please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Visited this pub yesterday Afternoon as part of "THE THEATRELAND" Dick Whittington Beer Trail. Three cask Conditioned Ales on offer London Pride, Marstons Pedigree, But I went for Landlord. Nice area outside on the pavement to sit and People watch. Very busy place with Tourists but good qick service. Worth a return visit.
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Have been in the Wellington several times, always been OK. Decent pints of Pride and Hook Norton offerings. Reasoanble food too for the area and not too many tourists (maybe we were lucky)
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Bearing in mind it really is a touristy type pub, being Nicholsons at least you know they will have soom Real Ale on draft. Limited choice but the beer was OK. Mobbed by tourist but service was excellent.
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I use to work at The Wellington from Dec2006 - Sept2007. I have to say that some of the comments made about the pub appaul me.
The Wellington is a very hard pub to work in. The location, the many thousands of tourists that past each day, the pre and post theatre groups, the regulars, business people and anyone else.
The staff have a lot to deal with. Not only do they have to run the main bar downstairs, but also look after the large outside area (largest in the company and area), and also the large restaurant upstairs (also one of the largest in the company and area).
9/10 the service is spot on with no complaints. But they aren't perfect (who is.....). Some days everything goes wrong and i have to say being in those situations when everything is going wrong, the staff general handle the situations extremly well.
Most of the team i worked with are still there and are working their butts off the maintain the wellingtons name. They have done so well this year with all the menu changes, referbs, smoking bans, loosing sky sports, changing staff members.
I commend the team at The Wellington, they are all beautiful people, but their not perfect (they know that), and maybe some people should cut them some slack on those days when everything is going wrong.
How would you like it if it was you serving yourself in those situations.........
Good Luck team and i'm sure i'll see you all next year still going strong as ever.
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Beer good [Fullers]....food always fine...as are most of the Nicholsons pubs.....only grouse the toilets serving the ground floor were out of order...so we had to climb three flights of stairs....not recomended for the old or the desperate....
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Well kept reasonbly priced ( for area) Real Ales
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I’ve been in the Wellington a couple of times and by the sound of it I have been lucky as I’ve not had any trouble with the service, although it doesn’t take that many people in the pub for it to be busy and difficult to get to the bar.
It is nice sitting on the benches out front in the summer, but due to the location you have to be lucky to get a seat in the early evening.
The lager is good and my ale drinking pals think that the beer is excellent.
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I have never come across such awful service in a pub! The wine was undrinkable, the pub itself was dingy and the staff were incredibly rude. What a shame for a pub in such an enviable location. Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful.
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I couldn't tell you if the beer or the food was nice here...the staff were so rude I didn't bother to buy anything! Depressing to find a pub in such a central location, no doubt frequented by many tourists which wastes it's potential on staff who don't give a toss about the customers. Avoid.
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I didn't eat here but I thought the beer was good although it was slightly gloomy downstairs. The Australian barmaid was a bit surly but apart from that I will probably pop in again when I'm in the area.
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Beer was fine, I had good pints of Timothy Taylor and Marstons. I would concur with some of the more negative comments about the food service. The pub has a slightly tired feel, and suffers from being downtrodden by tourists and passing trade. My overall rating of 6 is redeemed by the good beer quality experienced.
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I ate here on the Thursday before Christmas. We were a little dubious given the fact that it was empty and should have realised our mistake then!
The service was awful. A friendly barmaid took our food order at 9. 20 minutes later she came and told 2 of the guys within our party that there were no more burgers left, they selected something else. Another 20 minutes later another of our party got told that they were all out of Lasagne also. To make up for this we got given a round of free drinks but the first person to order the same juice drink as before got told they'd run out of that..... An absolutely ridiculous place!
To cut a long story short, we left at 11.45!!! Don't eat here, it's awful!!
anonymous - 22 Dec 2006 23:34 |
Nice in my experience. I have read some mixed reviews, and will take them into account, but I only went here once and was pleased. I hear the fish and chips aren't all they're cracked up to be, but I had the Toad in the Hole and it was excellent. I large, square pudding with bangers, mash, and carrots, brocolli and leeks, all covered in gravy. Brilliant.
The ale selection was limited but very good. The atmosphere was nice but small and cramped, this is central London after all. I would recommend this for the Toad in the Hole, but I haven't tried the other stuff. As for the ale, well, its very good, but if you're wanting to try 10 different beers, go to the Knights Templar on Chandery.
