We've just had a fantastic evening at Dover Street Restaurant and Jazz Wine Bar.
It was my birthday and the staff went out of their way to make it a very special night for me.
The service and atmosphere were great and the food was excellent too. I had the scallops and sea-bass and they were cooked to perfection.
The evening was rounded off superbly by the jazz band. Everything that you could want for a birthday celebration in one place.
I would thoroughly recommend Dover Street and will definitely be going back.
All round excellence.

I went with friends in February, the food and service were great. They also had swing dancing on the night we went and it was like 1940's great atmosphere. I had lamb and it was lovely.

We went to Dover Street Bar (8-10 Dover Street, London, W1S 4LQ) on Friday 17 Feb 2012. Our plan was some drinks and live music. According to their leaflets the entrance was free before 10pm. Well, it turned out it wasn’t. The bouncer insisted that the bar does not open until 10.15 (yeah, right) and that’s when they start charging for entry (so called ‘music cover’). A VERY RUDE bouncer would not let us in before 10pm because we were not call girls. Our dresses must have given us away. However, we shouldn’t have, but we still came back to the bar after 10.15pm, paid our entry and the same bouncer just kept harassing us at the reception area for no reason, we weren’t even talking to him. The same at the end of the night – we were leaving, collecting our coats and he was still harassing us! He refused to give me his name and then he even covered up his number. The reception girls wouldn’t give me his name and quite frankly it appeared to me that he bullies them as well! A very disgusting individual. And we were not drunk or fighting or being noisy, we are just three rather modest ladies.As for the night, the band was supposed to play songs from 60’ to 90’, but you could hardly hear any familiar tunes. It wasn’t much different to what the DJ played after the band left and he had no clue whatsoever about what to play for the present clientele. The bar’s policy states ‘no trainers’, but I still spotted a guy in trainers, probably the bouncer’s friend, how else would he have missed it.

It was my 40th birthday on Tuesday and wanted to do something different. I love Rat Pack style music and when I saw that the Jazz Cannons were featuring that night I was thrilled.

However Just like the last reviewer I had read negative reviews about the venue and was really nervous about booking especially for a big birthday.

My party had a brilliant time. The food was great. Everyone was happy with their meals. We loved the dishes that we ordered ( and some of my friends can be fussy). The service was good waiters were attentive and I loved the Jazz Cannons.

The only negative was costs of drinks but I guess that is to be expected up town. Bottom line......I would recommend it.

Well, despite many bad reviews i've seen on internet about this place, i fancied a live music jazz diner for new year's eve so, we decided to book a table for 6 of us. I was very worried because of all reviews saying bad things about rude staff, bad food etc... (we we paying £80 each for 3 course meal)

I don't really know if we were just lucky that night or if people's expectations are bloody high when they go out but i had a really great night ! The staff was absolutely fine, polite fast and helpful, obviously in the rush and not there to make friends that's it. I think waitresses are generally lovely if you are too that's it.
My cocktail was on the table within 2 minutes, orders taken within 10 min, staters there before i came back from the toilets !

New year's menu was scallops or prawns, then steak or fish, and mousse au chocolat or cheesecake. One of my friend had asparagus (veg option) I''ve tasted everything and everything was absolutely lovely (scallops sauce is heaven) . The steak was a generous piece, well prepered with nice mushrooms and potatoes. really nice. desert lovely too, not the best cheesecake ever but totally acceptable.

Live music really enjoyable during the whole meal, didn't wait for anything, had nice crackers, everything was good.

The only thing wrong for us has nothing to do with the place : i'm 27 and customers were around 50's so we did not really socialize around !!

Anyway, on many sites, some people's reviews were so bad that i wanted to write my own !! i don't know about the normal menu, but new year's eve one was a succes for us xx hope you have a nice one too !

It's was just a perfect night at Dover Street!
The food was absolutely delicious and the service were at it's best.
I'll absolutely visit Dover Street again next time I'm in London.

