please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I tried 2 Brodies brews and both were bursting with flavour. My wife liked the Guinness too!
Classic interior that just says London Pub. Our first visit, but not our last, if not just to read all of the stuff on the walls!
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Cracking little pub with reasonable prices and good atmosphere. Barman (landlord?) insisted I had a sample of the beer as I hadn't tried it before. A classic example of the adage that the best places are round the corner from the main tourist streets.
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This pub has now become one of my "must viisits" when I'm in London. Good beer from Brodies (even though I still think they brew too many) but the London Fields was excellent and the whole atmosphere is just great. Fabulous exterior and inside - lots of of pictures and hanging bric-a-brac (plus Christmas decorations still up to even further make the place sparkle). If you haven;t been here nefore then ut that right straight away - great little pub.
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Small but very comfortable pub. Great beer from Brodies. Reasonable prices for the area, Brilliant find and another visit required soon
foamy - 30 Dec 2011 18:09 |
My fourth visit to this highly attractive establishment which serves a decent range of well kept cask ales mainly from East London micro brewers Brodies. Even tea total passer byes should be impressed at the floral display and architecture. This time Bethnal Green and Amarillo (American hop with big flavour..just like Harpoon IPA from Boston) were both in fine form with a nice hoppy flavour.
Paved area at front for smokers, those escaping the squeeze inside orto just to enjoy the outdoor hub hub of Endell Street.
The only niggle was on the 2nd round the barman flatly refused to top up excessive underfills (-2cm) which even another customer was left in amazement.. A case of new glasses.
One of London's great bozzer.
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Lovely little pub from Brodies (East London brewery). Cosy and welcoming sort-of place. Lots of their different ales on. Had a pint of "NZ Bitter" which was fine - was even offered a small taster before I ordered - a sure sign of a quality establishment. The road outside is wider than many nearby, so there is quite a big area to hang around in. Well worth a visit. 7
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Two visits..two enjoyable visits..more than two pints each visit!! Jolly, friendly, busy, honest pub with a diverse clientele. BQ 9. Nuff said..p.s. good fries for a coupla quid...home made pies which sadly I didn't try
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Very good Brodie ales, we tried seven, and all were excellent. Toilets a little disappointing, as was the lunch, but with top beer like that we will visit again, and again.
The staff were really helpful too and had time for all of us
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Tidy little boozer to the North of the market, bustling of a weekday evening with drinkers spilling out the front. The excellent Brodie's Beers served in finer fettle than at the brewery tap in Leyton. Look no further when in the area.
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Good little boozer with Brodies ales. A little dark if you want to read a paper over your pint. Good efficient and friendly Barman behind bar. Worth escaping the hustle and bustle of Covent Garden. Good value food served also.
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visited here yesterday afternoon on a crawl, nice pint of Carling, nice staff and good atmosphere well worth a visit.... I'll be back
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Visited here for the first time last night and left suitably impressed. The interior is not as dull as I expected, from the reviews on here. The red lighting does make it quite subdued. But the overall effect is quite atmospheric. Amongst the ephemera on the walls and ceiling are fying pans, street signs, clocks, musical instruments, statues, brasses, paintings, a deer's head and a fish in a glass box. A wide mixture of people seem to frequent this place. Most had seats. 4 Brodie's beers were on - IPA, English Best, Citra and Cloudy Green Bullet. The cider was Broadoak Moonshine.
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Nice pub, with a good selection of london brewed ales. However as noted by others they serve the slops. They claim to be members of the Inkeepers Institute, surely they don't teach such habits.
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Nice pub with very interesting interior with all the walls covered in pictures and ecclectic items hanging from the ceiling.Brodies Beer I tried was good.However the Manager ( I presume)stood at the end of the bar,swigging a bottle of spanish lager and looking very world weary.When the barrel ran out he changed it.Then topped up the glass of dregs without pulling any beer off and presented it to the customer.This happened twice while I stood there.Not sure pub should be in CAMRA guide with this sort of practice.
