please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I noticed that this pub has not been reviewed for the best part of 5 years so though I would stick my fifty pence worth in.
Visited this pub on Friday afternoon with a workmate after a meeting finished and arrived around 4pm. The pub was actually fairly busy at this time and had a mix of parents with school age children and regular punters who looked they were just out for an early start to the night.
The have an area to the front of the pub with outdoor tables which we were lucky to get one of them. It is not the most peaceful of pub gardens but it was nice to be outside watching the hustle and bustle of Battersea Park Road.
Pub was smart inside a fairly gastro-ish. You could tell as there is a table near the bar with a big bowl of olives and a loaf of bread with oils and balsamic vinegar next to it. The way this is sat there, lends the impression that it is complimentary but I am sure when push comes to shove, it you did want some you would be charged (handsomely) for it.
Pub is decent enough but prices are horrific even for this 'up and coming' 'trendy' part of town. There were only a couple of ales on none of which I really fancied and also because of the hot weather I went for a lager. Now I noticed from long distance past review's the pub used to stock Kronenberg. Not anymore as all lagers were fancy 'foreign imports' or 'craft's ' which meant the pub pretty much has a license to print money as if anyone was to question the extortionate prices, they can (attempt to) justify them with the fact you are getting a premium product!
All in all, the place is nice enough and apart from price the only one real gripe I had is the corridor near the toilets downstairs didn't smell too fresh which is not a good look for a food orientated place.
I would probably return for a couple if I am ever in the area again...
|
How silly of me to hand over �10 in the mistaken belief it would pay for 2 drinks. A pint of Kronenburg and a large glass of white wine �10.80? The Kronenberg was �4.15/pt. I'll leave you to do the maths for the white wine.
Walk 10 mins down the road and a Kronenburg drops down to �3.50/pt. Head down to Le Pot Lyonnais and it drops to �3.25.
Nice pub it maybe but it's not THAT nice. The prices are a joke.
These are austere times apparently. I'll be taking my hard earned cash elsewhere.
|
This a warm and friendly pub that allows dogs too.
They also have free web access for clients.
|
My wife and I have frequented The Masons Arms over the years and have seen a number of staff changes (good and bad!), but in recent times this great pub has really improved and is well worth a visit (and we do often now!). Since Matt, the Manager has taken over in recent months, and the head Chef (who's name I have forgotten- David?) The place has really taken on a real warmth and relaxing vibe. The staff, friendly old faces and great new ones, provide unpretentious yet professional service, and the food is consistently delicious! The change of artwork on the walls is a refreshing change too(Battersea Power Station on Rubiks Cubes!!!). I am a fan of beerintheevening, but never been compelled to write a review, but after noticing the unusual review from alaric, am compelled to give big thumbs up to this ever improving great boozer, with great food. So unless you like sitting on strangers tables and drinking there wine, I can reccommend this good gastro pub in Battersea.
|
Rude staff = poor management. Well this pub really needs to decide if it is a pub or a restaurant. My lady wife, I and an old friend went in for a drink at 1420hrs one Sunday recently. I understand of course that Sunday lunchtime is a really key time for family orientated gastro-pubs but....
we sat at the bar surrounded by empty tables with rserved signs and after a bit moved to a small and very exposed table in the middle of the pub. A party at a larger table left so we moved there, but were told that it was taken by a party at the bar - OK - they had just arrived.
Later a barmaid told us that we could sit on the sofa (a detestable idea), so we moved to another recently vacated large table near there which had a half finished bottle of wine on the table (nothing else). My friend started to help himself to this when we were once again told that this was waiting for some diniers. So we told them that we would move when they arrived, - at which point she said that she thought that the owners of the wine had 'just gone out for a cigarette' and snatched the bottle away.
Reading this, we seem a bit difficult, but honestly, we weren't
|
i'm trying to track down an australian chef called scott who worked here during 2006 - is anyone still in contact with him or has his surname/contact details. lost contact a while back and would love to get back in touch
|
This is essentially a restaurant, or perhaps more accurately a gastro-pub as I was able to purchase just a drink and sit at one of the tables � but a waitress did ask me if I wanted a lunch menu. There is an open plan kitchen, table service for diners, bare-boarded floor, and thick, solid, scrubbed tables. The smell of food pervades the place � how could it not do so with an open plan kitchen? It�s like any other gastro-pub you�ve been in.
