please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Large and inevitably crowded with people paying for everything by card instead of cash. A range of beers at least as some people have reported. Staff seemed ok.
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Spent a lovely couple of hours in there recently with a couple of glasses of wine and steak and chips. Good food, very friendly staff, excellent value and as it was a cold and rainy day we were happy to relax next to the open fire. Thumbs up for this one.
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I'm suprised this pub has got such positive reviews!
When I went here on a Sunday the service was terrible!
I also spotted a mouse running out from the kitchen with a piece of food in its mouth!
Shame as they had some good ales
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There seems to have been quite a high turnover of staff recently, but happily the newcomers are as good as the predecessors. Thoroughly enjoyable night in there on Saturday last.
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Good pub for meetings of all sorts! Lots of space.
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I was disappointed with the standards in there yesterday (Sunday). The service was very poor, with short measure pints, an attempt to clear away a clearly unfinished drink, forgotten cutlery more than once, three reminders required before a dessert appeared, and one attempt to serve a dish twice (which seemed to flummox them completely). What an earth would they be like when they are busy?
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Always one of the better 'spoons - busy, but nothing like as shouty as many of the pubs in and around the City. Low-key lighting with sensible use of candles too. Some excellent beers on for the Spring real ale festival, and certainly 10 times better than the ghastly Shakespeare's Head up the road a bit.
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One of the better Spoons I’ve been to. The food was of usual spoons standard, the beer was of usual spoons standard as well (slightly flat). The staff were pleasant.
On the whole not bad.
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Paid a visit with a mate last Monday and the beer and the food (I had a curry) were spot on. The staff were polite and efficient too - definitely the best 'spoons in the area.
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Still one of the better 'spoons. Beer was good when I could finally get the barman to understand my Yorkshire accent.
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I've been in here quite a few times now. When it's busy there's the usual 'Spoons problems - not enough staff, grubby tables etc. A big plus is that there always seems to be a good range of guest ales - four on yesterday - and I've never had a less than good pint there.
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Visited this pub on a Saturday afternoon 08/12/07.
It was a Christmas meet up for a group of about 30/35 friends.
They reserved an area for us which was very accommodating and contacted me close to the day to confirm all of this.
Beer was fine and (as usual for a JDW) very well priced. If I had one small moan it was that the staff seemed to be quite slow in serving everyone.
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Not too crowded when I was in there with an after-work crowd last week, but busy enough to give it some atmosphere. A good range of different guest ales on, making a change from some of my recent JDW experiences, where just the “usual” Spitfire, Pedigree, Abbot etc predominate and in some case comprise the entire ale range. The O’Hanlon’s Goodwill was especially tasty. Another pleasant change from the norm was enough staff to cope with a moderately busy pub, so that nobody seemed to be kept waiting for very long. My friends and I had another appointment elsewhere but in truth we wished that we could have spent longer here.
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I've been there a few times with a friend when on my lunchbreak as it opens on a Sunday unlike The Knights Templar. Though I've never had a pint there (well, I wouldn't want to fall asleep at my desk would I?) I'm reliably informed the beer is good. One of the barmen has a good selection of one-liners which is obviously welcome but otherwise I feel very neutral - which is, I'm sure, what you're meant to think in a Spoons. 6/10.
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Dirty horrible pub with miserable staff. Ale not badly kept though - hence the generous 3 rating!
anonymous - 29 Nov 2007 16:52 |
Had a pint of Saltaire Chocolate Stout in here, very nice. It was coming to the end of the festival and while they had 7 or 8 on not sure any were the festival beers. Basically a bog standrad Wetherspoons and busy as it was a Friday night.
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I was in the Penderels Oak last night and enjoyed a couple of pints of O'Hanlons Dry Stout , which went down very nicely. I wouldn't eat there however. What the mouse infestation and all. The carpet hides them well and the buggers moved fast but we definitely saw a couple scurrying around to the rear of the pub (not too far from the kitchen).
anonymous - 9 Nov 2007 09:57 |
watched rugby world cup final here. good. beer festival on. very good 3 deep at the bar and only 3 barpersons working. piss poor!
