please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Expensive beer, rude staff, conceited up-their-own-arse locals clogging the bar. I was quite taken with the place on my first visit years ago, I must have been too drunk to see it for what it is; never again.
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I really enjoy this pub as a novelty on a bit of a crawl, or to take visiting friends and family. Not sure I'd want to make it the end of the night destination pub but preserving such environments I believe is pretty special and important.
I wish I had a local like it, I would certainly spend more time there.
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another belgravia pub located a little off the beaten track,amongst well-heeled mews, cosy lower bar area, some impressive paintings of fish, good quality Adnams fare
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Beer improved, but the service was grumpy, verging on the downright rude.
An enigma - a one and a half stop place that really should be indispensable, but tries its damndest not to be.
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A pint at the Nag's Head is well worth a few extra pence. Pubs like these used to be fairly common in London, but is now a rarity. A boozer with a lot of character - and characters. One of my favourite pubs in London!
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No one should be surprised for the price of a pint in the Nags Head. It´s not unusual to pay 3.30 or 3.40 in many other pubs in this area.
I will gladly give 10 or 20 p more to be in the Nags Head instead. At any time. Here there is atmosphere and something you can´t buy for money.
Bejgravegent
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This has been one of my favourite pubs in London for some years and I go there whenever I'm in the area but I went in the other night and was charged £5 for a pint and a half of ordinary. What's going on? Is this greed or necessity?
Even more grotesque is that the pub has been renamed 'Kevin Moran'. I believe he's the landlord. How incredibly arrogant and self-aggrandising is that?
Another pub spoilt...
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Called in here recently on a quiet Monday afternoon. Not cheap but worth the extra if it's an occasional visit. Good pint of Adnams. Pub split over 3 levels with an abundance of fascinating memorabelia around the walls. The main bar is very low but fortunately so are the bar stools! Apparently the cider's worth visiting for. No nobs in today but the photos suggest some well known regulars.
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my favorite pub in london. head here whenever i can. Kevin the landlord will not be to everyones taste but i like him and you got to give respect for his principles on mobile phones. the beer can be pricey but its belgravia not balham. all in all a good pub with a good character running it.pubs like this are few and far between these days.
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Dropped in for re-visit a few weeks back.
I still love the interior, but the price of my pint was shocking and it wasn't exactly nectar either. I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume the rent for the place is sky-high given where it's sited.
Only three other people there, not a great return for a Saturday afternoon.
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Have been drinking in this pub on and off for about ten years. It's a lovely old-fashioned bona fide boozer...BUT...went here on Saturday for a drink and couldn't believe the prices. £3.50 for a pint of Adnams Broadside is taking the piss, even in Belgravia. Another formerly great pub is struck off my list.
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Shocking prices ! £3.50 for a pint of Adnams Regatta.Shall never return,pity 'cos I've always liked this pub but not at these prices.
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Agree with last post, it is a strange little boozer.
Not unpleasant, just different.
I always feel i've walked into someone's house during a familly get together
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strange little boozer, ok for a one off visit not the sort of place I make as a local, moody eastern european bar staff and some of the strangest music i've heard in a long time : Ronnie Hilton's greatest hits, who was a singer from the 50's. I'm sure that people warm to the quirkey design of this pub but it dosent do it for me.
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Yes, 3.50 for Adnams Regatta.
Plus last orders and time called about 5 minutes early (at 11pm, Friday night).
Plus the downstairs bar closed "for cleaning" before closing time, and people with cloths and cleaning agents around the place at 11pm!
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Gradually becoming one of my less favourite pubs due mainly to a pint of Adnams having reached £3.50. The pub itself is great but.......
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This is indeed a very fine pub. Quiet and dignified in the daytime, and lovely people at night. The landlord is entertaining and keep a sharp eye on your mobile! Lots of lovely pictures and drawings of Alec Guinness and James Mason. Beautiful poems on the wall.
It seems that London and the roaring Knightsbridge are far far away here in this lovely gem in a hidden village.
