please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This pub is right next to one entrance to Victoria station. But it's not one I've ever noticed before. It's a Greene King pub and it had their IPA & Abbot. Guests were Wimbledon Copper Leaf & XXK & Welton's Wenceslegless. I went for the XXK, which was £2.50 for just under a half (short measure). Marginally better than the nearby St George's Tavern, in that it was a little more comfortable inside. But still very average.
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I was told about this pub by an old lady friend in Oz who had visited here for a meal while on a coach tour. She described it as a quintessential English pub. I don't think she saw many. It is a perfectly good pub, with a pint of Doom Bar @ 3.85 being a good 50 pence cheaper than some nearby. Very nice sausage & mash, friendly & efficient bar people; its probably no accident the coach driver chose this pub for his Oz pensioners.
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Nothing out of the ordinary, resembling some of the other pubs around here e.g. the St. George, but quite comfortable and civilised, on the Saturday night that I was there anyway.
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I see the pub has a new landlord who seems decent to me. I've started to go back now after a long leave of absence. I can see improvements in the air and starting to find the Vic enjoyable again :-)
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Half decent pub near to Victoria station. A bit too Weatherspoons for me but you are still near central London and bigger pubs tend to get like this. A couple of real ales on the bar and co-operative, helpful bar staff.
Mcloj - 13 Apr 2011 12:54 |
Been here quite a few times, it's a decent enough place, had quick service most of the time & beer was fine. One of the better places to wait for a delayed train/bus/coach...
Quick note; it is shut beyond about 2pm on a saturday.
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Used to be a great pub when my mate Steve ran it back in the mid 1990's, after that it rapidly went down hill. Went there for a beer the other day. Oh dear, I won't be returning
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Hopeless pub that I was railroaded into going to one afternoon when my (female, non-ale drinking) chums refused the 8-minute walk to the immaculate Star Tavern.
Four handpumps greeted me on arrival, all but one accompanied with a tag across the front stating 'Coming Soon!' ruling out the possibility of a pint of Youngs Bitter, Adnams Broadside or London Pride. Since Greene King IPA was the only ale available, I miserably plumped for a pint of Becks.
This is a dark, uninviting sort of pub which number quite a few around London's railway hubs. The interior is a mess of mock brickwork and tacky shiny wood; If you voluntarily patronise here over the Star Tavern, the Cardinal or the Jugged Hare (worth the walk) then you need your head examined.
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Worked there during the early 1990's. Due to poor management, the pub group bought in this psychotic nutter who promptly sacked all the staff. I was one of the skeleton crew who replaced him. The group insisted that they cut their waste down from 16,000 per quarter and didn't care less how. He slashed it down to 9 pounds per quarter. As it was close to Victoira station, people were regularly buying a pint, sipping a little and then leaving it on the table, so he had all his staff keep topping up the abandoned pints and then reselling them. I sold one pint four times over to four different customer. You could actually see the spittles hang translucently in the beer if you looked carefully enough. But if that was bad enough, to cut cut costs by cleaning the toilets with his bare hands then served beer with them. Quit this awful secondary job as soon as possible.
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get some more staff for a friday night - or - train them to poor drinks faster. it would be quicker to have gordon bloody brown behind the bar with a patch over his good eye than this lot. the manager just stands there trying to come to terms with his huge belly! shit hole
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Just down the road from Victoria station. Spacious, and quieter than the pubs just outside the station entrance. Two ales; Young's Bitter and London Pride, decent enough. Wasn't impressed by the food. Good outside seating. OK while waiting for a train.
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Exensive beer, poor quality
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I went to this pub yesterday evening (Saturday) and it was closed.
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Never tried the place before, thinking that it would be stuffed full of tourists and/or commuters, but instead found a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere in the early evening. Three real ales on, including a decent pint of Adnams Bitter (which is a bit of a change from the ubiquitous Broadside).
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I work nearby and so I visit the Victoria on a fairly regular basis for lunch.
The main draw for me is the location (near to the office) and its size (large) which means we can be fairly sure of getting a table or two without any prior notice. The booths are good for quiet meals of up to four, the tables near the doors are good for larger parties.
The food is inconsistent, but never great. I have had some terrible meals there which have caused me to withhold my custom for a month or two, but it is sometimes its ok. The price is fairly reasonable for the city.
One thing that seems to stand out in my memory is the awful service I have received on several occasions. I often feel like I am incoveniencing the staff by ordering something. On several occasions there have been a large number of us queuing to order our drink nad meal and one person has served us one-by-one while another has stood and watched or been pottering behind the bar. Once, having ordered a large drinks order and being a little fed up watching them being done one-by-one in an otherwise empty pub I asked the by-standing staff member if they could perhaps help out their colleague and apparently they couldn't because of the difficulty it would cause with the till.
So, I go here and it's a good place to meet because of the location and the size but I have been increasingly looking around the area and finding better pubs in the area.
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Four of us popped into the Victoria at around 6.00PM the other Monday evening to get out of the rain and catch a couple of pints before hitting the train home.
Difficult to improve on the previous reviews, and can support the comments previously given.
