The Clink Restaurant Brixton

You wouldn't think you were in a prison. The food was top tier 👌 I felt as if I was dining in a 5 star restaurant. Everyone was so friendly and polite and the food was outstanding. What made the experience even better is that it was all for a good cause. These Learners once out will have valuable qualifications and I would continue to support them. You cannot take pictures as they have to take your phone off you but please do go!

Went for the Thursday evening dinner this week and was so impressed! I’d heard great things but our visit confirmed this. The food was amazing but our waiter Tim made the evening. His service was the perfect blend of professional, reassuring and entertaining. He cracked us up all evening but was also able to advise and answer any questions we had about the menu. Exactly what you want when eating out. He was fab! Even if you don’t get the pleasure of being served by Tim, I’d highly recommend getting yourself booked in :)

We did the Thursday night gourmet dinner and the whole experience was excellent. The food was incredible, well plated and more importantly, absolutely delicious.. there were no leftovers in sight, including our table! The service was great, our waiter Tim was attentive and professional but also very friendly and easy to chat with. Even to the point of gently making sure I knew what I was ordering with Hen of the woods, which he repeated back as ‘the mushrooms..’ a kind way of confirming the customer knows they are ordering mushrooms not chicken without making anyone feel silly! The mocktails are good, and there are a couple of alcohol free beers available too. It is definitely weird not having a phone but it was also pretty nice being truly engaged in the experience. They also do a Sunday lunch which would be worth a try. A great initiative, superbly executed. Cannot recommend this enough

The food was excellent and the service outstanding. Clearly very well trained. Alongside a couple of drinks it came to around £75 a head. Entered after a security check and after an explanation as to what could enter the prison. There were lockers for all other possessions. ID is kept in return for the visitor lanyard. Toilets are available in the restaurant. Our Thursday night meal ended around 8.30 and we were escorted out the prison. The actual restaurant is fairly humdrum but some good art on the walls. Music playing throughout which kept neighbour’s conversations out of earshot. I’d highly recommend the sour apple mocktail drink. So good. It was a bit pricey but a very different experience and the food was a great standard.

The food was amazing and such a good idea. As a dining experience it was great. The restaurant is dry for obvious reasons but they serve lovely alcohol free cocktails, beers and gins. It takes a while to check in and you need to provide your details to them days in advance and turn up with I.D. you can take nothing in with you other than a card to pay. Lockers are provided. Don't let this put you off. Support this worthy venture.

We visited the Clink on Tuesday. The food, including presentation, was first class. You can see that a lot of effort goes into preparation. Service was great too, very attentive. It was great to see how the students worked well together to ensure that everything was running smoothly. Really great initiative.

We went on Thursday evening for the gourmet dinner option and it didn't disappoint. The food was amazing. All the waiters were very attentive and friendly. Had a nice chat with our waiter too. It was such a unique experience, I'd definitely go again to try the Sunday lunch. Not a phone in sight...very liberating!

Overdue review. I visited a few months ago. We had a lovely afternoon. We really enjoyed our meal and the experience. The waiter's tried their best to be professional which was amusing at times. I'll call it "road man with manners" service. I'd definitely recommend visiting. My only criticism was the cheap, flimsy, plastic, cutlery. Obviously given to us for safety reasons, however we were also given glasses to drink from! A bit of a contradiction! There's much better quality plastic cutlery out there and for the cost of the meal, better quality knives and forks would have been appreciated.

Michelin star style food.. In a prison? Yep that pretty much sums up The Clink. Everything about The Clink from the cooks, waiters, furniture to paintings helps in the rehabilitation of inmates. Food was comparable to any uk celeb chef restaurant and particularly reminded me of food from Jason Atherton's city social but cheaper and well.. in a prison. Our waiter Jamal was super sweet and made sure to make eye contact with both of us. He was happy to answer any questions about his life and even gave us a tour of the kitchen after our meal! Bookings must be made 72 hours in advance with a £30 deposit (for 2 people). Passport ID is required and all electronic devices must be left in a locker before entering the prison/restaurant. On the website it says that you're only allowed to pay by cheque but we couldn't find our cheque books so they agreed to let us pay by cash instead. Two 3 course meals + drinks came up to ~£60 which was reasonable for the quality of food served. It really sucks that there's a no photos allowed policy as the food and restaurant were both stunning. It also super sucks that it's only open mon-fri for lunch as most people have to work then :(

Fine dining where you wouldn't expect it, unless you believe what the Daily Mail has to say about the lifestyle of a prisoner. Whatever your opinion of the food it's unlikely you will be able to leave without paying here. The "dine and dash" difficulty rating is set to hard. The Clink is a charity funded restaurant initiative set within the prison walls and staffed by inmates for both front and back of house. The prisoners employed here are working towards attaining qualifications in the hospitality industry which can hopefully offer them a route into gainful employment upon their release. The menu and the presentation of the food is of the calibre you would expect from a high end eatery. Our waiter Craig assured me it was considerably better than what they serve on the wings! All the food I had was good, plated well and with distinct flavours which combined amicably to create very enjoyable dishes. I started with pressed game terrine, ciabatta croûte, fruit chutney and baby cress. I followed this with Three Little Pigs: caramelised pork belly, pancetta wrapped pork fillet, black pudding bon bon, mini fondants, shallot purée and apple jus. For dessert I chose spiced poached pear with hot chocolate sauce and vanilla bean ice cream. I'm normally a sucker for photographing my food at restaurants, not here though. Upon arrival you have to leave your phone, camera, keys, chewing gum, aerosols, cash above £50 and anything else they deem inappropriate in a locker outside the prison. You can try sneaking a camera in if you like, but you might end up working here if you do. Craig told me the rate of pay is £10 a week, and they only accept payment by cheque so no tips to top your wages up with. It's probably better just to leave the camera outside. The Clink really creates a bizarre juxtaposition. If you overlook the fact there is no alcohol and you have plastic cutlery you could almost be forgiven for thinking you are eating in a Michelin starred restaurant, until you look through the barred windows at the high walls topped with tight coils of razor wire snaking out of view in every direction. It was great though, unlike anything else I've ever experienced at a restaurant. Our bill was about £25/head including drinks which for the quality of the food was a bargain. I would definitely go again and recommend it to others. Things to note: No under 18s. You must book at least 72 hours in advance. When you apply to book they will ask you for various background information to carry out security checks before clearing you to book, for me this process took a couple of days. You can only pay by cheque (or invoice by prior arrangement). Reservations are Monday to Friday only for breakfast or lunch.

Had lunch here a couple of weeks ago. V friendly staff who were very attentive and the food delicious. Not too expensive, although not cheap. Would recommend to others, only problem was the wait for food, about 45 minutes. Great charity doing great things.

Woah! A fancy restaurant IN a prison? An awesome social enterprise that aims to reduce re offending rates by training inmates to cook and serve in a fancy restaurant setting. You don't feel like you're inside a prison, rather a high end restaurant instead. The service was superb and the meal was delicious (albeit, like a high end restaurant, the dishes were somewhat small). Make reservations online and you'll be back checked first and allow yourself at least 10 minutes to both get in and out of the prison due o security procedures. You won't be able to take any pictures for your yelp review as you'll have tot leave your phone (and other items) in a locker. Love this concept.