Andrew Cartwright
Spent some time enjoying the festival that was going on, and decided to find somewhere to chill for some food - on initial glance we ignored this restaurant as it didn't look like it would be child friendly, but a quick confirmation that they had child menus (and that the kids were happy there was something they liked) and we were shown to a table. Kids wanted inside, and we had a nice table in a corner with lots of comfy cushions.
Food and drink ordered fairly quickly and it didn't take too long to come. Recommend the duck salad. It was very nice. In fact we all enjoyed our meals. The kids meals also came with a desert, which made them very happy! The service was very good, and happily disappeared to get the kids more ketchup when they needed it!
A nice place, wasn't overly expensive (especially for London), and if visiting the area again would certainly consider coming again.
James Lerwin Dela Peña
Went for Christmas Dinner in the restaurant and it was a very pleasant experience! The holiday decorations are superb for which you will feel definitely the holiday season. Christmas cracker on the table was highly appreciated as it makes you feel that they offered extra effort on the holiday dining experience. The staff are very friendly and courteous. The food from starter to dessert were really good especially the mains! Loved and impressed with the good portion and taste of the Christmas Turkey meal. I highly recommend this restaurant!
Natalia Barbosa
Delicious Sunday Roast and fish pie. Have been here many times before on working days for drinks and hamburger
Ami Red
My and my office colleagues had been to this place for breakfast and I must say the dishes that we ordered were amazingly tasty.
I had ordered full veggie breakfast which had avocado, poached eggs , baked beans, stir fried mushrooms, tomatoes..
The coffee was hot and good. The ambience is lovely. The location of this place is perfect.
We had reserved the place so we didn't have to wait or anything.
I would highly recommend this place to anyone.
Zuzana Ba
Lovely place with good food and great service. The location of the restaurant is well situated near by St. Paul’s.Lovely decor and ambiance. Staff is very friendly and warm. Worth to try.
Rav Sehmi
Booked in for a cocktail masterclass which was amazing and the perfect group activity! The service, atmosphere and quality of the cocktails exceeded all expectations. Being able to choose the cocktails prior to the booking was great as we were able to cater to the group. Big shout out to Sophia who went above and beyond to make the day special ☺️✨ Will definitely be booking again in the future!
Jana Abelovská
🧚♀️Enchanted Forest Terrace at the Happenstance
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I'm all here for the foliage and fairy lights 💫Combined with autumnal dishes🍁 and Tanqueray gin cocktails - nothing better for these cold autumn and winter days!🍂
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We tried:
DRINKS
🥃Winter Negroni - Tanqueray gin, Aperol and Sacred vermouth
🍎Apple Punch - served warm, Tanqueray gin, apple juice, winter spices
🐲Dragon's Breath - comes with a steam - Blanco rum, white vermouth, pineapple, fennel syrup, tajin spice
🍏Poisoned apple - Tanqueray gin, white vermouth, apple liqueur, apple juice, cinnamon syrup, absinthe spray
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FOOD
🥚Venison Scotch Egg with Bramley apple sauce
🎃Pumpkin & Sage Ravioli with vegan Nduja cream, feta, baby spinach
🥧Royal Estate Venison Pie with mashed potato and gravy
🍎Apple crumble tart with apple candyfloss
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📍Minutes walk from St. Paul's station
The Happenstance
Lyubomira Mihaylova
Too noisy for a meeting, though very nice environment. The best waiter ever we had - an Italian guy who made an excellent presentation of the food and a funny story about the monkfish. Certainly will remember. :) The food was also delicious and well-served. Overall, an excellent, high-quality place.
Bruce Martin
We held a corporate event at The Happenstance in late July 2021, for 170 guests. It was their first big event since lockdown ended but you wouldn't know it. I have to say the events team were absolutely superb. We run lots of events and they were the best team we have worked with. Super organised, attentive, cheerful and flexible. The food standard was very high. It's a lovely venue but as always it's key to have a great team running it - and they do - they made me, the host, look good! Thanks to Eva and all the team for a great job.
Katarzyna Lach
Simple, yet really tasty lunch comprised of side dishes: three type of fries, fried Hallumi and tomatoe salad. Probably would not pay £3.45 for the salad again though. For pudding a chocolate opera cake which was delicious! A good balance between coffe soak biscuits, chocolate and chantilly cream topped with pistachios.
Service was a bit slow even though the restaurant was nearly empty.
Virginia López
We have been to this restaurant for the first time and we loved it! Good food with great taste. Quiet place with nice staff. I would recommend the roast pork belly, very good!
Paula Hanson
Fabulous location in St Pauls. Friendly staff. Would highly recommend. Food was delicious. My Gaming Table had a roulette table set up for a wedding reception .
