Barge East Garden Summer Venue

Cool place to ensure a relaxed meal on the canals at Hackney Wick. Weather was superb and sunny, so that made it even better. Food was pretty good, considering the location and the limited resources they have to make things happen. Service was friendly and laid back. I must say, we weren't that comfortable sitting on the decking type seating outside on the deck, maybe some decent cushions wouldn't be a bad idea, and the tables top isn't level, which is a minor irritant, but after a few hours it was time to get it sorted. Overall, a good experience to have a relaxed meal out on the canal, keep pushing forward Barge East!

I really didn't imagine that a restaurant on a boat parked in the middle of a canal in Hackney Wick would be so good! We went for Sunday roast and everything was excellent. The waitress who served us was super friendly. It's true that the service slowed down as more and more people arrived, but we were having a good time on the top deck of the boat and we didn't mind. Highly recommended, especially when the weather is nice!

**UPDATE** Following the negative experience we had with the sunday roast as described in the original review, we were offered a 3 course dinner so decided to give it another go. I guess the conclusion is avoid Sunday Roast, but workday dinner may not be a bad idea. The atmosphere feels more classy inside the boat than on the deck. The menu also gives a more fine dining feel. We had trout and mushrooms for starters, beef sirloin and duck confit for mains, and blueberry parfait and the "lost" bread for dessert. My friend and I both agreed the beef sirloin was our favorite - good quality beef at medium rare with lovely sides. We also quite enjoyed our desserts. The duck was mediocre. Starters portions were too small for their prices (there were like 5 small pieces of trout). Would note that the service was much better than what we experienced on Sunday, maybe because the waiters and waitresses were less busy. They were friendly and attentive throughout our dinner. ---------------- Not worth visiting from any perspective... ingredients are not the freshest, food is mediocre at best and overpriced, and service is terrible. The three of us had Sunday roast. It was for a birthday celebration so we figured a lunch on a boat sounds special. We made it clear in the reservation that it was for birthday, but there were no greetings/card/table decorations/complimentary cake or chocolate - nothing whatsoever. We started with sourdough for the table, which is priced at £2pp, and they served 2 tiny pieces for 3 people... my friend had to ask twice for the waiter to give us 3 more pieces. Then came the appetizer. Beef tartare has small pieces of beef buried in crumble, beef was not very fresh, and the sauce was way too salty. My friends had fried fish which they also found too salty. The main was no short of a disaster. I ordered porchetta. The pork was ok ish but the skin was not crispy at all - almost impossible to cut with the knife they provided. Roast potatoes are surprisingly good. Yorkshire pudding is mediocre - not fluffy and creamy enough to my taste. My friend ordered the beef, lamb and pork trio. She told me the lamb smelled badly (the lamb looks very pale), and the beef was not tender and not fresh. She complained to the waiter, and the waiter said he could ask and see what can be done. A few moments later another waiter came back and told us condescendingly that "we can't take anything anything off the bill due to personal taste", as if it were our taste's fault... The bill came as £162, which should work out to be £54 per person, but the waiter got the wrong table's bill and charged us £65 per person. After we pointed it out to him, he offered no apology, and eventually pulled out a calculator to recalculate rather reluctantly, and said something like "yea I guess anything is possible", whatever that means. Also the environment is not as pleasant as we hoped for. The chairs are very uncomfortable (with no back support) and the tables look like they haven't been cleaned properly for years. Overall, we paid £162 (or almost £200 if we hadn't checked) for a low quality Sunday Roast in a subpar environment with terrible service. Not an experience I'd recommend to anyone else...

Delicious food, chose the 2 course pre theatre menu. Good choice. Friendly staff, great atmosphere. Slight criticism, would have liked meal to be hotter. Otherwise fabulous place would recommend.

This was an Anniversary meal,and I must say the whole set up was a pleasurable experience,the views across the river,the rustic barge and staff all added in a positive way. The food was ok but I was not blown away by it as I wanted to be. Full Sunday roast was 3 adequate meats,gristly and fatty in places,4 potatoes and 1 carrot. The gravy came in a small egg cup sized boat. Bloody Mary was strong,very salty,and way too fussy. The dessert,was wonderfully tasty,but the whole thing could fit on the dessert spoon. The price was high for the food & drink we ordered. Don't get me wrong it was the whole vibe that won us over in the end,rather than the meal