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This pub still shows football in the basement bar.
An entry in the Good Beer Guide for the last 5 years.
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Called in a few times recently and noticed a good range of ale
Did this pub used to show football as it doesnt appear to now (a shame)
Worth a trip if in the area
anonymous - 19 Oct 2007 11:05 |
fullers beer £1.99 a pint, can't argue with that!!!!
e.s.b. was trouser blowing, also it's a pub you could land a light aircraft in. a big pub this.
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Two more recent visits have re-inforced my belief that this is one of the better Wetherspoon's that I've been in - the staff are good and the beer's good too.
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I'm not a wetherspoons fan as a rule but this is easily one of their better branches.
mps77 - 30 Jul 2007 17:08 |
Met my ex boyfriend Peter here but apart from that it's fantastic - toilets are very glam, upstairs AND downstairs, the beer is both cheap and strong. The clientelle can sometimes be very 'chav'/hip hop, but it's easy enough to avoid them if you sit in the far corner.
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My experiences of this place have always been quite favourable - I was there with some friends last Friday / Saturday night and they quite liked the place too. I'm not normally a massive fan of "Spoons" but this place is probably one of the better ones I've been in.
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Definitely a cut above the average 'Spoon - everything on the Wetherspoon tick list is there but it's somehow more of a living organism. The beer is uniformly top class. Do I detect just a little hint of a rainbow/ pinkish tinge to the staff? Whatever, cheers lads & keep it up (the good work).
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I do not usually like modern pubs but this Weatherspoons is an exception.Spacious with a good, cheap pint of Directors. The toilets are first class.
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Big and better than average Wetherspoon pub. Good beers, well kept, and the usual decent food.
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Went in last Tuesday afternoon. A comfortable atmosphere and a very tasty pint of Pride. I'd agree that it does seem better than the average 'Spoons.
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Pleasantly surprised by how good this 'Spoon is. Friendly, attentive staff, spotlessly clean and quick service. Light years ahead of the Shakespeare's Head 'Spoon at the other end of Holborn. I'll be back, and I don't say that very often about a chain pub. How can two branches of the same company less than a mile apart be so utterly different?
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Not too bad for a Wetherspoons - usually a hive of raging p*ss artists and ne'r do wells, although I was pleasently suprised with this one. Nice place to hide from work for a while.
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Probably about the best spoons I've been in. It almost feels like a proper pub by their standards, Ales are well kept and even the food wasn't too bad. Staff friendly and attentive. Usual ridiculously low prices
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Spent the evening in here this week and thought it was fine. Good range of ales and bottled beers, prompt service despite it being quite busy.. been in once before but didn't realise the downstairs bar was there - moved down there and spent the rest of the night in a cosy corner feeling very chilled out, I like it! BUT - closing that downstairs bar at 1030 sends my rating from a 8 to a 6. why, why why?!
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I got a large number of people in for a birthday do last Saturday. With two days notice the bar manager agreed to hive off the family area for me when the families had finished for the evening, which meant I had that part from about 9pm onwards, which certainly helped. They managed the tab well, and people had a good time, so well done the Penderel's - the staff seem like a good team.
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Don't frequent this place on a regular basis but from what I recall of my last visit the ale was spot on and the food was quite good too - in fact my mate Hawkesey said it was one of the best Wetherspoon's he'd ever been in. Certainly not as bad as some of the other comments make out.
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It is more the poor service and the lack of a range of drinks in the cellar bar that really annoys me about this place.
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In fairness, I think the point being made is that in an English pub the only game he could see was Scotland's.
If Wetherspoon's show the football (which I wish they wouldn't) they could at least make sure it's the match people want to see.
anonymous - 29 Nov 2006 22:11 |
"The worst run pub in London" because it doesn't show the particular football match you want to see?