Ch Wo
Had breakfast here at 0730 and Happenstance is serving some of the most current breakfast meals. Some healthy like beans on toast or just delectable like fried chicken and waffle.
I tried my first bullet proof coffee which is a latte with butter and XCT oil (coconut oil). Might not be to everyone's taste as there is oil in the coffee but it was quite tasty and I didn't find it particularly oily.
The buttermilk fried chicken and waffle is beautifully presented. The same can be said about the hummus and avocado on flat bread. They are well seasoned. A few gripes I would have that might have made the breakfast experience far better is that the both the avocado and hummus mixture and the crushed avocado on the waffle were way below room temperature. A quick 5-10 second hit in the microwave oven would have probably made the experience better. Also, the pitta bread doesn't work as it would had it been a toasted flat bread as stated on the menu. They used one of those white pitta breads which can be made into a pocket. Even a crusty toasted sourdough would have enhanced the textures as everything was too soft. It was well-seasoned though and the sweet pomegranate crunch cuts through the hummus and avocado mix.
Service was fine and friendly. Will be worth paying this place a visit for breakfast.
Sarah Ross
I had my birthday party here and it was a completely fabulous night all round.
The staff are really friendly but not in an annoying way and helpful. The place looked beautiful and everyone who came along raved about it. The food was tasty and they were really helpful about providing gluten free food for about 4 of the guests.
This is a great place and I recommend it to everyone.
Christo Kuniewicz
If there was a minus star option this place would warrant it. Cold, over cooked full English for £10. I’d recommend Poppins Cafe around the corner. To be fair they did apologise and not charge but that’s not the point. Never again.
Gary Knight
Stayed over near St Paul's after birthday treat - in need of a bit of breakfast and this place on the door step - perfect breakfast eggs were fab as to the coffee and side of blueberry pancakes - nice place good service
Rodrigo Krebs
I'm a brazilian and I've been there to lunch after 2 very tiring, but awesome, days in London, I had fish and chips and I must say that it was absolutely delicious, the fish melting in the mouth, with that crispy batter outside, besides, the tartar sauce was divine as well as the chips. All of that is complemented with the amazing crew, frendly made my girlfriend and me feel very confortable and well attended. I definitely will come back everytime I'm in London.
Radhika Bhukania
Happenstance is a good place to chill after long a day. The place had good crowd and the service is great. Recommend for after office parties.
FoodNewz
The Corney & Barrow roster of bars and restaurants will probably be familiar to many who have worked in the City of London. Most of these have now been acquired by the fast-growing Drake & Morgan group who have embarked on a comprehensive revamp of the restaurants and their menus but have kept the impressive wine list.
Celeste Sparrow
Had a good, quick work lunch. Arrived to a relatively empty restaurant but by 1pm it was packed - so arrive early or book, even on a Monday. We all had burgers - mine was wagyu which was tasty - and different fries (my roman fries had a vague truffle scent but didn't deliver on truffle flavour - although they were still good fries; the sweet potato and cowboy fries were winners). Efficient service even while busy.
Diana.
The cocktails were delightful as were the starters / the satay sauce was on point and the fancy fries with honey and chilli on were good too. i had mac and cheese and a friend had the steak sandwich which was nothing to write home about. music was a little loud for dining i think they should look into that but we overlooked it as it was a friday.
HerFavFood
When first entering The Happenstance, I thought I had happened upon a busy city bar with loud music and dim lighting. Whilst I thought this might be good for an after-work drink, I started to wonder how much I would enjoy eating in there, however we were whisked off towards the back of the surprisingly large building and taken to a vast modern looking restaurant which was much quieter than the front bar section. With giant piping on the ceiling and low-hanging lamps, The Happenstance creates the industrial but sophisticated atmosphere that so many restaurants strive for.
TheFoodaholic
Five years ago seems like a lifetime away but back then the City of London, the heart of the capital – was a place you’d rarely eat in. Perhaps an over complicated lunch at a Michelin star restaurant (which I love), a white table-cloth experience in Roux at Parliament Square or steak at Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa. These were really the City’s first and best restaurants but what none of them offered was casual dining and mainly catered towards “the suits”. Now however that’s all changing. Suits are being swapped for more casual attire, people want to dine more casual and in turn service is getting more casual. The City’s still a bit behind but it’s catching up and I’m glad, because I love this part of London.