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After a visit to Harrods, that crass tourist trap cunningly disguised as a department store, even the most ardent materialist might need a stiff drink. Just around the corner is The Nag's Head, one of London's better known pubs. Nestled in a mews street which looks for all the world like a village lane, and a stone's throw from Knightsbridge, is The Nag's Head. In it's 150 year history the pub has only had five or six landlords, with the current incumbent Kevin in situ for well over two decades. I visited with Jon on Monday after a visit to the V&A, a magnificent museum that never fails to impress.
The eclectic collection of bric-a-brac, the cosy interior with two open fires and the celebrated guv'nor have all resulted in this place winning plaudits left right and centre. Certainly, it's a nice place to sit and have a drink, the easy listening / country background music creating a relaxing ambience. The beer selection, sadly, leaves a lot to be desired. Cask ales on offer are Adnams Bitter and Adnams Broadside, increasingly common and totally unexciting beers. Two distinctly sulphurous pints set us back £3.30 each. That's the most expensive pint of session bitter I've ever forked out for. The fact it wasn't in anything approaching good condition made the whole experience a bit too much like daylight robbery.
If you feel the need to raise an overpriced, eggy pint to the nearby temples of consumer extravagance, a quick visit here might be a welcome diversion. I doubt I'll be back again though - this is one for the tourists only.
anonymous - 7 Mar 2007 18:03 |
Visited about one o'clock last Monday afternoon. Very quiet so got a seat near the fire. Mr. M was on very friendly form chatting to all his guests especially an american gentleman who was lapping the place up. Top hour, beer was fine and my wife really enjoyed the draught cider (Aspall's ?). Was as good an hour as I've ever spent on licensed premises. One of my favourite pubs!
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Unbelievable timewarp of a pub that sems stuck in the 1940's and is no worse for it. Incredible and fascinating array of old nick-nacks and artefacts, including a rather incongruous model of a 1970's jet airliner (a Tristar?) hanging from the ceiling along with a P51 Mustang and several biplanes. Cosy and unpretentious in appearance. Ales are Adnams Bitter & Broadside, the latter being ridiculously overpriced @£3.30 a pint, but the overall experience makes it worth a visit.
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First came here about 10 years and felt like I had done a Nicholas Lyndhurst and gone back in time. I don't think it has changed one jot since then. Whether you love it or hate it, there is nowhere else quite like the Nag's Head. Personally I don't mind being regaled by Kevin M's stories of "when Richard Harris used to come in....", and I have not seen him force his stories or opinions on anyone.
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I'm w/caz. I've visited the Nag's Head 5-6 times over the past ten years. On the last couple of visits, have spent some time speaking w/the landlord Kevin. He absolutely runs a tight ship: no cell phones, loves to needle unwitting patrons ordering "fizzy wizzies", takes pride in his cask management skills. Most recently visited in mid-Nov; had a couple of pints of Broadside and a lovely bangers and mash meal in the timeless little back room behind the bar. This place is a gem and Kevin is a throwback to be cherished. It blows my mind some of the comments I see on this review board regarding the man; I don't doubt that Kevin can be insulting, but I respectfully suggest that there is alterior motive here. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Nag's Head is top 10 all time, all world.
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kevin the landlord used to run the man in the moon pub in chelsea in the 70s which was a brilliant pub, his son was pogo patterson in grange hill, expect to find a lot of famous people sipping in the bar
kevin is a unique and eccentric character they certainly dont make them like kevin anymore and he runs a tight ship good pub good company
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Pleasantly surpirsed by this pub. Very friendly bar staff and good food.
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I think conniwot's, visit 13 Sep, pascal's 7 Nov and Tracy551181 1 Dec just about sum this place up perfectly!! It's amazing what standards people will accept! Not for me again.
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Promising pub at first glance. Nice oldy worly feel as if you were in the country. HOWEVER, after we'd finished our first pint, and were deciding what to have next, the bar maid came round and told us to buy another drink or give up the table. We wanted another drink so we got one (regret that now). After our next drink, when we sat there finishing our conversation without a drink for a couple of minutes, a different barmaid hollored from behind the bar to three new people that had come in, "you will be able to have that table as they don't have a drink and are therefore leaving"!!!! I have never been treated so rudely in any pub in my life. And we were about to go to the bar - give us a chance!! On top of this at £3.60 a pint, it's the most expensive beer I've ever had, and I've been out all over London.
