Julie’s Restaurant and Bar

Julie’s was recommended by a work college and I was sold on the description of it’s 70’s style vibe that the restaurant has going on. So we booked ourselves in — a group of 10 — for an evening meal in one of the private rooms downstairs. Honestly? While I can see that a place would like to hold on to what made it so charming back in the day, it just makes it feel dated and tired. There’s nothing charming about the décor, it just looks as though they haven’t been bothered to even try to make it nice. What’s worse is the complete contrast of old décor with a whited out dining alcove just off from the main little area where you wait before taking your seat at your table. We all had the ‘Sunday lunch’ — which wasn’t much to shout about either. It wasn’t very warm, the food was bland and uninventive. The staff were fairly slow to serve us too, which was a little annoying as there were long waits between servings and we were sat for a good while waiting for drinks etc after having ordered them.

Julie’s is currently under refurbishment but they’ll be re-​open in July.

Everything about my recent evening at Julie’s was highly enjoyable, sadly except for the food which was a bit disappointing.
A bit of a local institution but not stuffy considering it’s locale. The staff were lovely, very polite and friendly. Helpful too. We had drinks in a Marrakesh inspired lounge and then moved into a beautiful group dining room. It looked like a wedding and was as nicely decorated as any wedding i’ve ever been to.
The wine was decent, a bit pricey, but nice. Then sadly it went to sh*t after that. The squid was fresh but the batter soggy. My steak and kidney pie was more stew than pie, a pot pie, but not advertised as such.
Maybe dining a la carte would offer a different experience. The great staff meant i’d probably give it another go.

I went here with a group of friends and while we ended up with an additional person coming, that did not seem to be a problem for the staff at Julie’s. They were very accommodating and seated us all in the downstairs drinking area. It’s supposed to be wine and champagne bar so we ordered ourselves some sparkling goodness. We were happy with our choices and enjoyed the amazing ambiance — dimly lit, comfy couches and tons of positive attitude from the staff. A bit overpriced though.
The upstairs was a whole other story, it was like we visited two places in one night — the restaurant has a completely different feel and ambiance. It’s way classier and sophisticated; well, maybe it was the wine talking but I loved it there. We ordered up and enjoyed a nice dinner, accompanied with the same quality service.

Took a group of work friends here for dinner a few days ago. Julie’s has a great location and cute décor. We tried siting outside until it rained, and had to move in but the staff were very accommodating.
Service here is excellent — warm, friendly staff and nothing is too much trouble. As a result the ambience is great. It was quiet when we dined but with a group of 7 and more diners joining we had a great evening.
The food is only average. I had the rib eye steak which arrived cut up. This is annoying because the steak rapidly goes cold. The triple cooked chips are delicious, but the other food was average to good — nothing outstanding.
Definitely recommend.

Gorgeous location, gorgeous building. Each room has its own story, and our party of about 20 explored several of them!
Drinks downstairs in a room that looked like a Moroccan lounge, dinner upstairs in a lovely room that looked like a fairy tale dream with sparkling, billowy ceiling treatments. Lots of outdoor seating which suited us for a rare sunny day.
Food however? So-​so. There for a party, so there was somewhat of a set menu. I don’t know what the ordinary pickings are, but paté for starter, rack of lamb for main, and cheese plate for me at the end. While the lamb was lovely and tender, there was a distinct lack of salt on the whole plate. The salt grinder sat resident at my end of the table.
One other downside… the location is highly residential, so any slight increase in outdoor volume results in complaints from the neighbors.

As others who have come before have said, the restaurant itself is really cool. The bar area is cozy and a great place to grab a drink and a chat with friends. I imagine the outdoor seating is just as amazing in the warmer months. We were seated downstairs in one of the back alcoves. It turned out to be a bit of a ‘no man’s land.’
It took a bit for our party of six to get assembled, and after the waitstaff sat the majority of us, no one came for a drink order or even to ask if we could use some water. The water we really needed, as the place was more than a little warm with so many bodies packed into the space. Once we got the attention of our waiter, we got a pitcher of water and one bottle of wine to split between the six of us for the rest of the evening. If we had known there was no chance of getting refills, we would have rationed properly.
We all ordered mains, and the general consensus was that the food was very good. I had the salmon and haddock fishcakes that were very well breaded and browned. Our table was cleared about fifteen minutes after everyone had finished eating, and that was that. We weren’t offered dessert, more wine, even a little more water. If we hadn’t been gabbing along the whole evening, I think we would have noticed the sporadic service more. I’d probably come back for a drink and maybe dinner with a smaller group.

