please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I've never been to this pub, but I've been to several others and in my experience they are great.
Whether you enjoy drinking beer, eating food or looking up girls' skirts then pubs are the places for you.
Some of them even have doors you can go out of, which is very convenient for the smokers, or people who need to leave.
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I suspect this place is awful but as it's on the end of my liver-punishing London Bridge to Blackfriars Run pub crawl, I've never really seen it and appraised it whilst sober. It's all big and swirly and there's a river or something nearby and occasionally I can have a beer and search the eight floors for a free pool table.
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Charmless monstrosity in a great location on the South Banks of the Thames by Blackfriars Bridge. Beer-wise, it's the usual Nicholson's hit (or mostly) miss.
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Oh dear. What has happened to Nicholsons as of late. They used to be the least crap of the major chains.
This is the third one of their 'Cask Marquee' pubs I've been in lately where the beer was filthy. (Blackfriar & Williamson's Tavern being the other 2) Both the 'Dirty Tackle' and 'Landlord' were undrinkable. Too much water in the lines perhaps. As for lunch... The 'warm chicken & bacon salad' was cold slimy bacon and 4 day old cardboard chicken on a bed of composting vegetable matter.
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When I visited there were 5 well chosen ales for sale and they were well kept. Found the staff pleasant and the pies very good . Will return
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Wondeful example of just how crap Nicholsons pubs can be.
Went in around 2ish on a Saturday, all beer was off, so had a pint of the black stuff instead. Shame it wasn't really a pint with at least half a head on it. As the barmaid had rushed off to serve some other sap as soon as the change hit my hand I had to wait at least 10 mins to get it topped up.
The tables where left un-cleared for the entire time we were there, so sat peering through other peoples left lunch for half an hour. An no, it wasn't so busy that it couldn't have been done.
mrse1 - 10 Feb 2008 13:31 |
4 of us went there in our lunch hour. The food came so slowly, and not all together than one of us didn't have time to eat it. Was given a refund in the rudest possible manor by totally disrespectful waiting staff. Food when it arrived for the others was average and over priced. Won't be going back when there are so many other decent places near by with a bit of respect for their cutomers.
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After an enjoyable pint in The Blackfriar across the bridge I thought I'd hie mysel' to Doggets... Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
This is an industrial sized boozer on 4 floors - with lifts. The barman who served me was a monosyllabic grunter from somewhere beyond these shores. The only cider on offer was the chemical piss that is Strongbow and the over-hyped, over-priced and very ordinary Magners. I opted for a pint of Timothy Taylors Landlord, which was alright.
I chose to get away from the countless flat screen TVs on the ground floor, all showing the England v Wales rugby and went upstairs to... Oh my goodness - a "Sports Bar", I didn't go in, assuming that it would be countless flat screen TVs etc, etc,. Up another flight of stairs to the Dining Room, as I was only having a pint I proceeded all the way to the top to investigate the roof terrace - but this was shut - only open for private dos. So downstairs again to the Dining Room where I found a seat and table with wonderful views over the Thames.
After consuming my pint I decided to visit the gents... The cubicle was awash with someone else's urine and the bowl was caked with the excrement of a previous occupant...
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Your best bet for a decent pint when on the Southbank. Always an interesting selection of ales plus Leffe, Fruli and Hoegarrden. Good value food and nice views of the Thames. The only downside is the piped music and the squeeky main door. Somebody get some WD40 on it before it drive everyone mental.
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Recently had an invitation to free beer on the top floor. Nice views, Landlord beer - sounds fine but the beer was frozen so as to be unrecognisable and needed the terrace heaters to make it barely drinkable (but tasteless). Did not stay long!!
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Walk past this place every day. Sure, it occupies one of the most enviable riverside plots, but is probably the most ugly pub in London, modelled on what I can only assume is the bridge of a ship.
Doubtless very cool in the 60s/70s, but an absolute carbuncle. Unfair, but because of its exterior, I can only conjure up images of Watney Red Barrel and Harp Lager!
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Northern And Shell are down the river in that big blue building next to London Bridge. Northern and Shell own the Express. The Express are in that big blue building, where they have been for two years. Or do you assume every single person who drinks in Doggetts works in the building opposite?
