please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I would not recommend this pub to anyone, in fact I would encourage people not to go. I went there after an evening at the Proms for a couple of drinks and there was a sign on the wall which stated that closing time was 1pm. So when I noticed this we bought another bottle of wine at just before 11pm. Five minutes later the bell was rung and 10 minutes after that we were asked to drink up. I pointed out the notice on the wall and the member of staff said 'that is out of date' and ripped it off the wall. 10 minutes later the manager came over and ordered us to leave. With still a full glass of wine to drink I said that I couldn't rush and that the sign that was on the wall did show it was open much later. He told me that his colleague had already explained and that they were now closing and we had to leave. I was very angry, there was no apology and he was extremely rude. I told him there was no need to be rude and he replied telling me that there were much worse things he could have said to me. What???
I am still upset about it and that was a couple of months ago now.
Also I noted it had another sign on the wall which stated they did not serve tap water. I thought that everywhere had to serve tap water now??
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This place has just had a refurb. The result is surprisingly good considering the state it was before. Still quite traditional (which is good) but it's clean and not so dingy now with wooden floor boards and new furniture. Worth a visit if you're at South Ken tube.
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Went for a late drink last night (11pm). Have to say that staying open late is probably the only good thing about this pub. A pint of Star and a double vodka and lemonade was £10.36! Outrageous! And they certainly don't use their profits to keep the place in good order. Our table was peeling and the loos don't seem to have been decorated since the 1970's! Shan't be returning.
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Disappointing. Came her on a saturday evening at about 9 and half the clientele seemed wrecked already. £3 for a pint of London Pride is hardly mindblowing value and the rest was similarly expensive. Wouldn't go again.
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Expensive and lacking in atmosphere, but there isn't much so close to the museums. I work locally and amongst many museum staff it's known as the "Hoop and Toilet" due the endless plumbing problems they seem to have with the gents' loo upstairs. There have been several bad floods and there are often suspicious drips from above - sometimes landing in your pint - I kid you not.
A transient population of tourists seems to attract bag thieves - lots of colleagues have had their stuff knicked from the pub (beware also if outside smoking).
Service can be haphazard as often there are so few staff employed on the shifts and the turnover is so great that they don't have time to learn the ropes or to look out for people who have been queuing for ages.
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A decent selection of six ales including Adnams Broadside, Timothy Taylor's Landlord and Shepherd Neame's Spitfire. The Broadside and Spitfire were excellent, but unfortunately the Landlord was off.
It's a slightly touristy pub - lots of French people seemed to be in when I visited - but all in all not a bad place to drink. I didn't try the food, but overall my experience of the Hoop and Toy was rather good.
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Never choose any pub in London like the Hoop and Toy if you want cooked food. Most of those running Typical London Pubs are only interested in the wet side and food only exists because their area managers insist that it does. 100% disappointment guaranteed.
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Terrible pub. AVOID. Very untidy, dirty chairs. No service. We are a middle aged couple, tourists who enjoyed a lovely holiday in London. Happened to get into this pub. Two waiters and boss wrapping up cutlery in napkins, no one to serve customers standing and waiting. Waited an HOUR to get fish and chips and didn't get the dish after all. all this happened on Friday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Boss gave us the money back just commenting 'something happened in the kitchen'. No apologies. Advice: Never choose the Hoop and Toy pub!
anonymous - 11 Oct 2007 14:07 |
Touristy and somehow lacking in atmosphere and character. taff very professional to the point of being stand-offish. I work around the corner and often have a pint at lunchtime. Consistantly excellent quality beer.
Coopy - 13 Jul 2007 16:50 |
A very average pub selling average beer but at a price, I tried the TT Landlord and it set me back £2.91. The food is also average but overpriced for what you get trouble is there aren't many other pubs around.
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Reasonably spacious, but perhaps slightly dingy in the corners and a bit smoky. Several real ales advertised but only one actually on. This pub served us well enough for a group meeting place before going on elsewhere.
A word of warning - avoid the "sharing platter" - four potato wedges and four oily chicken strips aren't much of a snack to share, especially not at £7 a pop. Nachos are far better, featuring surprisingly decent chilli.
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Well I'd never eat in here - it always seemed to me (when I lived in the area) designed to catch tourists on the way to and from the museums to the tube.
Not much wrong in here but not much right either - many many better places within 15 mins walk to go
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Beers that were good: Fullers London Pride and Youngs Ordinary; guest beers are available and a list is shown on a blackboard, with the ones that are on being ticked.
Convenient pub for the museums.
