please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
yeah, it's an "ok" pub. But, like others have found out, it takes AGES to get served. I hung around for around 15mins trying to get a pint. I ended up going back outside and then one of the girls went in an got me one (think she did it in 10 minutes). This was last tuesday (1/7/08) too.. hardly a huge busy night!?
Needless to say, I won't be going back there, just because the service left much to be desired. It's a nice setting though - very chilled out.
I just hate queuing for ages.
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waited an hour for food last time I was in here (prebooked, party of 8) and it was frankly, poor to average.
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The "JamPot" is OK if you like history. However the beer is only average (and pricey) and people seem to hog the bar making ordering a bit of a pain
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I'm not quite sure which insect has bitten all of you disgruntled old fools but the Jamaica Winehouse is a lovely pub with a quaint atmosphere.
The history of the place has not been lost and I don't see how you could claim it has.
There are no T.V's, no arcade machines, and infact the only thing that is on the pub floor that needs to be plugged into a wall is the cigarette machine.
Historic little reminders like the old cigar machine, or the telephone booth cupboard downstairs are still there, polished and proudly on display.
Serving real ales, (IPA Deuchars and Bombadier)with a good selection of food, nuts and crisps, this pub delivers in every way it should.
Classy atmosphere, musicless, a small team of friendly staff who run the pub monday through friday who know what they're doing, clean toilets, a fine bistro downstairs where you can watch highly skilled chefs preparing your food, and a fantastic range of wines;
I'm not aware of what else one could ask of a good
city pub.
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Love this boozer - marvel at the step which is steeped in history, or at least the last 100 years of punters. Shame about the dodgy tables and the smoke; not adverse to smokey pubs but this one should come with a gas mask warning.
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Having read the alarming reports about the interior being ripped out, I went to see the damage with a heavy heart only to find that the place is intact and exactly the same as the last time I visited. The only thing that has gone is the old telphone kiosk that used to be just inside the main entrance, on the left. It had gold lettering above the door that said "For Stock Exchange Members Only" It was a direct line to the stock exchange. The kiosk is still there but there's a wooden panel in place of the old glass panel.
So ignore the recent comments, they must have been posted by disgruntled customers trying to cause mischief
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I'm not usually in favour of capital punishment but someone needs to be strung up over this.
Back in 1991 I used to work in Birchin Lane - our fire exit opened into St Michaels Alley right by the Jamaica and we used to nick out for mid afternoon sharpeners here. Back then it had a classic interior and closed at 8pm (the downstairs bar though appeared to have been imported straight from some boycie pub in Essex)
It's just been ruined - can't ever be bothered going in here again
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Why do they do it? Hundreds of years of patina now in a landfill site, or more likely a reclamation yard. I'll never be darkening its door again.
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Wow!!!!!!
Used to drink Gordons and tonic here years ago!
And buy cases of becks to put in the fountain nearby during the summer. It was a great pub then. The landlady was named Beverly. Ran a great pub. Had all its old world charm back then. Now it is 'ruined' to echo another reviewer. Homogonised out of existance. And what REAL history this building has. ARGHHHHHHH!!!! We need a law to stop this type of vamndalism.
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I was fairly non-plussed - they must have ruined the interior when the last refurbed because this place wasn't too appealing to me. Very appealing exterior however.
anonymous - 7 Apr 2006 15:40 |
yeah,...this used to be bigtime,.nice comfy oldie worldie type place.now pretty chain/generic feeling after,..you've guessed it,.. a refurb,..fucking poor now! What hasn't changed though, is the shit level of service that you get in here,..i see from the comments that this feature goes back as far as 2003,..good to see the new mgt have kept that in place.
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I was disappointed by this place. Never had the privilege of visiting pre-refurb and now it's a bit of a sad mongrel of a pub - you can see the odd bit of the original fittings but mixed in with the pure evil that is the accursed P&P/All Bar One style. The effect is bizzarre, and not really that successful.And yep, the service sucked big time. Keep walking up Cornhill and go to the Counting House.
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Owners - why did you renovate this place a year or so back? One of the greatest crimes against the Public House fabric of London ever committed.
Why? You made it look like a pub trying to be a bar with an ancient shell outside, and all bleached wood lacquer and steel pumps inside. What was wrong with it in the first place, it's called history and character, that great crime in the eyes of the modern pub chain I suppose?
Mosied down here one night expecting the old familiar dingy interior, and found it looking like a graduate of the school of 'How Not To Modernise A Pub' had gone mental with his crayons and tape measure inside.
F**cking shocking.
Used to be one of my old favourites on a city oub crawl or quick jar just for the Dickensian atmosphere. I now only occasionally walk past it, gaze through the window and shake my head solemnly at what once was. No doubt the owners couldn't give a flying one because it always still seems busy, but the fact remains, you never should have f**cked about with it in the first place.
2/10, and the two is only for what it once was.
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Probably the smokiest pub in the world - ugh! Seems to attract tossers of both sexes who delight in barging past people instead of utilising the wide spaces around and enjoy occupying as much of the space at the bar as possible to prevent people getting served. Oh, and the (ubiquitous) Bombadier not well kept. Surprisingly enough, moved on asap.
PS: 1 barmaid on at 6pm - so looks like the management don't visit this site judging my previous comments.
2/10.
Darren in the City - 28 Oct 2004 12:17 |
Nice cool atmosphere - although it can be a bit of a squeeze on Thursday/Friday nights (where isn't). A good selection of wines, and a fine choice of beers last time I was there. Nice informal place to take either clients, or a new lady friend, before heading to the theatre in town or whatever.
Close to stations, but out of the way enough to be just outside the mainstream.
One of my favourite pubs, and comes recommended. Also occasionally frequented by the odd celeb (George Wafula has been spotted by myself more than once)
anonymous - 27 Nov 2003 17:16 |
Totally agree - I had grey hair by the time I got served. There were no less than FIVE bar staff, at a fairly small bar, but it still took 15 minutes. The pub equivalent of queueing up to pay at a TK Maxx store....
Rob - 11 Jul 2003 16:25 |
Whilst I agree wholeheartedly with Matt, I do think that he has overlooked the whole church-square bit. Take my advice, get someone to take you there and go to the bar for you. In the summer it is terrific.
anonymous - 9 Jun 2003 13:47 |
No doubt billed as one of London’s oldest pubs, it’s also one of the worst. Shockingly bad service, grubby surroundings and expensive. Compared to other “authentic” pubs around the City, this one sucks. It tends to be packed out in the summer, when patrons use the small garden belonging to the church behind. No matter how packed it is though, the apathetic bar staff seem to be incapable of serving anyone in less than fifteen minutes. The partitioned bar seems to go into periods of fallow, where increasingly more frustrated customers try desperately to catch the barman’s eye. Go somewhere else.
Matt - 30 May 2003 15:02 |
