please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
As others have said, this is a pleasant canal and lock side pub that was at one time the lock keeper's cottage and has since been extended and refurbished. There is a good amount of outside seating, consisting of both garden alongside the canal as well as wooden decking elsewhere.
Inside it's on a couple of different levels. The lower part where the bar counter is has quite a contemporary look and is roughly an L-shape. The upright leg of the 'L' has a large and open arched roof with plenty of oak beams and maroon paintwork, and this colour scheme extends to the walls. The flooring here is a dark parquet wood with some large rugs and there are a number of old black and white pictures of the locality dotted around the walls. A prominent feature at the rear was a modern fire-place with a wood burning stove and a large steel chimney rising up to the apex of the roof. The "fire" itself is actually on two different levels, with the upper and smaller part being the functional half, whilst below that is a pile of brightly illuminated logs. Seating here is mostly conventional tables and chairs, although there were a couple of sofas in front of the fireplace. A small glass display cabinet at the corner of the 'L' housed a collection of wine bottles and Fuller's beer bottles.
Up a few steps to the rear are a couple more rooms, and this is the original part of the building. Consequently it's much narrower here as opposed to the large open plan space on the lower level. The paintwork here is a pale green and the flooring is a mixture of more wood and some attractive mottled tiling. These rooms run alongside the canal lock so offer a good view of the activities outside to any punters sat here. There are also a couple more fire-places, including a freestanding dual aspect chimney, but although they were stacked full of logs I suspect these are more decorative than functional. A couple of sofa's and leather armchairs at one end provided a more relaxed space to sit and sup your pint.
The food menu consisted of a reasonable selection of dishes, mostly of the typical pub grub genre with options such as Pie of the day, Fish & Chips, Chicken Kiev and a Burger. That said though, the prices were a step up from your usual pub fair, with most of the mains being around the £10 mark. My Salmon & Herb Fishcakes were ok, but I've had tastier ones and at £11 they seemed expensive, especially considering all they came with was a Beetroot & Cucumber Salad (that was singularly bereft of any cucumber) and a small pot of herby Crème fraîche. A waitress walked past my table several times empty handed but didn't clear my plate away or ask I if I wanted anything else.
Beer choice was a little disappointing considering the eight hand pumps on the bar, and consisted of just three offering from Fullers - ESB, London Pride and Chiswick. The solitary cider was Aspall's Suffolk. Drink prices too seemed steep with a pint costing me £4.20, but I guess you're paying a premium for the location. Far enough on a pleasant summer's day perhaps when you can make the most of it, but do the prices drop at other times? I suspect not.
This is a slightly tricky one to mark. On one hand they've done a decent refurbishment of an old building, and it is of course a great location. On the other, beer choice was not brilliant, prices were high and service could have been better.
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Ordered a 12oz steak it arrived 4oz light and over cooked small size portion told table staff and they told me steak was 12oz before being cooked amazing, staff and manerment must have gone to the Basil Fawlty training school,emailed Fullers no replay so I will avoid there pubs and take my customer elsewhere
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The manager of this pub is a disgrace.
We visited with friends and family, and while waiting for our food, he aggresively ordered us to move tables (we had been shown to this table by a member of his staff)
On challenging his behaviour he became insulting and threatening, and we left as our young children were getting scared.
This manager's conduct needs to be addressed. Now.
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Seems this pub has attracted some negative feedback over the summer. However, popped in for a swift one on the way home and delighted to find Castle Rock Harvest Pale on tap in addition to Seafarers (plus usual Fullers ales). Pub not busy at that hour but bar service friendly. Situation might be different when busier but can only report my own experience.
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After a recent two week long cruise along the Grand Union Canal, I was extremely disappointed after visiting The Grove Lock.
I visited this pub before a number of years ago and was delighted to hear to that it had been refurbished recently and was under new manage as during my last visit the experience of going to the pub was very poor. The d�cor of the place was very modern and nice and I thought the afternoon would be a pleasant one.