Got To Be Gourmet
I was recently invited to a gin pop up at The Happenstance in St Pauls, so I knew I had to take along my gin expert buddy Ceri. We actually visited the restaurant together last summer, which you can read about here – we were particularly impressed with their vast cocktail menu. ‘Gin It Yourself’ allows you to create your own bespoke G&T, choosing your gin, tonic and garnish, with a wide range of flavours and botanicals. First of all, we sampled eight different gins, to get a taste for the various flavours and see which ones we liked best.
The Girl Next Shore
The Happenstance is a Drake & Morgan venture perched right outside the iconic St Paul's Cathedral. I quite like how it has a nice vibe without the same madness as other D&M bars in the City. There's a glitzy bar as you walk in, a spacious restaurant and deli, a mixology table, a glam private dining area/hidden speakeasy. Oh, and they have an in-house florist, too. <br/><br/>They've started a G.I.Y. pop up bar which lets you create a bespoke drink from selected types of gins, a variety of tonic and garnishes. For £8.95 per tipple, you get to create your own gin and tonic that's like no other. Basically, this will probs be the most non-boring G&T you'll ever have. I totes enjoyed my GIY experience at The Happenstance but genuinely, other places can learn a thing or two about service from this establishment. The place may have a strategic location advantage and very 'grammable knick knacks, but it's truly the staff that keeps it all together. Oh, and I'm definitely going back with a proper cam to show you guys how pretty the place is.
Red Velvet London
Last week I popped into The Happenstance, a modern bar and restaurant located in St Paul’s. The Happenstance is part of the Drake and Morgan group with restaurants dotted around London so I am on a mission to visit them all! It is a short walking distance from St Paul’s station and perfect for the working locals to pop in for a drink at the all day bar. I came in specifically to try their Sunday Roast and honestly I cannot remember the last time I’ve had a proper Sunday Roast so I was very keen to fill my belly with fine slices of red meat and Yorkshire pudding. Thankfully at the restaurant I saw a very happy and familiar face which was Edgar the restaurant manager; he used to manage at The Refinery in Regent’s Place so it was sooo good to see him. I must admit, I was a little hungover that day and he fixed me up with a virgin Bloody Mary to wake me up. I’ve looked at their menu before arriving so I knew exactly what I wanted and what’s interesting is that their menu is consistent throughout the Drake and Morgan restaurants. If you didn’t know already I love taking photos of general interior rather than just the food. I feel like the whole experience is not what you order and eat, but the ambience and comfort of our surroundings so therefore I am particularly observant with the decor, the chairs and the quirks of the restaurant. I really wanted to capture the beauty of this restaurant as The Happenstance had a lot of quirky furnitures and wall textures which became a bit of a talking point for me with my friend (who had no interest or clue with what I was on about! Bless ’em). If you love to instagram you definitely know what I mean! I had no breakfast and hungover so without a further a do, here is what I ordered:
Jessica Duong
Came for brunch. Super beautiful inside. Ordered salmon Benedict and also had breakfast tea. The salmon and poached eggs were amazing, but the bread was way too hard to eat. The tea was also amazing. The decor was beautiful and the ambience matched it. Besides the hard bread, I would definitely recommend this place
Red Velvet London
Last week I popped into The Happenstance, a modern bar and restaurant located in St Paul’s. The Happenstance is part of the Drake and Morgan group with restaurants dotted around London so I am on a mission to visit them all! It is a short walking distance from St Paul’s station and perfect for the working locals to pop in for a drink at the all day bar. I came in specifically to try their Sunday Roast and honestly I cannot remember the last time I’ve had a proper Sunday Roast so I was very keen to fill my belly with fine slices of red meat and Yorkshire pudding. Thankfully at the restaurant I saw a very happy and familiar face which was Edgar the restaurant manager; he used to manage at The Refinery in Regent’s Place so it was sooo good to see him. I must admit, I was a little hungover that day and he fixed me up with a virgin Bloody Mary to wake me up. I’ve looked at their menu before arriving so I knew exactly what I wanted and what’s interesting is that their menu is consistent throughout the Drake and Morgan restaurants. If you didn’t know already I love taking photos of general interior rather than just the food. I feel like the whole experience is not what you order and eat, but the ambience and comfort of our surroundings so therefore I am particularly observant with the decor, the chairs and the quirks of the restaurant. I really wanted to capture the beauty of this restaurant as The Happenstance had a lot of quirky furnitures and wall textures which became a bit of a talking point for me with my friend (who had no interest or clue with what I was on about! Bless ’em). If you love to instagram you definitely know what I mean! <br/><br/>For starters we ordered:<br/>watermelon, courgette, feta & pomegranate quinoa salad: suitable for