Decent enough spacious pub. Quite busy with office workers when we arrived but no problems getting served, and managed to get one of the cubbyholes referred to earlier , so able to have a decent area for conversation whilst trying the beers. Young�s Bitter and London Pride were on, both of which were very drinkable.
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Although, only a short stroll from the station, The Victoria doesn�t seem to attract the commuters like other pubs in the vicinity. As well as tourists, there are of course, local office workers, though here doesn�t seem to have an abundance of those seeking a quick pint pre � heading for the tube or train. The exterior is inviting enough and leads through to, actually, a rather large interior. There are cubbyholes and snugs to please the groups or those like me, who just want to hide away for a bit! The flooring and wooden feel throughout, does, alas, make for a rather anonymous feel. The toilets are in the basement. The piped in music is pleasant however and at a decent volume. On the beer front, Green King IPA, Young�s Bitter and London Pride are the ales on offer, although, the latter has only been available on my two recent visits. The staff are attentive enough and it was pleasing to actually be served a whole pint and not �, which sadly seems to be the norm in many central London pubs. I quite like it here.
HTM69 - 20 Jul 2008 12:50 |
A decent enough pub for the area. More commuters than tourists so it will have very definite busy times.
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get some extra staff for friday night or at least set fire to them so they hurry up!! smells like a urinal after about 6.30 at night.
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Very close to Victoria but manages not to attract the lowlife that other pubs in the area do (See Shakespear).
Deceptively large inside. Patrons are mainly office workers. Reasonably quick service.
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It is a reasonably pleasant pub with quite a lot of seating, overage food, perfectly pleasant staff on the seven or eight occasions that I have been there. There are some nice, cosy cubby-holes, it has a nice atmosphere and a small selection of lagers (a better selection of reasonable wine) - it is not a CAMRA pub by any means, but still is a decent watering hole.
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Horrible horrible horrible place that I have the misfortune to be dragged into periodically by colleagues as I work just across the road. I agree with all the postings concerning the rude staff and poor service - they seem to employ several people to walk up and down behind the bar avoiding eye contact with the customers and do no work. The area round Victoria station has numerous similar commuter pubs, but this is definitely the worst. Avoid.
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An always busy pub, good meeting place for the staions though. Beer OK but just too packed out.
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crap!!!!lovely staff, quick service when their busy. As for the lager always good for me.
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An awful pub, with the worst owners that I have ever come across. I was given a lecture by the landlady for the cheek to pay more attention to my friends rather than her. Definitely a place to avoid. And that's before you taste the poor lager!
anonymous - 15 Nov 2006 21:41 |
OK, in essecnce I agree with everything else posted about this pub and it is one of the better 'commuter pubs' in the area. However, last night I endured one of the most unpleasant landlords ever at this pub. The issue was regarding the chip and pin system they have in place;you have to pay upfront for your drinks you are likely to buy and they charge this expected level of expenditure to your card before they even serve you. I know in this day and age it is easier to be untrusting and concerned about fraud and non-payment, but this was a bizarre new twist. When I went to pay my tab and explain that this seemed a touch aggressive I was dutily informed that it works fine and I am the one that is p1ss1ing up the system by mentioning it! This from the landlord! I only had two beers and was there for an hour max, it took 20mins to pay and be abused. If you know when he isn't working then I am sure you can have a pleasant drink there.....
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Huge pub! Huge pub very very busy... except to be walked into and pushed about. Otherthan that Young crowd...friendly people. Not too bad...
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Wish they would invest in some decent lighting. But an ok pub.
Better establishments to be found in the vicinity though !!
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This turned out to be a nice pub while i was passing back to the tube. It is huge inside but you would.nt think by on the passing. Nice staff and nice beer all around.
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A surprisingly acceptable pub, given its location 'tween Victoria Coach and Train Stations. We went last night on a baking hot evening and were overjoyed to find that the pub has air con. Beer wise, the bitter was acceptable.
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Average big place in a useful location round the back which if it shuts on bank holidays must have an identity crisis: is it for office workers, tourists or locals?
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How many people can you fit into a london pub? Ask the staff at the Victoria - that's if they had time to count them while serving drinks to the five thousand. Bit busy early evening but good pints - long trek down some dodgy stairs to the ladies, must remember not to get trollied in here! Oh .. tends to shut on bank holidays ...
yam - 3 Sep 2004 00:38 |
Ok for a lunchtime pint and a snack if you have to be in the area. Decent enough choice of bitter.
Acid Sorceror - 1 Mar 2004 16:39 |
actually not a bad option for a quick drink whilst waiting for a train - quite nice inside and they serve reasonable bitters. gets a bit too full for my liking on a thurs/fri night.
Duncan - 23 Dec 2003 09:36 |
My son, grandaughter & I had a delightful lunch here in June, during our vacation from the US! The food was plentiful & delicious! PLUS everybody treated us Yanks like old friends! We plan on returning to London someday & will definetely visit this pub again!
Tom Walsh - 13 Sep 2003 19:52 |
Boring and full of suits.
Joel - 9 Apr 2003 22:48 |
