Went for a Christmas dinner with folks at Cottons EC1, part of the party arrived 30mins late and a big deal was made by the staff that they would lose their seats even though everything was booked, paid for and we apologised they were lost and held up in West End traffic. The staff seemed to have no clue or couldn’t be bothered to suggest if they were nearby when they rang the restaurant lost trying to find their way. Food was average, not worth the amount charged, for the main I had a mutton curry which was mostly bones and gristle. 1 waiter kept hanging around nearby to take away plates looking over our shoulders, at one moment he was faffing with one of our parties’ cutlery whilst he was eating and hadn’t even finished. This same waiter was very forgetful, seemed more interested in clearing plates to hurry along the courses than remembering the drinks we ordered, had to be reminded 3 times. At the end of the meal they tried to over charge us sneakily trying to put up the bill although everything was paid for with a pre discount offer, caused quite some confusion and although the restaurant owner was nearby chatting with someone at the door aware of the mix up he didn’t once come over. Was surprised to find he was the manager, thought he was a bouncer kicking back from the time we arrived. Once the mistake by the staff had been cleared up there was no apology from the owner either. Would never go back there, neither suggest Cottons to anyone.

I went to Cottons tonight and I have to say the staff, drinks, food and atmosphere were really really good, and for 6pm on a Tuesday night that says an awful lot about a place.

The reviews here almost put me off going and I am so glad we went anyway, I will definitely go back (it's very close to Roundhouse and having explained we were going there they really strove to make sure we were served and out in time for the show). Its a great place for an informal meal.

No idea where the other reviewers went. Perhaps they need to adjust their attitude. The food was excellent for the price. I was very happy with the evening.

Visited Cottons Sat night 4 December 2010 for my boyfriends birthday, 10 guests in total. Be warned, they charge you for bringing your own birthday cake?!? Something I have never heard off in any restaurant, and I worked in the trade for many years and have many friends who have restaurants, is it because they are in Camden they think it’s ok? I think the rule that you can only pick from a set menu if you have over a certain amount of guests a bit of a nonsense as they have certain sitting times anyway so won’t most people in the whole restaurant ordering their food at roughly the same time?!? Anyway, we sat in the upstairs area on top of the bar, excellent atmosphere, service really good, staff really good and accommodating, food ok. My boyfriend had a really good time and enjoyed his birthday, he ordered the seafood jerk platter from the set menu. The problem came at approximately 5.00am the following morning, where he than suffered one of the worst cases of food poisoning I have ever seen, he spent the next 5 hours running back and fourth from the toilet and was so drained at the end of it, we called the Dr’s and I was considering taking him to the hospital it was that bad…in my opinion, Cotton’s are a no no, the food is ok, the atmosphere ok, the staff were good, but the cheeky charge for a bday cake, the following sickness of my boyfriend, the food, atmosphere or service aren’t that amazing for me to even recommend Cottons to anyone

I went to to this restaurant last Saturday. Firstly when my friend booked the table she wasn't told it had a time limit of 2hrs, we only found out when we were running a little late and called to say we were on our way. When we arrived at the restaurant we were greeted by the very rude manager who's first words were ' as this table is booked until 9pm you'll only have time for a main course or if you are quick you might be able to get a starter' looking back we should've walked out then.
As the previous reviewer said asking for some water seemed to be a problem and we were each given half of a small glass.
The whole time we were made to feel rushed (telling us our time was nearly up even though we had finished our meals) and unwelcome by the waitress who didn't smile once. In addition the 'Caribbean' food was very standard and over priced, dry rice and over cooked fish. I first went to this restaurant 7 years ago and my has it gone down hill, which is a shame as it has a nice ambience but they just come across as greedy and reluctant to be hospitable. I shan't be returning or recommending it to anyone :-(

I was a little apprehensive about coming here after reading a few negative reviews on here. But I walk past quite often and couldn't resist finally trying it out.
I had the mixed jerk grill which was very different and nice. I've never been to a caribbean restaurant before. One ciriticism is that the meat was a little bony, especially the ribs. I liked the plantain a lot. One friend had chicken, she found this too spicy. The other friend had vegetable ravioli which she loved.
The cocktail menu is v extensive and you feel like trying everything. I was v pleased to find a rare caribbean cocktail that I had tried once before on the menu. The drinks are highly recommended although they could have been a bit stronger.
One thing that I was prepared for was rude service having read other reviews. This didn't happen as our waiter was increadibly attentive and polite. He recommended drinks and we never had to ask for plates to be cleared / more tap water etc. He was great! The bar staff were v friendly too. But then again we were then on a wednesday so not the busiest night.
This was a nice change I would def recommend to people who want to try something different. Might be an idea to keep in mind that caribbean grills tend to be on the spicy side. I will go back to try more of the cocktails.

I had my 21st dinner party here and it was absolutely awful. The food was disgusting, I was rushed throughout the whole meal because they had double booked the table. The manager was extremely rude, clearly had no manners or respect, the service was horrendous openly having disputes with not only my table but other customers, simple requirements to receive a glass of water was not followed on numerous occasions. To put the cherry on the cake a service charge was applied to a service, which was appalling I would not recommend Cottons to anyone save yourself!

This place has really gone down, i have been coming here for 20+ years.

1 star for the atmosphere and service, the food was terrible, the drinks warm and the glasses dirty, i drank my dragon stout from the bottle.

When i made a comment about this and the fact that the service charge was already added to my bill and prefer to decide myself, the manager was a total smart ars* telling me that the restaurant will be here for another 25 years.

Well it will have to-improve dramatically to do this!!!!Dr K

not sure about the last review,had dinner there last night and found everything to be top rate