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Nice little pub tucked around the corner from the hurly-burly of covent garden. A little on the dark side inside but has a drinking area out the front.
Had 3 Brodies beers on offer when I visited, Best, Amarilla and Sunshine. All were in pretty good nick altought the best had a bit of a tang to it but perhaps it is suposed to taste like that.
Both the Landlord and the Bar staff were joivial and helpful. Service was efficient given that there were quite a few of ordering.
Well worth a visit if you are in the area and can't face the scrum you get in the pubs nearer for CG itself
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Quite simply - the best beef sunday roast I have had for many a year. Visited Sunday 12th September and served by friendly bar staff. Will definitely visit again, when next in London.
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nice pub but unbelievably rude service from one of the barmaid- cold and sullen from the off and it only got worse. We reached a standoff lasting quite some time when the barmaid got my order wrong and refused to correct it, then she had neglected to tell me the card machine wasn't working until the drinks were poured despite the order being a large one, prompting a long walk to a cash machine. then we reached a second stand-off when two of the drinks were flat. although cross keys is a lovely venue for evening drinking I'll be going elsewhere until they find staff suited for a role in the service sector!
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A return visit last saturday. A very nice pub but the Brodies Amarilla while very flavoursom wars very flat. Shame.
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Interesting pop memorabilia up - Heineken was quite flat, and only men everywhere which made me wonder if this was a certain type of bar..........but nice enough I guess - quite dark, red lighting etc. Wouldnt bother staying for more than one.
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A single bar pub that is really quite odd on first inspections, red lightbulbs and very little light give it a fairly seedy atmosphere, however the outside area under the trees next the forest of folliage that adorns the front of the pub makes up for this.
Beers on offer when visited were all from Brodies with Best and Amirilla sampled. Both were very good.
Well worth a pint if you are in the area if it is a nice day.
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Having wanted to try the then-new Brodies beers, I finally managed to get to this pub some time last year ( I never knew it was there). I must have been half a dozen times now, in rapid succession, in fact I nearly always pop in if I'm in the Covent Garden / Chinatown area. It's a real gem of a place with a great, dimly-lit proper pub feel. There are all kinds of interesting nicknacks on the walls and ceilings including musical instruments, Beatles memorabilia and an old Isleworth Brewery mirror.There are usually one or Brodies beers on which are very good, with the exception of Brodie's Orange, a limited edition brew for Halloween (Possibly the worst beer I've ever had). The Special is probably my favourite, although I've tried in vain to find since my first visit. They usually have Harvey's Sussex on too, which is always superb. Pints are served in jugs too, which is something of a rarity these days. I've yet to try the Sunday lunch, but food is of secondary importance to everything else.
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Great pub with fantastic beer... the best pub in and around covent garden, far superior to the more celebrated harp around the corner... the beer is better and the place isn't full of the great unwashed!
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Payed a first visit yesterday, and a first taste of brodies amarilla. I liked both. A very dimley lit inside but this adds an interesting feel to the place. It was fairly busy without being crowded early afternoon. Nice pub, will return.
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Very nice pub and i much prefer it to the nearby Harp. Not a brodies fan but still liked the pub and the beers.
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Great atmospheric pub even when I was the first customer at 12 noon. Started to fill up not long after though with locals. Wonderful traditional old place and a good pint of Pedigree.
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I think this is a good pub. I tried two pints of Brodies and a Black Sheep- all very nice. It's a bit gloomy inside (fine by me!), and worth going to if you're in the area.
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I was in London for a training course and my wife recommended this pub as she used to live nearby. An amazing, amazing place! Just what a pub should be. The 4 'real ales', I think Brodies were excellent although I found the Red 'challenging'. Staff were friendly and the atmosphere was great. Loved the staircase to the toilets. I would happily make the journey from Sunderland just to sit in there all day. Fabulous..
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This was recommended by the posters on the BITE message board and I can see why.
