After I got off the London eye, I wanted to eat somewhere close by. Wanted one last meal of fish and chips before I left London. When I got to the restaurant, there was seating outside. After a brief wait, while the host was having a heated conversation on the phone, I was seated. Everyone else had these little electronic things on their table, but I did not. I don't know if you could place your order through that or exactly what it did. I ordered a beer and the fish and chips from my waiter. My beer was brought out quickly. The fish and chips took a little bit, although the restaurant was not busy inside, but it was busy outside. It was one large piece of fish with fries and mushy peas. There was mayo and ketchup on the table and the fish came with a nice tartar sauce. It wasn't greasy, but the coating on the fish was not as good as some other places I've been. The fries were good. The mushy peas needed a little salt. Overall, the food was not bad, but not exceptional. The main reason I only give it three stars is the service. While someone did come by and bring the little electronic gadget to my table where you can summon your waiter, I pressed it three times and the only reason I got my waiter to come by to bring me my bill was that I launched out into the aisle and stopped him when he was walking by. Someone else had brought me my food and my waiter never stopped by to make sure everything was OK. I really dislike when I see my waiter, what appears to be, standing around joking with his buds when I've been sitting with my meal complete, and my beer gone, and I don't have my bill. read more

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Giraffe is a really big place in a very central location that's really kid friendly. I highly recommend it. We we seated right away and you can order on a tablet if you want. We both ordered from the kids menu because we weren't too hungry and it was the perfect amount and size. We finished all the pasta and most of the fish! I liked that they gave us a full sized ketchup and mayo. You pay before you eat so once you're done you can go. Very efficient! read more

Giraffe - Kids fish n chips - British Near Me - London, XGL

I've never had a steak served with virtually no seasoning or flavor at all... until I came here. Honestly shocked they have the nerve to charge 27£ for unseasoned steak. read more

Ayuh was our server there and he was one of the best servers to have in London! Our food was brought to us quickly and we were waited on promptly! read more

Ordered Eggs Benefict. Got two Eggs on a bun with ham... No side. That was extra. $$$$$$$$$. Melted cheese was standing in for hollondaise sause topped with hot sauce. Sat us by the waiter station in the back where customers gather to pay bills and waiters clink silverware. When we asked to move to another table, the waiter told us the table we indicated was for parties of six only, just as another waiter sat a party of two (oops). To be fair there was municipal work taking place at the far end, so outdoor seating was limited. Perhaps they know their patrons are toutists and won't be back so they don't try. Woild not recommend.. read more

Was down near the Thames and had some time for breakfast before my time slot to visit the London Eye. Opted for a traditional English Breakfast. It was perfect, especially liked the way they prepared the mushrooms (so much so I asked how they did it). read more

The location is amazing, and if you can get a seat outside on a beautiful day, it's worth it as it is fun being outside on this busy strip. Our kids loved their food and my husband had the fried cod and chips (and he said it was the best fried fish he had during our trip to London). However, while there are a few vegan options on the menu, they were out of almost everything. The hummus was decent but not quite enough for a meal, but there weren't many other options on the day we went. The staff were friendly. read more

Horrid. The food was cold, bland, and overall a waste of money. I would never return here.

A balloon will pop every 5 minutes. Lol. This place is very lively and I can't believe it's called Giraffe. We found this while walking along the river. Ordered the fried squid, blackened salmon, and rodeo chicken burger. Appetizer is very small. Entrees mediocre. Atmosphere is nice and workers are friendly. Doesn't blow the mind away. read more

Giraffe seemed as good a place as any to stop for a late breakfast while exploring London. It was cloudy and a bit on the cool side but we sat on the patio because it was a nice view of the surrounding area. The Bacon and Eggs from their Happy Brekkie £5.00 menu seemed like the right deal. Although I prefer my bacon cooked a little more, it was a good breakfast and a good cup of coffee. The rest of their menu features cuisines from all over the world, including Asian, American, Indian, Mexican, Turkish, and more. Interesting or confusing? Hmmm... Overall, the service was good. The washrooms and the rest of the place was clean. Prices were very reasonable. read more

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We were excited to come here, however, some of the staff are not nice, and we were threatened to be kicked us out within an hour of sitting down while we were waiting to order food. So we left. A lot of other bad reviews, other than this one. Do not recommend this business. Don't waste your time. You must be hungry while already reading this. You will stay hungry like us here. read more

