Core in City of London

I absolutely loved my visit to this bar. Came for an event with some of my friends and had one of the best nights. The staff were all really fun and attentive. And the manager Henry was super helpful and nice. Will be returning again for sure

They need to change staff, we went there as a group (around 10 ppl) there was plenty of space and no queue but the guy refused to serve us because apparently he would have had to make too many cocktails for us. We used to be regular customers since this happened. I emailed them as well but so far I have received no reply.

This could be a great bar, however we had an event there yesterday for 200+ and the manager thought it would be a good idea to only put 3 staff members serving drink. 1 upstairs and 2 downstairs.Seriously, how not to run a bar! A lot of people ended up in the Golden Fleece which had plenty of staff and quick efficient service

Good location but the place is so small and tight. I believe they offer a capacity more than it actually takes. Probably they can provide more air conditioning or allow less people to get in. Be careful with your drinks tho, never leave anything on the table unwatched.

I tend to avoid reviewing places because I can spend my time better doing something else. After this place, I thought it would be worth warning people against it. Nothing sinister, just exceptionally bad service and vibe.Rude and unprofessional bar service, barista looked explicitly bored of working here, made as much noise as possible whatever he was doing in the bar and the kitchen. He replied with one or two words every time and kept throwing bottles around making so much noise it was distracting. This went on for a good 2 hours.When they failed to take note of my food order they didn't apologise. They eventually brought me the wrong order too. In all my years in London this is by far the rudest service I've met.Mind you, the place is slightly filthy as well, so if you do run into good bar service, be warned.I would recommend staying clear of this place. Looks run down as well, and cheap.

Lovely place with a lively customer service. Highly recomend for team building and night out

Yesterday me and my friend have experienced a very rude and demeaning attitude from the Core bar manager. His name is Henry Lay. After drinks in the bar, we casually popped out to chat in front of entrance. The chat was a bit emotional and we cried and laughed and hugged and shared our worries about life. And for everyone it seemed like a normal behaviour when you’re drinking with friends, for everyone but Henry. When we calmed down and tried to get back in, Henry, who was standing in the entrance didn’t let us in with a statement that “if you’re crying it’s better to go home and not bring bad vibes into the bar”. We were shocked, and couldn’t believe people were now kicked out of bars for crying? My friend tried to ensure us crying had nothing to do with the bar and was very polite with him, although he was very rude insisting we couldn’t go back. I still had my stuff inside and wanted to grab it, but he didn’t even allow that at first. When I walked behind him to get my coat, security stopped me and I needed to keep asking just to get my coat back. Finally I was able to get in to get my coat followed by security. I’m still shocked and extremely disappointed. I used to come to Core bar every week with my coworkers as the office is nearby. Today I will share this story with every colleague to ensure no one of them ever steps into this place. I think this attitude is unacceptable and Core bar needs to reconsider their policies in terms of staff trainings and customer service.

I’m writing a review today, that I never thought I would find myself writing.I’ve spent a few days thinking about what I want to say, deliberating, wanting to hold my tongue, wanting to share my story, struggling to believe what I witnessed.Last Thursday evening (10th March), I was out for a few work drinks with my colleagues (one of the first times we had managed to all get together for a while.) I met a colleague of mine who I hadn’t seen for a really long time so we caught up, shared our thoughts on everything that’s going on at the moment, and naturally, things got emotional. We had spent a few hours inside so decided to sit down on the curb opposite Core Bar and chat for a while. Upon returning to the rest of our colleagues, we were stopped by the Manager, who was waiting at the entrance. He and I had spoken a few hours earlier and he was pleasant, professional and seemingly very friendly.This was not the case at the entrance. He stopped us from re-entering, claiming he “didn’t like the vibe we were bringing to his bar.” I was shocked, and, although it didn’t matter, tried to reassure him that “our emotions had nothing to do with his bar.” I tried to explain what we were talking about and he said he didn’t care.He proceeded to claim we were rude, emotional, and ruining the atmosphere and that we were no longer welcome. My colleague still had their belongings downstairs but was told they weren’t allowed to go in nor were they allowed to use the bathroom. It became a childish, and extremely petty, inhumane case, and at one point I felt the manager was enjoying this power play as he offered snarky and sarcastic comments. I was shocked. I am shocked.In this day and age, when so many inhumane, unthinkable things are happening around us, it baffles me that so little understanding can trickle into our day-to-day. For a manager to look down his nose at his customers, for being too emotional, again, is beyond me.The night ended short, the rest of our colleagues also left, and I am happy to say we won’t be returning again. A real shame as this had become a great local for us over the past 3 years. We were there long before the refurb, we knew security well, and it used to be a great place to be.Core bar customer service claim that the welfare of the customers is priority to them, but I’m afraid I have to disagree. It seems as though the management team at Core are trained to deal with basic ‘situations’ but have no idea how to understand or talk to human beings. I strongly recommend a rethink and reset on that front, moving forward.

Unbelievably slow service - waiting 25 minutes at the FRONT of the queue for drinks because there was only one barman making drinks very slowly as the queue built up behind. Bar and dance floor also started to empty out around 8pm. Would not visit again.

Meal was poor. Extremely disappointed. Wouldn’t recommend, especially at the set menu cost. Bread burnt for starter. Beef tough as old boots for main. 13 Brussels sprouts and little to no other veg. Desert tbc.