There were two ales on; London Pride and Fuller�s Jack Frost. I had the latter, at the gastro-pub price of �3.50 a pint. The trouble with these high-ceilinged, bare-boarded places with solid wooden furniture is that they can get too noisy with all the sounds bouncing off everything. The food might be good � I don�t know, I didn�t try it � but it�s not really my type of place.
|
Great food, but then it should be for the prices they charge....
I used to like this place much more going back a while.... it doesnt seem as charming as it once did, but it is still a decent place.
|
One of the most expensive pubs in London for food, the food is good, but no where near as good as prices indicated.
|
Not the same as it was four years ago. Its (former?) sister pub the Stonemasons (in Hammersmith) isn't as good as it was, and neither is the Masons. Each used to be a characterful and not too expensive pub which did, yes, gastro but in its own sweet style; but then they changed. The Masons is very expensive (�4.15 for a pint of Italian lager!) and no longer characterful enough. If I wanted to go to a restaurant I might go to the one along the road (which used to be a pub called something like the Coniston). Meanwhile the Fullers London Pride went off (admittedly the barmaid was nice enough about it) and so it was yet again No Real Ale. I wonder what the two pubs further along, under the railway and towards the looming pigless towers of Battersea Power Station are like.
|
I used to think this was a pretty descent pub but unfortunatly times haved changed. I went there for a drink with some friends and the staff were incredibly unfriendly and they chucked everyone out of the pub at 11.05. I don't think I'll ever be going there again. What a rubbish place. I can't believe the staff were so rude and the drinks so expensive. Not the kind of pub to make it through the recession I think as the regulars are likely to go to Fannigans of Battersea instead.
Such a disapointment. Unfortunatly it looks as if this pub has turned into a disapointing pub chain with no soul and rude staff.
|
A big disappointment as this pub looked great from the outside. It took over an hour to get a very ordinary (and very expensive) bowl of soup. Service stroppy. No need to say we will not be returning.
|
Great Food every time. This si one of my locals and must admit that I end up eating there at least once every 2 weeks (and have been for the last 2.5 years) It's not the cheapest pub food but it's bloody delicious.
|
Bright, relaxed atmosphere; friendly table service and good - though not cheap - food. Highly recommended.
|
This pub is over priced but there is a nice atmosphere and the staff are ok. Food is lovely though again on the pricey side. Gets very busy especially on fridays and its a struggle to get through the crowds to the toilets, why the hell are they downstairs!?
|
I disagree with all negative comments below. I am a regular to this pub, yes, in the past some of the staff were a bit rude and not friendly, but new management seems to have gotten rid of them, and brought in some fresh faces. Food is fantastic, best Sunday roast in London!
anonymous - 19 Oct 2006 09:55 |
Agree with TEEPEE!
USED TO BE the best. Amazing south african chef, beautiful food and some classic 'one off's' such as leaf cutting ant, stir fried grubs, real pork scratchings, It made the place interesting but it is no more.
The staff are now pretty long faced
the 'open burgers' and 'open sandwiches' suck.
the prices have gone up and the decor is poor.
you can still get a fantastic meal out of the place if you choose well!
|
Over-priced, devoid of any personality and full of reptiles. No, not London Zoo, this pub. Staff were incredibly rude and incompetent, glass was dirty and when I complained was given a dirty look. Won't be returning.
anonymous - 30 Aug 2006 12:33 |
It was nice sitting outside and I found the service pretty swift. 2 taps of London Pride? Why not have another ale on instead?
|
Having been a regular here over the past year, I must concur with the comments below. The Masons is now almost unrecognisable from the pub I used to frequent and has declined drastically over the last 12 months. The staff have no charm and are perfunctionary at best, the food is bland and overpriced and the music is both obvious and dire in the extreme. Such a shame, used to be a great place to drink.
|
Oh dear, this used to be my favourite pub when I was living on Queenstown road,have been there recently whilst passing through and I was severely disappointed.
I ordered a pint of Hoergaarden, and half a pint of Leffe. Instead I ended up with a pint of Leffe and a bottle of Hoergaarden; they no longer have Hoergaarden on tap, and in its place there are two taps of London Pride. What a shame! I still had to pay �3 for the small bottle which was just over half a pint. Felt very ripped-off and I doubt I will ever go back.
It has recently been taken over and the food menu doesn't have the same pizzazz it did a couple of years back, I used to have eat here every Sunday. Nothing appealed and the starters start from about �10, �15 for a platter of continental meats -to me that is a bit outrageous to say the least.
The paintings/prints they used to adorn the walls have gone and in its place there is a God awful record collage type thing.(imagine old records superglued to the wall randomly).
