Harden's survey result
Summary
“So cool eating at the bar” – this “enjoyably bustling” spin-off from the neighbouring Theatreland classic has “very good, 1930s-style decor” (even though it was only created about 10 years ago). Compared with the main restaurant it’s “perhaps a bit more about the ambience versus the food” here, and – “with the menu opting for the small-plates approach – costs can mount up”. But, results are “predictably good”, and the operation’s “slick” style and “flexible” format suits it to many different occasions: it’s particularly “great for lunch sitting at the bar, or an early pre-theatre dinner at one of the tables”.
Summary
“So cool eating at the bar” – this “enjoyably bustling” spin-off from the neighbouring Theatreland classic has “very good, 1930s-style decor” (even though it was only created about 10 years ago). Compared with the main restaurant it’s “perhaps a bit more about the ambience versus the food” here, and – “with the menu opting for the small-plates approach – costs can mount up”. But, results are “predictably good”, and the operation’s “slick” style and “flexible” format suits it to many different occasions: it’s particularly “great for lunch sitting at the bar, or an early pre-theatre dinner at one of the tables”.
Summary
“Classic small plates” of “fantastic quality seafood”, “served in a 1930’s-style atmosphere” have evolved a separate, highly popular, identity for Sheekey’s “bustling” and “beautiful” adjacent bar, which fans say is “better than the restaurant!” and whose relatively “informal” approach is particularly “great for pre-/post-theatre”. Its ratings don’t hit the heights they once did, however, with the odd gripe that “while the welcome was warm, the food was nothing to write home about”.
Summary
“A sense of excitement and glamour” has long given Sheekey’s adjacent bar a distinct identity from the restaurant – hence its relaunch last year under the new ‘Atlantic’ brand. Its performance is not quite as stellar as a few years ago when it felt less discovered, but “its tasty fish tapas is lovely for sharing pre-theatre” and still “delivered with style and panache in a wonderful old-fashioned room”. “Fresh oysters and champagne on the doorstep of Covent Garden – what more could you ask for?”
For 30 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at J Sheekey Atlantic Bar?
Restaurant details
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always | £25.00 | £30.00 |  |
|
|
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Pudding |
|---|---|---|
| £14.50 | £28.00 | £9.50 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £42.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.50 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 12.00% |
Harden's says...
J Sheekey Oyster Bar WC2
A very smart and comfortable oyster (and light meal) bar, attached to the famous Theatreland fish restaurant; standards are high, but so are prices - for a place that's pitched as an all-day stand-by, we can't help finding them just a bit OTT.
Richard Caring, as we all know, seems to have infinite amounts of money - yes, still! - and he continues to pour a part at least of his fortune into the Caprice group. Apart from the eponymous restaurant near the Ritz, that group also owns such luminary establishments as the Ivy (which recently sprung a plush club offshoot) and Scott's.
The latest embellishment to the group is a new all-day walk-in oyster bar adjacent to Londoners' favourite fish restaurant, J Sheekey. Although intimate in scale, it is glamorously decorated in a Scott's-writ-small sort of way, and very comfortable with it.
There were half a dozen types of oyster available the day we visited. We had six excellent classically-presented rock oysters, an unadorned crab bake, just one glass of one of the cheapest wines, a savoury (cheaper than a pud), and a good espresso. Our bill? - almost £40.
That's already getting pricey for a modest meal in a supposedly informal rendezvous. If we'd had a couple of glasses around the more normal - £9! - sort of level, and some pricier native oysters, our bill for not much of a meal would easily have been around the £60 mark' for one. That's too much. You can have a slap-up lunch, booze included, at Le Gavroche for not much more than that.
As a cosy all-day light eatery, hidden away in the heart of the West End, the attractions of this high-quality newcomer are obvious. It's a shame, then, to undercut all this with prices which - even making all the obvious allowances - are, at least for out taste, just a touch too rich.
28-34 St Martin’s Ct, London, WC2N 4AL
| Number of Diners: | |
| Required Time: | |
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑6 pm, 5 pm‑12 am |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑6 pm, 5 pm‑12 am |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑6 pm, 5 pm‑12 am |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑6 pm, 5 pm‑12 am |
| Friday | 12 pm‑6 pm, 5 pm‑12 am |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑6 pm, 5 pm‑12 am |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑6 pm, 5 pm‑10:30 pm |
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