Julie’s has become an institution and as such doesn’t have to try very much to attract new customers. GlobalReach gives the perfect description of the clientele, it really does seem as if time has stood still here. It is still the same crowd and in the dim lighting you haven’t noticed how they’ve aged …
I had a very disappointing experience many years ago when I was gazumped only a couple of weeks prior to the birthday party I had booked here. As I had chosen drinks and canapes only, a corporate party obviously promised more money. And no, I am not making this up, one of my friends went to the corporate do first before joining my party.
Oh well, let’s not dwell on the past, even though the experience left a very bitter taste.
I am usually comforted when places remain true to themselves over the years. In Julie’s case this includes rather snooty front of house and rowdy Hooray Henry’s.
On the positives, the waitress who finally looked after us was lovely and the food arrived at record speed.
As this was a spontaneous and quick girlie supper, the £100 bill for two (starters and puddings, plus one glass of proseco each) came as a bit of a shock. But then, this is Julie’s after all …

Went here on a Friday night with my special lady. Overall this was a good place and I was tempted to give four stars.
On the upside, the restaurant itself is lovely. There’s lots different seating, ranging from kitschy and white to lounge-​like and dark. The ‘tap water’ they bring you comes in a nice pitcher with a slice of orange.
On the downside, the food is pretty expensive (15 – 20 per entrée), especially given that I didn’t think the quality matched the price. The food was good, just not THAT good. Service could have been a little speedier, but still decent.
So yeah, I would come back here, but I would probably want to try some other, new restaurants before returning.

I’ve been going to Julie’s on and off for about 20 years and it remains one of my favourite places in London. I love the labyrinth of different rooms, each with a very different atmosphere, from garden room to gothic room. There’s even a fabulous banqueting room (where I hosted a wonderful Sunday lunch party many moons ago…) Whether you’re going for lunch, dinner, afternoon tea, or just a drink in the bar, you’ll have a lovely time. Located in a lovely tranquil corner of Holland Park, it’s a perfect haven. The food and service are excellent. I think everyone should go to Julie’s at least once. It’s a true London classic.

Had the steak and kidney pie, Sam and Jess the eggs florentine and Lena had the duck salad. Tasty food, decent service and ok decorum. Slightly overpriced but a nice upscale place serving traditional British.

Oh, the AMBIANCE.
I absolutely love the décor in this restaurant. From the outside, Julie’s does not look very big, but the restaurant actually is quite large, with many different rooms. Upstairs is a dining area and downstairs is a wine and champagne bar. Each room has a different feel and theme to it, and each is so lovely with so much character and taste.
We came on a Friday evening. We all started with drinks in the dimly lit downstairs, where there are couches and comfy chairs for lounging and relaxing. We moved upstairs for dinner where I sat in an adorable little booth that surrounded our table. Seriously, this place is so amazingly decorated that I recommend just walking through the whole restaurant.
For my main I enjoyed sauteed scallops with a white bean sauce. My dish was delicious, and most everyone at the table seemed satisfied with their meal as well. However, my man ordered the sea bass and he seemed rather disappointed. He said that it was quite average tasting, and the portion was rather small, considering the price. For dessert, I had a yummy lemon sorbet with pineapple, which satisfied my sweet tooth, without leaving me stuffed.
I love Julie’s, but I feel that the food is a bit overpriced. But you must, must go to at least see this lovely little gem of a restaurant.

In the 70’s this was a young and trendy place, now those same cuatomers are a bit older but still loyal customers.
Good food and wine for the wealthy older client or the middle aged with good traditional taste and discernment.
Great traditiomal food and wine for those with good taste and can afford.

