The Carpenter's Arms in City of London

What a gem. The food is outstanding. Droppe in for a drink but ended up eating Sunday lunch there. The quality of the ingredients and the care that goes into sourcing them means that everything we had was absolutely delicious. Bags of style and integrity, really unpretentious, and an interesting wine list to boot. Loved the pickled radishes and cured meats we had as a nibble. The Sunday lunch was one of the best I've had in a pub anywhere. The Yorkshire puddings are outrageous. This is the drink/lunch/dinner place you dream of stumbling on, off the beaten track and a bit of a secret. An independent pub - and a complete one off. Lovely fairy lit beer garden. Can't wait to go back (in two weeks). Highly recommend

Food is OK but limited choice and quite expensive. There are 4 starters and 4 mains and some bar snacks. We both had a steamed cod dish as a main course and it was OK but nothing special. Sticky toffee pudding was cold ( not sure if this was a mistake but we were running late and did not want to send it back ) and tasted like Xmas pudding, with way too much all spice. Service was very friendly. Sharing a starter, 2 mains, a dessert, one side and one and a half bottles of wine, the bill came to £75 a head, which seemed high for this level of cooking. Probably nice place to go in the summer but kitchen could try harder.

This carpenter was short on the most critical of tools.....customer service. Upon arrival, after being seated we immediately found the service to be slow, having to wait an unacceptable amount of time to order drinks. The food service wasn't much better, it was very slow, with incorrect or unavailable dishes. Once it did arrive, the food was good, if you don't mind alot of salt but what really ruined the evening was making payment. The guy running service was rude when approached and offered no apology for the wait times or errors on the bill . This 'gastropub' is not cheap and you would expect an apology attempt very least and the service charge removed. We left with a very salty taste in the mouth and won't be returning. Nobody should pay to be treated this way, regardless of the food quality. Avoid.

This was our first visit under the new management and I’d recommend it.The ambiance is cosier and interesting with an eclectic mix of furniture and accessories which avoid the over-designed trap.The food was delicious with plenty to chose from on the menu and specials blackboard (the mussels were some of the best I’ve had).We sat by the real fire in the corner which I loved. Guests were over-warmed by the radiator under their bench, but do ask for table 2 or 3 if you feel the cold!Service was a bit ragged to start with - our first waiter said he was new and then forgot to put in our order for olives and salted almonds. Delicious when they arrived twenty minutes later but not the pre-meal snack with drinks envisaged…Service recovered and our courses came in a timely manner, so no harm done. Especially given quality of the cooking.They say toilet facilities are an indicator and I hope the success the new The Carpenters Arms is enjoying will enable investment in that area which is functional rather than welcoming.Overall a very good evening and we’ll be back soon.

Had an absolutely beautiful evening after wanting to try for a while.We had Oysters (beautiful!!) and Mussels to start, and then Veal and Steak, and a lot of wine!Our friends popped in to join us after for a drink and we definitely stayed a bit longer than we should have but serving staff were so hospitable!Such a relaxed evening. Can’t wait to come back!

Lovely staff very attentive and a delicious array of wines to choose from. The best thing is the food the chef has nailed the cooking of all meats I would highly recommend the veal as it was cooked to perfection. Lovely place. It’s why it’s one of my favourite pubs.

I had a late lunch with friends yesterday and the food was excellent. Really good quality, mega sized portions and lots of options. The music is great, the staff are friendly and it’s got a lovely vibe.

We got mussel starters and chips. Chips were like sand. Dark brown, burned, cooked couple times till dry then microwaved. Disgusting. It begs a belief, but moules were the same - stone cold moule shells, hot mlules and boiling hot sauce. This is the effect of microwave again. Two starters, two chips, two glasses of cheapest wine and £50 bill for old, microwaved food.Worst pub I ever went to... And just like others said - very slow service.

Lovely pub. First class service, great atmosphere. Real ales and cocktails to cater for all. Outstanding chefs. Food superb. Highly recommend!

Was quite underwhelmed by our meal here after wanting to visit for ages.One good point- the staff were very nice.The bill was very expensive for a meal that I thought was slightly lacking - starters were nice but limited choice, main was okay - a large bit of pork with plain new potatoes, and the dessert choice was poor so we didn't have one. The wine I chose was average, a rather sweet rosé.The seats outside also very uncomfortable.Disappointing and probably wouldn't return as it's overpriced for what you get.