please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Really friendly pub, popular with the London Swedish community. For instance, shows Swedish Elitserien ice-hockey and Allsvenskan football matches on its screen. Most of the staff are Swedish and the food menu has a slightly Swedish flavour (although I think they should really increase their Swedish dish offering)as well as more English/pub dishes.
Patio courtyard area out the back is nice in the summer - it's very much surrounded by buildings, so not very green - but pleasant for London.
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Apparently unchanged in 40 years except for the Big Screen, which is left on but silent, so it is not intrusive. Good beer [Adnams]; cheerful & efficient service; all ages; food not tried; no muzak.
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Boring.
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Good Pub, have made good use of the outdoor area outside, some intresting beers on tab, staff seam good but cant understand why the charge 80pence to use credit card??????
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Fabulous pub favourite with the London Swedes, hosts many a Scandinavian themed nights and a great selection of drinks. Plus a cosy back garden with plenty of character. Can get very busy during events but only adds to the party atmosphere of the place.
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Good staff, great beer garden. So good, I am keeping this place to myself.
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great little back street boozer - plenty of character, good beer and attractive barstaff. Food was Ok in my opinion and the service friendly - did i mention the barstaff? Would definately visit again if only for the barstaff.
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Great pub with lowenbrau on tap; need I say more
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Good selection of Beers!
anonymous - 22 Mar 2007 17:59 |
Not a bad pub with ok beer,and a cracking blonde behind the bar when I went in.6/10
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The Harcourt is not a bad little pub, it's not trying to be something that it's not, like many other bars & pubs in London. and it works... just need some help with the menu - the food is is main letdown, which is such a shame given that the beer is good.
The bar may be unkempt, but that adds to the inividual charm to the place. (can be very Smokey)Great out side seating, rare in London. If they get the food sorted out there onto a winner... 5/10
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This is a friendly pub in quiet surroundings and a nice small beer garden, well worth a visit. I often pop in there after work, good crowd.
w2man - 19 Aug 2006 21:43 |
I’m very fond of the Harcourt. It’s an excellent place in which to unwind after work. In summer the atmosphere is cool and relaxed, with benches on the (quiet) street outside, and a garden at the rear. In winter it’s warm and welcoming with the occasional, incomprehensible, game of ice hockey showing on TV and “glogg” (Swedish mulled wine) available for the adventurous / reckless.
As others have mentioned, the staff are predominantly Swedish. I’d add that they are invariably courteous and friendly. An easy 8/10.
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Decent pub, especially for an afternoon pint. Staff are always very friendly
dembo - 28 Jun 2006 23:30 |
Ten pound (plus a booking fee!) to watch the football.
Ha Ha Ha, Ha Ha Ha.
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Top notch boozer. Go for the Kopparberg mixed fruit cider for a night you may not remember.
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Understated, good pub, with subtle Swedish influence, but not that you'd notice unless you pay attention. I like it! More Swedes of the female variety always welcome!!!
anonymous - 18 Oct 2005 19:28 |
Good little local pub, unmessed around, with as people have said a Swedish connection.
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Vera Shaw, you must have been quite unfortunate to experience the Harcourt when it was quiet. It very rarely is these days, unless you visit during the hours of 3-5:30 when you'll find the locals they'll all be at work at this time. As for "the dreadful swedish concoction" you mentioned, the Kopparberg Cider is a best seller at The Harcourt, amongst the Swedish and the English alike.
anonymous - 16 Sep 2005 17:12 |
A trifle boring. It's so bright and quiet that sometimes I wish someone would fart to liven things up. Good value "beer of the week" promotion for £2. A dreadful swedish concoction is also on sale, be warned!
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In 1950 I had my first legal beer in "The Harcourt", I now live in western Canada but return every other year to visit London relatives and always go back to the "Harcourt" for an "Old Times" beer.It truly is a gem and I hope they have not changed it to much.
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Hal clearly has no clue about what he's talking about, The Harcourt has still got everything a "traditional pub" should have. We even have our original victorian mirrors that are over 100 years old. I'm not sure many other publicans could say the same thing. The only thing we changed dramatically in the redec we had 3 years ago was to pull the bar back a few feet and get rid of the overhanging ceiling (which in my opinion was a good move). Other than that everything else just got a lick of paint. We will be changing the colour of our "little" Swedish Lounge most people have said that it's a bit too yellow which is probably right. You also got somethine else wrong Hal, we don't serve Swedish Kopparberg Perry, it's cider. Don't suppose you saw our lovely garden at the back did you?