Had to do some mandatory C. Garden post xmas shopping but knew this would be worthwhile stop when done.
Met the publican who was quite pleasant but the same cannot be said for my first pint which was the Brodies Amarilla - too tart, not my cup of tea. Fortunately there was Black Sheep Bitter and Harveys and each of those were vastly better.
Friendly place - had a great Italian football conversation w/ Sardinian bartender who had just finished his shift.
It was a dark place, but was expecting it to be even darker.
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They generally have four ales on. When I was in during the week they had Harvey’s Best; Black Sheep Bitter; Brodie’s IPA and Amarillo. I had the IPA which is actually quite good, and reasonably priced at £3 a pint. This is undoubtedly the most dimly lit pub I’ve been in, but it remains easily the best in the immediate vicinity.
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My first visit in years - I wouldn't have bothered as I wasn't impressed with the place then but needed the loo. I dropped in for a quick drink and stayed for the afternoon. Soft lighting and comfortable banquette seating set in a long thin bar. A mixture of regulars, tourists and local workers provided a gentle hum of conversation. The walls are cluttered with pictures, photos and memorabilia. I think there were 4 beers on handpull including a nice Brodies IPA. A laid back vibe but I left when the offices were emptying and I imagine it could morp into a different pub altogether.
chick - 26 Oct 2009 10:03 |
Love this pub, not great service but efficient enough. Great boozer
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The staff were friendly, the bartender was outside and partook in our tourist photography mania. Amazing decor and cool staircase inside. Although the extensive foliage outside was nice on its own, it didn't represent the rich vintage interior. I enjoyed my first pint of John Smith and will definitely visit this pub again when next in Covent Garden.
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Fine traditional long darkish single bar pub in a Covent Garden side street. Note the 2 crossed keys outside and the foliage - see picture here.
The pub is decorated with a fine collection of bric a brac, pots, pans, stuffed fish etc and there is also much Beatles memorabilia. Note also the large Truman Hanbury Buxton mirror which has pride of place at the front of the pub on the right. There's also an Isleworth Brewery mirror over an old Grandfather Clock. There's also a signed photo of David Beckham and several handwritten letters at the start of his footballing career.
Comfortable leather banquettes, carpets, brass foot rail etc and subdued lighting help contribute towards a fine atmosphere.
On my recent Saturday lunchtime visit, upon ordering a pint of Brodies IPA, I was a bit bemused to be asked, unsolicited, if I wanted a taster beforehand. My trademark puzzled expression elicited a comment from the barman that they had had several recent complaints that it "tasted bitter". Anyway it tasted fine to me. Other beers on were Brodie's English Ale, Twickenham Original and Harveys Best.
Whilst I got served promptly, several people coming in soon after me were not so lucky. For reasons which I never really discovered, the barman ( he who had previously offered me a taster of the Brodies ) who was the sole staff member on duty, kept on disappearing either upstairs or downstairs, leaving the bar unattended. I saw several groups of customers come in, wait patiently for several minutes, and then disappear simply because no one appeared behind the bar to serve them.
Had I entered the pub 20 or so minutes later than I did, it is fairly clear that the pub would have easily failed the "John Bonser 3 minute service standard test" that I rigorously apply on all pub visits.
I like this pub immensely - I think it's the best all round pub experience in the immediate Covent Garden area, but I do hope that there isn't a general customer service issue here.
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It's a bit dark in here. Good beer & I found the staff OK.
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Just a good old school boozer that does what it says on the tin. Always has a warm orange glow. Beers aren't up to much but we forgive it
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What a shame this pub employs the rudest bar staff I have come across in a while.
Customer service is non-existent, which considering the current economic climate is essential. Otherwise a charming environment.
