We are currently sitting outside this bar, we ordered our breakfasts at 12.05 so have now been waiting over an hour, half of us have eaten half are still waiting although we ordered together. The bar staff are very unapologetic and the food that has arrived is Luke warm, shame because it's a nice venue.

My girlfriend and I had drinks and dinner at Idlewild on Sunday evening. We were both disappointed with the quality of the service - despite not being particularly busy it still took an age for things to happen - 45 minutes for the mains to come out.

There wasn't a lot of staff working but enough to serve everyone comfortably. The problem seemed to be with the staff doing chores (cleaning and putting away dishes and things) which they are normally expected to do once the establishment has closed - but they were obviously wanting to make a quick exit come closing time - to the detriment of their customers evening.

In addition to the bad service, my girlfriend ordered the Lamb Shank but wasn't served this - instead she got roast lamb. We imagine this was left over from the Sunday lunch time roast which finishes mid afternoon. We didn't challenge it because by this time we were starving and just wanted to eat and leave. Very disappointing.

As a venue it has great potential...

My girlfriend and I a fantastic evening in Idlewild a couple of weeks ago. We were there quite early to miss the weekend peak-time rush and were seated straight away. Our waiter was very enthusiastic and made us feel welcome from the second we walked in the door.

For starters we shared a oysters which were beautiful, I think we both wished we ordered one each!!

I am a big steak person and like it cooked medium rare and am quite particular about it. Unfortunately my steak was a little on the rare side - I don't like complaining when I'm out but when I told the waiter he was very kind and took it straight back the kitchen. He also offered to take my girlfriend's meal to freshen it up so we could still eat the same time. He was very apologetic and we barely had to wait for our food to come out perfect.

I will definitely go back and this time have the oysters all to myself!

This is such an amazing place to chill out with friends. It was so warm and welcoming, we just didn't leave!

I have been in London for two years now and wouldn't necessarily recommend the younger crowd but for young professionals who want that stylish streak in the social time - this is definitely the place for it!

They do food also but we didn't eat, it looked very good though - maybe next weekend!

Idlewild has a fantastic menu. Usually when I find a favourite eating-spot with such beautiful interior and friendly staff I find myself ordering the same or similar dish on every visit.

It is impossible to do this at Idlewild, especially if you are a big fan of traditional English food like me.

Everytime I go I see a waiter bring out another scrumptious looking dish and before I know it I'm booking a table and planning another get-together so I can return to try it.

I would not recommend going during peak-service hours without a reservation. I have seen people wait for over an hour at the bar for a table.

I would agree with the first two reviews. This place has a lot of potential which is undermined by the appalling service. I visited on Saturday evening with my flatmates (we're local) and found it virtually impossible to get served (along with everyone else our end of the bar), despite it not being that busy. The barmen were mostly strolling around, talking to each other or taking the occasional order (at random). At one stage one of the barmen spent quite a while engaging in some sort of pectoral stretching exercise, which I don't think anyone appreciated. We eventually left after 20 minutes' wait. Judging by the comments below (and of all those people at the bar who were expressing similar frustration) I think Idlewild really have to get their act together, as there are quite a number of really nice bars in the vicinity, where the service is immeasuarably better.

I've only just moved to the area and was surprised to find this little gem. The food was great and we even managed to sneak into the cocktail bar upstairs and have a few drinks and a bit of a dance. This place would be perfect if they had a later license but will definitely be my new local.

Visited Idlewild for a leaving drinks on Wed 30th Jan with a mixed group of aprox 12 - 15 thirty something professionals. To be honest we should have left after our first drink such was the disgusting treatment dished out by the staff. On our first foray to purchase drinks and snacks from the bar one of our group was given a pint of lager in what was clearly a dirty glass. This was obvious to all who took a quick sniff and especially to those who were prepared to brave a sip. In any other bar anywhere a customer handing back a full pint due to the foul odour and taste can usually expect a brief apology and a fresh drink. After all these things happen from time to time even in the best maintained bars.
Alas not at Idlewilde, here you can expect a level of arrogance scarcely believable quickly followed by an argument where a barman blinkered by his own sense of importance tries to prevent you getting what you ordered in the first place. Of course you should remember that this process will also involve the issue of having to pay for your drink all over again as Idlewild has a wonderful “policy” of not replacing drinks.
Sadly this isn’t there only customer friendly policy as the trendy all importants behind the bar had plenty more up there sleave! Within an hour of our protracted negotiating we decided it was time to venture to the bar once more. Surely we thought the first incident was a mistake, perhaps a misunderstanding on both our behalves and nothing more than a funny story to spin to friends another time...
How wrong could we be! This time a pint of ale was added to the large round of drinks. What were we thinking! Having sat down to rejoin the group our ale-drinking friend found that his glass had a large chip missing from the top which he naturally discovered upon taking his first drink.
When shown the problem the barman graciously offered my friend a fresh glass to which he was prepared to pour the original ale into at no extra cost. N

I agree in part with viewlondon's review. I have eaten there three times , it's in my neighbourhood and I have the following to say; the food is pretty good but the service is lousy, and the one of the waiters is really quite condescending.