please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
It was seemingly the only place near to our hotel that was open late on Friday night (they served until 12.30am) and I needed a few pints after not bothering to queue for beer at the Stones concert. They'd "run out" of North Brewing's Transmission on the tower font (really? on the Friday of a Bank Holiday weekend?) so I opted for the £4.70 a pint cask Skyline from London Brewing Company in preference to the boring Proper Job and Doom Bar. Fortunately, it was very good - job done.
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oh dear, what a terrible place. First pint of Pride cloudy - had to give it back, end of barrel, so Pride was off. Ever heard of changing the barrel? Extremely unfriendly bar staff, who seemed to be running a competition to see who could fill the pint up least. Then got angry when it was pointed out! Gets ridiculously crowded with office lemmings so even getting to the gents becomes an obstacle course. I will never set foot in this pub ever again.
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Quite lively and atmospheric in the early evening, I visited here for the history alone and wasn't expecting much else, it at least managed to exceed those expectations. Usual bored young bar staff you'd expect in this kind a place.
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Bit apprehensive about popping into this place as I feared that it would be a tourist trap. However, I was wrong. Good selection of ales on the bar and the friendly chap serving let us try before we bought. Wide meal selection too if you want to eat.
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I believe the Wenlock is due for a change in ownership. The GBG is always cautious about such matters.
The Eagle is one of those new-fangled old-fangled pubs. The menu is Traditional British art very untraditional prices (such as �7 for a sandwich!). There is a fairly interesting selection of about 5 ales, which are served in "dimple" glasses in a typically
self conscious touch of retro. Can get extremely crowded.
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After being immortalised by a Victorian lyricist in the words of the "Pop Goes The Weasel" nursery rhyme, The Eagle is one of the most famous pubs in London. Thus it enjoys a reputation almost entirely at odds with the experience on offer in the 21st century. At first glance I know it can appear quite intimate and welcoming, with a slightly rustic charm. However the service is almost always lousy, the quality of the beer very often disappoints, and with thousands of office workers nearby it is very often uncomfortably busy. More than once I have also seen rats running around the beer garden. Mercifully this is not in my 2009 copy of the Good Beer Guide; if it has made it into another year's edition, I can only assume this is down to someone at CAMRA taking the piss on their last day.
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How come this pub is in the Good Beer Guide and the Wenlock has been quietly dropped? Makes one wonder what CAMRA are thinking of. I wouldn't bother dropping in here on the Wenlock/Old Fountain run. The bar staff are snotty and hopeless and the beer choice boring, not kept properly or simply not there.
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Awesome pub! I discovered this pub last Friday, and loved it. Great service, massive beer garden, and delicious food (the barman told us they had changed their menu recently - I can highly recommend the shin of beef). It makes such a change to go somewhere in the city with a bit of atmosphere - will definitely be going back.
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How this pub ever got in the GBG has always been a mystery to me,the last time we were in there was no ale available, all five pump-clips were turned around, so we had Weston's organic cider ( with ice, anathema to me, but the fridges weren't working), to be avoided.
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Arrived on a sunny Sunday afternoon and was surprised at the size of the crowd milling around the door - I thought it must have been very busy inside - but no, just two people indoors escaping the heat.
Settled for a pint of cider which was served quickly by a friendly barman then we sat outside. I thought the decor was ecelectic and welcoming but I have no idea how the pub woudl be if it was busy. Will probably pop in again some evening for a proper pint.
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Oh dear.
The evening started okay as the sun had just come out at the end of a chilly day and I was nice and warm. The pub looked okay from the outside and as you went in a nice real wood floor and decent enough decor. Beers on tap looked good Pride, Doombar, etc.
That's where the good comment stop.
20 minutes later the one barman final got around to me. I was quite lucky really as after that there was AT LEAST a 30 minute wait with the bar swelling with 2 barmen only briefly.