all vegetarians. Great dish for the summer, very light and juicy from the watermelon chunks. (£5.50)<br/>For my friend, he ordered the poached egg on a bed of English asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Also suitable for all vegetarians, the asparagus was well cooked and crunchy. I really don’t like runny eggs but the poached egg was perfect – not too raw! (£6.75)<br/><br/>Main: Rib of beef, Yorkshire pudding with horseradish sauce accompanied with a family-style roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, broccoli & plenty of gravy. (£14.95)<br/>This was what I was waiting for and I was the pain in the arse for taking loads of pics before we could start eating. off course my friend understood but I made it as quick as I can as I know that the rib of beef was not made to be served cold! I am a sucker for a good ol’ Sunday Roast and you can’t feel any more patriotic than a homey meal with my favourite Yorkshire pudding on a plate. The portion was just about right so you can make room for desserts later and that’s exactly what I did.<br/><br/>How have I been at the restaurant for 3 and a half hours? Not only did I have a food coma but the seat I was in was so relaxing I could lay here for another couple of hours. I ended my marathon of 3 course meal with a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Edgar was lovely enough to show me around and I had no idea that there was another dining room at the back! It was a spacious room to hold a private function and events. Downstairs, there was also a private room that can be hired to host a private event for an intimate party or social gathering. The room was called the Curious Treasury room decorated in a homely fashion. I really enjoyed my afternoon at The Happenstance and thanks to The Happenstance and Drake & Morgan for having me to dine with you.<br/><br/>You can find The Happenstance at No.1a Ludgate Hill, St Paul’s, London, EC4M 7AA.<br/>To enquire and book a table: 0845 468 0104
Got To Be Gourmet
On Wednesday evening, I met up with Ceri for dinner at St Paul’s, which seems to be the best central point for us to meet after work. Recently we’ve been going to the chain restaurants in One New Change, but this week we thought we’d try somewhere new. I looked up restaurants around the St Paul’s area and came across The Happenstance – the name really caught my eye, it sounded very unique! The restaurant’s website describes itself as the following: “immerse yourself in a world of curiously good times & happy coincidences at the happenstance. It’s sure to be a welcome addition to your little black book. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame views of london’s most iconic landmark, st paul’s, whilst our sophisticated interior encompasses a striking bar & restaurant, bountiful deli, mixology table & florist. Our glamorous subterranean private dining room or hidden speak easy “the curious treasury” awaits.” So I had pretty high expectations!
Kingy
Visited the Happenstance with my mum on a fixed menu set deal - I<br/>had the chciken skewers to start and then fish and scampi which came in a small<br/>frying pan with newspaper which was a lovely touch. The staff were friendly and<br/>the prices were good. The décor was modern and the venue was large so it was<br/>not too crowded. Imagine it is a great place for quick after work drinks as<br/>well.
Thomas.a.gilligan
Fantastic Birthday. I recently visited Happenstance for my birthday and was extremely pleased. Not only can you have some excellent food they have an extensive and well thought out drinks list that allows you to complement your food when other restaurants offer very little.
The Girl Next Shore
Happy birthday, Happenstance! Here's to many more celebrations to come!
Thomas.a.gilligan
The Happenstance was a great place to celebrate my birthday and thanks to their wine lists and friendly demeanour I can’t wait to go back...
Paula Holmes
The Happenstance has the same sort of interior, fantastic food and service and quirky cocktails. We started off with a couple of glasses of bubbly, as you do on a Sunday afternoon... I really like the interior of The Happenstance, it just looks beautiful and we had some really big comfy chairs to sit in which was great for a relaxing Sunday lunch.
Sarah Kemp
There’s nothing quite like a catch up with one of your amazing friends and what makes it even better is good meal to go with it. I met my good friend Abi (also one of my new Food for Think contributors!) for dinner on Monday evening at The Happenstance. As it was a Monday, neither of us were drinking, so instead we guzzled a lovely mocktail, which was a sweet and delectable mix of passion fruit, mango and vanilla. The menu at The Happenstance was slightly confusing. It is split into sections – a few small plates, a big range of flatbreads, salads, steak, mains, burgers & sandwiches and sides. We opted for a couple of small plates to start – Abi had the Great British Bloody Mary mussels and I went for the Tempura crispy squid with ginger & firecracker sauce.
Sam Harding
I walked in really impressed. The bar and dining room are gorgeous, I really liked the ladies loos too, loved the mirrors and candles. I was disappointed with the food. I ordered steak med/rare and it was quite tough, this is why I usually avoid steak, although I did like the presentation. Dessert was nice though and the wine chosen for me was good too. Real shame, if only the food was as good as the restaurant.