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Wrong Albert. I was in there again this week with a well-known journalist from the Daily Excuse. Along came his colleague who happened to work on the Sunday Star. Sorry you don't know everyone.
anonymous - 19 Aug 2007 22:17 |
Anonymous: The Daily Star and The Express haven't been in that building for two yea. I'm not surprised it took you 15 minutes to get served. You sound a bit clueless.
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Great location wasted on a souless beer factory. Avoid.
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average office pub approach only when very drunk. on the plus side i did pick up a very fine filly a few years ago here but still doesnt make up for the place
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Come on guys - what on earth is the point of allowing wholly-biased landlords to sing their own praises at the top of this piece?
His rosy view of his own pub is not exactly borne out by many of the comments...
It - and all like it - should be clearly headed and marked as "ADVERTISING" since it is not an objective independent view - which is what most us look for in beerintheevening.
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The media twats you mention are actually from the Express building oposite. It also holds the staff from the Daily Star so what did you expect? Intelligent conversation. This place is an office bar and that's why we only went there once. The beer was warm and the welcome was cold. 15 minutes to get served at a top price too.
anonymous - 1 Aug 2007 00:16 |
Bloody awful place. Crap beer, poorly served, being sunk by loud noisy media twatts from the IPC building.
The Black Friar is mercifully close by if you're in the area, albeit over the bridge. Failing that, the Mad Hatter Hotel in Stamford Street is also a more desirable place than this.
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The upper two floors always seem to be reserved for one function or another but on the rare occasion you can get up there the views are pretty decent. Good beers, pricey but aren't they all down that way.
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Good choice of well kept real ales and pretty decent grub
with views over the river
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Reply to Lucy M
Anyone who wants to pay with a card for anything costing less than a tenner desereves what they get.
People who do so are a pain the arse, taking up so much time in such a cash-only environment. It costs the proprietor for use to use the card - so you get to pay the difference. Convienient for you, but costly to the end user.
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Answer to last entry - because you are prepared to pay it!!
Vote with your feet young man.
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How can 2 pints of Fosters come to £5.75 ???
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Whilst I was in the Doggetts Coat and Badge the downstairs toilet was flooding so I had to use that one on the 2nd floor. I’m glad that I had to go up there as I ended up sitting at the top of the pub admiring the views rather than sitting in the dark, mediocre bar on the ground floor.
There were a few signs up asking people to keep the noise down as there were exams going on in some of the rooms – I wish I could have done my exams in a pub!
I thought that the lager was spot and the service was up to scratch.
The pub seemed to be advertising everywhere for the hiring out of floors for functions, which I would imagine being fantastic for a party.
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went in here as passed by sooo many times and thought its about time to check it out , me and my friend visited one saturday and went into the sports bar , 2 pool tables , table footy , 2 jackpot machines , ordered 2 pints of fosters came to £5.75 which aint bad i guess , nothing wrong with the beer or the staff , the floor below where the toilets are was packed but it was a good pub with excellent views across the thames , well worth a visit
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It was very expensive for drink and I had a salad - it wasn't good and was expensive. I got fleeced of 35p because my drink and meal came to £9.65, when I asked if I could use the card they said yes but then charged me £10.00 - because anything less than they will make it up to a tenner without telling you and you don't know until you see it printed on the receipt. The toilets were also very filthy and 2 foreigners came up to my friend and tried to distract us with maps and steal her phone.
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Magnificent little venue, with new potential on evert visit
Fairly packed on my visit, showing its popularity
Heard that stars have graced these walls
Unheard of ales grace the taps to try
Sitting on a sunny day in the back 'garden' area with the sun on your back makes you reflect that life can be sweet... at times. Wonder what the higher levels are like...
And yes, terenced, I remember roger roger. This pub is the eqivalent of 'driving along in a sleepy summer sun'
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For anyone who remembers this was the pub where Sam and Dexter had a beer in "Roger Roger" before Dexter took a jump off the bridge.... anyway enough about tv comedy...
Very good location and a decent range of beers available. Worth a visit. A tourist and med student trap but seems to be working rather well.
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Had a luverly time there which was coz of the wonderful company i was with (Hi Babe :xmasnaughty:).
We really had a good time there on a weekday afternoon.
My chips were quite nice, i think Juicy 'enjoyed' her baked potato and salad, staff were pretty friendly, nice atmosphere and surroundings.
