Cottons (Islington)

70 Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, London, EC1R 4QP - View on a map
Telephone: 020 7833 3332

Cottons (Islington) Restaurant In London
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Overall 6.7
Food 6.9
Service 6.4
Atmosphere 7.0
Value 6.6
Based on 8 reviews

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Thank you Beverley! what an amazing evening you put on for us.

Had my 50th Birthday bash at Cottons in Islington and it was such fun. The food was fabulous and the cocktails heavenly.....The DJ took requests all night and had everyone on the dance floor.

I would recommend this venue if you want a great party. I will definitely use Cottons again.
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michelle - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 10 stars
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, January 28, 2013

We hadn't been here for a few years and thought the set menu for NYE looked great. Sorry to say that the menu was not as advertised (we mistakenly thought that the menu for Camden branch would be reflected in Exmouth Market) but we made the best of what was on offer. The male waiter tried his best to make sure that we were happy but the 2 female waitresses were a little standoffish and unhelpful in my opinion. A smile goes a long way when working in the service industry. The drinks were good and the food was tasty, but not as tasty as we remember from years back. I'd describe it as 'politely' seasoned and not as mouthwatering as genuine Caribbean food usually is. Maybe this is done purposefully to accommodate the ethnic diversity of the restaurants patrons. The salad leaves in my starter were brown and mushy in places-either prepared waayy in advance or simply rotten. My curry goat was nice but couldve been cooked longer and more flavourful. Our desserts also wasn't as advertised on the menu given and was missing the coconut ice cream. As a 'favour' we were offered vanilla. It was tasty all the same but an uncomfortable experience. I'd return again to try the a la carte menu as I know that restaurants are rarely at their best when catering to occasions (valentines day, christmas, NYE etc) but I don't hold out much hope for an improvement in the service unless they employ new staff.
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SaffraJay
Overall rating 4 stars
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Went to Cottons on 21st December for xmas work do. The starter of fish soup was nice and spicy. The main of curry goat was unedible with fat, gristle and bone. Dessert of coconut tart was dry and hard with no sauce. Food was awful. Get better from local carribean take away. Drinks and service ok. Rhum jungle a pick up but nothing to get excited about. Don't waste your time and money much nicer places on upper street.
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Overall rating 2 stars
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Sunday, December 23, 2012

My Fiancé and I recently held our engagement dinners at cottons. We started the night at the bar and the cocktails were superb I would strongly recommend the rum punch. We had 60 guests in total and the service was superb. The staff were all very friendly and accommodating. I ordered vegetable soup for starters and goat fish for my main. The food was amazing and the presentation of the food was 5 star! The baileys cheesecake was deffinetly a hit amongst our guests. We then continued the night in the Rum Jungle and partied the night away. Thank you Beverly and your team for making our night so fantastic. If you are after a great restaurant lovely ambiance and amazing food then cottons resturant is a great choice for you.
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Aisha
Overall rating 10 stars
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 22, 2012

Just come back from Cottons and had a great time. Good drinks and great vibes!!!
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Missy J - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 9 stars
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, October 13, 2012

I decided to try out Cottons on a Friday with my partner, and I have to say.. I WAS TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY! I was astonished by the amount of food they can fit on those plates lol! The care and presentation of each dish made us feel like we were somewhere really special. And the taste and quality was much like the authentic Caribbean food from back home, but only with more formal approach.

The drinks were delicious. Between us we had the rum punch and jamaican mule, and both were very, very tasty.

We spent the latter part of the night downstairs in the 'rhum shack', where the resident DJ played songs that took me back and reminded me just how old I really am! lol

Honestly, I cannot understand all the negative remarks given to this place, I went there for the first time and had an excellent night out. HIGHLY RECOMMENDABLE
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Anna - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 10 stars
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, September 24, 2012

the staff are incredibly rude! Only the young waitress was nice, the rest were the rudest waitresses Ive ever come across. We had to wait for an eternity for our drinks & food to arrive & its overpriced for what it is. Very unhappy and never coming back again. Very disappointed! Pretty much ruined an evening that was supposed to be very special
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Overall rating 1 stars
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Saturday, September 15, 2012

I have visited the restaurant twice to dine and once to their 'Rhum Jungle' bar downstairs. The food was really good and the jerk sauce very tasty indeed! Our food took a little while to be prepared but the waitress helpfully informed us of this. I think I would have been more concerned had the food come to us very quickly as this normally indicates that the food is mostly pre prepared and not freshly cooked. The staff generally were very friendly and the bar tenders made excellent rum cocktails! The music in the Rhum Jungle is fantastic too. You get a great Caribbean feel to it. i have my birthday booked at the venue and hope to write a second good review!!
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Sonia
Overall rating 8 stars
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, June 27, 2012

!!!SERVICE SUCKS!!!!!THERE IS NOTHING CARIBBEAN ABOUT COTTONS!!!!!!FOOD SUCKS!!!!

Cottons is a joke and a rip off, it's simple as that!! I have been to both the Camden Town and Islington branches and they have a couple things in common...the service SUCKS and so does a lot of the dishes that they are passing for "Caribbean"!!! I find their food extremely over-price for the poor quality that it is and my advise is DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY GOING TO COTTONS AS YOU WILL REGRET IT!!!

PEOPLE DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!
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Carey
Overall rating 1 stars
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, March 08, 2012

5 of us went to Cottons in Islington to celebrate a birthday. The celebration started well as we ordered drinks (The cocktails that we all ordered were delicious).

For starters our party ordered Saltfish fritters which were edible but had hardly any taste of saltfish at all, Spare ribs that were overdone and smothered in sauce to hide the ribs and finally Jerk Chicken Caesar salad which had a hot pepper sauce on the salad leaves (They would have been better offer calling it jerk salad rather than Caesar salad as their was no presence of any cheese, eggs, anchovies or Caesar salad sauce).

For the main meal our party ordered Ital Red Peas Stew that was bland and had no flavour, Goan Fish where the fish was tasteless (tasted very watery) and was covered in some sort of peppery sauce, Jerk Platter that had a variety of tasteless meats that was covered in a jerk sauce that certainly did not enhance the meats. The only main meal that was remotely edible was the Chicken Spachcock that was accompanied by rice and peas where the red peas had been burnt.

None of our party completed their meal and the person whose birthday it was had a few mouthfuls of her Jerk Platter and could not eat anymore and complained to the waiter. She was offered the choice of something else on the menu, but having tasted the other remaining main meals on the table declined the offer. To add insult to injury we were charged the full price of the 2-course meal for 5 persons (£19.50 each) and they had the cheek to add on a 12.5% service charge that we disputed to get rescinded.

Although we were not happy we paid the full amount that was requested not to cause a scene and vowed never to return to the restaurant.
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Alan
Overall rating 1 stars
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, January 05, 2012


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