Best regards

Dennis
(from Denmark)

Excellent night out!
Food was lovely, I had the scallops to start and lamb for my main and enjoyed every mouthful. Looking at what other people at my table had ordered, I also thought it looked really nice.

The service was quite good. They are always around checking if you need anything and they even remembered on a table of 8 in a busy restaurant who had ordered what dish when serving courses. The only downfall was that their English was not great so unless you are ordering things they are familiar with they do not understand you! We tried to ask about moving tables as we had booked a table near to the stage but it was given to someone else because we were late so that was fine. It just took a while for them to understand what we were saying.

Live music was good but not amazing, I thought there was going to be a male vocalist with a band as advertised on the website but this was not the case. The live music was good but short lived as it ended quite early and a normal DJ took over with more current tracks.

For location I thought the drink were reasonable, £8.50 for a cocktail or £12.50 for a champagne cocktail. Beer was £5.50 per glass so not bad for London prices really.

All in all a good night, and would go back again now I know what to expect. In my opinion it is a great place to eat with music if you want to dance but not really a place to stay all night, wish we had moved on after eating and went somewhere else as our group wanted to dance to better live music and not a DJ playing beyonce etc. (oh and mixing them badly)

Such a shame that great night out with friends was tainted by poor service and rude staff.

I got the distinct impression that once we had paid for our meal that we were a major inconvenience -very disappointing considering we spent around £80 each!

My advice is spend your money elsewhere until they over-haul their customer service skills!

I went to Dover Street on Saturday for a friends hen night. I had high hopes and the atmosphere was initially very good.

The food was OK but the service was terrible. We paid £35 for a 3 course meal which appears good value but once you pay for drinks on top it turns quite pricey.

I enjoy going to good restaurants and am prepared to pay a premium for good food and service.

For the price, I was expecting a reasonable service but the waiters were so rude! I understand that they were busy, but I expect like us most large parties had pre-booked and the management should be able to staff up to allow the waiters to give a reasonable service.

We waited such a long time for the drinks we ordered that I actually contemplated going to the toilet to get some water from the tap!

I enjoyed the live music and the disco but unfortunately the night was tainted by the long wait for drinks and the incredibly rude waiters.

I suggest the management increase their staffing levels and carry out some training. Alternatively they should reduce thier prices in order to manage thier customers expectations.

I went to Dover Street this Saturday with a large group of friends to celebrate a special occasion.

After a mediocre meal costing £35 and another £35 for wine on the table we thought we would order some cocktails.

The waiting staff are rude and have no manners whatsoever. It seems they have the attitude that you have paid upfront for your meal so there is no need for them to be polite to you on the night.

After ordering 5 cocktails, one finally arrived an hour later minus any fruit or presentation whatsoever. We were then told that we only ordered one so had to reorder the other 4.

Another 25 mins later these were brought over by the rudest waiter I have ever encountered. We asked if he would consider reducing the price or apologising for the delay and lack of service to which he refused and said "I can always take the cocktails away".

At this point I did not want to spend another penny in the place.I have never reviewed a bad bar/restaurant before but I really an disgusted with the service in this place and would recommend you do not waste your money there as it is not deserved.

Didnt eat here but after asking various taxi drivers over the years where you head if you want a decent night out over 30 then it had been mentioned often enough so thought I would give it a try.

Went on Friday night and it is a good blend with plenty of thirty somethings.

The band were great and kept the night going all night and the bouncers and door staff were pretty chilled compared to most of the idiots you get in London.

Well worth it for a night out drinking and dancing.

This was the chosen venue for our staff Christmas party... we did have good night in spite of some appallingly rude staff who actually yelled at us (twice!) and very average food (especially for the price per head) and our whole table being whisked away and dismantled before we could even finish our drinks!!