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Great little pub hidden down a mews. This place feels more like a little country pub untouched by the ravages of time, than a London boozer. Very nice beer on tap. The landlord seemed very friendly, and treated us like we were regulars. The pub has a "no mobile phone" rule which is strictly enforced - excellent! Definitely one worth seeking out.
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A good pub worth at least one visit despite the utterly belligerent landlord's relentless efforts to convince you he's the richest/most well connected luvvie in the entire world, and the often mind-numbing conversations between him and the drunk suit at the bar who would like to make it clear that he's considerably richer than you too.
Go once and enjoy a unique boozer, great beer and (maybe) an interesting chat with a stranger, but be warned, the sheen wears off quickly.
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Hard one to find the first time. Very charming older pub hidden back in the mews with good Adnams on. Friendly bar maids too. There was a treasure hunt going on while we were there which was pretty funny to observe. Got to watch the cell phone enforcement in effect... very nice...
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A real blast from the past this one, but many things combine to make this one of my favourite pubs in London. Varied beers and lagers on tap, a proper towel in the on which to dry your hands, a landlord who'll welcome you like a regular even if you've never been in before, curious artefacts from a by-gone era and music which will surely take you there if you close your eyes. I've found no-where else like this in London and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.
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Excellent pub, good Adnams. Landlord was a gent when I was there. No mobiles rule is strictly enforced to the benefit of everyone in my opinion.
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Well...well..I certainly rest my case on what conniwot witnessed on the 13 Sep and will not visit this pub again. Thank you belgraviabarons, at least you have not condoned his behaviour. Back to normal for me 9/10
Biker - 28 Sep 2006 14:22 |
To Mr Anonymous, i couldnt give a toss what coniwots or anyone else saw there!! I didn't see it so how do i know its not a load of crap!?
I had a great time and thats all I was trying to say.
I wasn't trying to move anything on, if I saw someone bullying a foreign barmaid I'd call him a c+nt to his face. Which by the way I would also call you.
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Can't comment on the Landlord. All I can say is that the service was excellent when I was there. A great pub. No mobiles allowed as I found out when I tried to use mine. I like that. Great Nic-Nacs round the pub. Just a great pub.
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Posted by anonymous 24 Sep
"So no-one is allowed to leave a comment on this pub anymore with referencing the All-Seeing conniwot? Sorry, I must have missed that in site's rule + regs. Shame on me."
I think some sort of confusion has arisen here, conniwot had what I (and others) may describe as the kind of experience that makes him (and me) question the humanity of others. See his review for 13 Sep.
I suspect this is all others would like to read comments on until the reviews and discussions move on naturally with course of time as I'm sure they will!
Biker - 25 Sep 2006 09:52 |
At long last our search is over!
We have found the best pub in London! What a wonderful place, like an aladdins cave of history and memorabilia. A good old fashioned pub in the heart of london. This is a wonderful place with wonderful staff, the landlord is indeed quite unique!!
I can't speak highly enough about this place. It's very low key and peaceful, a great place to hide and get away from it all. it takes you to a time before mobiles, ipods and indeed probably a time before the wheel was invented! But that's the beauty of it, this pub is timeless. Long may it remain so!! 10 out of 10.
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Quinno
Your point is well taken but the issues raised by conniwot are important and should be defended irrespective of our personal views (or attendances) of pubs. If you read back through his reviews (Gordons Wine Bar) you will see he has also stood up for these principles in the past. However, it's possible that the incident he witnessed is a 'one-off'
Biker - 17 Sep 2006 09:42 |
"It's about two years sinse my last visit to the Nags Head so I'm not qualified to comment in a realistic way ..."
So how qualified are you to comment or leave a rating then?
Seeing is believing, but band wagon-jumping is not.
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Mr Lash
Suspect you have not quite got the point that ol conniwot and the 5th Earl are making, he has explained in some detail exactly what we should not be supporting quite irrespective of the beer quality. It's about two years sinse my last visit to the Nags Head so I'm not qualified to comment in a realistic way - but - given that conniwot does write some 'uppers' & 'downers' in his reviews, score 1/10 because there are some important principles in play here.