Went into the beer garden and put up with the shoddy service for an hour or so. Then came the pub quiz. Well sort of as the chap tried to sell it to the crowd but had no takers so it didn't happen.
Next came the food. A simple plate of potato skins: 40 minutes & arrived burnt to a crisp. When I say burnt to a crisp I mean charcoal black. To their credit they did refund the money...only after saying 'you've had one?'.
We then started to get cold which was odd as the sun was in full burn. However the massive tree in the beer garden had formed a canopy so dense I half expected a monkey to launch itself at us at any moment. Why they had been allowed to grow so large beats me. So we thought we'd ask them to turn on the huge amounts of patio heaters dotted around....only to be told none of them worked!
By this point I was cold, hungry, thirsty and cheesed off I had gone North of the river to bother attending this pub. I certainly won't be making that mistake again.
So points wise 1 for the beer and one for being a pub that is not a wine bar in London. However, that's about the only things going for it I'm afraid.
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This pub suffers from poor quality bar staff who, not being a bigot, are foreign and not the good foreign ones. They can't pour pints and have a somewhat surly attitude. The quality's not that great, either. It does however smell very strongly of bacon due to the neighbouring cop shop. Paranoid people may wish to go elsewhere.
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5 handpumps but only two on serving black sheep and bombadier. Food acceptable. Awfully busy for a Tuesday evening and too noisy to relax. Marie Lloyd would turn in her grave!
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This is a good sized U-shaped pub that I thought would be very pleasant as I approached, but I was wrong. It is dark and badly decorated and the barmaid that served me was nothing less than a rude bastard. There was no escape from the smell of food from the kitchen and only Pride was available out of the four ales shown. My Guinness was not the best and I regretted handing over any money.
I can�t recommend this pub to others.
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Disappointing pub. Scruffy and the mix of furniture inside doesn't suit it. Most importantly the beer range is very pedestrian-on my last visit on Sunday it just had beers such as Black Sheep and Deuchars.
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A Slightly Aggresive Barmaid didn't put the kibosh on an otherwise great evening out in the Beer Garden. Bombadier was well kept, and despite not eating, the food looked great that came out of the kitchen. Very "Hoxton".
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Now this was one of the last pubs on a pub crawl so cant remember much. Less than �3 a pint. Music loud. Big patio. OK
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The food has improved in recent times and they still have some decent ales on tap, including seasonal guests - a turgid pint of Christmas beer was replaced without quibble, but this place is so so heavingly busy that only skivers who leave the office early can properly enjoy it. A Hoxton pub for people who don't really like Hoxton - and hence, very popular.
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This is my favourite pub! There's a real buzz about it at lunchtimes and after work. The beer range is fab and I've only ever been impressed by the food (which, btw, is not expensive). The staff could smile more but are probably just a bit stressed coz it's so busy sometimes. (The gents loos do stink though!)
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I think we all agree the staff are clueless.
When I was in, Slater's Queen Bee was actually in decent nick and served in a dimple mug. DJ? Give that a miss.
No idea why it's in the Good Beer Guide - broadly agree with Seth, then again we have the same taste in jackets, too.
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Went here for the first time last night and for the most part it was great. Sat outside in the lovely garden, got served very quickly every time I went to the bar, even though they were busy, and had fantastic food (the burgers are brilliant).
However, the Eagle lets itself down when it comes to the toilets! They absolutely stink, enough to make you gag even before you get into the actual cubicles. They really need to sort this out as it is disgusting!
LadyR - 23 Aug 2008 15:55 |
Sort out the gents toilets please.
On Saturday evening they stank to high heaven.
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I was unimpressed with this pub and judging by the clientele it certainly isn't an ale drinkers pub even though they make it out to be.
Better off giving this a miss and going to the Wenlock.
