St. JOHN Bread and Wine
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Quick info
About St. JOHN Bread and Wine
St. JOHN Bread and Wine is a modern European restaurant at 94-96 Commercial St in London. It opened over 20 years ago as a takeaway counter for bread and wine and grew into a full restaurant. The kitchen follows Fergus Henderson's nose-to-tail philosophy, and the menu leads with meat dishes, including offal. Fish dishes are fewer, and vegetarian options are limited. Chips are cooked in animal fat. The wine list is extensive, and the team recommends wines and advises how many plates to order. A Fergroni is served as an aperitif, and madeleines arrive at the end of the meal. The dining room is painted white.
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Reviews
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention madeleines, chips cooked in animal fat, offal and meat dishes and extensive wine list.
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention madeleines, chips cooked in animal fat, offal and meat dishes and extensive wine list.
Customer Review Summary
Reviewers return most for the madeleines, called divine, perfect and a must-order, with a crisp outside. Close behind are the chicken liver pate on toast, described as roasty and deep in flavour, and the nose-to-tail plates such as beef heart, pork jowl, fish cheeks and corn soup. Chips with vinegar and a house-made wine also earn praise, and several single out the extensive wine list and drinks selection. Service is mostly called friendly, relaxed and knowledgeable, though one diner found it a little forgetful and aloof. The sharpest complaint is a salty cod that one diner could not finish, who says staff replied that this is how salty cod should be. Vegetarians describe very limited options, with chips cooked in animal fat, and one finds the price hard to justify. A group of six found the white room echoey and hard to talk in. One reviewer says to ask the waitress how many plates to order, then order half that.
Customer Review Summary
Reviewers return most for the madeleines, called divine, perfect and a must-order, with a crisp outside. Close behind are the chicken liver pate on toast, described as roasty and deep in flavour, and the nose-to-tail plates such as beef heart, pork jowl, fish cheeks and corn soup. Chips with vinegar and a house-made wine also earn praise, and several single out the extensive wine list and drinks selection. Service is mostly called friendly, relaxed and knowledgeable, though one diner found it a little forgetful and aloof. The sharpest complaint is a salty cod that one diner could not finish, who says staff replied that this is how salty cod should be. Vegetarians describe very limited options, with chips cooked in animal fat, and one finds the price hard to justify. A group of six found the white room echoey and hard to talk in. One reviewer says to ask the waitress how many plates to order, then order half that.
Featured reviews
- Yishyan Amanda
“Delicious meal, really great service and lovely drinks selection. The corn soup was my favourite, but I loved everything, all the flavours were on point and well seasoned. You can’t skip the madeleines of course!”
- Arjun Chatterjee
“What a pilgrimage! It's great to be an eater when everyone on the team is firing on all cylinders. Everything from the Fergroni (which is a well balanced aperitif by the way) to the peas, to the meatball (the British call it something else) to the beef heart and the pork jowl was wonderful and delicious and each bite brought pleasure... Especially paired with the lovely wines that Zell recommend (I apologize if I misspelled your name) Thank you for making my night one to remember!”
- Word traveler
“Ecco una versione fluida in inglese: We had a wonderful experience. The wine list is extensive and thoughtfully curated, with plenty of great options. The service was relaxed, friendly, and attentive throughout the meal. The food is cozy, comforting, and absolutely delicious—simple dishes executed with great care and quality ingredients. A place that makes you feel at home while serving food you’ll want to come back for. Highly recommended!”
- AJ
“Not for vegetarians. While there are some veggie dishes, they are incredibly limited. Also some dishes like the chips are cooked in animal fat so they are a no go. Overall, not worth it for the price if you’re vegetarian. I am pescatarian and there was a little more I could eat but I wasn’t convinced things were worth the price for what I was getting. Atmosphere was a bit difficult as it is a very echoey room and was hard to hear my friends (we were a group of 6). Im not sure why everything being painted white is a ‘vibe’. It reminded me of all my student houses where landlords paint everything white because it’s cheap and easy.”
- Michael Cheng
“this former Michelin star restaurant has not let me down, in fact, it was the only win one star Michelin restaurant that blew past all of the other one star michelins that disappointed me in New York, absolutely incredible flavours on every dish, literally, the chicken liver pate on toast which sounds like unappetizing was just incredibly roasty and delicious and deep in flavours, and a kohlrabi crunchy dish without little shrimps was great, the chips with the vinegar. fantastic, the fish cheeks was like a poor man's lobster is what people called it. I would call it more like crab but it was also really delicious, the John dory was not bad and interesting flat fish. I guess that was the only one that could have more flavours, the ham dish was salty but I had this delicious creamy sauce, and then topping it off with the madelins which were just Divine. had a crispy outside. remind me of those fluffy egg cakes from Chinatown, the service was friendly but little bit forgetful at times and just like aloof a little bit. but overall it's just very casual vibes. but overall the food was just impeccable us downing expensive but worth it, also a strong bottle of wine made by them”
Hours
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Good to know
“When St. JOHN Bread and Wine opened over 20 years ago it was originally intended as a takeaway counter and bakery for the bread for which St. JOHN had become lauded, as well as takeaway wines, offering small plates for those who stopped by as they collected their supplies. But its position as a restaurant in its own right soon overtook the original intention and soon Bread and Wine became the busy and much-loved restaurant that it is today, still espousing chef and owner Fergus Henderson's nose-to-tail philosophy and widely credited as the pioneer in the first wave of small-plate, seasonally focused restaurants now ubiquitous in East London. St. JOHN Bread and Wine is open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week.”
- AccessibilityWheelchair-accessible entrance · Wheelchair-accessible seating · Wheelchair-accessible car park
Amenities
- Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Show more amenities
- Accessibility· 2
- Wheelchair-accessible seating
- Wheelchair-accessible car park
Location
Restaurants near St. JOHN Bread and Wine
- Tibet Kitchen London4.93680.1 mi
chicken and vegan momos, spicy chutney sauce, mixed momo selection
- 0.1 mi£20–30Good for kidsReservations
naan, mango lassi, biryani
- Chez Elles Bistroquet4.77670.1 mi£30–70Outdoor seatingVegan optionsVegetarian options
french onion soup, escargots, steak frites
| Place | Rating | Distance | Price | Mentioned in reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. JOHN Bread and Wine | 4.51,316 | — | — | madeleines, chips cooked in animal fat, offal and meat dishes |
| Tibet Kitchen London | 4.9368 | 0.1 mi | — | chicken and vegan momos, spicy chutney sauce, mixed momo selection |
| The Monsoon - Best Indian Restaurant & TakeawayGood for kids · Reservations | 4.62,131 | 0.1 mi | £20–30 | naan, mango lassi, biryani |
| Chez Elles BistroquetOutdoor seating · Vegan options · Vegetarian options | 4.7767 | 0.1 mi | £30–70 | french onion soup, escargots, steak frites |
The 3 nearest restaurants by distance. Ratings, hours and review terms come from public business profiles.
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