Biker - 16 Sep 2006 10:39 |
It is a great pub; And, fair enough, the beer is good. But I bet if you saw what we did last night, those pints of well-kept Adnams would be leaving a nasty taste in your mouth today.
anonymous - 13 Sep 2006 13:59 |
Cracking pub though, if a bit small. Adnams was great last time I was in there.
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I'll second that - totally unnecessary. So much for Abraham Lincoln and his Gettysburg Address!
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The last time I'm ever going here; and I suggest any BITE readers with an ounce of humanity follow my lead.
Witnessed the most shameful bullying of a foreign barmaid by the foul, wizzened old soak of a landlord last night. It was a disgrace. Poor girl was working like a slave, trying her best to juggle everything, smiling and looking great, while that old b*stard stumbled around barking at her in front of all his customers.
"dunno why she's gone to change that barrel", he grumbled at us. Erm, because it had run out of beer you f*cking w@nker.
I hope the drunken f*cker falls down his stairs and breaks his miserable neck. Get it into your heads landlords - girls from Poland/Bulgaria/Romania are not slaves; they're human beings. I for one ain't going to drink in a pub that pays young girls a couple of quid an hour, then treats them like they're working in the cotton fields.
anonymous - 13 Sep 2006 12:15 |
What a wonderful place to sink a couple. Timewarp factor of about 1936, the place has a great ambience about it, and you'd be hard-pressed to remember that you're in central London after 15 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. Even the till is ancient, and there are a couple of ancient (but working) one arm bandits on the way to the bogs. Staff are friendly folk.
Only small drawback is the limited ale range (Adnams Broadside and Bitter, kept well). I'd love to get my hands on this pub, rip out the Stella and Guiness and stick a few extra ale lines in, it'd give places like the Wenlock a run for their money, without a doubt.
But still, this a must-visit on a London crawl without a doubt, simply for the aesthetics.
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A must visit pub.
It reminds you of what pubs were like before pubco's got their plundering hands on them.
call in here on your way to or from The Star.
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This is a top notch, authentic, old man's pub in the heart of London. Despite being a minute's walk from busy Knightsbridge, it is in a quiet cobbled mews making you think you were in a village in the country. However, don't bother with the food, especially in the evening. It is very poor value for money (8.50 for a reheated, small portion of not very nice chilli con carne).
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A nice pub which is in a sidestreet (the pubs around here all are, because the wellheeled locals a couple of hundred years ago realised their servants and stable-lads (hence the horse-related names of a few pubs around here) would slip off for a pint or two but didn't want them doing it on the main drag, so to speak). As such it is less likely to be affected by corporate makeovers and persist as an excellent local, which it is.
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For me, the best pub in Belgravia.
Yes, there are plenty of other excellent mews pubs nearby, but this place has also got 'character'.
The staff were very chatty; 'no mobiles' policy inside and out was great.
I good place to take non-London pub goers, just to surprise them with a friendly little pub in the heart of the richest area of the UK.
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This pub is truly amazing, the more so considering it's survived in the middle of Knightsbridge. Located in a pleasant back street, there are a couple of tables out front for warm weather drinking. The inside is more like a tiny country inn, untouched by the modern city around it.
Good ales, and a decent range of sandwiches and food.
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I first visited here on a weekday afternoon, and they have some fabulous cider! Friendly staff and great pub lunch - and what atmosphere. I will be back frequently. A much needed respite from the headache also known as Knightsbridge.
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I'm glad I fond this pub before and after seeing Roger Waters at Hyde Park. A proper pub, it gave the impression it hadn't changed for decades. It was pretty hot inside, but the solution was simple - take your chair out into the middle of the road
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Great little place. Another visit confirmed this. Good Adnams brews. No mobiles here. Decent staff. I'm sure there were a couple of changes since my last visit but this could be my memory letting me down. I seem to remember a funny handpump and something in the backroom, which wasn't there! Anyone?
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A delightful little boozer.
