please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Ales on were London Pride (at £3 a pint) and GKIPA. The Pride was OK – tastes the way it usually does. Some superb original Victorian features remain – in particular the ornate screen between the bars; the tiling; etched and cut glass mirrors; and the bar back in the “back” bar.
It occupies a large corner site. This is a big ornate pub, typical of a prosperous Victorian area. It’s so big, with such a high ceiling that voices were echoing round it during a quiet(ish) mid-afternoon session. This is still a very impressive pub, and Worthing dropping in for a pint if you’re in the area.
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great spot, good sandwiches
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Re the below... if you knew the pub at all you would know that the afore mentioned incident with the 55 year old man was not in the pub at all.
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A bouncer shot dead one year,a 55 year old man left in a coma after a kicking from two wankers,what a great pub this sounds.
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Yes SilkTork that covers it for Interior Decorators Weekly and Real Ale Beards Monthly, but what was it like?...
Possibly a bit cack & crim-filled?
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Large Gin Palace with high ceilings and an island bar. Some opening up has taken place, but one partition screen still remains. The function room with original wall tiles and fireplace is very attractive. Black painted floorboards and bare wooden tables create a relaxed atmosphere. Three cask ales offered - Pedigree, Bombardier and IPA. The Bombardier was served cellar cool, not chilled, and in nice condition.
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Shame you cant comment without swearing. it aint big and just makes you look like a total cunt
anonymous - 8 Oct 2007 04:32 |
Arr poor 'also anon' - there isnt a garden or car park fuckwit.
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Poor little annon. Cant manage to post a comment without the use of ofensive and abusive language. Better stay in the garden or car park with your colouring book and crayons you stupid idiot
anonymous - 15 Sep 2007 02:36 |
£3.05 for a fucking pint ?? - on LADBROKE fucking Grove ?? - piss off
The only time you get an crowd in this place is on football days - well I say a crowd - when I say crowd I mean a crwod of cunts - replica shirt Chelsea / Arsenal / Liverpool fans who have never seen the sky over any of their teams grounds - mainly africans who come in mobs of 3-4 and get the cosy leather sofas whilst huddled around ONE orange juice between them for the entire hour 45 of the game - then immediately leave on 90 minutes.
To the person who recommended the COWSHED = yes they may be pub prices - but to recommend that place is a bit mad ! - ie if you havent got a knife or a gram of coke in your pocket to do with the other morons in there I wouldnt recommend the place !
The Elgin - SHITE
anonymous - 12 Sep 2007 06:11 |
Huge pub with a interesting history pre-the Fart and Firkin days.
Slightly pricey... works on a sunny afternoon with a large group but you could imagine this place being charmless at certain times.
Try The Cowshed up the road if you want beer at pub prices.
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Big pub, busy feel, nice on a Sat sunny afternoon
Music to compliment visit. Group visit here would go down a treat
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Too expensive (e.g.Guinness £3.00,KPH £2.60),no community feel (e.g.no pool team,no trip to races,few friendly-to-stranger regulars) ,full of KPH(barred) Rejects.Bar staff perfunctory-rapid turnover-just doing a job. Pool table standard not much kop. Admittedly packed good atmosphere for big footie games but not being a fan of The Russian Rouble Robbing Overpaid Mercenary Tarts and the preponderance of strictly armchair bandwaggoning CFC muppets in the manor,that is not much of a virtue. If you are not a snob go to the Kensington Park (KPH) over the road,towards the station.Cheap,friendlier long-term bar staff and Guv'ner,(the estimable Mr. Brendan Stack),lot of friendly-to-stranger eccentric character regulars and great pool table competition.And although it looks rougher than The Elgin there is far less chance of seeing,let alone being involved in violence-a lot of elders and less teenagers helps keep peace.Sorry Elgin your 80's heyday is long gone,K&C should have put a preservation order on your former crowning glory ,the unique circular leather raised seating in the corner,criminally ripped out by the Firkin mob.
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ice_man, I'm not digging the place out about the atmosphere - I was actually saying the atmosphere during big games is a gooc craic.
There was (still might be) a quiz night on Sundays which was a laugh as well - provided you drank from bottles.
I'm not a great fan of weeing beer/line cleaner out of my bum following a session so that's why I don't like the place.
And if you can walk into the KPH, the Eagle, the Cowshed or the Western and call any of them "gastro" with a straight face I'll gladly buy your beer all evening!!
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By the way KMCS, the men's bogs are now brand new!
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random_ranger: you said it yourself. You went during a World Cup game. What did you expect? Try going there on a week night to enjoy the atmosphere.
This is the best(only) boozer left in the area. The other pubs have all gone gastro, snobby, full-of-themselves type places.
I have been living in the area for about 5 years and this pub is constantly improving - manager, staff, beer selection and menu!
If you want to have a fun night out, The Elgin is the place. If you don't like sport though, avoid football games.
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While I appreciate the social treatise on Ladbroke Grove, the failings of the local community should have no effect whatsoever on the quality of the drink here, which I'm afraid I can honestly say is terrible to the point of undrinkable. If it isn't flat (Stella) or warm (Carlspiss), it's bowel-threateningly bad (unsettled Guinness pulled straight-off).
I'd like to be able to qualify my comments as a one-off but I've lived on Lancaster Rd for nearly 30 years and drank in the area for about 15. This place has been getting the beer wrong since it was the Firkin up until my most recent grudging visit with mates during the world cup (I make the landlord right about it the atmosphere during a big game though).
