience. Would not recommend, we went for a special occasion and felt like it was a waste of time

Chita PL

City Social offers a stunning dining experience with breathtaking views of London. The food is beautifully presented and tastes fantastic, though the portions are on the smaller side, especially considering the high price. Service is excellent, and the ambiance is refined, making it ideal for special occasions. Overall, a 4.5-star experience – a bit pricey, but worth it for the quality and setting.

Saju George

City Social, located on the 24th floor of Tower 42, offers breathtaking panoramic views of London, including iconic landmarks like The Shard and St. Paul’s Cathedral. The ambiance is sophisticated, enhanced by the elegant decor, making it an ideal spot for both business and leisure dining. The bar service is notably prompt and attentive, ensuring guests feel well cared for throughout their visit. However, while the atmosphere is impressive, the dining experience could be improved; some dishes did not match the high expectations set by the surroundings. Overall, City Social is a great place for drinks and views, but diners may find the food a tad underwhelming

Tiffany W

Overall: Not Michelin Star worthy & underwhelming

We picked this place because it is Michelin-starred and has a vegetarian menu which is usually a +1 in my book. However, I left the restaurant scratching my head why it ever got starred in the first place. (This seems to be a running theme in the reviews).

Food - overall the food was not that creative which is fine but so many Michelin starred competitors have much more creative flavors and ideas so expectations are high when you see the star.
Unfortunately while the food wasn’t bad it was highly inconsistent. For example, the broccoli had like 3 pieces of nori and was under seasoned/lacked salt. (Also they didn’t give me a serrated knife so it felt like hacking giant stalks of broccoli and getting an arm workout). The scallop dish was good but it needed one more scallop to justify the cost. The pasta was good but like any high end pasta restaurant can do and it was uncreative. The lamb was cooked well but one of the potato chunks was undercooked and the others just cooked. The dessert was 5 scoops or ice cream was £13 which was not worth the price. The food isn’t bad but I’m confused how it got starred. Drinks were not very good either a short and not creative cocktail menu.

Service - this was probably the worst part of the night. It felt understaffed and we had to wait 50 minutes to order ice cream and get our bill and during which I heard the table next to us have to ask to order dessert because they had been waiting awhile too. The food got to the table fast but the wait staff just felt like they were scattered and running around very disjointed so orders were slow and the drinks took forever. I don’t think it’s their fault if they were understaffed but it was really not Michelin worthy.

Atmosphere: the restaurant and bathrooms were nice. The view is OK - I do question people saying it’s an amazing view. Seeing into other people’s offices doesn’t really fill me with excitement so it’s clear the city vibes are what they’re coasting on. The fact it is in the city should have been a red flag…it feels very much like somewhere you go with an expense account.

Super disappointed I spent my money here, as it was such poor value for money and bad vibes.

Tish Jarrett

The food is melt in your mouth delicious. We both had three courses plus bread and left full, even though the portions are delicate, they are well balanced and filling. Service was consistently fab!

M Q

This is supposed to be a one Michelin star restaurant. It is not.

Let’s start with what was good:
- the hostess was lovely and efficient. We were greeted with a warm smile on entry.
- the cocktail barman made us a wicked Singapore Sling.

Ok what was wrong:
- the toilets were dirty. No hand towels to dry out hands. The toilet paper holder just collapsed when taking the toilet paper off it.
- the restaurant is lit to give a moody ambience but it just meant insufficient lighting. What light that existed was above and behind us at the window table causing a shadow to be cast over our food.
- The room temperature was really hot. I was breaking into a sweat just sitting there waiting for the food.
- I suspect this is the reason that the waiter smelled. Not his fault.
- The sommelier I am not sure if he was qualified. His red wine recommendation tasted terrible and when he served the wine he poured it first before showing us the bottle to confirm.
- The food was okay. We had a steak, scallops and my guest had fois gras. The scallop was overcooked around the edges.
- They did not clear our plates in a timely fashion nor clean the table between courses
- Overpriced. We just had a starter and main course seat, one glass of wine, two cocktails. Total £191. If you go to Petrus (see my other reviews) we will probably spend about £300 to £400 for a tasting menu including drinks and service et cetera. And it would be worth it.

So overall a pretty terrible experience. I can only imagine a Michelin guide has not visited this restaurant since awarding that star.

Avoid until they get their act together.

David Alridge

I am reviewing based on the expectations for a Michelin restaurant.

One, the food was bad. Not just executed poorly, but conceptually confuddling. I had the foie gras, which was served with french toast and pineapple. I found it devoid of salt and much flavour at all, and why it is paired with pineapple - the pineapple tastes so strong that putting a single piece in your forkful or French bread completely overwhelms the foie gras.

Next the main. The Halibut. 4 people on our table ordered this and it seems we got 4 different dishes. Some complained of undersalting, some over, the amount of sauce/stew was different in each, my mother had sand in her squid. It was just a bit of a joke. You could expect better consistency at McDonald’s. Again, this restaurant has a Michelin star. Likely not for long, I assume there’s some back of house issues we are not privy to, but it’s so disappointing that this star no longer means even the basics will be executed well.

Oh, and another note - to go alongside our mains, we ordered one of every side on the menu. They forgot. They ‘graciously’ ensured we would not be charged for them, though. I’ve had entire meals comped for less but I’ll leave that there. The waiters were great and friendly, but for this reason I bring service down to 1 star.

For the desert, I had the Ice cream game. The waiter mentioned that it was often people’s highlight of the night. I’m not sure he knew how damning such a statement was. But it was very fun, it’s likely you’ll never win (guess all 5 flavours) - there are no tricks or gotchas, but simple flavours you’ve likely never tried in such a format. Actually - one of them felt a bit iffy. The flavouring was so subtle that my whole table thought it was plain cream, or perhaps condensed milk.

Anyway, this for this price, the place is to be avoided at all costs. I cannot recommend it in good conscience when London has so much quality to offer. It’s not that they cannot make good food; I’m sure they could, but that this should be competing with five guys across the road, not with London finest.

Christopher Heelan

Service was fantastic and food was delicious. Scallops tartare, prawn and lobster raviolo, duck, and chocolate mousse with the Tokaji Dobogó. Servers were pleasant, accommodating, helpful, and the right amount of present. Very much appreciated the suggested wine pairings by the sommeliers. Views were beautiful. This dinner was the highlight of my trip.