Wellesley, Waterloo

back to pub details

user reviews of Wellesley, Waterloo

please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.

A very nice basement boozer. I had a decent pint and the service was friendly and efficient. The food looked good and some people had clearly come there to eat, not just wait for a train (which, given the number of places to eat on and around the station is quite a complment). Still need a door code for the loos.

Pity the bar at Paddington station isn't as good!
Dan137 - 30 Oct 2011 09:29
Had a surprisingly decent breakfast here on Saturday (£8 for lots of food and coffee).
Beer selection wasn't very inspiring, though.
Sky Sports News on several TVs, and also plenty of flies hovering around.
Friendly staff.
Need a code for the toilets just in case you were only planning on heading downstairs to abuse the facilities.

duchyjim - 7 Feb 2011 15:52
I was there last friday with my boyfriend, the bar is cosy and calm, good variety of food and drinks but what blew me away was a member of the staff, a young italian man who was absolutely amazing at engaging with people and transmitted positivity. 8/10 Cindy
cindylu - 12 Oct 2010 13:35
I called in last Sunday, I noticed that the beer was being served in plastic containers, instead of the usual glasses, I will not drink beer out of plastic in spoils the taste for me. Why do they find that they have to use plastic?
Richardp123 - 10 Aug 2010 11:12
Popped in here to wait for my mate MUFC to arrive befor epartaking of a pub crawl in the City. Opted for the Pride which was a mistake, I could have asked for a portion of chips to go with the pint of vinegar but decided to raise the point with the barmaid who quite happily changed it for me to a pint of Speckled Hen. Would only pop in jere if I was early for a train and had time to kill.
Chris.CFC - 14 Jul 2010 09:26
An interesting bar, this one: Years ago the men's toilets were located there (at the bottom of that long flight of stairs) and the urinals were situated where what is now the back of the bar! Perhaps 'The Cheltenham' would have been a more suitable name! Joking aside, not too bad a boozer.
Redmonkey - 11 May 2010 13:55
Much better than the other place nearby. This is a comfortable and cosy place to come if just arriving or soon to be leaving Waterloo! Also not that crowded given its so tucked away. Also a fine choice of beer and snacks. This is relaxing, given London is so hectic. Remember to ask for the code when using the bathroom!
JohnOcean - 23 Dec 2009 13:33
Always had a good pint here and reasonable choice of ale,service good and friendly.Above average station bar. 7/10.
BertNurk - 14 Oct 2009 15:42
I was there with my friend few days ago, nice pub and nice cocktails, there should be discounts for students though, Edy and Ciro are very friendly, fun and easy on the eye, love them, will go visit again with my girlfriends. xxxooo Mya
Mya_foreverwithlove - 25 Sep 2009 23:36
A basement bar in a railway station, so expectations were not high. However, it was a bit more spacious than most and really wasn't too bad. Four real ales on, including a reasonable pint of Bombardier. Could have done without the Select Service Partner "would you a packet of crisps or peanuts with that" sales script, though...
rpadam - 5 Aug 2009 23:44
A warm and pleasant interior - this is a nice enough first stop off after getting the train to Waterloo. 4 real ales on and the London Pride was good. Showing Sky Sports news on the box which gets repetitive.
BestBeerBoffin - 24 Jul 2009 11:10
I visit this pub at least twice a week. I have always had good service from the staff and they do a good pint of Guinness. The pub has a relaxed feel to it and I'm now using it whenever I am in the station catching a train.
susysusyandrews - 22 Jul 2009 11:38
I spent 1 hour yesterday with my mates, nice cozy pub, the prices arent't bad and the guys who work in it are very nice and professional and i agree with the other reviewer they are really attractive young men, can't wait to go back to see them and have a nice drink.
Pintaland - 9 Jul 2009 01:52
Sexy and friendly staff, good products and vibe, will go back! J
Jennifer73 - 3 Jul 2009 00:17
Spent an hour at this place last saturday. For a station pub it was a pleasant experience, friendly attentive staff with air conditioning and carling at £3.15 a pint what is there to complain about.
Notasaffa - 22 Jun 2009 23:29
Bought a glass of white wine in this bar that had lip stick marks on it. When I complained they poured the wine into another glass. They did not pour me a new one. when I complained they said they did not know what my problem was.
I didn't drink it and left. I will not go back.
sarhalewis - 18 May 2009 23:58
I visited this bar after a long day of golf at around 5.30pm on Sunday 17th May 2009. Having been playing all day I thought I would go in here quickly on my way home, have something to eat and watch the remainder of the football.