My advice is drink bottles. I'm that put-off by the draught here I'd sooner drink a pint of XXXX from the halfway-house that is the KP.
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Bonjour Andre, hmmmm,..dunno where to start on your comments really! Maybe it would be simpler if you re-read my reviews. The last thing i am, is an advocate of gastro pubs and,.. ffs "heavenly world of cookies and cream",..dunno where you pulled that one from! I'm saying the gaff is ok, despite being semi-ponced - and yeah, i like the fact that it still feels like a place for locals despite.....
My only negative point was that yeah, since it still maintains a local feel,..there is still the potential for aggro. You are welcome to kick around in the bogs and prove me wrong if you like,..just let me know what hospital you end up in,...and i'll bring you down a rosy posy!
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As a former employee at this establishment i would like to say that although some people may say that it is a horrible dive, i disagree.
Surely in this modern world some people cannot be so uneducated and stupid not to be able to understand the correlation between the condition of a building and its local community.
If you have never visited ladbroke grove then you should to see the drug dealing muderous dump that it is. i had the pleasure of living there for a year and i detest the place.
The team that work in that premises have the hardest job in the world. because of the area they work in.
It is not a gastro, nor does it pretend to be one, it's a pub pure and simple. kmcs, if you had ever been to a gastro you might realise that
It does the best it can under the circumstances which by the standard of some of it's local competitors is royalty standard.
in a pub from time to time you get the odd bit of agro. unless you come from kmcs' heavenly world of cakes and cream.
I personally feel that it is credit to the management that the premises does not have the police out as much as certain individuals would like.
So Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss kmcs, i hope you take these comments in the manner in which they are intended, so please in future try to understand situations in places before getting your toys out of the pram because you have a dirty glass on your table.
ta ta
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Nah,..im not getting confused about the venue, but yeah, i was talking about the previous incarnation. This gaff has been semi-gastroed-up and yeah it is less rough now,..but "bearing scars" is right! I like the fact that the poncy stick has not succeeded in totally driving out the locals here,..and,..if you've gotta moment,..its probably one of the few London pubs where you could pay over the odds for some pseudo pesto pap in candelight,..play on the fruity,.have a chat to Tabatha and Rocket....and still get threatened with a knife in the (consistently rank) bogs!,..As a side point here guys,..The Elgin has got it sussed here re keeping the fruities - despite unleashing the gastro kit,...come on kids,..lets spare a thought for the fruities!
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As the Landlord at this pub, I can't believe that people are so short-sighted about football games at The Elgin. When you have 500-600 people squeezed into the pub during a big football match, it's quite hard to clear glasses, serve food or keep the bar clean as everybody wants to be served NOW!
Most customers come the Elgin to watch football because of the atmosphere during a game, not for 5-star table service.
anonymous - 24 Apr 2006 13:48 |
I agree withe other comments about how packed (and uncomfortable) this place gets when it'showing football on their massive TVs: I wenthere today (Chelsea vs Liverpool FA Cup semi), all the decent ales were off, and they were serving in plastic glasses no matter if you were going outside or not. Bar staff weren't up to speed/scratch in keeping either the punters served or the bar in any way tidy.
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Great pub, maybe kmcs has this place mixed up with the dump across the raod. Had a great night out here celebrating the Clash last year.
joe91 - 19 Apr 2006 22:39 |
Great pub! Huge with massive windows from where you can sit and watch the world go by while lazing on a comfy leather sofa. Serves good pub grub too - try a delicious steak & ale pie! Would definitely recommend!
anonymous - 13 Jun 2005 18:01 |
You don't know what you're on about. This place is great! Friendly proffesional staff and a great Belgian beer selection! When last did you visit? 1999? Or maybe you were in the wrong pub...
anonymous - 30 Mar 2005 23:35 |
Ooooooooooooooh this is a dump! Got a pint in there once and a geezer came up telling me i was gonna be stabbed by the end of the evening, for staring at his mate,...I'd been there 2 minutes. As a sidepoint though,.I had already been served so....yeah the service was ok....maybe his mate was the barman.........
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Cosmopolitan pub with a great selection of world beers and great food. 2 meals for £6.95 in the evening!!
If you want peace and quiet, avoid big football games!
Merrick - 12 Jul 2004 22:19 |
This pub makes a northern like me feel at home. They have some great ales and really cheap food, although it's much, much better than you get up north, where, let's be honest, we're all rather used to microwaved 'roast' beef meals. It's a steal for food in the evenings- after 5pm 2 meals for £6.95.
Lots of love, Danny xxx
danny peelo - 24 Jun 2004 14:24 |
good pub if you want to watch football in a environment that stinks of piss with the added bonus of potentially being involved in a fight a some point throughout the night.
Look elsewhere
Mico - 19 May 2004 18:10 |
Congrats to the team at The Elgin for getting nominated in the Time Out Top 5 London Pub of the Year finalists!!
Dave - 11 May 2004 13:16 |
Great pub with friendly staff. Outdoor area nice in the good weather, indoor area great for watching football on the big screen. Serve great food too.
Dave - 28 Apr 2004 12:24 |
Too too much. Too Big, too loud and probably too expensive. Decor is okay but this rendered an irrelevance by the huge amount of light the mammoth windows let in.
Good for:
Late at night when it's quietr and the windows can't let in all that nasty light
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Huge pub with 2 TV's and a 10 foot big screen for those important football games. Serves about 5 different real ales as well as a selection of Belgian beers.
DelBoy - 29 Dec 2003 23:49 |
Good pub for watching football.
Mark - 26 Jul 2003 18:12 |