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Anyone who wants to preserve this beautiful little piece of history needs to misapporpriate the sandwich sign on Knightsbridge.
We visited The Nag's Head in a mews off Knightsbridge on a gray, wet day last month. There was a small fire upstairs and down. Yes, you need to be able to climb up the steps to the front door and down the steps to the lower room where food is usually laid out rather that hidden in the kitchen.
You expect a fine beer in a pub as graceful and friendly as this one and you have a choice of several. My wife had the shepherd's pie and I had bangers and mash. We sat at the only table available. She would rather have had a chair than the stool.
The Nag's head is small and quiet, its patrons focused enough on their conversation to justify the tab on their business expense reports. Great music from what is obviously a well-kept treasury of oldies, real oldies.
Honestly, I still have a warm memory of this pub weeks later.
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Great pint of Adnams Broadside and good cider as well (NOT Strongbow!) Interesting curios inside. Not particularly disabled friendly though.
A gem of a pub - not one I would like to get too well known!
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Whilst the interior was remarkably interesting, the quality of the beer and service was far from what I'd been led to expect. All the ales tasted as though they were off, and the Dutch stand-in bar manager didn't seem to know what he was doing. Perhaps I just went on a particularly bad day.
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forget top 10 in London; this is 10 ten all time, all world. Amazing pub and amazing barstaff. Visited Monday w/a friend and as we sipped our Broadsides, a group of 20 something office workers came in looking for lagers.....bartender immediately and sarcastically gave them a run-down of the "fizzy whizzies" he had on tap...actually shamed a couple of them into ordering the real thing.....and oh is the Adnams well kept. Learned that the management orders the smallest casks possible from Adnams....each is fully consumed within a day or so. Visit the Star Tavern if in the area...a little harder to find...but provides a good Fullers book end to a mini Belgravia crawl.
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love it, this is everything a proper pub should be.... Wooden tables and chairs worn upholstry a knowledgable landlord and bitter on tap...
We live no where near this pub but will make a detour to go and disappear from London for a while
anonymous - 22 Dec 2005 17:08 |
a prince amongst paupers this one.... almost unique in it's appeal. was there again this saturday and enjoyed every minute. can't recommend highly enough.... although don't all go at once, it's tiny. kieran lasted 1 hour befoore bolting for the Wilton Arms' fruit machine.
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Excellent. Loved it. Will make a visit whenever i'm in the area!!
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absolutely top draw - when i finally buy that £8m council flat conversion this will be my local
wicked layout, lovely hum of conversation, nice folk behind the bar..... as you exit the pub you're expecting tractors, country lanes and a hunt whistling past, which is no mean feat slap bang in the middle of london
no fruities for kieran as well - bonus
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Fcking brilliant historic place this, tiny but unbelievably quaint. If you walk in here and get a seat (of which, there are about 25 in total), then you are sorted. Popped in for an exploratory one last night, but have already got it pencilled in for an all day session some time afore xmas. Tudor beams, roaring fire and quality/simple food prepared in front of you at the bar.....geezer ordered gammon sandwiches last night and a massive joint appeared outa nowhere and was despatched with aplomb by cleaver behind the bar. Like i say, quality place, but get here early if you wanna get a seat, i for one, shall be banging on the door at 11am on my next visit,......it'll probably be easier to park the Horse and Carriage at that time as well.
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a nice little pub that offers something differant worth a visit, i once saw kane athay in here drinking a pint
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A strange pub full of posh drunks in an unusual setting, worth checking out.
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Splendid place - Belgravia is full of decent pubs, but this one is up there with the best of them and is a "must visit" pub. On the several occasions that I've been there, the Adnams has been superb and the locals friendly. Please keep up the mobile phone ban. P S - Where or what is Royston Vasey ( posting of 20 May ) ?
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It's a fab pub. Full stop. Full of drunks and me and Mike. Perfect.
anonymous - 18 Jul 2005 09:01 |
Fantastic, idiosyncratic boozer. A real hidden gem in this otherwise snooty part of London and one that I can highly recommend visiting. Excellent, well kept beer.