I ordered a green Thai curry and a real ale. When the curry arrived, the sauce was luke warm and the chicken was very cold (it was obviously frozen). I had to spit this into a napkin. The bar supervisor took the curry away an returned less than a minute later with the same dish (which must have been thrown in a microwave for 30 seconds). I told the bar supervisor that I did not want the meal as i had no confidence in it being prepared properly and wanted a refund.

This was denied. When I persisted I was told (by now 2 members of staff) that I was a liar and the food was not cold. I was told that I did not like the taste of the food and just wanted my money back. They told me that the chicken would still be "hard" if it had been frozen.

I can assure you the food was ice cold and the arrogance and lack of customer care was terrible. I was only refunded with my money when other customers urged them to repay the money.

I asked for the 2 members of staff names so I could complain about them and they did not seem to care (I am unsure if this is a family member run business).

The food in this bar is not prepared with care and I would urge anyone (especially those with children) to stay away from this bar. Hopefully it will be inspected by Health insectors soon.


bry8000 - 18 May 2009 10:13
A visit purely due to a train delay and a full bladder. Sadly the toilet code has changed since my last visit so I was embarrassed into buying a drink. Despite this, having found my nadir of station bars some years ago in Birmingham New St, I now consider these places more objectively. A below ground level bar, at least serving real ale, usual suspects, ie Pride, Youngs, Deuchers, but you need to keep on top of the staff re filling your glass. My pint initially was so short I thought the cask had run out. It does however serve a purpose and the beer was ok.

A good place to play watch the punter try the toilets having pretended to seek out a friend before finding out the code is needed.
Maldenman - 28 Feb 2009 22:20
Quite a nice station bar really. Terribly expensive, but a decent clientele and decent staff. Watch out for the code number if your just using the gentlemans room mind you. 8/10
BestBeerBoffin - 1 Oct 2008 15:34
As station bars go this is a good one.
Glasgowboy - 1 Oct 2008 14:43
I quite often pop in here for a pint while waiting on good old Southwest Trains,have always found it ok staff are normally on the ball and lager cold and wet.Seeing alemans comment would buy my bloody crisps before entering station (not that i`m a tight git or anything).
I remember the good old Casey Jones burger joint just up from here where you used to eat the packaging and chuck the burger o for the Good Old Days !!
Beersupper - 16 Jun 2008 17:45
Yes, And also watch out for getting the CODE when using the Lavatories... Annoying :P
MrReasonable - 16 Jun 2008 14:33
£1.79 for a regular black coffee and 80p for a packet of ready salted! Well it is a convinient spot.
aleman - 2 Mar 2008 10:44
Not bad for lunch between trains. Good food, and well-kept real ale (today had Bombardier, Youngs, Old Speckled Hen, and London Pride available).The Youngs was very good. Clean facilities (make sure you find out the PIN code to get in...!!!), nice atmos, and friendly service.
Ale_Argonaut - 21 Jan 2008 20:12
As station pubs/bars go this is probably one of the better ones. Clean bathroom facilities, they also sell ale here.
aleman - 12 Jan 2008 17:38
Probably the best place on the station if you want real ale although you are better off going to the Hole In The Wall. Normally Pride and Young's and maybe another. I expect it has improved since the smoking ban.
GuideDogSaint - 17 Oct 2007 21:52
I met up with friends in this establishment on Saturday morning and I have to say it wasn't as bad as one would expect. Had a decent pint of Young's. Certainly could have been far worse.
mr_goatboy - 1 Oct 2007 12:04
This pub is horrific! Bad service, bad beer, bad atmosphere, smokey as hell and to make matters worse the only reason for going there, live sport if you have a spare half hour in the station, never seems to be on anymore, they seem to have substituted it for r&b pop channels or sky sports news, all thet while the cricket world cup is live every day! so now there is no reason to go there at all!

Oh and has anyone else noticed how all of the good reviews below are written by the same server pretending to be different people! Smart a?%e at least remember to take your name off when reviewing your own bar!!! Take the exit to waterloo road, same amount of steps! and check out the Wellington for live sport, or the fire station for a decent beer & a feed instead!
Albatros - 2 Apr 2007 16:54
I met up with a few lads I know from watching Charlton here when the Bolton, Arsenal game was on (Nov 25) while waiting for my girlfriend to arrive in the smoke. It was fairly busy early on this Saturday evening, but we all easily got a seat. I like the cosy feeling this boozer provides away from the hustle of Waterloo station, especially when it was heaving with rugby fans returning from Twickenham. Not sure on paying £3.99 for a Magners though, but I was served quickly.