There are many who think the biggest mistake Wetherspoons ever made was to start having TVs and, in particular, show football on them. If any neutral observer wants to find out why, check out the difference in the type of crowd and consequent atmosphere in this place when a match is being shown and at any other time. There are plenty of other pubs, in this and any other area, which are happy to show live football at the expense of an acceptable drinking environment for other customers: go there, not here.
To repeat the gist of my previous posts on the Penderel's Oak, this has all the Wetherspoon positives (a good range of drinks at very good prices, OK service, unspectacular but reliable food in a spacious and clean environment) but avoids the unfortunate Wetherspoon negatives, and in particular drunken loudmouthed chavs bellowing about football.
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Beggars belief this tip. South African bar "manager", poured me a pint the other day, and the barrel went off when he had done about 2/3 of it,..he clocked me, to see if i had noticed,..obviously presumed not,..pumped the head a bit to froth it up,..and then came over and served it,...fcking funny,..ludicrous tit,...Reckon he thought i was a tourist or amateur!....God knows how many people get palmed off with this dross in here, knowing no better!
When i told him that id like it filled up, he gave an audible sigh,..and moaned like a spoilt teenager how that, in order to finish the pint he would have to change the barrel,..and *sigh* "did i really want to wait?" "Yes,..yes i do" i said,..and he flounced on down to the cellar,...i in turn,..flounced on out!
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This must be the worst run pub in London!
I have watched football in the cellar bar on a couple of occasions only to be faced with atrocious service and all the real ales being unavailable after half-time. I had planned to watch the recent England game here but found that the bar had been hired out for a private function (I believe that only the downstairs bar has Sky) and that the Scotland game was being shown in the main bar area.This is the second time that the management have allowed something similar to happen. Truly a shocking pub.
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I used to work in the offices above this pub so it was very convenient.
The TV does make it a bit hard to talk to people though. But its cheap(or cheaper than other pubs) as you would expect.
Jo984 - 28 Sep 2006 10:48 |
Back on form now the World Cup is over - wasn't one of the ideas behind the Wetherspoon concept an absence of TV? - and therefore once again the place to be for a civilized Saturday night in the centre of town. To answer the previous poster: some of the previous comments were absolute rubbish, in particular those making snide comments about some of the customers, and yes I did make a point of checking that the advertised real ales were actually on offer.
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1. Just because your findings when you visited the pub didn't tally with those of other people on previous visits doesn't make their comments 'absolute rubbish'.
2. Are you seriously saying that EACH time you went to the bar to order your next Magners you also checked to see what real ales were available?
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Nevertheless if what you say is true it more likely suggests that the pub has cleaned up its act with regard to availability of beers, not that the previous claims were false.
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I can't help pointing out that a few of the comments posted about this place are absolute rubbish. I may perhaps be somewhat biased in their favour because of the fact that they have complete disabled access and facilities, a necessity for me personally, and the allegedly erratic availability of real ales is not a primary concern for me as I drink bottles of Magners when in there. However, on the last couple of visits I made a point of checking this: on each occasion, in the ground floor bar at least, there were six ales advertised and all six were available, all evening.
Although Wetherspoon's food tends to be pretty generic, I tried a chicken tikka masala last night and it was actually pretty good. What's more, being a Thursday, it only cost about a fiver with a free drink thrown in. The crowd are also pretty decent for a Wetherspoon - don't be put off by Lonegroover (yeah, too right) and his comments about "Traceys".
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Typical Spoon’s pub in the City. Quiet when we visited but it was 11am on a Saturday. Out of the 8 or so beers advertised only 3 were actually on sale, but the quality was good. Probably better during the working week.
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Used to be an after work regular here but it's gone downhill so much we go elsewhere now. The range of guest beers is not kept up, and it takes far too long to get served now, waiting behind groups of Traceys ordering bottles of WKD and paying for a £5 round with a bank card.
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I'm with tanderson7 here. One of the worse Weatherspoons I have been to. Huge but souless is a good description. Absolutely no character.