All the nice old comfy chairs at the tables have changed too; they look TOO new and cheap to be honest. Atmosphere has soured, I wish the new people who had taken over had left this pub alone, as it used to be great. It's barely a shadow of its former self and not as busy as before.
|
Good food shame about the staff : some improvement over the last year (ear splitting music has been turned down a bit) but still attitude with your beer and food. Given increasing competition in the area - Fox & Hounds, Dovedale House, Settle Inn, Duke of Cambridge etc. all doing well - and the first �3 + pint in the area, would recommend elsewhere if you're mobile.
C'mon Masons - drop your prices and show a bit more welcome and give your chefs the front of house they deserve....
|
A nice pub, good atmosphere on a Saturday night and the food smells delicious (haven't sampled yet). On the downside, drinks are a bit pricey and the bar staff seem to be competing with each other over who can be the slowest. Handy for a post-work beverege.
|
Visited this place for the first time last Tuesday night - great pub! Good mix of grizzly locals and arty types, staff are friendly and though we didn't eat the menu looks interesting with a crocodile stir-fry. My new local!
|
Owned by the same people as have the Stonemasons Arms in Hammersmith, it is really the same pub in a different location. Big wooden tables give the impression it's mainly about dining and the food is quite good. Limited range of not-brilliant real ales. Also like the Stonemasons it has a changing variety of pictures on the walls, and a stripped-down and inoffensive decor.
|
I'm not sure why the management employ such poor staff. Either they don't mind losing custom, or they are trying to develop a Fawlty Towers-type theme pub based around rude, obnoxious, arrogant, not-too-bright serving personnel. Might just work...but I doubt it.
anonymous - 2 Jun 2005 16:43 |
This pub is on the expensive side, granted, but it's worth it to hear the hilariously cheesey chat-up lines of the little bar man. So naff, it was impossible not be amused.
|
A decidedly average place. Worth avoiding on a Friday night unless you enjoy standing and being pushed around as people fight to get to the bar. The tables are so close together that when you do get a seat you keep getting knocked by people trying to get past.
The staff are below average and don't seem to realise that serving customer is what they get paid for.
|
Good pub this. Quite smart in a minimalist sort of way with large windows and a high ceiling so it feels light & airy. They always have guest beers (though what's written on the blackboard doesn't always tally with what is actually available) and they're well kept. �3.10 for a pint of Staropramen which is not cheap but then the pub is going for the moneyed young (of which there are plenty around here!) Large selection of wines by the bottle or glass. Really good food from the open kitchen by the bar - again, not cheap, but interesting and constantly changing menu - the place gets rammed on Sunday lunchtimes. Well worth a visit.
|
Top quality (though a bit pricey) gastro food. Very good fun when it's busy, and the music selection (when they're playing indie stuff) is great. (i think someone there must be a smiths/morrissey fan in the building!)
Anon. - 9 Nov 2004 13:03 |
Great pub with a real eclectic mix of music - on the same night I heard Be My Baby, Morrissey and Can! Friendly staff, good food and nice unpretentious atmosphere. Recommend a visit.
Dinah - 10 Sep 2004 14:05 |
Never been so insulted in my life by a rude member of staff that advised me "to say please" when i asked if my raw food could be recooked.. " then he and i would get on better" I WILL NEVER RETURN!
INSULTED - 27 Aug 2004 11:45 |
Nice looking and spacious but the staff are a sirly bunch who appear to require their backsides kissing or egos massaging in order to serve their customers efficiently.
nick jinkinson - 29 Jul 2004 13:13 |
Nice pub, but a little too full of pretentious 'meeja' types from the QVC channel up the road.
Philip - 31 Mar 2004 11:57 |
love this place. Had many a night of fun, either DJing, dancing or on a mission to messy. Food is top, the fish cakes alone are worth a mention.
Mark - 18 Mar 2004 13:47 |
Went here for New Years and it was excellent - food was much higher quality than usual pub fayre, and staff were all friendly and efficient
Alex - 9 Jan 2004 10:23 |
Excellant food and good nimbles, beer good, but on the expensive side. Great little bench area outside to watch the world go by.
David - 9 Jan 2004 07:49 |
Staff are a bit hit and miss. Usually has pictures on display that can be bought from the artist. The food can be great, and is fresh at least!. All in all its OK but occasionally has a funny crowd in.
Rich - 17 Dec 2003 11:49 |
A cool pub, nice open space just opposite Battersea Park station. A good range of lagers and ales on tap with some excellent choice of food too. Bit on the pricey side sometimes but worth it for a good relaxed clean pub within walking distance of the park
|