I also watched the Man Yoo, Chelsea game here on the Sunday and again comfortably got a seat with my girlfriend. As mentioned in my previous posts, this pub has a great use if you want to watch televised football matches and happen to be in the area, despite drinks being relatively expensive here. Oh, remember to get the code for the toilets when you buy your drinks!

Searching_for_H_Files - 27 Nov 2006 12:19
Came here Sunday afternoon (29 Oct) while waiting for my girlfriend’s train to watch some of the West Ham, Blackburn match. I think this an excellent boozer to watch football in given its location. With Bonpartes and Reef Bar also in the station, it’s never busy when I have been here. The bar staff were friendly and efficient, even putting the match commentary on for me instead of having music playing over the football. Good for the reasons stated on my last review.
Searching_for_H_Files - 31 Oct 2006 11:29
Discovered this place while waiting for my girlfriend early Saturday evening after watching Charlton’s game with Watford, as I wanted to watch a bit of the Villa, Fulham game. Plenty of seats and 3 televisions showing the football, so this place is handy if you're either waiting for a train or waiting for someone to come into Waterloo and you want to watch Sky Sports for instance. Other than that, I would not bother waste your time and money coming to this place. In fact, when seeing my girlfriend off the next day, I watched some of the Man Utd, Liverpool game in here.
Searching_for_H_Files - 23 Oct 2006 12:19
Don't understand why the name's changed, cos there seems to be no change on the inside. Nevertheless far superior to the Bodaecia (sic) at Charing X and Victoria Spoons, with a good array of light ales. One drawback is the lack of a display board inside showing train departure times. Otherwise I'd say above average for a station pub.
man_of_kent - 30 Jul 2006 22:22
This place is awful, even for a train station pub.
anonymous - 25 Jun 2006 21:55
Refurbished yet one of the gents cubicles is already out of order. Much improved though despite the fact that they have just painted over the filth. I'd still rather drink here than get a can of Special Brew but its close.
Trampy - 24 Jan 2006 09:14
Currently being refurbished, when reopened it'll be called The Wellsley (I think)
dsf - 19 Nov 2005 10:06
I'm old enough to remember when the space occupied by Cooper's was the main Gent's Loo at Waterloo. It smelled better then.
bromleyjon - 2 Sep 2005 09:13
Imagine that you've never been to Britain before and arrive here for the first time on the Eurostar into Waterloo Station. You step off the train, walk a few yards down the platform and call in here for your first pint of beer on English soil. Christ, you'd be back on the train again and on your way down that channel tunnel to frogland before you could say "Why does this beer smell so bad".
The_Inspector - 24 Feb 2005 21:52
Indifferent service, indifferent ale. Inadequate cleaning(loved the chundah on the stairs). If it wasn't so close to the trains I'd give it no stars, but since it's convenient, I'll give it a "1" Is this representative of all Coopers?
martineaux - 25 Dec 2004 10:20
Horrible horrible horrible. Do yourself a favour - go into Wine Rack, buy a couple of tins of special brew and drink them on one of the platforms instead. At least you might maintain a modicum of self respect that way.

MrLash - 21 Dec 2004 10:54
If you are female and alone totally avoid this place.
Zoe - 10 Sep 2004 15:31
C**p station pub...though after a c**p train journey, anything with a bar seems appealing...I suspect people would miss it if it were gone.
Rob - 22 Jul 2004 13:43
Where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came
Howard - howardd@cmsnetwork.co.uk - 29 Apr 2004 16:44
my company owns this one - yeah it is dingy! i like the way you delve down into it, but as a non smoker it's a bit too much :o( needs air con fast
oliver - 23 Apr 2004 16:51
Total pants nowadays - tho me and beer monster pal are rather frequent visitors - and far less interesting characters lately. But,in mitigation, it does smell even worse than usual.
angie - 19 Oct 2003 10:56
Total rip off. Why bother when the Hole in the Wall is nearby?
johnkn7 - 5 Feb 2003 19:24
Dingy, smelly and dirty.
Kevin - 13 Jul 2002 08:16

got anything to say about this pub?

Please read our comments policy before posting.
Only registered users can post reviews. Please log in. If you don't have an account yet, register here.