please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The landlord only employs young eastern European female bar staff. Unfortunately they tend to be rude, obnoxious and incapable. Have been drinking here for many years. Unfortunately it has gone too far downhill in recent months. Other reviews suggest this is a typical London pub. It's not. Whatever charm it once had is long gone and it's really nothing more than a filthy unpleasant dump. Not cheap either and all the lagers taste the same.
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As stated, the main photo above is not the correct one. Image 2 is the correct Blue Posts.
I have been in here on quite a few occasions now - and I have to say I quite like it!
It is definately a "no nonsense" type boozer with a landlord still wearing a shirt and tie and watching over patrons like a hawk!
Beer was "ok" - decor is massively dated, feels like you have gone back 20 years but I find this is actually part of the charm!
If you want a proper pub experience go here!
If you dont like dated decor and fancy more sumptous surroundings, dont visit.
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also, thats not the blue posts in the photo above.
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quailty boozer. its an authetic english boozer, in a lovely old building, slap bang in the middle of trendy soho. its like an oasis (if you like this sort of thing). carpet form the 1970's, decorations from the 1970's, irish landlord from the 1870's.
its such a genuine pub, that passing tourists hoping for some london glamour would open the door, take a look around and leave, all day long. thats not to say it was empty, it was perfectly busy, with a good atmosphere and great service. a lovely pub.
one of the nicest features of the building is how it sits, when viewed from broadwick street. the building is much older than its neighbours, and sticks out in a way that shows then original lie of the road.
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Great little pub always pop in when in the area,staff always friendly and not had a bad pint.
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Great little pub always pop in when in the area,staff always friendly and not had a bad pint.
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Nice clean pub staff very good and beer always top notch when i`ve been in.
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Good pint of Landlord, great Sunday afternoon Jazz band and a quirky quiz upstairs on a Tuesday eve. One of the better pubs in Soho. Oh, and the staff and management are very friendly and quick.
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Click on [image 2] to see the picture of thep ub this article actually refers to - the Blue Posts in Berwick Street. The one shown is one of the other 2 BPs in W1.
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Fantastic pub. By far the best in Soho if not one of the best in London.
I almost didn't recognise it at first from the photo above (when was that taken??) but i can strongly advise anyone looking for a drink in a pefect, traditional unpretentious pub to go in there and they are guaranteed not to be disapointed.
Probably for this very reason it attracts the most interesting clientele of any London pub I can think of. last time I was in there on a Friday both Phil Jupitus AND Paul Weller were drinking on seperate sides of the bar!
Only criticism is that sometimes (especially Friday / saturday nights) it does get too busy at the bar when one is trying to order a drink so surely it wouldn't cut into the bar-take too much to hire another helping hand?
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If I'm not mistaken this pub was known as The Blue Boar until the early 70s when the governor died and Watney's bought it up. The Berwick street boys used to sell their produce on the street during the day as well. You could go off in one direction to where the "Cop Shop" or bachelor Bobby quarters were, another to the Theater District, a third towards ChinaTown, and lastly a fourth towards Raymond's Review bar :)
In the picture shown if you look to the left and the building there, working girls used to hang out that second story window and call to men on the street.
It was a colorful and enjoyable place back in those days :)
bald1 - 27 Sep 2010 08:37 |
pictures are misleading, there is no outside space apart from the pavement. The lagers were all flat even after the landlady supossedly replaced the gas tank. Nothing special at all.
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What's wrong with a 1970's feel to the pub ?- I would say it's actually more 1960's and all the better for that.
March 4, 2010 at lunchtime
As far as I could see no food was being sold - in fact someone went out and got some chips for the barman. I would have liked a sandwich but at least I was served by someone who was there to serve me and not dashing about with dirty plates and greasy hands (he served me my pint before he got the chips!)
Music in the background - not enough to disturb my newspaper reading thank goodness and good conversation going on between three locals in one place some young trendy girls in anmother and two city type gents at the bar.
I had a pint of Directors - tasted all right to me. It also sold London Pride but I did not study the other drinks on offer.
Thge Gents was clean and, glory of glories, the copper pipework was polished and shining.
A really good, no nonsense pub that still concentrates on serving beer instead of food. I will certainly revisit this pub.
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As others have said, a Soho pub that manages to retain that nostalgic 1970s feel (I hadn't visited it for over 25 years - scary). But, it feels like it has seen better days - and there were far more music biz and media people getting pissed after work in the 70s, which made it a much more atmospheric place in some ways. Reasonable pint of Adnams, albeit with something of a generic brown beer taste.
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Smallish street corner local situated in the heart of a lively cosmopolitan Soho street.
As other posters have indicated, it's got that nostalgic old fashioned 70's feel to it, complete with formica table tops and tables and chairs and a trademark sticky carpet. There's nothing particular of note, but this is a pub that may appeal to those of a certain age group who remember when pubs were proper boozers where convivial company and conversation ruled.
Externally, it retains evidence of its days as a Watney Combe Reid pub and the tiled exterior is noteworthy. As noted previously, the pub picture on this page is that of the other Blue Posts.