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This used to have a good selection of guest ales, but now you will just get 2 out of the 12 hand pumps upstairs.Then you will have the long-winded process of finding someone to serve you and then trying to get them to understand what you want! This has definitely gone down hill over the last 12 months.Shame.
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Pleasant, comfortable interior. However upon arrival at about 10.15 pm on a Saturday night was informed that only two (Abbot and Golden Delicious) of approximately 10 real ales were currently available. This was down to one (Golden Delicious) by the time I ordered another drink at about 10.50. This is ridiculously poor service in my opinion. I also didn't like the sour-faced attitude of the male member of staff in a blue shirt, with ponytail and keys dangling down.
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this is the a-bomb in the wetherspoons arsenal.....cavernous, soulless tip......if this boozer was a supermarket it would be aldi or lidl. a disgrace.
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Another good meeting-up pub. I mostly prefer the other Holborn Wetherspoon, Shakespeare's Head, because of the more lively location, the greater mix of customers, and a more down to earth feel, but really there's nothing much to split them, and there are days when I am happier in this one.
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A good choice of Czech beers usually makes for decent pub. However, this place got it slightly wrong and you need a good knowledge of the Czech language in order to get a beer.
It has TV which is slightly odd for a Wetherspoons, but they are reluctant to put the sound on upstairs, even on big sports events. This ruins the atmosphere, but if you want that why are you in a Wetherspoons?
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Great big pub! As with other Moon's pubs, it has a nice selection of draught beers and bottled beers.
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Usual Wetherspoon's, but with big screen showing football, music etc in downstairs bar.
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Standard usually bog-standard Wetherspoon but the bar was filled with pink ballons when I last went in as they had a promotion on for pink champagne. One other customer suggested to his friend that it looked like the photo the hospital gave him of his haemorrhoids (fortunately he didn't have it with him). Aside from looking like a proctologist's nightmare, the beer was very good and well kept and the range excellent with guest ales from the spring beer festival as well as others from the spring guest ale list. My rather lively pint was topped up without having to ask.
anonymous - 16 May 2005 21:28 |
Want a pint and a guaranteed seat on the weekend? Then come down. They do both.
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A big Wetherspoons pub with plenty of places to sit. Solid but unspectacular beer, decent food. Big screen showing sport or music videos. "Oktoberfest" is the main event worth coming here for.
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Beer pretty ordinary served with loads of attitude by vacant-eyed staff
mally - 25 Mar 2005 13:05 |
Typical Wetherspoon pub, like many now has screens for the footy/videos downstairs. The beer and food were fine when I visited it last, and they usually have been previously, but like other users I find it a soulless place.
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Had a rather frustrating wait in here on Saturday evening when there were only two bar staff upstairs. The place seemed a bit soulless, but then I like having some quiet. The beer and food was fine and reasonably priced as usual since it's Wetherspoons.
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I've been here a fair number of times and never really enjoyed it. If you order food it takes a long time to get served, some of the staff seem permanently bad tempered (with some noteable exceptions). The beer is worse than in most wetherspoons - which is a shame as they often have quite a few guest ales on which i'd like to try in proper condition. Not a great place.
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Very busy pub with the usual Weatherspoons beers and well priced wine list, the smoking area where you first walk in can be offputting but the back is quieter and fresher. It is probably time that this pub was redecorated as the floors and toilets are getting a bit shabby.
anonymous - 4 Jan 2005 11:50 |
Staff are very nice and didn't have to wait too long to get served at the bar. Barman kindly acted as policeman to stop thuggish louts smoking in the non-smoking area. However, why are glasses in Wetherspoons pubs never truly clean? It does to take a nice clean hanky along with you to D.I.Y. Not a bad pub at all though.
Pippa - 16 Nov 2004 09:11 |
Rob..if it was that bad why stay there. Sold a decent pint of Dark Island, Scottish ale last night.
michael - 25 Oct 2004 13:22 |
Huge pub with enormous downstairs bar. It was far too loud when I visited the place, but I must say that the air conditioning was fantastic and I didn't have to breathe in too much of my companion's cigarette smoke. Ok place, very much a Weatherspoons.