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Pleasant oasis close to Covent Garden. Well tended baskets and shrubs to the front. Dimly lit, bar with brass footrail to one side with the majority of seating opposite. Full of assorted bric a brac, everything imaginable in brass, a couple of old street signs, plenty of Beatles memorabilia over the bar, pics, album covers and discs, (is there a connection?), and the aforementioned dark wood panelling covered in portraits,landscapes, cartoons and caricatures. There is even a deers head.
Dimpled pint jugs hang from hooks over the bar, but I didn't spot anyone drinking from one.
Brodies IPA and Special, Crouch Vale Brewers Gold plus one pump reverse clipped, additionally a real cider, Janet's Jungle Juice, 6%.
Busy and chatty Saturday afternoon, I just sneaked a seat as a couple left after I got my pint. No sign of a TV and music playing at a very low volume.
In all a nice spot, but a touch too gloomy to read my book.
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Battled in through the snow yesterday at about 12:10 to find that along with a pensioner who entered at the same time as us we were the first customers of the day. So thanks to the weather it's the first time I've been in and had a pick of the seats. Pleasant barman who gave me the extra half pint of lager he'd pulled in error - 'It would just get chucked away otherwise'.
Was pleased to see custom pick up later as some of the regulars appeared to have braved the journey into work despite the warnings.
Still one of my favourite London pubs.
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Stumbled across this pub by accident. Beer very reasonably priced for central London as was the food although we didn't actually eat anything so not sure on quality. But will definitely be returning one lunchtime to check it out.
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The epitome of the quirky London boozer. Take your foreign friends - they will love it. Good ale including Brodies which is reasonably priced for the area and good value food.The low lighting only goes to enhance the atmosphere. Probably best visited in the afternoon as it may get very crowded later. Well recomended.
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Lovely pub. Gets very very crowded but always worth a visit.
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Harveys Best, Brodie’s IPA, courage, first 2 in good nick. Dimly lit interior, carpetted, dark wood bar along rt, row of wood/cast iron tables to left & rear, leather backed studded banquettes, cushioned stools, a few barstools. Lots of old photos & cartoon caricatures above bar surround, and opposite walls completely covered in a variety of framed prints but it really is too dark to appreciate all of this. Lots of copper/brass artefacts hang from ceiling beams – pots, horns, divers helmet, paella pan – characterful, but you wouldn’t want to be responsible for dusting the place. Most seats were taken Sat pm, but still room to stand & enjoy a pint at the bar.
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Unplanned visit last night; very glad I went. Warm, dimly lit London pub, friendly staff, great interior, good ambiance. Three ales on tap - passed over Courage BB to try Brodies IPA (from a new microbrewer in Walthamstow I believe), and Harveys BB. Both top notch. Quite close to my idea of the classic London pub. Will seek it out again when in the area.
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What a lovely little london boozer, full of character, did not seem to be a tourist trap. Fab will go again.
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This is still a pretty decent pub. I had reasonable pint of Harvey's Best in here the other, and the sarnies are good value as well. Good for a quiet drink - but not so good if you want to sit and read; it's far too dark for that. But I like it.
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Hmmm....those nasty old junkies and their vagabond ways. Still, they've always got a light if you need one, and at least they pick on decent pubs to do their best Fagin impersonations. You never see them outside All Bar One now do you?
Back to the point
Pleasant pub, lovely interior which takes you back to ye olde days when pubs were low-lit, musty, but also enjoyable venues. Beer selection is actually poor but those they do stock are reasonable enough. Not sure I agree about the bar staff - they seemed reasonable enough and while not biting my hand off to give useful tit-bits in life (try going to Dorset, they'll give you a life story in some of those pubs!!!!) were efficient.
I don't go here for the beer really, more for just a nice calm surrounding away from the madness of Covent Garden, and it did exactly as I hoped - chilled out pint with the missus, then on to Covent Garden for the madness therein.