6/10
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Had the fish and chips it claimed to be famous for. Generous portion of fish but then I chose "large" and it was a tenner. I don't think the fish was cod or haddock, it was bland and tasteless.
Not a nice example of one of our national dishes to give to a tourist.
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Four casks, including Pride of Pendle, served in good condition. Victorian Grand Hotel feel about the long narrow bars, especially upstairs, which has a pleasant view over Waterloo Bridge. The corner window seat with views along The Strand is the best place to sit. The original Art Nouveau stained glass windows are attractive. A nice place, though there is nothing especially unique or special to lift it above the average.
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i visited the wellington for the 5th time in 3 years and everytime it gets better .the food we had in the beutifull upstairs bar was fantastic ,the service was great,and yes they were foreign staff but how many english staff want to work as hard as they do ,every visit i bring more of my freinds with me because it is like a local pub in central london ,the beer is good ,also good choice of wine ,the manager is also helpfull and all the staff are freindly and i would highly recomend this pub ,i just love it
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no ales running - had to insist on a new glass after first one was filled up slightly with foam from the bottom of an ale keg! food terrible - vegetarian food even worse ( full price for a vege roast consisting of frozen vegetables + some roast potatoes without gravy ). staff unhelpful and rude. couldn't eat and watch sport. really nothing to offer whatsoever - i give it 2 for taking the trouble of encasing the tv sets with leather.
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Perhaps the staff were all recovering from a big one the night before, but on a recent Sunday visit the service was appalling. Staff seemed to have no idea what they were doing, all the ales were off, and the staff were rude, to the point where one shouted at our table after she made a mistake with our lunchtime order. A waste of a beautifully-decorated pub.
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Beer ok Food ok service quick and polite whenever we went in there ...if you`ve got a `wobble` on it could be a bit of a problem to get about as the place is very narrow and space between chair and tables always changing as people come and go
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Convenient for Covent Garden and Theatreland, and selling good cool beer. A nice pub.
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Quite nice. Good fittings. Beer good but not peak! Bar Staff's English was acceptable on my visit, mine was decaying slightly -end of the night!
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Spent part of boxing day there (the only pub we could find open prior to midday). Good service, good beer, were happy to change the channel over to show some sport. We ended up the dar end near to the open fire which was magnificent on a cold day.
Woudl highly recommend
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Nice pub with some original features, but shame that the bar staff seem to have such a poor command of the English language. Manuel and a certain hotel in Torquay spring to mind !
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A late Victorian corner pub opposite Waterloo Bridge in the heart of theatre land, the Wellington is popular with Theatregoers, office workers and the odd tourist (being fairly close to Covent Garden). Part of the Nicholson’s chain which generally means decent beer (3 real ales) and food and reasonable prices. The pub layout is a bit awkward. Originally two rooms knocked into one, the pub is long and narrow and the bar is positioned along a wall in such a way that it can get a bit cramped in the middle of the pub. There is more space at either end of the bar and there is a large seated area outside that is ideal for the tourists on a nice day. There are 2 well paced plasma screens which are usually used for sport (it was very popular during the recent Ashes series). Despite having undergone various refurbishments, the pub does not lack its original character with lots of original features retained, dark wood, a few etched windows and a few gargoyles protecting the entrance. There is an upstairs bar but I genearally only stick to the downstairs in pubs so I have not been up there. One major gripe I have is that the (mostly foreign) bar staff have a nasty habit of pouring short measures. They will always top up if you ask them to but it shouldn’t be necessary. It happens so often that I am beginning to wonder whether this is a sinister ploy to boost profits. I hope not because this is one of my favourite pubs in the area. 7/10 18/11/05
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Sky Sports has returned to the Wellington (saw Germany 1 England 5 at this venue!) and so I returned to watch the ManU/Chelsea match. Beers I tried, Pride and Youngs were both excellent and the service, despite a coachload of about 60 Dutch blokes arriving 5 minutes before kickoff, was fast and courteous.
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Can get crowded at the expected times. The upstairs bar serves till 12 but its usually packed, and service was slow and odd. Barmaid told me smoking was only allowed on 2 tables but these were randomly placed throughout the bar........eh?
anonymous - 30 Aug 2005 12:19 |
Pretty average central London boozer to be honest. There's far better to be found if one can make the effort.
anonymous - 27 Jun 2005 15:55 |
Good beer as Nicholson usually do well. Staff are always quick and friendly. Food is good pub food.