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This should by rights be a cracking pub. but the staff have a long way to go. The beer selection is good and my ale was in good shape. but when we we ordered food and half the people had been served we were told that we had to move tables by a sprog of a DJ, we explained that we had ordered food and they should have put a reserved note on the table (or not taken our order) but were told "you have to move.. I work here". we eventually moved and were promised a pitcher of beer by the equally rude manager that never arrived.
fair enough you'd made a mistake and wanted us to move but ffs start with an apology and ask nicely.
also the DJ was shit and emptied the bar in about 20 minutes, who are these people that want to sit around in a pub that is too loud to talk in?
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God knows that this pub could be great but... sadly they let theselves down on service and cleanliness.
Don't order off the draught unless you have a butchers at another punters and it was ok. Eat before or after. The last time I was in there, staff had not swept the garden area and there was broken glass out there. A no-no at the best of times but hopeless in summer and doubly so when there were children present.
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Possibly one of the worst pubs in London for customer service.They have around 10 people behind the bar all of whom seem utterly oblivious to the fact that they are there in order to get drinks. Prepare to wait half an hour to then be greeted by a less than luke warm welcome. The only reason I can see that there is anyone in this pub is because it is round the corner to a whole bunch of offices.
The toilets, even the ladies stink to high heaven and you are risking you health everytime you go in them.god forbid you are unlucky enough to have to stand near them!
A few weeks ago I went there at lunch for someones birthday, we all ordered the overpriced food and waited for it eagerly. Shepherds pie that costs �10 ought to be good. After a long wait the food appeared, ALL except mine. The staff were unhelpful when I asked where mine was and barely grunted a reply. Ten minutes later it arrived, it looked tasty so I started muunching only to realise that it was frozen in the middle.
In short this place is overpriced and badly run.
ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!
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Up and down the City Road...
Well I popped in here last night to find another of the M & B pubs which have a few real ales, a range of foreign beer and various sized tables, chairs and sofas. Beer garden out the back
Brains Reverend James, Pride, Deuchars IPA and Westons cider. Sierra Nevada on draught too. Took a while to get served although on a sunny evening after work that's to be expected.
Worth a stop on the way to the Wenlock.
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have to agree with a comment a few down from this one
the last three times I've been here I've swapped beers as there's been something floating in it, it's been flat, or just tasted downright wrong - hardly surprising the barman gives a look of dread when walking through the door
shame as I went there a few times last summer and it was bang on for food and beer - get fixing the probs and it'd be a great booza, if a bit full of the poncey set
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Haven't ventured back in since I had to change 3 different cloudy pints on the trot, despite the rather abrupt antipodean bartender trying to convince me 'that's how it should be'. Errm, I don't think so mate, g'day.
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Nice enough place, with some decent draught beers on, but slightly lacking the authentic 'pub' feel - perhaps more aimed and the wine and food market?
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Famous pub just off the City Road. Dark and relatively spacious inside clearly designed to cater for large groups of people with long wooden benches and tables. They don't bat an eyelid when you try to pay by card, which probably tells you what sort of clientele they tend to get. Good range of guest beers, including drinkable foreign lager, though I wouldn't recommend buying a round too often as it is basically over �3.00 a standard pint. Good but very expensive range of bar food. Nice paved beer garden where you can bask in parafin heat and listen to the police testing their sirens in the adjacent yard. There is a regretable tendency in this pub for someone to come round at about 1900 and put a piece of paper on your table saying that it is reserved from 2000. I suggest eating the paper with some Wasabi peas.
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Went here for the first time in December 2007. What a great place. Very friendly ( staff & customers ), fast service, wide range of beers, reasonable prices, large heated beer garden and, what really pleased me, they were open until 1.00am.Definitely will be here again.
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Pleasantly surprised -good food, friendly staff and a range of drink that was both good and well-kept.
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Lovely pint of Schneider Weiss soothed my tonsillitis ridden throat and my stomach was pleasured by a delicious burger. Will happily return too again even if I did lose my Leyton Orient hat there.