One word, HELL!!!!!!!, I went to this establishment as part of a party group. Once we had descended into the grim dungeon like restaurant it was downhill all the way. Medditteranean food, what????????? We paid £35 a head for a dismall, bland , cold, pre-cooked meal, if it could be called this. I had salmon, passable, but cold, and served on top of three pieces of brocolli, and one sliced, boiled potatoe. The "dessert" which followed, toffee mousse, Eh????? tasteless, like eating air, one breath in, and gone!!!!!! My friends ate chicken, most of them left it on their plate, a rather large, bland, watery mess covered in some kind of coating, which collapsed as it was cut. Then there followed a rather large drinks bill, not including service charge. Very attentive staff, well they were whilst we attempted to eat, constantly pouring the wine, and fetching more to the table. Funny though as soon as we had paid the drinks menu, they seemed to lose interest in us. After our "meal" we attempted to have a dance, I feel a risk assessment would have been in order, tiny dance floor, considering the sheer volume of party guests. After having my toes trampled on twice, and being elbowed, I decided to sit back and watch the more sozzled of the group throw their money at the bar £8.50, for a cocktail. I hasten to add, I am far from a misery, or indeed a miser, but when I constantly heard of this place referred to for it's cuisine, I felt hugely let down. I am more than happy to pay "top price" for a meal, if it is "top quality". I feel my local "Toby" pub/restaurant would not have let me down in this way, I could have enjoyed hot, fresh plentiful food, in bright surroundings, with wine and dessert, for my family and myself for under £35!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Dover Street" wine bar is just a name , no quality, no caring, just raking money in for "party" nights. I expected so much more. Incidentally I have eaten fresher, tastier fish from my local chippy!!!!!

For a good night out with an older crowd, I recommend this place. I have only eaten there once and that was not something I will do again as I found it very over priced. However, I have been for a night out without eating here many times and have never once been disappointed. The live bands are always entertaining and the atmosphere is always friendly and lively. The bouncers, whilst strict, are actually not as unapproachable as in some establishments, and I welcome their policy of no drinks on the dance floor as it saves being covered in booze!

The dance floor is small and it does get very packed and yes, it is expensive. But this is Mayfair and, for the money, it's a good night out.

If you are over 30 and want to dance your socks off, I recommend this place!!!

This has to be one of the most pretentious and overpriced places in London. Nevertheless a close friend chose to have her hen do there with a meal & drinks.
There were approx 18 of us, service was surly, for the price the food was pretty mediocre, the booze well over £20 per bottle and when the bill came it was a NOT so cool £800-900! Be warned if your table is situated on the dance floor you will promptly be cleared away at 10pm, with no notice. In addition to this every other table in existence surrounding the edge of the dancefloor appeared to have a burly bouncer guarding it who would not let us sit down for 'love or money', despite the fact no one else was sitting there either. When a friend asked a waiter if she could move a chair to sit on, she got a very flat rude "NO!" in reply.
Perhaps our bad experience was just unfortunate but as it was such a special occasion, we hoped/expected for more considering the huge expense we forked out for the 'privilege'.
I'd consider this a characterless, shabby and totally below par establishment. Simply don't waste your time or money going there!

I had been to dover street a year ago and although it was not the best of nights, it was an ok night, so decided to try it out again a couple of weeks ago. A total waste of money. The live band was a disaster, even I could sing better than them. The crowd was mostly sweaty greasy old men and a number of young wannabes that just looked pathetic. Needless to say, i would not be going to there again.
If it were possible, I would give it a nil star rating.

I have been to Dover Street quite a few times now its a great place, the bands have always been good and the food has been excellent... yes the crowd is a little older but a least they get up and dance.

I dined at Dover Street and was impressed by the customer service which is rare to find in top restaurants these days. The salmon main course was delicious and cooked beautifully, and still hot when it arrived on the table!


Dover Street is a lovely venue, however only one thing let it down, as the ladies' amenities are crying out for refurbishment and do not reflect the excellent standards outside. Overall, it is a lovely place to dine with a loved one.

We enjoyed our Christmas Party at Dover Street. The food was good quality with small/adequate portions. 20 of us were booked into an alcove so we could keep our table all evening. The service was mediocre and there was a lot confusion when paying the bill.