However, my excitement was short lived upon entering the pub and the service that was provided to me at the bar. The young man that served me seemed as though he did not want to be there, and wanted to get me out of his face as quickly as possible as he seemed to be preoccupied with his mobile phone. Upon asking for a top up on my drink (as the head on it had gone down) I was met with an argument and the lad started to get very angry with me. I decided to let it go and went to sit down with my family.
We decided that we would like to have lunch at the location and picked out a selection of meals from the simple but good menu at the pub. This was yet to be another disappointment though, when I found that three of the four meals we wanted were out of stock and had to choose things that we did not particularly want. The price came to a very high amount, but never the less, I believed we would get some good quality food, so went and joined my family again.
After nearly one hour of waiting, the food still hadn't come and my children were starting to get very impatient. I was very bemused by this and wondered how it could take so long, seen as there were only around ten people in the entire pub I went to find out what was going, only t be confronted yet again by the boy that had served me first time. I asked him how long the wait on food was and he yet again started to get angry with me, and tried to convince me that we hadn't ordered anything. After showing him the receipt for our food, he went to the kitchen only to find that our order had been lost.
The food finally arrived nearly an hour and fifteen minutes later, and to my belief we did not get what we had paid for. The portions of food were very very small and my son said he was still hungry after the meal. The presentation of the food was also poor and it didn't seem very good quality food what so ever!
The final straw for me at this pub came, when after just finishing our meals, another staff member asked us to move tables as the one we were sitting had been reserved for later that evening. I decided that at that point it was perhaps time to move on.
I have been the manager of many different pubs over the last twenty years, and have turned many around from complete ruin to outstanding successes. This is possibly the worst pub I have been in, and needs some serious changes made to it if it is going to be a success in the future (mainly looking at how staff treat customers). It definately has a lot of potential.
This is not because this pub is part of a chain, as the other two Fullers pubs we visited on our trip (The Paper Mill in Apsley and The Boat in Berkhamsted) were both fantastic locations and I will more than willingly go back to them. However, until The Grove Lock is looked at by Fullers stringently, I will not be returning and would advise against other people from doing so.
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Not what I expected at all. For what is supposed to be a trendy and modern pub, this venue is dreadful.
I visited last week and will not return. I strong advise that you dont go here.
The food was possibly the worst pub grub I have ever had and extremely expensive for what we got.
The staff were also very rude. When I complained that my pint had not been filled to the pint line the person serving me started arguing and getting extremely boisterous. On another occasion, I asked a waitress for ketchup. She completely ignored me and carried on with what she was doing.
The only positive thing I have to say about this pub is it is located in a beautiful setting and the interior is very nice. However, both the staff and the food spoilt my visit and I shall not be returning.
I really do not know how this place has got its name
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I have been there once about a year ago and have no inclination to go there again!
The food I ordered took about 45 mins to arrive. It wasn�t bad tasting but was a very measly portion, plus it was overpriced. The drinks also were overpriced
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Some friends and I have recently spent an afternoon at The Grove Lock - and loved it! lovely decor - warm, cosy and stylish. The food was delicious and generous. We found the staff to be genuinely friendly and super efficient. Great location too - we'll definitely be back.
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just had a fantastic afternoon tea very lavish great service food and service greatly improved in last 18 months can highly recomend the blade of beef keep up good work
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Two terrible eating experiences here mean we will only ever venture in for a drink in the summer, and even then there are a lot of much better pubs in the area to choose from. On one the occasion we ate at the weekend, they had run out of practically all the main course, vegetables with our main meal consisted of a huge pile of red cabbage and peas, with nothing else! They had obviously run out of food but did not inform us before we ordered, and tried to pass off and coarse pork pate with tomato salsa as smooth venison pate with caramelised onion chutney... The food is also clearly reheated in microwaves with very little care or attention.
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The Grove Lock has had a huge turn around. About 18 months ago it was taken under new management and completely refurbed to give it a warm welcoming feel. Situated on the Grand Union Canal it has great views and a big garden on the canal bank for warmer days! The menu has changed to offer good, homemade, well cooked, fresh food, CONSISTANTLY, at a reasonable price. There are a wide range of FULLERS beers for sale as well as various largers, a selection of wines and many soft drink options. The staff are friendly and happy to help. Some of the older reviews on here do not offer a good representation of what is now on offer. And they now take bookings!!
