please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Super little Sheps pub, once a local of mine, always good fun spotting the luvvies in between performances and some cracking beer. A real oasis in the West End
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Wasn't this pub bombed by the IRA sometime in the early 90's ?
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Went in on a Saturday lunchtime for a pre-theatre lunch. Staff were resonably friendly and the beer was very good, although a little pricey - but then what do you expect for this neighbourhood. My sandwich was fine and others said their jacket potatoes were good. Nice pub considering its in a rather tacky neck of the woods.
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Originally known as Cribbs Parlour, the pub name honours an early 19th Century bare knuckle boxer (a.k.a. the Black Diamond) who later became a publican in the area. The current building dates from the early 1900’s and for the literarature fans, featured in novels by William Makepiece Thackery (Vanity Fair) and Arthur Conan Doyle (Rodney Stone). A select range of Shepheard Neame beers (Masterbrew + Spitfire as standards supplemented by one other from the range – Porter on my recent visit) at reasonable prices bearing in mind you are yards from Leicester Square. The exterior has some nice old tiling whilst the interior is a bit of an odd mix with polished wooden floor, padded seats, fairly dated wallpaper but modern doors and windows. The angled beam across the bright red painted ceiling suggests that there were once a few odd shaped rooms within the building. There are some interesting old London photos as well as a varied selection of boxing portraits. It tends to have more of a locals feel than being touristy and is a pleasant enough pub for a few beers if you can grab a seat but overall not a place that lingers as being particularly memorable.
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Nice little pub with good beer and good food. Friendly staff too.
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Great little pub Shep Neame ales and lagers and food at non West End prices.Only downside smokers roll on July 1st!
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Yes a nice small pub with a very nice interior. Staff were friendly and beer was great. They had 3 or 4 shepherd neame beers inc spitfire which I must add was very nice.
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OK little pub, if this is your sort of thing. Staff are friendly enough, but I paid £4.20 for a bottle of Bulmers in here. I know this is London, but £4.20?!? It wasn't even (dare-I-say-it...) Magners. Admittedly I perhaps shouldn't have been drinking said product, but what can I say, the feeling took me. Biggest problems are the prices and the size of the place.
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The lager selection has improved recently, with Oranjebloom and Asahi on tap amongst others. Also had several ales. One of the better places to drink locally.
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Nowt wrong with the "Tom Cribb".When it's boiling hot in the middle of summer I always head there.Got great air con.Great boozer.
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decent little boozer.
never seems too busy not sure why
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Small but ok particularly for the area - always sneak in here for a quick one if meeting someone in the area
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Always friendly but the beer isn't consistantly good. The mens toilet is the smallest ever, and when in the ladies the hand drier goes on while your sat on the toilet.Apart form that...
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I popped in after work on a Monday night; the pub appeared to be unusually empty. There were three real ales available, I had the Master Brew which was superbly kept. Ordered the pie of the day and was pleasantly surprised that this tasted “home cooked” rather than straight from the freezer - into the microwave like so many other pubs. The pub had friendly service and a congenial ambience – recommended.
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Now a Shepherd Neame - pub! Quality beer in a friendly pub now available near the Haymarket and Piccadily Circus. Great! 8/10.
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Too small, if you smoke and don't get a seat you're fcked.
"No smoking at the bar" means you are effectively constrained in a "one by five" metre space, in the hinterland between the bar and the tables - nowhere to rest your pint,.you end up as part of a queue of people standing in a line down the centre of the pub,..holding pints in one hand,..fag in the other,..mobile phone under your armpit,..newspaper atween your legs,...looks like some kind of sex offender registery,.......you may as well ban smoking all together here and be done with it..........cack
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I've been to this pub a couple of times now, and it's invariably crowded but friendly, with locals and tourists mixing at the tables and the bar. If you ignore the signs plastered everywhere warning about bag thieves, you might forget you're right between Piccadilly and Leicester Square. Of course, ignore those signs at your own risk...