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Accousted by junkies theregent writes! LOL is that like the guitars?
anonymous - 8 Aug 2007 16:21 |
nice little pub, the only trouble is if you sit outside you run the risk of getting accousted by junkies panhanderling for money and cigarettes, which is a nuisence. Their is some interesting pop memorbilia on the walls
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Decent enough but shame about the staff who resemble bulldogs chewing wasps with attitudes to match.
anonymous - 17 Jul 2007 14:11 |
I stopped here for lunch whilst on a training course nearby, and was pleasantly surprised. Good beer, superb sandwiches, and excellent service. A London pub as it should be.
ropey - 27 Apr 2007 14:40 |
Visited in the after work Friday rush and it was heaving, but still thought it was a good pub. Had well kept Harveys on and plenty of bizare tat on the walls to look at. All in all a nice little pub.
anonymous - 24 Mar 2007 17:24 |
As someone who travels miles for a decent pint of Guinness I cannot recommend this pub enough. I love it. If you know anything about London pubs or Irish pubs in London and nothing about this one then you must get the first cab down there, I promise it is wonderful place. On par with the Bull & Gate, Kentish Town.
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A nice looking pub from the outside, but he manager / owner should realise that if he's only going to have one member of staff on on a friday afternoon, he should find one who's more interested in serving customers than playinmg fruit machines all the time while customers are waiting.
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There was a fight outside as I walked in! But don't take that as a judgement - it was actually realy cool, proper english pub. But not enough sexy male staff!
anonymous - 23 Dec 2006 03:26 |
In there for lunch yesterday. Unusually, the beer (Harveys on this occasion) was excellent. Sandwiches are always good and good value at £2.50 or £2.75 - I have bought worse sarnies for £5.95 in central london. Service was fine - I was served straightaway - at 1.30 PM on a Friday. Masses of bric a brac on the walls, ceilings and anywhere else there is room - but the TV monitor seems out of place. They don't have the sound on (thankfully) and I've never seen anyone watching it. If they could just get the beer consistently up to scratch, and when the smoking ban comes into force, it will be up in the superb category.
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I love this pub its a proper pub every time you come in you find something new on the walls or the ceiling. The food is all home cooked and the steak pie is delicious. This pub is absolutely packed solid in the summer and you sometimes have to wait longer than average to be served but what do you expect for a busy little pub that is very popular with everyone.
From tourists to the quirky little locals.
Stocks Harveys Sussex I havent found many in the area that have this.
All in all a fantastic pub
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Been going here for 15 years. Same management now as then. Great looking pub inside and out. Huge, reasonably priced lunches all with cheese on them, it would seem. A predictable selection of poorly kept warm ales and, if it's busy all the bottled beer is nice and warm too. This boozer is often understaffed by disinterested, unsupervised agency folk or indolent goldbricks (although the cleaners do a good job on the brass . That said, there's a good mix of local residents, wide boys, workers and your more adventurous tourist. If you grab yourselves a table and are fortunate enough to collar a barman/maid who knows how to pour a stout, you can have yourself a decent evening and maybe make new friends with a Norwegian pub enthusiast. Nice little function room upstairs too, usually hired out by very unfit looking masons covered in fag ash.
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I've spent many a fine time in here, dark and insulated form the hell of covent garden. feels like a real locals place but is welcoming to all.
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Terrible service - it was a Friday night and quite busy but nothing that 2 people couldn't handle in Newcastle. However, the staff were tripping over themselves to ignore customers. Waited like an idiot for 10 minutes to be served then left - plenty more good pubs nearby.
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Not a bad little pub can be a haven of tranquillity in the tourist hell that is Covent Garden.
anonymous - 28 May 2006 10:39 |
Not bad at all - as a non football pub it was a great place to watch the european cup final - got a seat, tried all the beers. Bombardier was probably the best
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Awesome, cluttered long single room bar, every inch packed with nik-naks and kookie memorabilia. Very British. Quaint and eccentric. A napkin signed by Elvis is above the bar. Dripping with atmosphere, this is without a doubt the best pub in Covent Garden. Sadly the casks are standard:- Bombardier, Youngs Bitter, Courage Best.