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Having only known The Eagle since the middle of 2007, I'm a little confused as to why it's rating isn't one of the highest. I can only assume that it's improved a lot. There is one of the most extensive selections of a range of drinks, the food is very good and the service quick and there is a great buzz to the place, particularly in the heated beer garden. A solid 9/10 for me.
anonymous - 16 Oct 2007 10:57 |
Not a bad little place to come to after work on a Friday afternoon/evening. Usually a few fellow Moorfields coworkers to be seen but it does tend to get a bit busy so if I don't get there early enough to get a seat, I don't bother going at all due to the limited space inside.
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Would like to say in the last few month's the service as improved lot's. I would suggest that anyone who has had bad service before, try the eagle again. I'm sure you will change your mind.
anonymous - 14 Feb 2007 01:25 |
Another really characterful pub, although full of the Sunday lunch brigade. Decent beer choice (Titanic), though more people drinking keg cider ! OK really.
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caught a bite and a few beers here monday night, good Guinness, a good selection of real ales and a very well stocked bar. went for bangers and mash - was ok, not fantastic, but would go again and gladly try something else on the menu. nice enough staff, and fairly speedy service for the food, generally a nice pub in the thick of things by Moorfields
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Definetley a pub. not a Gatro pub. Having said that the food is good and speedy.
Suprised by the remarks below about the service. Maybe cos of the shape of the bar but ive never had an issue getting served here.
The garden has been cleared up now as well so you can sit under the Gazibo with the heaters going full bore even at this time of year.
theyve also got a DJ playing from 8 on a friday night now. Haven't been in but i think hes playing more chilled out than head banging by the look of the poster
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went there for the first time a few weeks ago, have to agree the service was woeful, took ages to get served, not because of a lack of staff, but poorly trained staff. Decent bar staff know who's been at the bar longest and serve that person, they don't just serve who they feel like serving.
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Good pub. Good beer garden. Awful service - bar staff who never seem to know who's been waiting longest, and tend to wander off to do other things...
anonymous - 17 Jul 2006 09:20 |
Up and down the City Road
In and out the Eagle
That�s the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel
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With food as bad as this it could never be described as a gastropub.
Probably one of the smokiest pubs in London
Staff are pretty grumpy and inefficient as well.
(Apart from that its great!!)
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The Eagle is not in any way, shape or form a wine bar or gastro pub. It is a pub. It is different because it caters for young people as well as old and has some premium continental products for those of us who like to try something new. But it is still a pub. And a great one at that in my opinion.
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I disagree, its a pub - just a modern one.
anonymous - 13 Mar 2006 08:43 |
I didn't realise this place had already been "Stonched". You're quite right - it's not really an out and out gastropub but then it can't really be categorised as a full blooded pub or a wine bar. It's a bit of a mix of all 3 and difficult to pigeonhole. I was a bit miffed that I was the 10th rating and unwittingly sent it temporarily flying to No 1 in the Top 40 but fortunately it has now come down a couple of pegs.
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Roger your review is good and fair, giving a fairly accurate picture of what is on offer here. But can I take issue with the use of the term gastropub, which is being bandied around too much, and doesn't really apply to the Eagle. Sure, its a place that offers a full menu and clearly wants people to partake in it, but its not really a gastropub like, for example, its namesake the Eagle on Farringdon Road, the originator of the style. In this place drinking clearly comes before food. I think if we start classing places like this as gastropubs, one would literally have to class more than 50% of boozers in London as gastropubs, making the term meaningless.
anonymous - 10 Mar 2006 16:33 |
I popped in here a couple of times a few years ago when I had to walk past on Tube Strike days. I remembered it as a pretty decent pub displaying all the merits that go with a traditional Victorian local�s pub. Went in here this week for an �emergency� pint whilst passing by and found the place has been gastrocised although to be fair, the transformation has at least been done sympathetically. The decorative pillars still remain and whilst not being a fan of gastropubs, the Eagle has at least retained some of its old charm. Dim lighting gives the pub a intimate feel and there a mixed style of seating to suit both drinkers and diners. Not sure about the hanging fairy lights though or the �dentists chair� by the door. 3 Real Ales including Batemans XXXXB. My main gripe would be the lack of attention from the staff � apart from giving my wife a sparkling water instead of still (rather grumpily replaced), my elbow was positively sticking to the bar every time I leant on it and the toilets were awash with what I hope was water. The main claim to fame is of course its mention in the Pop Goes The weasel nursery rhyme and will always therefore have a place in London pub history. These days it is not my cup of tea but if you are into gastropubs, this is probably fairly decent choice.