The drinks were expensive but the live jazz and band more than made up for it. The dance floor is small and crowded and the place is really packed once the disco starts, which is very 70s. It was more suited to the over 30s/40s age group. Most of us enjoyed Dover Street and would go back again.

From the door staff to the cloakroom attendant to the bar staff, Dover Street is the rudest, most unwelcoming bar I've ever had the misfortune to visit. The gorilla on the door seemed intent on driving away passing trade with his sullen insults. The pathetic customer service we experienced was appalling.


After the live jazz had finished the Dover Streets pretence of being a grown-up venue quickly disappeared as the DJ lined up back to back disco cheese. Dover Street is rude, arrogant and fake. I'm never going back.

Dover Street is super. Totally loving it at the moment. Dover Street have a really cute waiter too. He can serve me dinner any time!

Whilst dining at the Dover Street restaurant I found the set menu really horrible, my food looked like a supermarket ready meal and was cold. However, when I asked to change my meal they refused, the host was rude and unhelpful. In a party of 10 no one was happy with their food but when we paid the bill the host refused to refund the deposits against the cost of the meal so we had to pay £90 extra. I have written to Dover Street and complained but they haven't responded.

After entering into what feels like a hotel reception at Dover Street, you go downstairs to a reasonable, nicely set out restaurant.
There were three musicians sitting at a table jamming which sounded really nice. However, when booking at Dover Street ask to be seated where you can see the musicians.
The food was good, very small arty servings. The service was also good. However, the wine was expensive. Overall, I found Dover Street restaurant to be pleasant but nothing special.

I travelled all the way in to central London at 10.30 at night to see a band I knew, which was advertised as playing in the bar's leaflet and on their website. When I got there they said it was a private party. The bouncer was pretty conciliatory and said twenty other people had done the same thing as me, but there was nothing for it but to go all the way home again. It's a shame, because I've had a couple of good nights there with the same band. But it's really put me off the venue. I suppose all I could say is that if you're thinking of going you'd better phone first to check they are actually open.

It's true Dover Street is overrated, still has a reputation as a pick up place for older people. The staff are incredibly rude. It's run like a prison camp, basically their attitude is that they are doing you a favour. I'm amazed that it's still in business, presumably living off passing trade rather than regular customers.

Dover Street was easily the most disappointing dining experience I've had. Unnecessarily snobby and rude door staff; poor atmosphere and too loud; the waiter overcharged us £40 on our credit cards and didn't seem remotely surprised or apologetic when we pointed it out; the whole meal was way over priced but consisted of cheap, processed, badly cooked food.

Our meals were luke warm/cold when they arrived; portions were tiny and devoid of vegetables; gravy and sauces were lacking in flavour, imagination and freshness; the meat was poor quality, badly cooked and tasteless although mine was smothered in cheap mustard which was disgusting. We were a party of 5 and all 5 meals were equally poor in quality. I would strongly recommend you do not visit this restaurant.

I took 3 friends to Dover Street on a Saturday night while checking out venues for my upcoming birthday meal.

It certainly made a change from most of the Saturday night over-crowded bars playing music that is far too loud (so Londoner's have no conversation???) and finding yourself sticking to the floor. The bar is very attractively decorated, the food is good (not for the very hungry, the portions are quite small) and the band were energetic and had a wide repertoire.

We were seated at a table on the dancefloor so we had to vacate it by 10pm, but it is very popular and it seems I was lucky to get a table with only 6 hours notice.
I was noticeably much younger than most of the crowd, I am my early twenties, and there were quite a few people 'trying' to look younger. Generally, the average age was around 35-40.

Overall it made for a nice evening but I was disappointed because I was hoping for more of a New York Speakeasy type of place and in some ways I think it was lacking atmosphere by being a bit too stylish.

However, I would recommend it - just make sure you book early and get a table where you can stay sat down all night.

I went for the jazz and it was great. Great food, great wine, great service, great atmosphere and, again, great jazz!