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It is probably the one of my best pubs in London. I've worked there for one day in September as a relief and I got very good memories about that day. SKY SPORTS is always on,so You can always waych Your favourite game.Manager(Rose)and staff are very nice to customers and they are doing their best behind the bar.My best wishes to all of the staff!
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Had the misfortune of having a Sunday roast here. Cost £10 and was appalling bad. Pretty rubbish place.
Jack Knight - 24 Aug 2004 12:11 |
I've got to say that this pub is currently being run by a fantastic manager and supported by a brilliant team of staff. The prices are great value for money and the service is excellent and the bitchiness of other employees and management is just childish and perthetic. Grow up and give the current team and management the chance they deserve. Good Luck everyone and you've got a brilliant pub with a great atmostphere.
anonymous - 21 Feb 2004 21:08 |
I used to work in Wellington pub for half a year from december 01 till june 02. All this talk about bad staff, Gipsy's and tramps are bulshit. I finished my work when the renovation started so i'm sure the pub looks great. It was always good atmosphere there and I had a good time working there. The staff was always very kind and pub was every day very busy. But you could't find empty pints and ashtrays on the tables. Sometimes there was lack of staff but that is the way pubs cut the costs everywhere. Maybe the prices are not cheap, but they don't differ much from other pubs. This is central London people !!! The pub is crowded during lunch time, one hour before performance in the theatre which is next door and on the weekends. Mondays are quiet. There are some regulars, usually well educated young people who work in the offices. When I worked in the pub people could watch football or rugby or any other sports available on public channels. There was not big screen and sky sport unfortunately but it changed probably. Besides there is always good music. Food is very good. Tuna melt, fish and chips or lasagne were my favourites. I never heard any complaints about food. I don't know who is the manager now and how pub looks like. Place was always clean (the beer lines as well). I can assure you that I will come back to this place. I worked there very hard with fantastic people from all over the world. We always did our best and I will never forget this days. I wanna say thanks to the managers Haydn and Joao and the rest of our team: Ula, Monika, Stina, Mia, Kate, Patricia, Carol, Elna, Pernille, Stine, Tomek, Bjorn, and Domenico.
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To "Anita + Adrian" of previous post:
If that IS you, you forgot to tell people that you were the management for several years... Things have moved on since you ran it into the ground.
Pub is now a very busy, friendly place with regulars who don't bum drinks off drunken staff and sponge after hours.
Plasma screens for the sport, decent food - and beer lines that are actually cleaned more than once a year..... Worth a visit folks - make up your own mind!
John - 19 Oct 2003 00:14 |
Watched the tennis here yesterday and thought it was fantastic - very laid back with a bunch of foxy staff upstairs in the restaurant area.
Matt Le Ross - 4 Jul 2003 10:15 |
wellington under new management so no more scruffy Hayden. Give new manager chance may bring back big screen.
Shorty McSpadden - 9 May 2003 08:55 |
just re-opened after refurb, beautiful place, nice menu and great staff!
jane - 8 May 2003 18:13 |
landlord only hires foreign babes usually blondes usually very dumb almost always can't speak english. Service very poor usually get overcharged but you can enjoy the view
christine young - 25 Mar 2003 15:41 |
Dump told it had best and biggest fish and chips in Cental London charged the earth for the most disgusting muck i've ever tasted. Everything overcocked couldn't even cut into fish it was so hard. Sat outside and was bothered by tramps 5 times and gypsies Twice. (One gypsy begs while her kid is under table trying to steal bags - watch out!)
Staff couldn't care less and no sign of any management.
greg katanic - 24 Mar 2003 11:44 |
landlord unenthusiastic and unkempt, customer complaints greated with shrug and grunt. staff look like extras from a low budget swedish horror movie. Beer when they have any is warm and flat. Watch out for bag snatchers seem to use pub as base camp, seem welcome to use toilets freely.
arturo_morales - 18 Mar 2003 15:35 |
The Wellington is possibly the most rank and overpriced pub in the area - do not waste your time going there - especially when next door is the Lyceum
eric - 21 Feb 2003 17:00 |
Nice pub. Good place to kill time before going to the theatre, Covent Garden or Charing Cross station.
Alistair - 29 Nov 2002 14:13 |
i rate the sexy bar staff ten out of ten
Sexy Si - 5 Sep 2002 23:37 |
Average downstairs, upstairs bar far preferable - gives you views across Waterloo Bridge. Nice in a quiet, restrained, tea room kind of way. But with more beer and less scones.
Paul - 9 Jul 2002 15:34 |
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