Came here for dinner.
I really enjoyed the décor, and the music for the most part was nice (although quite random… it went from good to awful sometimes, but when we asked our waiter to change the music, he graciously agreed that it was awful and did so). I didn’t really find the service bad at all, but perhaps I was lucky to have a good experience. We ended up being the last people in the restaurant, and in no way felt rushed to leave by the wait staff.
The food was very good — the lobster risotto is delicious, let me just put that out there now.

Just OK. Nice room and décor, great neighborhood, mediocre food, poor wine list, and just awful service. Consistently, too — I live near the restaurant and have been several times, and they can’t figure out service, nor do they seem to have any interest in trying to. The feel of the place, with its Moorish décor, is what gets me back there, but there really are other places I should be taking people and spending money. Check it out but keep your expectations low.

I visited Julie’s on a recent Saturday night for dinner and left feeling so-​so. The décor was interesting and pleasant. It felt very private because of the numerous small dining rooms. The service started off rather well, but our table of four was ignored toward the end of the meal because we were overshadowed by a table of ten. Part of me understands why that happens, but then part of me doesn’t because this is a top restaurant and I don’t think tables should be forgotten when they charge what they do. The restaurant was not full.
I shared a starter, had a main and a dessert, and a half bottle of wine, for £45. My starter and dessert were fantastic, the main was blah.
I left feeling as though the staff’s attitude was that I should be thankful that I got to eat at Julie’s, while I personally feel like they should feel thankful that they had our business.

Went here for dinner and had a great time. There is a nice bar/​seating area where you can enjoy a cocktail/​apero before being seated.
The décor is interesting and lighting intimate. There are many little cozy rooms, which can accomodate a larger group of people.
I had pasta, which was excellent. Portions are not huge, and its fairly pricey (£60 for 2 ppl at least) — but worth it for the ambiance.

This Holland Park restaurant is divided into several small dining rooms with different decors. It supposedly attracts a lot of celebrities but unfortunately none were in evidence the night we dined here. We weren’t disappointed, however, because the food and service were excellent.
We ordered two pies. The fish had a substantial amount of salmon, mussels, and prawns, and the chicken was loaded with leeks and mushrooms. Both had a rich cream sauce and beautiful crusts. The waiter recommended we share a side of chips with garlic mayonnaise and they were as delicious as he promised they would be, neither greasy nor too salty. We shared a wonderful warm blackberry-​apple crumble topped with custard for dessert. The coffee was outstanding.
Dinner for two, with an excellent bottle of fruity chardonnay (another terrific recommendation from our waiter) and service, was £75.
Julie’s also serves breakfast from 9.00 — 11.30am, late lunch from 3.30 — 7.00pm, and a traditional afternoon tea from 3 — 6.30pm.

This restaurant has completley over the top décor with lots of gilding and Rococo style adornment. It achieved a brief period of noteriety a few years ago when (a) Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna used to eat her and (b) it was discovered that the produce Julie’s was serving as organic was not organic at all. All of this is behind Julie’s now and it is an intimate (if girly) neighbourhood restaurant with good wuality food even if it is at typical Holland Park prices.

Lots of different interesting seating areas. Good if slightly expensive menu with about the right number of dishes. Veg are effectively extra, but mostly you don’t need them — share a plate of hand cut chips. Starters £8 up, Mains £18 up. OK too for not too strict veggies.
Wine list has some reliable inexpensive wines (but not that cheap on this list) but did not explore to deeply. Food was well above average and I had an excellent meal of Gazpacho, Lamb chops & dark chocolate mousse. Staff were friendly, but it was Sunday evening with a big footy match so the place was not very busy. Will go again.

Pourquoi: Cuisine internationale de qualité, personnel disponible, un excellent rapport qualité-​prix pour le quartier.
L’ambiance: Cosy, très anglaise.
Le plus: Situé dans un hôtel historique à 200 m du British Museum, de Covent Garden et de Harrod’s.