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Same old story - nice location but could do a lot better. My experience of the food has been OK if a little expensive. Also have a good range of lagers, including Peroni. A great pub for sitting outdoors in the summer months.
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Quite simply, avoid!
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Quite a nice setting,very clean and orderly when first opened but Oh dear!...What has happened?
Food is overpriced,lacks finesse and taste,the service is dire...and overall business management seems to be slipping.
Originally this was a trendy place to go,now its just another out of the way pub!
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We went for lunch for my daughters birthday last Sunday. I have NEVER had such a disgusting meal, when eventually we got it. We were 10 people and I think 2 at any one time had their food together, the waitress lost our order......it just went on. In fact we refused to pay the bill it was so bad. Such a shame as before they changed hands ot was lovely.
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Nice setting for the summer - plenty of tables overlooking the locks and canal. Indoors it's all gone a bit 'Colin & Justin bland'. Think 'light' 'whitespace' and 'wood'! - decor that caters for the conference crowd/wedding reception? Seems to work though as generally fairly busy with monied families loving their balsamic drizzled olive terrines of organic whatever.
Teenage bar staff also seem a bit too smug and giggly for ones working for minimum wage in a bland pub. A safe place to take the grandparents though
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after the change of ownership, the food has gone greatly downhill and is now very overpriced. Limited menu and they often run out of basics such as burgers and bacon. Some popular beers run out at weekends. The setting is superb but stick to a drink, avoid the food unless you have more money than sense
anonymous - 24 Apr 2007 13:09 |
Resently the food has become very over priced and not much to be desired!
anonymous - 17 Apr 2007 17:58 |
I visit LB every few years and found the Grove to be alovely pub with excellant Food & Beer. Nice scenery, with nice fire in the winter time. Friendly waitresses and staff, however on one occasion the bartender was a bit of an arrogant pratt with a silly smirk on his face. Will go back when I visit again.
anonymous - 13 Nov 2006 02:07 |
The grove lock is one of my favourite in the area, it has a well presented bar and the menu is gorgeous. The beers and wine menus are extensive and a little bit pricey but great for a treat.
The only real downside is the veg selection on the roast dinners parsnips and strips of red cabbage served with traditional roast, raost potato's and yorkshire pud,s make it somewhat amusing!
stu27 - 30 Jan 2006 18:52 |
Nice setting for a pub. The only downside is the fact that you cannot wear caps in there. Unfortunately I have had an operation on my head with a rather large scar now highly visible. Tried to explain this to the staff but they didnt care, the hat had to come off. Didnt stay for a drink as I found the attitude to be a bit off.
anonymous - 12 Apr 2005 08:55 |
Congratulations to Fullers for creating a new pub. Beer usually of good quality but pricey.
The place is at it's best when you can sit outside- the inside is a bit predictable & bland, somewhat a wasted opportunity. Food OK but not cheap
mally - 29 Mar 2005 22:34 |
Ok, if you like drinking and eating in bland "tasteful" surroundings with less character than my lounge. Fullers beer is well-presented, but pricey, as is the food. However, sitting outside by the canal in summer is brilliant.
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The Beer and staff are excellent. Never tried the food but I have been told it is good.
One drawback is the interior decor. The whole effect makes the place seem sterile. It's like getting pissed in a Motel.
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The Grove Lock is a gorgeous spot that allows you to sit outside in the spring/summer and enjoy the natural beauty of the lock and surrounding scenary. The staff are all friendly and we have never had a bad meal. The prices are inline with the quality of the venue. Inside is decorated in a cosy yet contemporary style with leather sofas and a huge log burner. Highly recommend
Karen Gundry - 26 Mar 2004 11:14 |
An old lock-keeper�s cottage with a massive extension forms this new pub, part of the Fuller�s �English Inn� chain. Very popular on summer weekends, but note that the pricy beer and food can make this an expensive night out. Try not to fall in the canal on your way home.
Steve - 14 Feb 2004 22:52 |
