please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Looks like the pub has shut for good. No advance notice from the Convivial Pub Group. They have just closed the pub down overnight.
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Visited for the first time. Sambrooks went down well.
Food overpriced and really not too good.
Service seemed to be given very reluctantly.
Highly unlikely to return in a hurry.
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Nice enough kind of place which you would never guess as being a short walk to the maelstrom that is downtown Kilburn. Didn't find it as pub like as many make out - has a kind of Canadian bar feel to it (too many 'high chairs'). Service was excellent and attentive but was not impressed with the ale at all. The Sambrooks Junction, though drinkable, was the worse pint of it I have sampled and had a bit of a tang to it. I then tried the Adnams American Style IPA which was slightly better but was also afflcicted with an underlying tang to it. Can understand why it is highly regarded as it just doesn't have any competition for miles but I wouldn't go out of my way to head to it.
anonymous - 21 Apr 2011 16:08 |
Have been to this pub on new years eve. and a few times since(sorry for late posting) A cosy interior and cosy atmosphere with friendly staff awaits the customer. Have always found the staff attentive. New years eve food was oustanding (suckling pig) Adnams amongst others and always a guest ale. They had "Tally Ho" when I fist visited - excellent. Have also had the mussels whci were a little on the small side but very tasty. Restaurant out the back and Sky Tv in the main Bar. Definitely go back
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Popped in last night for a quick pint and the place looks like a building site. The dining area at the back is being knocked through to create one room so I imagine will look very smart once it's done. They're having to close for a couple of days in the near future to do the work so keep an eye on the website. Friendly service as always and the Junction was on good form.
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Lively pub in a fairly nice residential area, not far from the Kilburn High Road. The walls are painted red and there is lots of wood, including bare floorboards. Inside are plenty of tables. Outside, there are also a few at the front. Service was very slow. Two staff were standing around doing nothing while the others were rushed off their feet. Glasses were piling up. 3 real ales were available - Adnams Broadsise, Greene King IPA and Marstons Pedigree. A 4th handpull was unclipped. Cider was Aspalls. A popular place with a little character and a lively atmosphere.
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Had several wonderful pints of EPA and Gunhill here a couple of fridays, Bar staff were friendly, Chips were excellent. The other two ales were adnams and ringwood, didn't get round to trying them though.
Will be visiting there many times more and with more people!
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Good food, 4 decent ales on tap and a competitive quiz. What more could you ask for? Glad to have it as a local.
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I live up the road in NW6 and rather despair of the lack of quality boozers in the local area, but was impressed to find this backstreet local off Abbey Road in NW8. A decent place: a rather cosy wood-panelled interior with a central bar surrounding various rooms, and a dining area off towards the rear. Three real ales in evidence, including Pride and (I think) Tribute plus a guest. A tasty looking menu, if somewhat pricey: I had sausage and mash which was nice, and shared a rather ungenerous "cheeseboard for two". The pub was very busy for the obviously very popular quiz which was on. I think I'd make this my number one drinking spot locally - pity it's taken me about three years to find it!
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This is one of the best pubs in NW London (imho)! There's no way you'd ever come across it by accident - I lived in the area for many years (pre-BITE days) and never knew about it till a friend took me there. Tucked very discretely into a nice St. John's Wood street, it's invisible until you're a few yards away.
They have a good selection of ales on tap, and well-kept too. For a while they've had some Cornish guests, along with the London staples, always at least three ales available. Food is very good too. There's a bar menu then a restaurant area with posh menu. They're not funny about you sitting in the restaurant area if you're just drinking (as long as it's not busy).
They have a pub quiz on Wednesdays, an outside terrace at the front with the ubiquitous evil heaters, plenty of board games, and a jolly barmaid. I thoroughly commend the place to you!
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Great pub- good atmosphere, good menu, friendly staff. Warm and welcoming and highly reccommended.
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Nice place and they finally fixed the sign out front. New owners got rid of some staple beers, but whatever. Biggest issue is the menu. Twice had greens that weren't washed. Miss the artwork on the wall for sale as well.
anonymous - 30 Nov 2006 11:58 |
I think this place has now been sold but, happily, doesn't appear to have changed. Good ales- usually a selection of 4. Good lagers- continental and novelty. Good food- proper stuff, not all home-made but that's hardly unusual.
All in all, a great little local even when invaded by the hordes of very loud Americans who swarm here in the summer months.
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This pub has been sold, so i have been told, I hope and pray the new owners dont change it too much. Ok the food needs looking at but the manager told me he has plans to scrap to old menu and cook everything in house and maybe go organic. I hope he does, Great ales probably the only place in the "wood" that does ale properly and the best thing is if you like an ale they dont have he will get it in for you, Best pub in the area and hope it stays that way.
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Yes the food sometimes takes a while, the art on the walls is surreal and the barstaff can be monumentally odd at times, but there are not a lot of places in st john's wood where you can sit outside for an entire day if you choose (and have done, several times) and just while away an afternoon with fabulous foccacia and jugs of pimms. There are a handful of hooray henrys annoyingly changing the character of this place, but in essence it doesn't try to be anything but a nice place to hang out and watch the world go by.
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I love this place. Great beer, never crowded (bizarrely), very attractive barstaff from Italy, Brazil, Portugal.. you name it...
It's like someoone has scooped up an old country pub in Sussex and plonked it down in Zone 2.
