The Wapping Project

We love this place. It has great atmosphere and good quality fod with options that really tempt you. It is not cheap and the good wine list is slightly expensive perhaps they should offer a house wine so that there was a choice at the lower price range. We went to celebrate my daughters engagement and had a great evening. I do think all wine waiters could realise that people can pour their own wine when they want it !

All in all 9 out of ten
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, February 19, 2010

The main problem here is Value for Money as some of the more moderate reviewers have pointed out. The lunch/dinner menu at the Wapping project is of an upmarket bistro quality whilst the prices and portion sizes are in line with what you'd expect at a Michelin-starred establishment. On the whole the food is good but not award-winning. The cocktails are very poor value. I had a passionfruit daiquiri which looked like squash mixed with rum. There was no evidence of actual fruit used or garnish.

The venue itself is brilliant but would be better placed as a trendy cafe than a restaurant as the one thing that is reasonably priced is the coffee.

Tip: go for coffee & cake and look around the exhibition but eat mains elsewhere.

Oh yeah and their website is ridiculous. Just try to find a phone number on it!
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Moikall
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, October 27, 2009

We went on Friday night with a couple of friends who had booked the table for us. After reading the reviews on this site we didn't have high hopes, and to be honest, only went along with it because we didn't want to cause hurt feelings.

So glad we did. The food was top notch (and I work for the world's largest catering company, so I know my drizzle from my fo shizzle), the wines excellent, the service attentive without being overbearing. Even the waiter who looked like Shaggy out of Scooby Doo knew his stuff.

The venue was stunning, and we even nipped into the art exhibition between courses (a rather macarbe affair but certainly powerful). Even the cocktails were nice. Not sure whether they've turned over a new leaf, or we just caught them on a good day, but more than happy to recomend them to friends and family based on their performance that night.

One word of warning though, we didn't get much change out of £300!
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Andrew
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 2
Monday, October 19, 2009

Decided to go into this interesting little courtyard to admire old buildings. The cafe door was invitingly open and when asked, the waitress said they were still serving lunch. Being hungry and always ready to try a new place, we gave it a go. The location is very interesting, right next to Shadwell Basin, in a refurbished hydraulic power station. They artistically left the machines and pulleys in place, which gave it a unique atmostphere.

The service was not rude but not welcoming. Kind of disappointing. You need to really get their attention to order anything. We went at a time when we were one of two couples there.

The food is really imaginative. The combinations on the menu sound really interesting and promising. They definitely have the creative flair there. But that is all. The foie gras was slightly bitter to my surprise. The bread which came with the foie gras was overly burnt. For a starter, too much bitterness in each mouthful. My husband took the pickled fish starter with soft boiled egg, which was okay. The main course was chargrilled tiger prawns with pilaf rice and lightly marinated cucumbers. The prawns were not just chargrilled. They were cremated. Even though they thoughtfully gave us finger bowls with a spare dish to keep the prawn heads in, the table soon became a mini mess because the prawn flesh had fused to the shells and refused to come loose. Imagine flecks of burnt prawns scattered throughout your dish. Also they sprinkled big chunks of fried garlic on the pilaf rice. The rice tasted fine once you removed those big chunks of garlic. The cucumber salad was just nice though. My other half had grilled sardines with samphire salad which was a nice combination and looked fantastic on the plate. It was tasty and good. We finished with a chocolate cake which comes with an espresso and walnut ice cream. The ice cream was simply divine. The cake was a huge let down. It was moist in the middle but crusty, dry and flaky on the outside. Unfortunately most of the cake was like the outside more than the inside. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the moist insides of the cake as it was one of those less sugary cake types.

Overall, how does this restaurant sum up? I would say go once but not for the food. The food is creative and interesting but poorly executed as a whole. The location and atmosphere is really something unique, especially the rooftop view with the rooftop pond trip after the meal. The staff are not focused on making sure that the customers are well served and seem to be only after good comments regardless of quality provided. Also the chefs having a big slanging match might be nice for a tv show but not so conducive to customers waiting for their next course and a pleasant lunch. Finally, this meal with no alcohol came to £73 for two people which is amazingly poor value for money.
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E Chan
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Saturday, August 29, 2009

i just went for lunch today and had a thoroughly lovely experience. my starter was a feta cheese, pea and courgette salad that was light and delicious for a slightly fragile me.

my girlfriend had the razor clams with chorizo and what looked like chick peas which was both generous and delicious. her mum had the minestrone which was rich and delicious and with hindsight i'd been very happy with this as a main course.

still no complaints with my spatchcook and roast vegtables with lizzy opting for hake roast in parma ham and mussel broth. both really hit the spot - the chicken bbqd was succulent as were the vegetables.

i was really feeling the roast courgette. side dishes were good. we plumped for runner beans with fried garlic and the fried new potatoes with aioli. i enjoyed the spuds but also the aioli was a nice contrast to the tomatoey relish that came with the chicken,

greedy guts finished off with a liqueur afogato. i found the space spectacular, the exhibition amusing japanese kitsch and lizzy told me she'd been there to hear a talk from lee miller's son a few weeks before which she said was ace and i also liked going up to the lily pond on the roof to have a cheeky spliff before we headed off to fete worse than death.

they have a cinema outside with a cassavetes them next weekend, the last one they will do this summer. i may actually make the effort to go but i will definitely be going back for the food, the space and what i found to be friendly and informed service from cool staff with good attention to detail.

our meal came to just under a hundred quid. i had a pimms, two bottles of mineral water and we all had three nice glasses of wine - i had a rich, quality shiraz; lizzy a crips and lovely sauvignon blanc and birgit had a rose. we had three starters, two mains and a desert. i personally found this to be very good value.

i didn't talk to the greeter as we kind of stealthed in but i'm guessing who she was from her description here. fair play for being defensive about something that's not just very good food in a wonderfully dramatic space but actually something that's trying to be different. it will be interesting how things develop.

oh and the toilets are rather lovely. do i win a prize?
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hassinator
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, August 16, 2009

Just arrived from the Wapping project. The venue is superb, the owner and service fantastic. The evening was perfect.

The only down side are the cocktails (very, very poor and average for that price) and the food, which was nice but honestly, I expected something more for that place. I dont say is bad (because is not) but flavours are not balanced and main courses didn´t met the expectations.

The overall impression is very good. Only some areas need to be improved.
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Gonzalo
8 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Sunday, August 16, 2009

Been twice and both times the food has been exceptional and the venue fantastic. Art is also great. A really unique restaurant experience and I can't believe the negative reviews as this HAS NOT been my experience at all! OK, the service is a little 'trendy' but that would be my only criticism. The last meal I had there was one of my all time favourites and their cocktails are to die for!
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9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, June 30, 2009