Overall= 10 out of 10 with Juicy, 7 1/2 without.
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I liked it here. Me and my boyfriend went there last week for a drink and something to eat. We always have fun whatever pub we go to!
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Rubbish. Tourist-tastic. Avoid.
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Pretty much everything you don't want in a boozer. Bad food, indifferent drink, very average service, people stealing bags everywhere. There are much better places in the very near vicinity. Surely a place can only get so much kudos for a location on the Thames!
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As you approach, it conjures up images of 2nd world war coastal defences. I visited on a Friday night and it was very busy and noisy (obviously). I will be going again, in summer, during a quiet week-day afternoon, when I can hopefully enjoy the promising riverside views. Not as bad as it looks from the approach.
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Had a private party in the Terrace Bar on the 15 Sept 06 and found everything from the venue, location, staff and food to be excellent.
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out of the ordinary building ...but tables out front overlooking the river are a bonus in the sunshine...also tables out back...beer range typical of a Nicholsons pub and well kept.... average london prices....food very good ...service pleasant and quick on the day we went ...will go back
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I was pleasantly suprised by this place, having read the reviews below. True, the building looks pretty ugly, but i'm not going to judge it by that.
I have to point out that we went upstairs instead of down, purely because it seemed quieter on the top floor, so perhaps I missed the crap barstaff. Instead, I got smiles and banter from the barmaid, a good pint of Youngs, and a seat with a lovely view. It should probably be said that I had been dying for a beer for about 4 hours before I got there, so nothing was going to spoil that first taste, but after several more pints I still enjoyed the atmosphere of the pub. Nothing outrageously special, but a good meeting point all the same
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Rather strange pub. Well kept ale though as far as I remember.
Prehaps takes it location a little too much for granted though?
anonymous - 3 Dec 2005 19:05 |
Utterly vile. Some of the staff are surly and downright rude... if you have the misfortune to deal with the bloke with a face like a slapped @rse you'll know what I mean. Expensive, poorly-kept beer... pools of slops on the bar... agressively enforced drinking up time... noisy suits... disgusting never-fixed overflowing stinky toilets. Hideously ugly building and a bland by-the-numbers-can't-be-arsed interior. There's only one good thing: the view.
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Rather bizarre building, ok beer, full of bankers and the like on week nights, ok service; not too bad i suppose if you're in the area but absolutely noithing special
anonymous - 28 Nov 2005 17:25 |
I have used it off and on and only when someone else insists on using it as a meeting place to move on from.
The beers can be unusual but are after drawn short of a pint and the service as said elsewhere can be very tight lipped - you sometimes feel that you are an interruption to a previously pleasant day!
The food is good but slow to arrive and thus lukewarm occasionally.
Not worth going out of your way for.
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Was impressed. This place is great and its number one on the Dick Whittington pub tour on the Historic Blackfriars trail!!
Meet us for a pint!!
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I wouldn't go back here if you paid me. One of the members of staff (he's the one that never smiles) is a first-class d*ckhead. It's expensive and souless. Do yourself a favour, go elsewhere.
anonymous - 16 Oct 2005 00:25 |
Characterless is spot on. Handy enough in the summer to nick in for a crafty sharpener on the way back to Waterloo but it's for tourists and other assorted transients. Beer - mediocre. Food - looks mediocre. Prices - excessive. Best off heading back towards the City & the Founders Arms really.
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This pub is like a Goose or a Hogs Head, its just characterless - ok its got TV's adorning almost every wall and there are 4 bars but there are much better pubs out there.
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This place is great!
It's recently had a refurb and looks so much better!
It has a beer garden which looks outstanding with it's tall heated/lighted umbrellas and also a front riverside seating area which is great in the summer!
We recently had a function in the rooftop terrace with a BBQ and I have to say the menu was fantastic for value! You really do have to give it a try sometime!
anonymous - 6 Sep 2005 16:14 |
I LOVE this pub. Can't get enough of the cider and black and the pool tables, on which I am a bit of a shark! I love the food, had scampi and chips today, yum yum! hope to see you there tonight chappies!
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Very busy when I visited, served quickly though and managed to get somewhere to sit despite the table looking life a relief map of the Somme by the previous occupants who were obviously just learning how to use a knife and fork...either that or they were feeding each other by catapult!
