please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Dont ever go there on St Patricks day, or any other bank holiday....or a friday or saturday night for that matter!! Its ok @ lunch times though..
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usual withersh$te fair avoid it
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Too big, too busy, too grotty. Clientele of drunken loudmouthed idiots, suits, brickies, down-and-outs, dregs. Atmosphere crackles with the incipient threat of drunken violence at any time of day or night. Getting served at the bar is a nightmare of Wagnerian proportion. Even having to pass by the place when you reach the top of the Liverpool Street escalator sends a shiver down the spine of any honest drinker. The walking pace and heart rate slacken appreciably once you have turned the corner and are out of sight of the place and the mind relaxes and directs one towards the more civilised drinking establishments that the Capital can offer.
Jay28 - 15 Apr 2008 12:29 |
Genarlly to be avoided when spurs are playing at home, barring that its usually a clean and plesant place to have a drink or something to eat, staff are always friendly and quick to sreve
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returned for an early morning beer the other day, after a few months. service still patchy even when empty, staff still miserable, like the workers coming out of liverpool street that you can watch go by. depressing. despite decor, soulless.
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Perfectly serviceable on a monopoly crawl, our beers (Pedigree) were poured quickly and, taste-wise, were amongst the best we had all day. The pub itself is just another 'spoons aimed at travellers with 20 minutes to kill.
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This pub was packed when i went in on Saturday Morning and I just had a pint as I was off to the football on the train. The pint was very good and the staff very pleasant and most of the customers seemed happy and cheerful.
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Handy - when your train has about 20 or so minutes or more before it departs from Liverpool St Station. Always a good selection of ales possibly 10 - 12 the amount of hand pumps.
Why though when Netherspoons are supposed to be pro the real ale market does they install swan neck hand pumps?
This is not how we like our ale in the South of England!
Possibly not what they are concerned with, It’s making more pints than they are supposed to out of each barrel That’s the only reason for installing swan neck pumps!!. Profit is what Spoons is obviously all about.
They know if people are after a quick drink at Liverpool St it’s the only option.
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I've always found the pub to be clean & friendly, with quick service both for food as well as a drink, plus as an added bonus they have a very cute barman! though I think he may be a manager!!!
anonymous - 15 Nov 2007 23:04 |
Suffers from its position and is full of thirsty travellers all of the time. That said, the pint that was served was of a fine quality, and although I wouldn't want to spend an evening here, there are worse Pubs around.
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I am writing to you regarding my experience at Hamilton Hall (Liverpool St Station) on Thursday 30th August at 07.50 in the morning.
As you know, on Thursdays (and sometimes Tuesdays) Hamilton Hall doesn’t always open at its supposed time of 7.30 in the morning but opens late, due to the slot machine people inside the pub counting out their money.
Anyway, at 07.40 this morning, all I wanted to know was when the pub would be open, ie would it be worth my while waiting or going home to sleep (I’m a night shift worker). On politely knocking on the door all I got in answer was a girl waving and laughing at me from inside.
After ten more minutes at 07.50 I knocked on the door again because I saw one of the bar staff inside. She shouted from inside that `we open late on Thursdays.’ I shouted back asking if she could put a sign on the door telling the waiting crowd what time the pub would be open or come closer to the door and actually tell us what time they would open, give or take.
This request was ignored, and instead I got, what I can only describe as a thug (well built bald headed chap) shouting, swearing and pointing at me from inside. Now, with his effing and blinding I wouldn’t have minded if he’d said we open at effing o’clock or something, so I knew whether to stay or go – that would have been useful! Why couldn’t he have come to the door, say sorry mate, but we aint opening until…..
I was later informed that this was the pub duty manager. As I continued to draw a little square with my fingers on the door indicating it would be nice if he could put the opening time on the door, his abuse became more energetic. Regardless of his skills in running a pub, he certainly shouldn’t be put in a position where he is dealing with the public. I’m wondering, did Wetherspoon vet him properly when he applied for his job? If I’d acted like that, one of my colleagues would have called the police and had me chucked out of the building. What makes a pub any different?
At 8am, there were still bags of money on the bar inside the pub and I judged that it wasn’t going to be open any time soon. I know that the profits you make from games machines are more important than your drinking customers, but I don’t think Wetherspoon should go out of its way to ignore its drinking customers.