The madness they call Giraffe is a chain of restaurants that cater to families, very reminiscent of the Rainforest Cafe. We dined here with 4 adults and 3 toddlers on a cold day. I mention the cold because the queue to dine was a long line outside, wrapped around the restaurant! Ironically, when we were ready to be seated, we opted to sit outside because we had already been outside for 20 odd minutes, why not get to eating instead of waiting even longer for an inside table?! Plus, there were space heaters so that made it a lot more tolerable. The menu offered all different kinds of cuisine (which may or may not be a good thing). I decided to have steak and chips and an espresso martini (hey, I'm on holiday). The rest of the group had ribs, burger, burrito, and the kids had spaghetti, burger, chicken strips (all from the kid's menu). Strangely, they ran out of fish & chips on this day... My steak and chips was cooked a perfect medium. This American would've preferred A1 sauce instead of brown sauce (this wasn't a high-end filet, after all) but even without any sauce, it had a nice flavor to it. Espresso martini had just enough of a caffeine and alcohol kick to it, this was good. Service was super friendly but kind of chaotic. A place like that, what with kids and balloons and crying babies, it's to be expected. While I wouldn't be in a rush to return on my own, it's a good place to take your kids. No one will care if they are acting up or screaming/crying, and they have alcohol. read more

Good Spot In The Heart of Tourist District 'Ello chaps! Giraffe World Kitchen a British national chain restaurant with locations throughout Britain and London. This particular spot is located just steps from the London Eye, Parliament and other major tourist attractions. Service was quick. We were impressed how quickly the food came out. The fish and chips were hot and crispy and the burger was perfectly cooked. The bun was soft and delicious, just as a burger bun should be. One thing to keep in mind - soft drinks/soda/pop is far more expensive in Europe than what Americans may be used to. Expect to pay more for soda in some places than you would even for alcohol. OVERALL: I give Giraffe World Market FOUR Cheers out of Five. One of the finer spots to hit up. Prices were decent, service and food were fantastic. read more

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We were seated quick but the service was soooo slow. The drink order took 25mins to just take it. Then they turned up 15mins later. We finally place our order for dinner close to an hour from being seated. The food showed up and was all wrong. They then fixed it but we never had another order of drinks come by until we were done. My daughter wanted dessert so we decided to get one and that took for ever and in the end she didn't even like It. read more

This place is way too overpriced for the blah flavors they have. They're trying to be cultural jack of all trades and it's not working. Abysmal at best. Service is extremely slow. The nachos taste like stale Doritos with canned meat on top. The noodles were dry, and The Couscous was missing the other "Cous" ;-) read more

Giraffe - This place is very over priced for the blah flavors. Trying to be jack of all trades is not working. Abysmal at best. - British Near Me - London, XGL

We were enjoying the beautiful weather under the London Eye on Queen's Walk and I had a hankering for something beyond the yogurt truck. Nice selection of desserts - it was was good and certainly what I expected for a chain restaurant. read more

Giraffe - Rocky Road Sunday - 5.95£ - British Near Me - London, XGL

Meeting some friends in the pouring rain by Waterloo, you want to go somewhere quickly. Knowing the friends I was with, that somewhere had to have drinks of all varieties and be close. So, not having decided beforehand (always a mistake to 'spontaneously' find somewhere when in a group), we gave in and plumped for a chain. Never anything too special, but a nice option. Side point, describing something as nice may possibly be the most politically non-descript thing you can say; it wasn't worth commenting on but you sound like you're being positive. Ick! We got in just before 7pm so found 50% off certain drinks. Making the most of it, I tried a mango and lime daiquiri and an apple and elderflower martini. The former was better as it tasted like fruit was used to make it, the latter was diluted apple juice frankly. We also got some nibbles, worth a try are the quesadillas - the remainder of the food menu is overpriced. 3 stars over 2 for convenience and half price drinks, I would likely make a plan first to go somewhere a bit more special. read more

Giraffe - A selection of cocktails to start the evening - British Near Me - London, XGL

Welcome babies!!! This was the only place open when my friend and I were wandering towards the Tate Modern from London Eye. It was 11.30 and we were starving. Mistake. When we entered there were a few kids here. We asked for a booth and were seated fairly quickly. And then we sat and waited for 14 minutes before anyone so much as greeted us or brought us water. At 14 minutes I asked someone if we should leave or if they had someone working our table...I tried to be polite but the place was filling up. The menu was nice and I like the gluten free menu choices. Soo nice. We decided to stay. The food came quickly and it was fine...nothing special but good. By this time we were surrounded by kids..kids everywhere which would be fine if I wasn't on vacation for the first time without my 2.5 year old. But that not anyone's fault but my own...I realize that. I think the waitress came by and did ask how our food was and we said it was fine but that we needed the bill. I was disappointed. This is the worst place we've eaten in London and we didn't leave the suggested tip amount which I have never in my life done. Terrible service. Friendly for kids and good location but I'd have been better off waiting for one of the other restaurants nearby to open at noon. read more

