The John Snow, Soho - pub details
Address: 39, Broadwick St, London, W1F 9QP [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 917 0007 (ref 3096)
Oxford Circus (0.3 miles), Piccadilly Circus (0.3 miles), Tottenham Court Road (0.4 miles)
London Charing Cross (0.7 miles), London Euston (1.3 miles), London Waterloo (1.3 miles)
Brewery: Samuel Smith's
Pub facilities/features:
- Food served
NB: Information may be incomplete or out of date as this pub is not currently registered.
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> Current user rating: 6.6/10 (rated by 62 users)
> Local guides: London pub guide, Central London pub guide, Soho pub guide
other pubs nearby:
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user reviews of the John Snow, Soho
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 62 shown - see all reviews
| Once again this pub is another Sam Smiths establishment that requires us punters to make something of a compromise in exchange for the enticing charms of good cheap beer in traditional pub surrounds. In the case of the John Snow, the staff make it easy to make a case for steering clear of this pub and heading one of the more welcoming SS pubs (Duke of Argyll, Red Lion) in the area. On my recent visit, 2 of us had 4 pints apiece over a couple of hours, standing at the bar (by choice) throughout. Of the 8 pints, we had to request 2 to be topped-up (normally something I’d prepare to let pass but this was an inch or so ‘short’ and concerned an ‘Alpine’ lager not the OBB). On 2 of the 4 rounds purchased we had to ‘interrupt’ the discussion of the male and female barstaff in order to get served, despite the fact they had quite clearly seen we were looking for a top-up. On the 4th round, the female member of staff decided to pour a ‘Sovereign ‘ bitter rather than the OBB that we’d had on the previous 4 rounds – then merely glared confrontationally at me when I queried this by saying ‘well you didn’t say which bitter you wanted’. Quite why this would encourage her to pull a pint of Sovereign was not clear, surely the easy option would be to ask me – stood a metre away...The only discussion that I overheard during my visit concerned her recounting how much she had drunk over the proceeding days, perhaps explaining the complete absence of any degree of customer care. My change was duly dropped straight onto the bar with a look of disdain. In the 2 hours of our visit, very few customers were offered anything like a greeting, and none given the resemblance of a farewell. In Sam Smiths it seems, as in life, you pays your money and takes your choice…… LondonWolf - 2 Jun 2009 10:11 |
| I've drunk in this pub off & on for number of years, recently the management seems to have changed. I've read about the troubles that the Sam Smith's brewery have been having & as well as putting in place unfriendly policies with regard to having music in the pubs & a very poor attitude to the quality of food, it seems they're at the bottom of the barrel when comes to the people they are able to find to run their pubs. Last Saturday I was on the receiving end of a bizarre tirade from the current manager who appears to be a rude prick. During an afternoon of drinks to celebrate my wife's birthday, in a mixed age & gender group, this ignorant moron felt the need to insult my niece, pulling a bar stool out from under her and demanding we move to the end of the bar. When I questioned his judgement on this he started screaming, became loud, aggressive & threatening. I'm not sure what they tell people when they teach them how to manage pubs these days but this fool was clearly not present that day. Rounding the bar and shouting for us to leave he casually assaulted me, grabbing my drink & spilling it across my shirt. he was seconds from a good kicking but common sense prevailed on our part. I used to like this pub but this guy's a worthless prick. Avoid like the plague. big_stick - 13 May 2009 22:22 |
| This is a typical Sam Smiths pub, cheap but not unpleasant beers, lots of old features and character. It is a shame though that these days increasingly pubs are employing staff with little or no grasp of English, so you get served by miserable looking bar staff who you cant have any banter with and whom you have to ask to repeat several times the cost of the round, shame really. trickydisco - 1 Apr 2009 15:06 |
| Best thing about this place really is that the beer is really cheap. It does have a lot of pavement outside, but that's where the problem begins. Back in Autumn of last year, which is when I also notice a few of the other reviews of this pub took place, there was a large bouncer, I think maybe from Argentinia. He was basically employed to walk around outside and tell anyone who even put a foot in the road to get back on the kerb, or he would take away your drink. Now, most of the normal staff were quite curteous about the fact that it is a chore, but could you make sure you are on the pavement. The trouble is, it's hard to avoid having to step out with the number of people, especially if somebody needs to get past. After being given one warning for having one foot on the kerb and one foot into the road, I later had to step out again to let someone by to get into the pub. The second I did so, the bouncer comes over and tries to take my drink from me, I refuse to do so, and he then tells me to come inside, as he would like to talk to me. I refuse, he tells me I have to come inside to speak, at which again I inform him that I am not going inside and he has no right to make me go inside the pub. He then tells me that because of the law, he can make me do whatever. Having worked in bars and clubs when I was younger I then ask what law that is exactly. He tells me that he has taken the 'bar exam' and that he knows. So I then ask him what his job actually is, clearly he isn't the landlord and is just a hired goon. So after getting a bit more shirty with me, I ask to see his door staff lisence, which all bouncers have to have. He clearly doesn't have one, as going by his lack of knowledge of the English language is obviously just an immigrant being paid to make people's nights a misery. At this point, he just walked away from me, then a few minutes later came back to say that I wasn't welcome and that I should go elsewhere. Now I've spent enough of my cash at this pub and always acted in a courteous manner, so I think its pretty crap that I should be told to FO just because I stepped onto the road to let someone by, to get into their pub! Hopefully they have gotten rid of this idiot now, as I've not been back since. smirking_revenge - 17 Feb 2009 08:59 |
| Friendly enough staff and a friendly crowd. But beware. Even if it's february and actually snowing outside the staff won't let you close the curtains against the sub-arctic draught. "Why not"? "Just not allowed to" Computer says no. Albert_Campion - 3 Feb 2009 12:35 |
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