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good english pub frequented by swedish folk with a good selection of english and continental beers would return if in area
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Somene below described this as "the epitome of the traditional English pub"; well, I beg to differ. It's been modernised in a rather unappealing way and the recent refurb of the little'Swedish lounge' has made matters worse. The atmosphere isn't bad and they serve Swedish Kopparbergs perry but it's all a bit boring really.
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A very nice pub indeed, exactly as described by Ruby below. A bit off the beaten track for me but well worth a detour. My pint of London Pride was perfect.
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This place is a bloody gem. Found it by happy chance when I was living nearby, babysitting some evil cats for a couple of weeks. Ironically, if you overlook the Swedish flag outside, the occasional chalkboard references to Sweden, and the picture of Sven under one on the high tables, it's the epitomy of the tradinional English pub - wood, brass, bad carpet, good beer. The Swedish Kopparberg pear cider makes the whole place worthwhile and yes, there's a large and very welcoming Swedish clientele. I hope to god that any English boozer in Sweden can make a similar statement. 10/10, which considering I'm normally a sarcastic, miserable bastard on here, means a lot.
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A great place to enjoy a pint or ten. The Swedish Kopparberg Cider is absolutly spot on! Lovely garden and very friendly bar staff. Very nice website, http://www.theharcourt.com
Johan - 4 Sep 2004 03:01 |
Used to be my local when I lived on York St. Since had a refurb (couple of years back) so the Swedish room is a bit too clean for my taste now :) Nice spot to go for a drink though.
Jack Knight - 24 Aug 2004 12:41 |
What can you say+ As I am one of the attractive Swedish clientele and also a regular to the place I can vouch for the Harcourt as a good pub. I live several miles away but still try to get there at least once a week to meet up with mates or enjoy a friendly chat with the bar staff, whether I know them or not. It is truly a friendly local pub with good choice of beers, ciders (both swedish and domestic) and a bar manager that looks like Jamie Oliver (but don't tell that to his face). And as for the clientele, yeah baby there are alot of girls there, especially during sport events!
Daniel - 4 Aug 2004 11:41 |
Enjoyed a very nice pint of Lowenbrau in there on Friday - great place. Lots of Swedes - though disappointed that the barstaff were male! The mad landlady wasn't difficult to spot - most entertaining! Will definitely be back.
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The Swedish connection is mainly as a result of the swedish church across the road, who a long time ago had a group of people that used the svenska salongen when they came to the pub, as a gesture someone put a plaque up to remember them. In the area there's also a swedish restaurant(Garbos),shop and the swedish chamber of commerce. Also because of this the majority of our barstaff are swedish =) The reason we close on a saturday afternoon is because there's usually no point in opening (lack of trade) apart from when we are showing English/Swedish/Italian football.
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Lots of attractive clientele -(due mainly to the Swedish connection) also great place to watch Italian football. Great beer garden round the back for some privacy...
Morgan - 28 Oct 2003 15:45 |
This pub closes on a saturday afternoon, madness.
Swedburg - 27 Oct 2003 13:15 |
Lovely pub with a beautiful garden for the summer. Good beers, especially the Löwenbräu. Great atmosphere and very friendly barstaff..
Tom - 19 Oct 2003 00:43 |
was wondering about the swedish thing. i reckon this place is good because they have never chucked us out. i also feel guilty for pinching one of their decoration santa's at christmas time so am going to give it a good score
alex - 19 Aug 2003 11:12 |
The Harcourt has had a complete redec and now looks great! Lots more room, completely new and exciting lunch menu with a variety of different dishes to choose from. p.s. the land lady ain't that bad!
Sarah - 16 Jul 2003 15:23 |
Fantastically friendly, smart and down to earth boozer - nice beer garden in the back (one of very few in the area).
Liable to spot the odd Swede in the Swenske Salongen due to the Swedish church opposite.
N.B watch out for the mad land-lady.....
Paul Cole - 2 Jul 2003 21:34 |