Giraffe - British Near Me - London, XGL

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I usually avoid Giraffe at mealtimes as noisy children and trying to enjoy food just don't go together, but if you come here after bedtime it's actually quite enjoyable. The South Bank is a great hub of activity and after strolling, watching films and appreciating galleries, it's nice to continue the conversation indoors in one of their booths. As a restaurant it's nothing special, but it's good just to come in from the cold and chat over dessert, or a selection of their sides. Giraffe's food is cheap diner-stlye and the decor is a cheap idea too, but the diverse, vibrant ambiance of the area seems to creep in here nicely. Their salads are a bit of a disaster, with each one I've tried being very lacking, but sharing a few dishes from the 'Starters and Nibbles' menu can work out well. By far the best thing on the menu is the Toblerone style cheesecake, if you have the munchies this really hits an untasteful spot. read more

Giraffe - British Near Me - London, XGL

REASONABLE FOOD. OK SERVICE. POOR SEATING. Giraffe, despite its name, is not a children's restaurant - although it is very suitable for children. I took a group of 12 adults for lunch here. Firstly, they noted my booking name down wrong so it took a short while before we could sit down. It's times like these that you do wish places would employ good English speakers to take down bookings and to sort things out when they go wrong. The size of the table they provided us with was not adequate for 12 adults and we uncomfortably squeezed together. I don't like it when restaurants put their own greed ahead of the comfort of their customers and this was certainly true, especially when you combine the too small table with the child size seats that may look funny at first but aren't later when your legs start hurting. The menu was varied and interesting to all ages. Our waitress quickly got us some drinks and the service was quite brisk - polite but not friendly. Everyone got what they ordered. The food was not amazing but generally OK and no-one thought it was bad. Overall, an OK experience that would have been much, much better if they were more realistic on the body dimensions of adults. read more

Giraffe - British Near Me - London, XGL

I met family here after a work. This is a lovely location to have dinner, right on the south bank. We reserved the day before and got a booth for 6 in a nice cosy corner of the restaurant. I didn't have mains with the rest of the family (as I was super full from lunch) but I have eaten at Giraffe before and I like their food. My family had the pasta dishes, which they polished off. I did have the brownie and ice-cream, which was delicious. My 3 year old niece enjoyed the crayons and colouring-in paper. Plus she managed to notice a quirky book shelf right where we were seated and enjoyed looking at the kids books. There was a varied book collection, and the books all in good condition. read more

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Hmmm...another chain eatery on this trip.....(9/27/13). I hadn't realized that or I would gotten my hopes up like the Pret a Manger experience (4 star). Six people in our including two twin 4 year old toddlers. Yes, very kid friendly, you can tell right at the front door when you look to the right and see a load of, uh, hmm, push chairs (have to get used to the fact they are not called strollers here! lol). Place was loud and crowded on a Friday night but that didn't deter us since we came to expect a superb dining experience. Damn well that didn't happen. it was simply satisfactory but not awful. Melon margarita was okay, not really tasty enough in terms of the melon but there was alcohol so that is always good. Coconut shrimp appetizer was good with a nice spicy sauce to dip in the shrimp. Kids however didn't take to it (strange, see Bao review), Our little girl didn't like her pizza which was a bit strange, strips of bread, with some tomato sauce and melted cheese on it. Our little boy did however like his pasta and downed most of it, the little remainder his sister finished, cool! Others had the fish (no comments) and spicy lentil soup which was "very good", salad which seemed okay. Oh, yeah, I had the jambalaya with seafood. An okay dish, maybe 2 1/2 start dish. Wasn't great but wasn't bad either. Oh, I guess that adds up to mediocre, right? So conclusion? I thought it was a disappointing experience since given its location, prices, crowd and noise there would be more substance to the food. Oh, well, live and learn. read more

Visited this restaurant because we were in the area and the large restaurant was packed. We thought that since it was so busy, the food had to be good.. 3 stars because of the waiter. We ordered the ribs, beef burrito, steak sandwich with fries, and jambalaya. Maybe its because we are from the US but the food was barely acceptable. I was hungry and was having a hard time trying to eat it. The cost wasn't cheap (comparing the price in USD) either. The saving grace was our waiter who was actually concerned that we didn't like the food. She tried her best and because of her I didn't give this restaurant 1 star. read more

