The Distillery Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "Great friendly service and good tip on the chocolate Martini."
• "Atmosphere was chill, waiters amazing and food amazing."
• "Staff couldn’t have been more welcoming and friendly."
• "We have had a whiskey tasting here today for my fathers birthday. I could not recommend enough."
• "Took our mate here for his birthday for the whiskey experience and it was absolutely amazing: fun, informative, entertaining."
• "🍸 Nice, bright bar, friendly staff. Good variety of cocktails."
• "Staff was very nice and kind, and offer to clear any doubt about the drinks."
• "Fantastic Beer Fantastic olives Dog friendly Great service Cool location Nice crowd."

Cons:

• "Understaffed and no customer service from beginning to end."
• "Unfortunately I have to leave a 1* review, as the experience was not enjoyable at all."
• "The staff here was extremely rude to us. I highly recommend to NOT go here."
• "the food was okay, but overpriced. we felt unwelcome by the staff who were rude towards us."
• "Service was very slow - waitress took a long time to be called over on multiple occasions."
• "the waitress was very rude and in a hurry."
• "Would give even less stars if I could for the way my friend and I was spoken to by the ‘host/waitress’."
• "Such a shame. This place has the most idiotic staff ever."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "I am giving 2 stars as the food was nice."
• "Had a fantastic meal at the Angel, above The Distillery. Had two amazing small plates and the outstanding Beef Platter."
• "Lovely food and great ambience, nice sto to enjoy portobello road from a higher ground!"
• "We booked the Ginstitute experience for a birthday treat and it was worth every penny!"
• "The food in Gintonica was amazing, highly recommend the ox cheek."
• "Great service. Really enjoyed the fish and chips. If you like gin, this is a must stop."
• "The service and food at this place was exceptional. My son in law and I had the bangers and mash. It was the best I've ever had."
• "Excellent gins with amazing variety - I've been several times now and the food is delicious had the lamb skewers."

Cons:

• "The 'highlight' of it all, was the food (Avo-Toasts): they tasted like they were fried in oil that had been used for too many times - old and burnt."
• "the food was hard to eat and flavorless (pretty sure nothing was fresh)."
• "It is terribly overpriced for what it is. We ordered fries and buffalo wings. Frankly, no different to wetherspoons, wings were naff."
• "Awful… the food was hard to eat and flavorless (pretty sure nothing was fresh)."
• "Maybe good for drinks but the food was terrible. Fish and chips. Don't bother!"
• "The cocktails are watery and tasteless. I basically drank a 10 pounds lemon water..."
• "Great menu on paper but reality was really different. Ordered a Vegan jambalaya, which has been pretty much tomato rice and uncooked sausage."
• "Great atmosphere and friendly staff but cocktails were not good and even poorer quality food."

Ambiance & Location

Pros:

• "This place was awesome. I traveled here with my family and we were looking for a goodish restaurant but found an amazing one."
• "Lovely pub on Portobello Rd but sadly portion was very small."
• "The location was special and cosy, the staff were friendly."
• "If you want to immerse yourself in the Portobello atmosphere, the Distillery is definitely the place to stay! (and eat & drink!)"
• "Amazing stay..quirky room with record player and records. Friendly helpful staff..location location location."
• "Terrific new and good value first floor restaurant. Try the small dishes. All were excellent."
• "Really cute boutique rooms. Small but cozy. We booked in for one night and enjoyed staying in."
• "The BEST bar in portobello.. it is a bit pricey but definitely worth it.. staff are really friendly and attentive."

Cons:

• "Don't be a bar on the main strip of Notting Hill if you can't handle tourists."
• "disappointing because the ambiance is very pretty."
• "Very disappointed with my stay at the Distillery, I paid £165 for one night, the room was run down, damp issues and dusty."
• "Selling take away drinks while waiting for a table and don’t let people even stand by the bicycle racks ... very cocky and aggressive bouncer."
• "A "Ginstitute" in the basement for tasting and distilling, a sleek cocktail bar on the ground floor, a tapas and cocktail (gin-based of course) restaurant above."
• "The extravagant entrance could do more in the inside decor."
• "We weren’t asked to check in for our visit for covid which is a little worrying."
• "The Gintonica at the distillery is a lovely cosy place right on Portobello road with knowledgeable baristas and bartenders."