I’ve tracked down some of the people waiting outside who have also signed this letter, but if you can look at Wetherspoon’s camera evidence you have, you will see that I am not exaggerating when I tell you that your customers are treated at best with contempt, and at worst with Hamilton Hall’s very own yob.
Concerning the staff member who sneers at us and calls us alcoholics when she opens the door, all I can say is that I’m only after a pint before I go home to bed. If you’re going to treat your customers like were something you’ve got on the bottom of your shoe in the mornings, I recommend that you don’t bother opening. Whatever happened to the great family pub that Wetherspoon used to be?
Any way, out of curiosity, what time did Hamilton Hall open in the end?
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nice pub, always good to find a fairly inexpensive place for lunch in central london.
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I have a sneaking regard for some of the more spectacular Wetherspoons' pubs, so I'm always happy to have an excuse to drop in when passing through Liverpool Street. Always a good selection of beers, and food decent; prices excellent.
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popped in at about 11am tuesday (dont ask why) but it was quite busy even at 11am , had a pint of fosters which was ok , clientele looked somewhat mixed n shabby but first thing in morning .
a massive pub with a massive celing the space couldve been better used , for a "whatevaspoons" its aint too bad, not the best ive been to but no where near the worst , probably the cheapest pub in the area , but there are better just more pricey
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Something wrong about this place. I think it's two things. Firtly it feels like a post training course drinks reception for junior and middle management of a large chain of car dealerships. Secondly the room is too big and too high celinged (is that a word?) to be a decent pub
THe room itself is quite impressive but it's being put to the wrong use. The only reason Id ever go in here is if I was meeting someone totally unfamiliar with the area and then it would only be for one
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No racists in here - racist-free heaven.
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Grim
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Not the best Wetherspoons, but probably one of the busiest.
Pubs next to railway stations can often be disappointing, but this one could be a lot worse.
Reasonably priced drinks and decent food.
Overall a good place to while away the hours spent waiting for cancelled/delayed trains.
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Visited once and quite honestly never again. Extremely crowded, difficult to get a pint. But what can you expect it's next to Liverpool Street station.
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been here many times but not muh to shout about untill few weeks back , couldnt get a seat inside so went outside one spare table no chairs , so we rested on the table till some no star general from weatherspoons came out and told us to sit on seats not tables , said where are the seats ? he said well dont sit on the table so off he went .
kinda strange , the beer aint too bad in here cheap n cheerful and a mix of people the staff seem ok
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Reasonable food and cheap drinks, was full when we went on a Sunday as Spurs were at home. Standard Spoons stuff
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A famous man once said....'Hell is other people'. I disagree. Hell is other people who drink in here.
Why bother going to Africa when you can see a variety of wildlife here (particularly after work on a Friday). Rutting Essex boys, wild eyed builders still consuming their liquid lunches, lost commuters and saddos meeting on blind dates.
Shame...the building itself deserves better.
anonymous - 23 May 2006 15:23 |
The interior of HH should serve to redeem it from the obvious predictability of the Wetherspoons line-up, but it's simply not enough. Popping in here for a pint is about as relaxing as a chinese burn. I can only assume that the staff are not paid and are routinely kicked in the shins by management, such are their sullen expressions. Depressing.
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Great place for a quick pint while waiting for your train. Huge pub where we were served quickly and the Guinness and Pride were well poured. We were there about 430pm and were able to get a table but really fills up after about 5. Plenty of staff behind the bar. Good prices too.
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Like any wetherspoons, this place rules. Cheap and non-pretentious. You know you will get a decent cheap drink here- even if you will srtruggle to find a seat. Makes a charming difference from the sloanes you find in other pubs round Broadgate. You wont be looked down upon for having a vodka and redbull instead of a pinot grigio. Feel at home - sit back and settle down for the evening or have a quickie before you shoot off somehwere else. Always good! Keep it real Spoons!!
emlan - 28 Mar 2006 13:56 |
visited around midday seemed a bit busy with suits but still plenty of room , one of the biggest pubs ive ever been to , got served quickly and the beer wasnt too bad , and one of the cheapest pints around the area
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been here loads of times while passing through, busy from opening to closing. managed to get a seat upstairs, upstairs bar much quieter than downstairs. Had the biggest sunday lunch i've ever seen, great value for money, and it arrived quickly. They could turn the heat down tho, upstairs gets roasting.