It was ok for one beer I suppose. Wouldnt go out of my way to drink there.
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Looks horrible from the outside and not much better inside. Has a reasonable number of outside tables which is handy on sunny days. Only redeeming feature is the great view of the river.
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this pub has had some changes made to it and actually makes it look a lot better
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Characterless Rip off.
Staff were on the fiddle when we were there on St.Georges Day - short measured everyone ESPECIALLY the foreign tourists. We estimated they made one pint in every seven they sold.
My suggestion: Sit on the Terrace, but bring your own Beer
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Fantastic! Would never go anywhere else. Grumpy Barman has a truely unique barside manner. I would stronlgy recommend this as a top night spot in the city!
anonymous - 10 Feb 2005 14:59 |
I had my 29th birthday at Doggetts and thought it was the best pub in London. The atmos is top notch, the food was awesome and the bar staff even got up and danced with me as everyone sung "Happy Birthday" to me.
David Cheung - 9 Nov 2004 18:20 |
Horrible, expensive food and rude bar staff.
Jo - 19 Sep 2004 14:11 |
We had our evening wedding reception here, and were very impressed with the service, value and food. Everyone enjoyed the whole evening, and the views from the terrace bar were lovely.
niki greenfield - 8 Sep 2004 18:55 |
we went to this pub and had a great meal and real ales whilst seeing the sites..the bbq in the garden was a great idea and good value. I left my purse behind and the staff came after me to give it back.
james, kent - 11 Aug 2004 15:07 |
This place is an absolute disgrace. Dropped in yesterday and had their traditional platter for lunch and can honestly say I've never been served such crap in all my life. No atmos, very expensive and full of tourists. I strongly advise everyone to avoid this dump.
robin - 9 Aug 2004 09:35 |
Anyone wanting some decent food should walk round to Frank's cafe. Anyone wanting a decent pint should try another pub. Ridiculously expensive & filthy.
Intriguing that the beer garden is at the BACK so you can't even see the 'scenic' river views. If you want to assess the food, look at how many flying rats sustain themselves on the plates full of inedible rubbish.
stabbogaz - 28 Jun 2004 12:45 |
Location wise excellent... drinks...Quite pricey...food terrible!
Wigan - 22 Jun 2004 14:57 |
The food is diabolical. Raw eggs on top of mediocre gammon, half cooked chips, burgers like house bricks & staff that don't know the meaning of the word quality
rachel - 22 Jun 2004 14:54 |
I bought a JD and Coke and a half pint of coke and it cost me £4.90. It turned out that £1.75 was for the half pint of Coke. That makes it £3.50 a pint! Outrageous prices and not a very pleasant atmosphere. Location is the only thing this pub has going for it.
Nick White - 18 Jun 2004 16:41 |
Absolute shit-hole. Staff were ok, beer was shite. Dirty tables, disgusting toilets. If your idea of fun is standing in other peoples piss as you go to the loo, this is the pub for you.
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Good place to go in the summer, great views, staff are nice and very tolerant have had some many happy memories at this place, would reccomend it anyone. Drinks are reasonable price as well!
Anonymous - 1 Jun 2004 16:34 |
I enjoyed the draught bitter and the company of johnbeggthenonstopdancer
Paul - 12 Dec 2003 15:18 |
Always have a great time in there. Never had any problems with the staff - in terms of customer service. Although i did have my wallet nicked in there last Chirstmas!!
Still love the place though. Great on a Friday night (or any night!). Nice terrace with good views over the Thames, even better @ dusk. Oh, and the beer is good as well.
All in all, a good pub to have a nice cold pint in!!!!
Rob - 21 Jul 2003 09:09 |
Terrible customer service, one of the worst pubs I have been to in a long time. Jon Bassett the manager should learn some customer service and then teach it to his staff.
g.g. - 9 Jul 2003 15:18 |
If you go, go in the summer as in the winter has all the atmosphere of Waterloo station.
Gary - 23 May 2003 07:00 |
Excellent. Have some very bitter sweet memories in that place.
one of the best pubs in London? Yes it probablt is!
anonymous - 19 May 2003 10:32 |
3 Floors
Lots of Terraces
Nice pint of London Pride
Food didn't look too bad
Right by the river nice sunset views.
Can hire the top floor with a BBQ
Steve - 1 May 2003 15:09 |