Increasing consensus on Giraffe is "it's not as good as it used to be" and I would support that. The Giraffe has had babies and spread out all over London. The menu is lively and different but quality has suffered because of their expansion. I really used to enjoy their falafel burger with halloumi and coriander but someone went and changed the recipe. Pity! They do a good veg and feta salad with quinoa and avo as well as a roasted pumpkin, spinach and endamame bean salad. Because its child friendly, it's often quite chaotic and they also add service to the bill which is unwarranted on quite a few occasions. read more

Giraffe - British Near Me - London, XGL

First visit here and must say extremely impressed with the set up and the food. Three of us visited the set up down on the South Bank of the Thames in London one Saturday for brunch and had great Mexican food. Founded in Hampstead in 1998 by Juliette Joffe, Russel Joffe and Andrew Jacobs, Giraffe was owned by its founders, with additional financial backing from private shareholders, 3i investment group and chairman Luke Johnson. 3i invested £10 million in the company in 2006, in a deal that valued the chain at about £24m read more

Giraffe - Plenty of outside space - British Near Me - London, XGL

3.5 stars for Giraffe. This was a nice little place to go to when we were absolutely starving. I ordered the full English breakfast with veggie sausage which was good, but definitely nothing too special. I did appreciate the veggie sausage, but I wouldn't say anything on the plate was bursting with flavor. Nonetheless, it did the trick to curb my hunger before a busy London morning. read more

Giraffe - full veggie english breakfast - British Near Me - London, XGL

I decided to have lunch here with a friend and was somewhat skeptical at first, from previous experiences I find restaurants that do a wide range of different cultural foods usually cook the food at a mediocre level. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at giraffe, I ordered the sirloin at medium-well and the steak was cooked perfectly and had delicious juices flowing from it with every cut. The garlic butter complimented the flavours of the beef, making it moist as it melted in my mouth. It was incredibly aromatic and flavoursome. I underestimated the green salad, it did not taste as plain as it looks. It was very refreshing and the dressing made it very tasty, a great way to cleanse the palate. The olives I had for starters where scrumptious, I like how they had a range of olives, that were deliciously tangy. Service was excellent, the waitress was very quick and attentive with our orders. The price was fair the bill came to about £50.00 for the both of us. Overall, no complaints. read more

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After seeing on their website that they had banana pancakes(american stly ones, not the thin ones we get here in the Netherlands I couldnt wait to try them, so I went there during my visit in March. The restaurant was rather empty when I arrived, and I ordered a mint tea, a smoothie and the banana pancakes. Unfortunately when they arrived it wasn't what I had been expecting. The pancakes where rather dark and dry, my local supermarket sells much better ready made ones. The bananas where just a but less ripe as I would have hoped, I like them overly ripe in food(they are delicous on brown bread or bun with only a bit of butter) As for the smoothie I hadn't expected to be that much ice in it, which for me meant a less enjoyable drink. In conclusion It was a bit disappointing overall and I'm afraid I wont be going back... read more

Giraffe - Dark&dry banana pancake, smoothie, mint tea - British Near Me - London, XGL

I am usually a fan of Giraffe restaurants - I love the food and fun atmosphere. But my recent experience at the Giraffe on the South Bank wasn't great. Bad service in general. Different staff were forgetting anything we asked for and tables, floor and toilets were rather grimey. I have been to Giraffe in Richmond and Clapham and both were great! read more

Giraffe - British Near Me - London, XGL

Came here for lunch and got the giraffe burger. Very filling but not very flavorful. The fries were very crispy though! read more

Giraffe - British Near Me - London, XGL

How we ended up here again I blame on tiredness, apathy and to escape far too many children on South Bank. A ridiculous notion we discovered. I am honestly baffled at how Giraffe has turned into such a successful chain, because the food is a total waste of calories. The hummus was beyond bland, the crudités just sad and they couldn't even seem to manage decent nachos. Packed full of screaming kids and someone in the kitchen incomprehensibly rattling cutlery throughout our meal, the atmosphere was rowdier than the playground of a Maccy D's. Our absent-minded waitress wandered away after taking our drink order and didn't reappear for a very long time. Giraffe, eh pass. read more

I stopped in here for early lunch while walking along the river. The service was marvellous - so responsive and flexible to my needs. I really enjoyed my meal of avocado smash with poached eggs, spinach, mushrooms and halloumi - the server was great, so helpful with the menu too. The food came quickly, was served nicely and was delicious. I enjoyed sitting watching the world pass by too. The restaurant is popular, but I still got a table as soon as I arrived. It's good, thank you read more

