The Distillery

Sat outside 31/07 and ordered drinks. All tables full with a single lad running about trying to manage. After 15 mins of waiting for our drinks my husband went inside to the bar (it was empty) to check if our drinks were ready as he would take them out himself. The poor lad was now at a coffee machine making multiple drinks whilst the barman was standing behind the bar twiddling his thumbs with a couple of trays of drinks on the bar (waiting to go outside presumably). My husband said if our order is ready (people outside who had sat after us had theirs) could he take it. He was rebuked by another man (also doing nothing) with dark greasy curly hair, who told him to go outside and wait. Clearly they couldn’t organise a proverbial p*ss up in a brewery if they tried. Anyway husband came back outside absolutely furious at how rudely he was spoken to. At that point we left! I guess the Distillery, being in a tourist area, feel they don’t need to bother with customer service - by the way we are locals.. Oh and my husband says he’ll never drink your Portobello Gin again (it’s not that great anyway)!

3 of us stopped by for a drink, we were told we could not sit in a booth as they were kept for groups of 4, despite there being a group of 3 in the adjoining booth. We waited ages to order and finally had to get the attention of a staff member to do so. A waiter dropped a plate of nibbles at our table, no eye contact, no explanation. Assuming they were complimentary we decided to try them. Not particularly exciting but our drinks were taking ages. Then the waiter came over and told us that they were not meant for our table and the manager asked if we would pay for them. We declined, explaining that we had assumed they were complimentary. He then took the rest of the nibbles away even though they could not be served to anyone else as we had been all over them. My espresso martini was the smallest and most expensive Ive ever had and I live In Sydney which is by no means a cheap place to drink. Avoid, avoid, avoid!

The staff was amazing, and being on the fourth floor, you would never know you were above a rocking pub. The gin itself is worth the visit but warning, 4 flights up with no lift. We stayed in Suite 1, nice room, clean, quaint, wonderful views. We had issues with the A/C. It was super hot in London during our stay, so being 80 degrees (28C) was a bit much. The staff tried their best and gave us a life-saving fan, but it definitely dampened an otherwise stellar stay.

As a local who often shops & socialises in Portobello Rd, I will never visit this bar again. As a courtesy, because I used their toilet facilities... I sat and ordered a non alcoholic drink from the man who came to the table with a big bottle of water. I ordered an elderflower cordial. He then proceeded to serve other tables before myself. Not good practice to ignore any customers, and in this case... probably in favour of tourists. You will not get return trade like this. I prefer to spend time and money in the newly opened 'LOVE' bar further along Portobello Road, in what was the Mau Mau Bar. The service is friendlier & more professional that, that I experienced today.