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Not so bad. Ridiculous décor. Good staff. Bad Clientéle. Decent, cheap beer.
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Akin to the Knights Templar on Chancery Lane - a huge, high ceiling expanse that is always rammed Mon -Fri and impossible to move in or get a seat. Cheap beer to be sure - If you can get service, however a fairly soul-less affair with no atmosphere.
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Hellish is the best word for this place.
Feel uncomfortable in here, always have done and I'm a rugby prop!
Shame, could be an excellent pub with high ceilings etc, but it and its clientele are depressing and frightening at the same time.
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Very nice if you're a builder or city twat intent on getting sh*t-faced as cheaply as possible before going somewhere nice... Like home.
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A truly repugnant hole jammed to the rafters with chattering suited fools and clueless, directionless oafs. Toilets that are literally swilling in piss - which is handy, as it is clearly pumped up to the bar for serving by their clearly lobotomised, foul-breathed, hairy, ridge-browed bar staff. Be they man or woman - it's hard to determine. Hellish.
anonymous - 21 Dec 2005 17:12 |
Pubs next to stations are, as a rule, best avoided. The Hamilton Hall is just about OK in short doses but is even more soulless than Wetherspoons usually are, despite the restored semi-grandeur of the interior. It's a bit like drinking in the ballroom of an ocean liner. I get the impression it's a bit of a default venue for people who are meeting up but can't think of anywhere else to rendezvous. That and red-faced suits guzzling down a quick pint before the train home.
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I've passed this place many times during the week and eyed with distaste the throngs of City folk standing outside. However the atmosphere on a Sunday night a few weeks ago was quite different. A nice mix of customers, including some families upstairs, plus that rootless, transient station bar feel which is always appealing. Had a couple of pints of Courage Best which were very good and, at £1.49 a pint, incredibly good value. I found the bar staff very pleasant and helpful and the interior very interesting.
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A true Wetherspoon, few staff when needed. Visited for the current JDW beer festival, one bar person on duty. The usual thing happened, another staff member issued forth from the kitchen and served the first person she saw, needless to say the last person that had approached the bar. Venue great, service crap, can't comment on the beer, never had the chance to try it.
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Good meeting point or somewhere to go when your train is late. Built in a building that was once part of the Great Eastern Hotel. Typical Wetherspoons pub but usually with more than its fair share of iffy looking characters.
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oh yeah, now you're talking....take the little lady here....you'll feel like rocco forte
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I meet up with an old work colleague every now and then. The phone rings "Hello mate, how's it going? I'm in town next week, fancy a beer?" My heart sinks. I know he'll want to drink ten pints on a work night, I know at last orders he'll tell me he's got a day off the next day and worst of all I know he'll say he wants to meet in this pub because it's on his way home to Ilford. I have to go to West Hampstead.
The pubs got a splendid interior but it's expensive for a WS, it's bloody noisey, bloody busy and I feel like shit whenever I go home.
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It is comparitively cheap.
Full of tramps and gyppos.
No chance of a quick pint.
Did used to get lunch here when i worked in the broadgate exchange tho. I think that speaks volumes about the quality of food in the exchange.
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Yes it's a weatherspoons! So when your horizontal on the floor you can admire the stunning celeing!
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Fantastic old dining room which definately worth having a look at. I use the place cos you can get a cheap pint of ale and sit outside and watch the ladies pass by on there way to Witham or Stortford etc. NOTE: IT IS A JDWetherspoons so overall it's rubbish.
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Serves food at lunchtime, incredibly slow service. Dont be surpised if your order takes 30 minutes plus to arrive.
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Busy Wetherspoons pub which tends to be extremely busy in the early evening. Not particularly cheap for a Wetherspoons but there is always an ale option and they serve food too.
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It like "production line" boozing in here,...all snouts in the trough,..too big,..too bright,..too easy. Lets try and think outside the box people. Better pubs within spitting/puking distance......Good selection of fruities...