London Curry Blog
If drinking cocktails out of various different vessels is your gig then its all happening at The Happenstance. <br/><br/>We tried a number of drinks on the menu including the Autumn Ramble that came in a flask and was poured into tumblers hidden within sweet bags. (Side note: chewing excessively on paper straws renders said straws ineffective as drinking assistants, doesn't it Sarah M ).<br/><br/>Other cocktails we sampled included 'All that glitters is gold' that came in a tea pot and wasn't gold or glittery, Skinny lovely bubbly, and my favourite the Honey and Spice - a lovely whisky and honey number.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, the latter left me with somewhat of a sticky mess on my hands and none of the drinking paraphernalia we accumulated over the course of the was ever cleared away.<br/><br/>Service and untidiness aside this is a nice, speakeasy type bar in central London with a great range of tasty cocktails worth sampling. The restaurant area at the back also looked pleasant, so worth a visit.
Sarah M
Since my not so serious and slightly self indulgent Bridget Jones-esque review of Benito's Hat, I've been told I'm not allowed to leave a horrendous review of my next check in with a certain curry blogger. So I'm going to leave a very serious review of cocktails and bar atmospheres and whatnot like people tend to do on here. Sorry guys.<br/><br/>Our first drink, an Autumn something or other (yeah I'm not good at taking reviews seriously) came in a thermos which my companion suggested I steal but being a well mannered northern girl I declined. This was to share and we got to enjoy it from dragon's egg cups hidden in penny sweet bags... Because hipster cocktails in the City are in now apparently. Not the worst thing I've tasted but the ice in the thermos melts and makes it more and more watery as you go on. <br/><br/>Next up was a Skinny Lovely Bubbly which had green mint and sugar round the rim which was lovely and I managed to drink it with complete decorum... No facial incidents this time. Phew. Companion had a Honey and Spice with whisky and honey. Came in a half pint glass with a handle and looked like beer, apart from the honey dripped all over it. And the table. And his hands. And wiped onto mine. Cute.<br/><br/>Round three involved a tea pot and a Julep cocktail that came with a strainer to drink through. This was rather confusing and there was much discussion around whether I'd left a glass to pour into on the bar... I hadn't. It was pretty strong so yay for drunkness, nay for drinking without looking like a tool. In the teapot was an 'all that glitters is gold' cocktail... Which was kinda lame because there was no gold or glitter, just apple juice apparently. Not the best, but good robust teapot action.<br/><br/>With this round we had a sharing platter which I'm just going to describe as a slightly expensive carb fest in a cardboard box. Mini hot dogs and burgers etc... Again managed to consume with decorum. <br/><br/>Overall, The Happenstance is a pretty cool speakeasy type venue that's perfect for Friday drinks. Unfortunately the service doesn't match up to the atmosphere and at the end of the night after a few rounds of cocktails we were left with a table full of glasses... it didn't help that someone got honey from his cocktail all over the place and I pulled apart my straw. Messy! Drinks here seem to be slightly style over substance but I'd go again for cocktails as long as the company is as fun... :)<br/><br/><br/><br/>
Hannah Palmer Mua
I usually go to Happenstance for cocktails, the Pornstar martinis and Princess Sparkles are delicious.<br/><br/>Visited today for lunch, my friend ordered the seafood linguine which while spicy was good value for £10. <br/><br/>However I ordered the chicken pie and at £11 assumed this would come with a side. It was just the pie though and while it was ok I think if you want someone to pay £11 for just a pie is should be exceptional! <br/><br/>Service was hit and miss which is why I thought the 12.5% automatically added service charge was a bit cheeky. <br/><br/>I would not return for food but would definitely recommend the cocktails.
Corinna Rombi
Great. Fantastic Atmosphere.<br/><br/>I loved my cocktails. I happened to be there with a friend of mine, and we decided to go for The Happenstance.. which to me was fascinating also for its quite unusual name. I had a very tasty and fresh Caipirinha and one very fruity Daiquiri, which made me very happy and satisfied !! :)<br/><br/>Also, prices are not too bad, and I would say average for good cocktails and this cool environment. GO for it.
Marcometti
Coolest cocktail bar I've visited in a long while”<br/><br/>I consider myself a bit of a cocktail expert and when I hears about a "cool" cocktail bar here in London while I just had to check it out. <br/><br/>I went with a new buddy on a week night and it wasn't as excessively busy as it should during the weekend. But that certainly had no effect on the experience! <br/><br/>The cocktails were mixed by obviously skilled bartenders and for the quality were not excessively priced (I've paid more for worse drinks). <br/><br/>Service went beyond expectations and the staff was particularly friendly. The cocktails were of course top notch also.<br/><br/>If you love cocktail bars you really need to check this one out!
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