Harden's says
MasterChef judge and chef Robin Gill (of The Dairy and Sorella) runs the restaurant and rooftop bar at the Embassy Gardens development (the one with the suspended swimming pool), by the new US Embassy. Irish influences, open-fire cooking and on-site brewed drinks will feature, in decor inspired by 1950s Manhattan.
Harden's survey result
Summary
In a style not dissimilar to an NYC steakhouse, Irish chef Robin Gill’s “lovely” venue is an “excellent addition” to the new Nine Elms development – and should make staff at the US Embassy next door feel right at home with its “solid” menu of seafood and steaks and “nice cocktail bar vibe”. “Oysters are good value in happy hour”, accompanied by “spot-on martinis” or draught Guinness. Other highlights include breakfast, Sunday lunch with live music, and Southeast Asian BBQ treats from ‘The Hatch’ in the beer garden.
Summary
“It’s in an odd area (unless you are the US Ambassador to the UK!)”, but Robin Gill’s “big, grand and stylish” two-year-old is “well worth the hike”. “Sitting in the shadow of the imposing US Embassy” at Nine Elms, its “very polished” interior is “part oyster bar, part secluded booths” and feels “reminiscent of the grand steakhouses of NYC”. “If you like oysters and Guinness, or even if you don’t”, it’s “a great spot to waste an afternoon”, serving “boldly flavoured” food: “great meat and fresh, beautifully cooked fish”. But “while it’s good, even so the pricing feels a little punchy”.
Summary
“Rich and flavourful” food and a “buzzy atmosphere” help earn a thumbs-up for Dublin-born Robin Gill’s NYC-inspired oyster bar and grill that provides a home-from-home for staff at the new US Embassy at Nine Elms nearby. It’s a “classy outfit, all very slick”, and “the meat hanging room is quite the spectacle”. Gill made his name down the road in Clapham with The Dairy, Counter Culture and Sorella.
Summary
Amidst the mushrooming luxury developments of Vauxhall’s once-neglected south bank, Robin and Sarah Gill’s (The Dairy, Counter Culture, Sorella) biggest venture to-date occupies the ground floor of one such new building, near the new American Embassy. Set around a large central bar with counter – and following an Irish-American theme (incorporating Robin’s Irish heritage) – the culinary emphasis is ingredient-led as the website makes clear: ‘… our single philosophy is: We have a wonderful product, let’s try not to feck it up’. It’s a comprehensive offering, complete with in-house bakery, large open kitchen with grill, cold storage (showing off steaks and fresh fish), an oyster bar, and a big outside terrace. It opened just as the survey was closing, but early feedback is of food that’s “fresh, interesting and delicious” – “the ragu was the best I have eaten anywhere ever!”
For 33 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 Darby's?
3 Viaduct Gardens Road, Embassy Gardens, London, SW11 7AY
Restaurant details
Darby's Restaurant Diner Reviews
"buzzy place - fun to watch the open kitchen. Good service from our waitress - Food was good (not spectacular). Worth a visit but I would not travel to return - "
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always | £85.00 |  |
|
|
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Veggies | Pudding |
|---|---|---|---|
| £9.00 | £26.30 | £6.50 | £8.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £35.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £2.50 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £4.50 |
| Service | 12.50% |
3 Viaduct Gardens Road, Embassy Gardens, London, SW11 7AY
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑4 pm |
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