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A mind-blower of a pub if you still have your head on come leaving time. The average Essex boy can only manage 2 pints of pissy lager these days before becoming punch drunk it would seem. Considering the fact that you have to pay for your drinks in this place I would advise staying (or going back home to) Billericay and getting your fill from the local off-licence. O.K. , it's not free either but at least you'll be safer and can feel satisfied that you've spent only a fraction of that which you would otherwise have done. Grub ? FORGET IT !
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Interesting interior, and ok for a bit of a feed I suppose.
Other than that, much like any other railway station boozer, a bit lacking on atmos / character.
Seen a couple of good tear - up's in here over the years for those that way inclined. Can get lively on match days!
Don't go here if you want sharpish service, not the barstaffs fault, it's just always busy.
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Very busy meeting point for a lot of after work drinks. Luckily there is a lot of space to accomodate them. On two levels, the interior of this pub is exemplary. Sky blue walls, gilt edging, cherubs and book cases. Wetherspoon doing what they do best, range of real ale, no music, no pool and no Sky!
:)
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Perfectly situated so you can leave your back office job, come in here, drink lots of crap, fizzy lager with lots of other Essex boys then have a fight. Dirty Dicks and the Shooting Star are both within 2 mins walk so there is no reason to ever come here unless the above description sounds like you.
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Ham Hall is always very busy probably because of its location. The drinks are cheap but its a nightmare to get served, the bar is always 5 deep and everyone just pushes in. One of the few places in london where its defiantely not first come first served and all politeness goes out the window.
anonymous - 12 Nov 2004 11:40 |
Good starting point for a night out in London. Great building with a good crowd.
anonymous - 5 Oct 2004 15:16 |
A charming "Essex Boy" offered to "punch my lights out" for pushing in - I hadn't. I didn't see any knights on white chargers ready to rescue me if he had made good his intentions. Very scary! This is a last staging/drinking post for "out of towners" on there way home after an afternoon on the razz.
Pippa - 5 Oct 2004 12:38 |
Standard Wetherspoon in a wonderful building
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Good as a meeting point but nothing else.
Big Lad - 23 Jul 2004 14:49 |
Coments are right. Worth a visit for restored Edwardian Ballrom setting and Friday night ambience of Essex boys and girls binge drinking. Cigarette smoke rises up into the mezzanine as deos the noise. This all edges up the rating for me, but still a bar de la gare but you are unlikely to get a better one
andy - 23 May 2004 11:06 |
Ever so ever so crowded always. A weatherspoons wouldn't be a weatherspoons without it's fair share of cheap alcohol fueled drunks. Watch out for pickpockets too. My phone was nicked. Nicer than normal JD's though
Jim Stump - 23 Apr 2004 09:56 |
Great as a staging point before heading off to a curry in Brick Lane + good for people watching.
CurryAddict - 13 Nov 2003 18:47 |
Illicit affairs in the HH?!! You must be getting it confused with the awaful Pitcher & Piano around the corner.
Darren in the City - 4 Aug 2003 09:07 |
The venue for lots of east London and Essex's illicit affairs. Not too bad as Wetherspoon boozers go, as it happens.
Darryl - 3 Aug 2003 11:45 |
this pub is o.k. if only because its the only one open on saturday nights nr liv st. otherwise atmosphere is like the moon & the service is crap.
Bri - 26 May 2003 21:13 |
Huge, anonymous and loud, yes I agree...Nice interior though, and good place for a few beers before going off to the lap dance bars around the corner... notably Browns and the Sports Bar.
chris - 25 Mar 2003 12:02 |
Was there with with my boyfriend Matt and thought it was a good place to get it together.
good prices too.
Chris Park - 14 Mar 2003 10:03 |
I was last in here in November and found it quite a decent Weatherspoons (as they go). The beers were ok. and it was not too busy (well, suppose it was a Sunday afternoon). Also very pleasant sat outside in the late Autumb sun. The building was quite nice inside, with lots of historic things to view.
frank - 17 Feb 2003 19:38 |
Only reason to visit is to meet up with people coming in from Liverpool Street station else best avoided. Huge, anonymous and loud
Mark - 18 Sep 2002 16:36 |