Once featured in a Roman Polanski film (Repulsion, 1965).
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This place deserves the title of Official Worst Sunday Roast in the country, nay the world. We can't believe the staff had the gall to set it down in front of us after removing £7.45 a pop. Shocking. Avoid.
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Tried again and the condition of their ales is far worse than the selection. At least they do them I suppose
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A nice enough place for a pint--I first happened on the place by accident, but I've since been in for a quick one after time at the museums or wandering around by the parks. As other have said, not one to travel across the city for, but a nice enough place.
Their ale was in iffy shape last time I was there, but I hope that was an abberation...
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Rubbish Ale but fairly friendly staff - the food...not for me - bland!
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I like this place. I've drunk there about 3-4 times for fairly long sessions at different times of day, all have been rewarding. Excellent selection of real ales from three or four breweries, enabled by the fact that it is a Free House. Good friendly service. The decor and layout are cosy, toilets acceptable. Never eaten there so no comment on that.
They are now opening to midnight every day, apart from Sunday when it is 11pm, under the new licensing laws. Halleluja!
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Nothing special but gerat location. Quite smoky there last night (Thursday), lot of tourists coming in after a skate on the ice by the Nat Hist Msm.
Fun "pool table" upstairs, but then we broke it. Sorry.
Not one to go out of your way for, but good selection of ales. Could do with changing the carpet too.
anonymous - 18 Nov 2005 13:00 |
The 'Oop. What can you say for it? - Well it sells drinks and it's right on top of the station. And against? Well it attracts exactly the sort of clientele you expect in pubs next to stations. Don't ask me why people eat cooked food in these sort of pubs, which almost by definition showcase the true nature of the British mass catering industry. But they do.
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A great pub with function rooms available upstairs for booking at a price. Does get busy very quickly but empties as quickly as tends to be people popping in on the way back from the museums. Good food, good choice of beers.
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Good spot to go for lunch or a pint after museum hopping.
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As someone who works nearby most lunchtimes are spent having a swift half in the Hoop, good pub with friendly staff, have added guest ales to beer range and the food is very good, but does get packed very quickly and can be smokey at times, tho now have a no smoking at the bar policy !!!!
John and Lynn KTBFFH !!!! :-)
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Boring. Nothing offensive about this pub but very dull. Have had a beer in here from time to time but usually end up wondering why I bothered. The bar underneath has a pool table if you fancy a game, hardly any seating though.
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Great pub! I can understnad why most folk would think it horrible, but with perserverance this pub is a vibrant, busy and attractive watering hole in a great part of London. There is a tendency for people ot complain about the price of ale: so they should leave the capital, cos nothing is going to change. The beer here is OK, the staff are usually working holiday visa holders and fun. It's just good to be able to slurp ales in South Ken without having a billion pound mortgage around your neck. The only downside is that the smoke lingers, and there seem to be a fair few smokers to boot. Great pub!
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Nothing special, but a very good place to stop for a pint after classes at the Institut Francais across the road. Not the ugliest pint I've ever had either.
Karl - 11 Oct 2004 14:04 |
Well it's nothing special is it? Usual unimaginative range of beers, standard decor and a great deal of ho hum. Watch sport on a small screen and pay a fortune for booze instead of going to the Natural History Museum over the road.
Agnes - 24 Jun 2004 17:31 |
Horrible place. The beer is extremly bad kept.
anonymous - 26 Mar 2004 15:43 |
Went there the other night and asked for 3 double JD and cokes. Now if you ask for double then surely it's an unspoked thing that you mean double whiskey but not double coke. What did I get? Three glasses filled to the hilt with the sickly brown stuff. Tall glasses they were too. If that wasn't bad enough I was then charged over 19 English pounds for the privelage. By my reckoning that means I was charged over a fiver for what should have been three 'dash's' of coke. And the barmaid took ages to pour them and I was in a hurry. Top 40 my arse.
Good for: Might have been allright in the day if I wanted a pint
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Popular with tourists and office workers. A pleasant enough pub with efficent service. Tends to get very busy early evening.
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Excellent experience, friendly service and great fun.
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food is okay but we ordered two medium rare steaks and they came *very* well done - spoke to management only to be told they only do medium to well done steak! otherwise quite nice atmosphere, serve good beers (slightly expensive but what do you expect for south ken) and to be fair they did give us our money back for the meals.
jess - 13 Nov 2003 01:10 |
Made a visit today for the first time, even though I only work up the road!
Not a bad little pub, they do a nice glass of Pinot Grigio :)
Briony - 2 Aug 2003 22:29 |