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A great pub away from the general mayhem of Covent Garden. Beer good. Ambience good. And you can talk without shouting.
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Not the easiest place to sit down, but otherwise one of the best
pubs in central london.1
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Great Pub for a session or for meeting up before a meal out. Narrow in proportions but certainly has depth - just watch out for the wasted Tube workers...
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If you're doing the A-to-Z pub crawl of London then it is acceptable to use the Cross Keys as a substitute for the 'X' pub. :)
That is all.
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Well kept small and justifiably busy pub. Loads of brass nick nacks (including an old-fashioned diver's helmet!) hanging fom the ceiling, old oil paintings and pop memorabilia – I think they even have Elvis and the Beatles' autographs. Beer is good, honest stuff and the service is great. When my mate got a stain on his jacket from the top of the fag machine they paid for it to be cleaned, no arguments. The outside is a veritable jungle of hanging baskets and ivy. Always a good sign, in my view.
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Nice traditional pub, well worth a visit. Note the Beatles memorabilia.
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I love this pub, and im not sure why?
But its one of my favouite in London.
Its jumbeled and messey and red and it just feels right to be sitting in there on a saturday afternoon getting slowly drunk.
Its got one of the best chip shops in london just down the same street from it.
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Nice style. Beer was So-so interesting crowd before 7pm plenty of suits after.
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the crowd spills out onto the street but there are a couple of tables outside.
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An interesting little place with a nice outdoor area and interesting people. Dont go here if you are in a hurry, or any time on Friday... you will wait ages for any service and could possibly die of thirst, and ordering food can be a hit-and-miss affair. But worth a stop any other time.
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Good boozer and well run with attentive bar staff.
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Great pub. Good beer well served by friendly staff. Interesting decor. Well worth a visit. Puts many other 'pubs' in the area to shame.
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Small & full of strange people. Smokey but great beer.
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A wonderful cove of a pub. Dark even when it's blazing sunshine outside. Plenty of interesting matter to please the eye it's best enjoyed sober, at first, but I could envisage having a bit of a session there.
Good for: Escaping the Covent Garden throng for a quite pint or two and maybe some bar snacks.
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A fantastic little oasis in town - dark interiors add to that feeling of hiding away... One of London's best.
Chris - 7 Jul 2004 17:01 |
agree with the comments below a nice little pub unpretentious
Pedro - 5 May 2004 13:56 |
Nice place. Can be a bit tricky finding a seat but bucketloads of interesting decor. Have never got a seat on the benches in summer but plan to at least once this year.
Steve - 22 Mar 2004 09:52 |
This pub is a real find in Covent Garden. Great seating out the front for summer drinks. Inside is very pretty, dark and full of character. Worth searching out when in the area.
Paladino - 23 Jan 2004 20:55 |
great little pub
andy - 29 Aug 2003 15:09 |
A nice, usually quiet, pub that serves a nice pint. I always try to to visit when I am in town. I have never been there when I wasn't amused by some unusual character. The WCs are interesting too.
Charles - 30 Jul 2003 11:34 |
Really nice pub. Landlord has a tendancy to be unnecessarily rude at chucking out time. That's my only criticism.
TheG - 22 Jul 2003 16:36 |
Homely atmosphere - lots of trinkets about the place. Serves a good pint.
Liz - 18 Jun 2003 13:04 |
Decent Pub, Not your tourist trap.
Nice & dark inside. Good atmos
Leon - 3 Jun 2003 14:41 |
Nice pub. Very intimate and best suited to couples or small groups. Some of the staff can be a bit abrupt especially if they get your drink wrong and you have the nerve to complain. Otherwise a very good pub.
Alistair - 21 May 2003 08:29 |
Lovely little pub - lots of atmosphere, fills up very quickly.
Darryl - 5 May 2003 23:55 |
Love this pub. Minutes walk from Covent Garden. Great atmosphere.
Boothers - 11 Apr 2003 10:55 |
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