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Yes, UncleDunkel, I know about the Wenlock, obviously a wonderful pub in its way - but that fact these Mitchells & Butlers places like the Eagle and the Island Queen are serving good real ale with unusual guests as a cause for mucho celebration.
anonymous - 10 Mar 2006 15:24 |
If you are after real ale, not that the wonderful Wenlock
is just up the road!
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Seemed great when I popped in for a half at six on a Friday evening - pretty packed at that time. Loads of seating.
Great selection of beers - German, Czech, Belgian -lagers, white beers, ales. Something for everyone. Three fairly unusual real ales on (certainly not standard) - Marstons Old Empire and two I had never seen before (can't remember the names).
I was served very quickly despite it being busy.
Same "chain" as the Crown on Clerkenwell Green, the Castle at Farringdon, Crown and Sceptre in Fitzrovia and the Barley Mow in Shoreditch - owned by Mitchell & Butler's, a group of victorian heritage pubs made trendy in a sympathetic way (i.e. original features intact but with fairy light hanging off them, that kind of vanilla bullshit). Great stuff all of them - half-decent food, amazing beers.
Great to see a historic pub being modernised without being gutted.
anonymous - 18 Feb 2006 13:56 |
This is a must visit pub for the history - the famous music hall, and the referencing in the nursery rhyme - Up and down the City Road / In and out The Eagle / That's the way the money goes / Pop goes the weasel. The pub itself is large and comfortable and cheerful. Good seats. Good bar staff. Good food. Decent enough.
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Mix of standard real ales and continental lagers. Menu looks familiar but no experience. Wonderful staff. 6/10.
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This is a lovely pub. It's so steeped in history (see the plaque outside), and really nicely done up, that it's great inside (good food too) and quite cosy if the weather's a bit crap. However, the best bit is the beer garden, it is brilliant and makes you feel like you're on holiday when the sun is shining. it's full of fairy lights and mirrors and trailing leaves and they do a barbecue. it's one of my favourite outside drinking spots in London.
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Good pub. Nice looking, chilled and welcoming. Food is great on the whole, but when they do a BBQ (sunny summer days) the burgers are not as good as the normal ones and you get plastic plates! Fab chunky chips. It's a bit more expensive than other pubs in the area but you pay for quality!
anonymous - 9 Jul 2005 18:37 |
Great pub!!! great beer garden, fanastic food and the most friendly bar staff I have ever meet...especially the tall aussie guy.
Would recommend this homely pub to everyone
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Good pub but below average food. Always when you go there especially to eat the food is tasteless and reheated (e.g. half frozen sauasages, very lumpy mash) but if you are there drinking and then fancy something to eat, chances are it'll be great! They need more consistency with the kithcen - do not deviate from the sandwiches and burgers and you'll be fine - everything else is too risky at this date!!
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Lively, attractive, well-kept pub with modern art on the walls. Young, trendy, noisy crowd. Pleasant and relaxed. They sell a good pint of Wadworth 6X. Haven't tried the food but the menu looks good, and meals are around �7.
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The Eagle is a gorgeous little pub with friendly staff and a laid back atmosphere. What it lacks in quality beer, it makes up for with good food.
The recently added garden at the back and selection of retro boards it is the ideal post-work drinking venue.
Interesting history as well, it's the pub featured in the song Pop goes the Weasel, as in "Up and down the City Road, in and out the Eagle".
Jack Smith - 16 Sep 2004 14:34 |