I told a friend who used to live in London in '95 about it and the next time I saw him he produced a tatty but intact box of matches from the place. It obviously left an impression on him too.
Vicar - 20 Jan 2006 14:14 |
great pub this, but you have to get over the whole gastro pub, big company do everything for me attitude. this pub is a pub not a bar and not a food house.The locals are great and you are welcomed in. Staff are great, The guy that owns it must have some Brazilian conection as it seems half the staff come from there. Then again good looking lot the Brazilians. They sell food like pies and sausage and mash, proper english home cooked food, can get really busy so food takes a while at busy times. They have closed the kitchen early a few times latly, sold out, so I have been left hungry twice now, get in early next time. They have lager from round the world, but its the ales I love, they even chill them a little when the wether is too hot. no wonder they are listed in the top 50 places to go in london. 9/10 would have been 10 but I went hungry.
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Funny one this,...tucked away down a plush leafy street, you get the impression that it is a bit a private members club for the "well to do" residents.
It's nice enough though, and theres seats outside, but theres a lot of "cricket jumper round the shoulders" action etc, so doesnt really feel like a boozer and thus aint really my scene.
Its the type of place that, if it pushed itself, would be mobbed by the "bussed in" types that frequent the "places to be" in areas like, say, Westbourne Park (sorry: Westbourne Green!)......Would love to see the faces on the regulars if say, a mid range Audi with Essex plates, full of armani wearing tools, pulled up on a saturday evening, drum and bass blaring, looking for this gaff as a pre-club venue....There would be a swift meeting of several committees in the week after that i can tell ya!
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Hmmmm, living in nearby Kilburn this is the pub I use most regularly when trying to let people know I am not just a Kilburn casual. Ok, crap food when I was last in, staff who literally grab your drink a minute or two after drinking up time and occasionally a few too many Hooray Henry types. (Funny I though they had all disappeared in the 80s). However the young bar lady did apologise for her indiscretion, they have great ales, you can have a quiet one or a rowdy one in here and they put on a guitar duo on a Sunday which to my surprise was not too boring bluesmen but a couple of chaps who were excellent and very versatile. So, I'll give it a 6.
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nice local, nice foreign ladies pulling pints, nice food (when it hasnt run out), look out for babies in prams and the american brats (who cant believe their luck at being able to drink before they are 21) ruining the outdoor experience......
anonymous - 8 Mar 2005 17:25 |
A nice little pub if you can find it. Can't imagine it anyone other than locals drinking here as it's tucked away so much. I lived in Kilburn for nearly 4 years and came here twice in time - would've liked it to have been more.
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I have to say this pub is one of London's best tucked away little boozers. In the summertime you sit on the front or rear terraces with the delicious smells that come from the Pub bbq and in winter the large conservatory and log fires help create the cosy atmosphere. The range of wines is excellent! The only thing that lets this pub down is its food, which often a bit poor and borders on the fancy side.
Craig - 2 Apr 2004 16:00 |
delightful. Huge conservatory, good sofas, quiet and relaxing during the week.
Tom - 19 Mar 2004 14:00 |
Something odd is going on at the Clifton. I live round the corner and consider this my local, but I've been told 3 times in the last month that the kitchen has run out of food, or isn't serving. Just as annoying is when half the pub was booked out for a 'private function' (twice). It makes it damn hard to get a seat and relax! I think I'm off to The Ordnance instead. It's a shame because The Clifton could be fantastic.
Dave - 29 Jan 2004 15:20 |
Once a legend of a place where shove-h'penny was played on a Sunday afternnoon. No music of football, just the sound of roars of laughter. Great boozer. Haven't been there in a while though
james - 29 Jan 2004 14:09 |
Lovely pub, especially in the Summer when the outdoor area is buzzing all evening. Having said that, I had a very bad Sunday lunch experience here recently - don't risk it! Absolutely awful roast beef. I will never eat there again but still go for an occasional drink.
CD - 13 Jan 2004 13:20 |
Nestling on one of London’s most discretely wealthy streets, the Clifton is befitting of its surroundings in every way. From the 'royal nookie warranty' of George VI to the guest ales and knowledgeable wine options by way of three fire places and some very friendly staff, the only way you can be slightly disappointed is if the pub cat pee's in your Selfridges back (my girlfriend was a bit miffed). Oh, and the menu includes a fish finger sandwich that would moisten Captain Birdseye’s geriatric eyes with pleasure. 1 mark dropped due to incontinent cat and that it was my b'day present in the bag.
john w - 28 Nov 2003 11:13 |
Great friendly service, Good beers on tap and enjoyable food at Competetive prices. There is also an amazing fireplace and architectural antiques warehouse behind it. Which is worth a visit if you are doing up your house.
Micheal meacher - 4 Sep 2003 17:29 |
Great pub, calm, nice people, nice food, watch your tab-anything other than housewines can be a bit on the expensive side
james - 13 Aug 2003 15:17 |
A top little place in a corner of London where cosy pubs are a bit thin on the ground. King George's bit on the side lived here apparently.
James M - 24 Jun 2003 13:58 |
Historic heritage pub in St Johns Wood. Great Victorian atmosphere and super food. Fab terrace for the summer. A favourite with the Abbey road Studios crowd and a fantastic architectural salvage warehouse behind it.
Chris Fagg - 17 Feb 2003 14:46 |