Good toilets though....
Mandi - 1 Jun 2004 01:02 |
Without a doubt the worst 'spoons pub in London (with the notable exception of the Edmund Halley in Lee SE12)! It is also the largest. So large infact that it is devoid of atmoshpere. This is certainly true of the main bar area.
Was there with some friends last night watching the Aresenal Chelsea game (in the "cellar" bar) Firstly the bar itself has been "paved" using fake uneven quarry tiles - result; means that you stand your pint on the bar @ your peril. Which leads me onto the beer itself. A couple of the taps were having the pipes cleaned and were adorned with the "do not touch" notices. Hardly a sign to instil confidence in a drinker! Fosters was sickly and flat. The stella was warm and the Kroenbourg was, frankly disgusting. While we ordered no food plenty of people were and it looked horrible and barley edible
The only thing to recommend this shabby pub is the "novelty" toilets. But you don't go to the pub just to marvel @ their khazi's do you??!!
Rob - 25 Mar 2004 11:32 |
This pub isn't bad, good food, good atmosphere - if you want to chat stay upstairs, if you want music go downstairs.
Toilets are a good design but are always blocked and it sticks in there. Takes ages to get severed at the bar too and the staff are always moaning at you to move.
The reason its full of 'suits' is because the area has barristers chambers all over and buildings full of offices. People dress smartly to go to work, what's wrong with that?? And i'm sure they dont go on about how much they earn......maybe the person who wrote that is a little jealousy he isn't on as good a money as they are!!
The Mistress - 5 Dec 2003 15:46 |
Cool toilets? The gents toilets in this place are a design nightmare. Who decided it was a good idea to put the urinals on the outside of a large circular column, which takes up too much space and makes you have to squeeze past the back of another unfortunate bloke in full "flow" to get to the one free stall which isn't blocked? A woman, presumably. There are tried and tested ways of doing bog architecture and they should
not be experimented with by the design school show-offs!
Glyn - 26 Sep 2003 11:51 |
We use this pub for group meetings on Sundays, the staff are friendly, service is great and being in the city it's very quiet. It's also really easy to get to, and Lincolns Inn Fields is right behind it (down the alley to by the main entrance) if you wanna sit outside for a bit in the hot weather!
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well well, another miserable loud as you like lawyers and office workers dump! blag blag bullshit on about your wages and career utterly disgusting clientele hitler stalin trotsky and hess would seem almost bearable compared to those arrogant full of themselves scumbags. right: food ok drinks ok atmos -when not full of boring suits -quite pleasant actually. Catch it early, on a weekday-please dont go on a fri evening...youve been warned-otherwise "im on 50grand -im on 70grand...boring...especially silly as im from belgravia! (watch out who you show off next to boys!)and theyre from clapham!
belgrave square boy - 21 Jul 2003 12:50 |
Speak as you find - I've always found the Penderels to be a good pub. Definitely better than most of the other pubs in the area. Good selection of drink. Only bad point - gets full of suits "on the pull" on the Thursday / Friday nights.
John - 1 Jul 2003 14:25 |
The downstairs is the best bit - the new Stringfellows-meets-China Whites
Ben Foster - 11 Mar 2003 16:03 |
The best place to host an ES pub quiz I have ever seen
Ben Foster - 11 Mar 2003 16:02 |
Not bad. Better service than one usually expects from a Wetherspoons.
Steve - 7 Mar 2003 08:38 |
Yes, very interesting toilets. A large wetherspoons - it even has a cash machine in it. All the normal wetherspoons trimmings.
Chris - 12 Sep 2002 12:17 |
Very cool toilets - if ever thee were!
Anon - 25 Jul 2002 15:53 |
This pub is actually a Weatherspoons with music!!!!! Okay, it's downstairs on MTV - but it's a START!!
Katie - 23 Jul 2002 15:33 |