I had heard of Giraffe before we made our trip across the pond, and marked it as a possible stop due to it's child-friendly nature. As it happened, we ended up coming here for a dinner and had a good experience. I'll agree with the gist of many of the reviews here and say that the food wasn't anything special. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't amazing either. On the other hand during our visit, the service was very good. All of the staff were very friendly and actively engaged our 15-month old dining companion, which was definitely not the norm during our UK visit. For our purposes this was a big plus. Would I recommend Giraffe to people without children? Probably not, but if you're in the city with a baby in tow and would like a decent meal you could do worse. read more

Oh it's another franchise! Came here on Sunday out of convenience. Been here before, know the menu, know what I like. But wait...they've changed the menu? Doesn't look quite as appetizing as it did before - healthy, hearty, big portions and easy on the wallet. Nope! Portions smaller and didn't nearly provoke enough salivation! I had the burrito which was completely bland. The chips I had on the side were more enjoyable than the main - now that's saying something! It's popular with familes, so there's lots of children and it's very noisy. The staff are fun and flirty though. And they do a pretty good Mojito! Sadly, I won't be too inclined to go there again after this last experience. read more

I've never been a big fan of giraffe compared with other chain restaurants I have been to but I booked the Christmas menu for 6 uni friends - it looked a bit different - and now I don't think I'll go back We arrived early so they found us some space at the bar to wait which is good and took our orders for cocktails (average and over priced) We were then seated with only 5 of us there which was fine but as we had already pre ordered food from the Xmas menu they brought it all out! We explained we were still waiting on someone (it was still before our table was booked for) and they were ok with this and took it back but when we got it back it had clearly just been sitting there Mains were ok but a bit bland and dry Then we had another fiasco with pudding where they hadn't put them through so hadn't ordered enough They did let us choose of the main menu but their attitude wasn't apologetic at all Overall poorly organised and average food To be fair you are not guaranteed a bad meal at this place as some of the food iv had in the past has been ok but I would rather pick somewhere to try than go back to this chain read more

I thought they might do a decent breakfast. I thought they might and I was wrong. Not a fan of Giraffe by some distance. If I had several offspring and several off road prams then this 'fun' looking diner might meet my needs. But as a selfish adult this place just pissed me off. Not that we were overpowered by screaming young folk. No we made our way early to Giraffe to sample some old fashioned breakfast delights. It started with bad service progressed to the point where they delivered my wifes food but realised my order had been forgotten and ended with my food delivered late and so eaten after my other half had finished. Honestly what did I think of all that. I could not possibly say what I honestly thought at the time. Giraffe is child friendly and child popular. All other humans should go else where. PS this is a restaurant not a music venue as it's listing says. read more

We booked a table for 10 to celebrate my best friend's birthday a couple of weekends ago. In the end 16 people turned up. The staff were very good in finding more chairs to accommodate the extra six and made us all very welcome. As for the food, we ordered everything on the menu and they were all very well cooked. I don't think we had one complain from the guests. Would go to Giraffe again when I'm in the area. read more

This was the first meal of many when arriving to London for my bf and I. I have to say the lemonade was delicious and the burger was very yummy and non greasy. read more

This place was good. Nothing memorable, but we did feast out and didn't have many complaints. The sandwich I got was really hard to eat, stuff falling out everywhere, but it was satisfying. We shared a whole bunch of stuff, shrimp, hummus, fries and enjoyed it all. The place was busy. I had a beer called Curious Brew, which I really liked. It is like a beer & champagne hybrid. Super bubbly and refreshing as we were starving and exhausted from sightseeing all day. read more

Giraffe - British Near Me - London, XGL

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I use to go to Giraffe all the time for a Saturday and Sunday late lunch. My meal was the Mexican Breakfast. In the last few year, since they've been bought by Tesco's., there attention to detail and quality has dramatically dropped. The Waterloo store (which was where I was today) was particular bad on the food side. My meal was cold and even though I ordered a strong coffee, it was extremely weak. Usually the wait staff is a highlight at Giraffe, though our waiter tried disagree with us there there wasn't a glutton free option for an order my friend made, even though it was clearly stated on the menu. Massive fail. I really would have like to given Giraffe full stars, though, sadly, I feel their service and food is going in the wrong direction. If you can find another option to eat in the area, go there instead of Giraffe. read more