The beer is consistently good, and the staff clearly cares about giving satisfaction--I've seen the middle-aged man at the pumps toss out a Guinness he'd just poured that wasn't to his own standard. A rare sort in the heart of the city. Definitely worth stopping in if you're in the area and thirsty.
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Great place to get absolutely hammered before steaming into Tiger Tiger and having a massive old-school bundle on dance floor (whilst everyone else is talking about their babies). Garton can be ring leader.
anonymous - 17 Nov 2005 10:21 |
Such a handy location: returning to Charring Cross from shopping expeditions. Good selection of beers; comfortable seats; polite service. What more could you ask.
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Nice little boozer that I warmed up to the longer I was there. Decent interior and friendly enough staff.
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Nice little 'real' boozer. A dying breed.
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Great little boozer in the heart of London. Very friendly bar staff, Great food and managed to watch an F1 GP on the telly. More importantly, a GOOD clean pint.
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Nice to find a proper pub near Leicester Square, not an area noted for quality drinking establishments. Beer fine, food fine, service fine.
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To Bob Barnes. William Purkis owner of the Holborn Empire was my great grandfather. Sadly my grandfather was disowned by the family for marrying a performer. Still beer tastes better than champagne - so who cares.
Maurice Buxton
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It's like stepping back it time, in a good way. A real boozer with a Landlord or someone who behaves like one. A refreshing change from all the Aussie staffed chained pubs who call last orders at twenty to eleven.
anonymous - 20 Jan 2005 14:06 |
Waan't that impressed. More atmosphere on the moon. Didn't stay too long and certainly didn't order another. Toilets appeared flooded.
anonymous - 7 Dec 2004 21:03 |
Old skool no nonsence boozer run by a gentleman by the name of Michael whom has been a publican in the West End for over twenty years so you can believe that this pub is run like clockwork.The pub has many regulars and is small so space quickly goes.
Nick Hamer - 20 Aug 2004 18:53 |
The only pub I went to on my only visit to London (so far). I loved it. But I have no other pubs to compare it to. My future visits to that wonderful city will surely expand my pub experiences.
Gary - 11 Apr 2004 02:47 |
To Larry Gardner,
I believe my great great great grandfather, William Pukiss, the ex owner of the Royal Music Hall (which became the Holborn Empire) sold the Union Arms in Panton Street to Tom Cribb (same pub)
Bob Barnes - 20 Feb 2004 16:08 |
I've walked past the place a dozen times on my way into Leicester Square and it didn't look like the sort of place that had food. Today I was hungry and went there cause it was so close. :)
There were 4 or 5 people in the pub which made it seem half filled already. I ordered 'pie of the day' which was steak and guiness. Then sat at the only empty table with my cider (strongbow.) I checked my pocketpc to see if there was a signal in the area, and then looked up to find one of the guys at the bar staring at me while he picked his teeth. I thought maybe he was looking out the window behind me, but its not on ground level, its too high up to see anything but the wall of the building across the street. He soon looked away and I sipped at my cider for a few more minutes till my food came out. There's two bartenders, one about 30ish, and one about 50ish. The younger of them served me and they both stood there and watched me while I ate my meal. I don't know what was so damned facinating. They weren't smirking or winking at each other like some do when serving foreigners. A few other people came in, but even when the postman came in, the older one was watching me over his shoulder. Everytime I lifted my glass up, they were looking my way, then they would quickly look somewhere else, then look back when I was eating. I haven't felt that out of place in a pub since first arriving here 3 years ago.
I don't know if it was the novelty of someone actually ordering food in there, or that they were just bored, or possibly they were all really hungry. But apparently the three of them found every single move I made facinating. It felt like being in a crowded slow elevator where no one looks at anyone, but everyone's watching each other in the reflections on the wall. I still have the willys! I kept looking at my shirt or coat thinking I'd spilled something on it.
Richard - 7 Dec 2003 21:40 |
I used to work there 1998-99 the manager at the time took great care to serve excellent guinness
b - 15 Oct 2003 12:44 |
Tom Cribb is my Great, great, great grandfather
Larry Gardner - 25 Apr 2003 18:28 |
Friendly barstaff
Guiness was the best i've tasted in London
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