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Supposedly one of the smallest pubs in london - no mobile phones (makes it a good place to talk to real people rather than listening to someone elses answer machine messages!), VERY cozy, nicely decorated, good beer (Normally a couple of Adnams, eg Bitter/Broadside), mostly friendly service and best when it is quiet: ie before the suits finish work - especially during the summer after 6pm the seats can be limited and outside on the street (Kinnerton Street) seems to be the place to drink then.
Chats - 21 Jun 2005 16:05 |
On our first visit to this place we where accosted by the landlord as we stepped through the front door and ordered not to use our mobiles. Sat in the back bar and had to move as the ceiling was dripping water on us. Staff where intolerable and the whole place belongs in Royston Vasey
lupus - 20 May 2005 08:56 |
Its rating may include the views of those who, as I did, tracked it down on a Saturday at lunchtime. Two dour barmaids, whose only sign of animation was when they were conversing between themselves in a language other than English. Lunch apparently being offered (there's a suggestion - surely untrue - that they bang an extra thirty bob onto the prices at weekends) but no sign of life in the kitchen, leading to a perception, right or wrong, that microwave was going to be the method of choice. Adnam's Broadside so bad, whether by keeping or by pouring, that if it was your first pint of the stuff you would never venture a second. An impression of a place resting on its laurels, and I will grant that it did seem to have some to rest on. The mobile ban is a plus, but to what effect if they don't enforce it?
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How this marvellous pub has only managed it's current rating (6.5 by 17 punters) is totally beyond me. Wonderful place. Used to confuse me that the pub sign outside whilst showing a horse's head displayed the name The Kevin Moran but I believe that was/is the Landlord's name.
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Once a year I fly 4000 miles across the pond just so I may have the honor of sitting in this wondrous pub. I dream of moving to the neighborhood just so I can proudly proclaim that this is my local.
anonymous - 30 Mar 2005 02:49 |
Marvellous pub. The Adnams was on top form - you dont mind paying a bit extra for good beer quality and the brilliant atmosphere.
Shame about the inconsiderate Chelsea Sloane type who chose to ignore the very welcome mobile phone ban - I nearly poured my beer over her.
John - 8 Nov 2004 10:54 |
My ex girlfriend rates this pub highly and rightly so. A perfect afternoon was spent in this pub which is rather reluctant to come kicking and screaming from the post-war era. The decor has a very country feel to it and is an oasis in the otherwise snobbish, chainstore feel of Knightsbridge. The bar staff were surly, but not rude (hint: don't ask for the cigarette machine. They have them behind the bar) and have a fabulous Mobile Phone ban.
An excellent pub. One you pop in for quickie and could end up staying all day.
Highly recommended.
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If anyone knows of a more perfect pub in London than this one, please let me know. It seems unlikely.
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My favourite drinking hideaway. Don't be afraid to go on your own, all the locals are great to chat to and your conversation will be as varied as the memorabilia.
Nicholas - 12 Aug 2004 13:14 |
This is just the best pub in SW1. The lunches are fantastic- go for the cold platter- choose from a fab range of cold meats and pies and salads.
The beer is the best I have come across in London, Bombadier Broadside being my favourite.
Adam - 6 Aug 2004 15:04 |
Excellent mews pub. Front bar stools are for height-challenged punters. The decor found in the back bar consists of a mishmash of old items one might find cleaning out an attic. On a slow day, with a pint in hand, you can idle aways some time examing this collection.
Bob F. - 2 Dec 2003 20:58 |
I went in for a quick pint but couldn't bring myself to leave. Excellent boozer with lots of locals.
Jeff - 17 Nov 2003 23:06 |
Great old pub. Size deceiving. Best of the week's crawls.
Bruce - 17 Nov 2003 19:38 |
I used to work here - great drinks and yes, great locals and atmosphere .. just don't eat the food!!!
tracei - 30 Jul 2003 14:18 |
Great local. Small, low bar. Even I had to stoop down to reach it properly, and I'm short. Interesting locals. Great book collection. Definitely the best one on our pub crawl around Victoria and Belgravia.
Cazzer - 25 Jul 2003 15:14 |
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