The small central bar was serving Adnams and Courage Best, but I didn't sense that real ale was a major focus here at all. My pint of Adnams - � 3.30p - was not particularly good and the people at the next table were not enthusiastic about the Courage.
I find it reassuring that an unpretentious ordinary pub can survive in an area like this, but I do hope the beer is in better nick next time I call in.
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An old fashioned boozer of the kind I really like although they are diminishing in number both in Soho and London. The decor was firmly in the 70s but the pub had a certain comfortable ambience and a mixed crowd. Certainly it was quite crowded but the main noise was that of conversation rather than ear splitting music. As has been mentioned earlier the photo is not of this Blue Posts.
Not the best pub in Soho but one where it is possible to have a reasonable evening.
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Pretty average sort of pub. �3.50 a pint. Not sort of place I would stay in, its one for passing through.
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Proper, old fashioned boozer - including grumpy-looking landlord, indifferent but efficient barmaids, old bloke who looked like he used to work on a market stall singing songs at the bar and a reasonable pint of Courage Best. Not many places like this left in central London.
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This is a single room pub, with a handful of tables and chairs round the walls. It has a central island bar, and three doors (one not in use); typical of a multi-room pub that has been opened up. They had Courage Directors and Adnam�s Bitter on handpump � I only had the Adnam�s, which was just about OK.
Nothing specific against this pub, but not a lot on the plus side either. A pretty ordinary place all things considered � I�ve been in worse places as well as better ones. But its "ordinariness" has something of a nostalgic charm about it.
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There are five, there used to be six but the one at the bottom of Tottenham Court Road was demolished. The most popular explanation is that the original 'blue posts' marked the edges of a royal hunting ground.
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Oh and by the way, I concur with past comments. The picture shown is the Kingly St. Blue Posts. Not a bad pub but the wrong one. There seem to be at least 3 Blue Posts in the area. Wonder if there's a reason for this or is it just to confuse the postman?
chick - 15 May 2008 14:35 |
Love this pub. Back to the 50's (English frumpy, not American shiny) Grumpy landlord, miserable staff but very efficient and well kept beer. I like the way the sign on the door to the toilets changes each time you visit - 'Private' one day 'Toilet' the next - depending on the mood of the landlord. To pee or not to pee?
chick - 15 May 2008 14:26 |
Er, that photo... I don't think it shows the correct Blue Posts, does it? Isn't this page for the one on the corner of Berwick and Broadwick streets? Anyway, fantastic place. I hope it never changes.
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"Where's my money Budgie ?" The two reasons that i'm am here is that i'm collecting my forty nicker from Budgie and in the locale they is a decent lingerie shop round in Berwick Street, As I like to see Mrs Endell looking like Betty Page. Get Budgie a drink and Laughing Span Fritter while your at it, go check out that record store, the one that still sells vinyl and get me some Matt Monroe Tunes. even when your hunting down a reprobate like Budgie, a man must stop for a drink and this place is as good as it get's in old Soho. I bought wee Budgie a drink and he gave me me my forty nicker. For a taste of 1970's Soho visit the Blue Posts.
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Time warped in the nicest possible sense, I feel like I'm a supporting actor in an episode of Budgie when i'm in this pub this place has bags of atmosphere and the customers are very friendly and usualy have something interesting to say. The drink side of things is ok but if your a alehead this is probably not the place for you as most of the draught is standard fare. This is my favourite joint in London, the only downside for me is the smoking ban, as it has taken away my enjoyment of pubgoing. This pub used to have a heavy fug of smoke hanging over it, giving it a real ambience, I must end this review Charlie Endel has just walked in, and I owe him 40 nicker.
anonymous - 27 Aug 2007 12:36 |
Small but perfectly formed. My idea of a "proper" pub.
Can get a little too overpopulated at times but...
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Excellent traditional pub. Only slight problem is the popularity which can make it a bit of a scrum!
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A great Soho pub - a proper, unreconstructed boozer where basically anyone is welcome. This sort of place is so rare now, English Heritage should give it listed status to stop it being turned into somewhere like the Endurance just down the road. Have done a Blue Posts mini-crawl a couple of times, drinking in this pub, and the BPs in Kingley Street and Rupert Street - all different and worth visiting in their own ways.
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Indeed,photo one is of the Blue Posts on Kingly Street. This is a green king pub and pretty dull. The Berwick Street Blue Posts is an oldy worldy place with ok beer and tatty yet charming interior.
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What a Soho boozer should be. Sleazy lighting. A couple of ales available, but nothing fancy. Mixed crowd of professional, eccentrics, creeps, and oddballs. Wonderful.
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It's important not to get this pub muddled up with the other Blue Posts in Rupert Street. Picture 1 on this page is that pub - picture 2 is the correct one.
I've been goping to the Berwick Street Blue Posts for donkey's years and it's one of the best traditional pubs in the area. Bill McGrath is a great licensee.
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Quite a pleasant pub in an area where you are spoilt for choice for good pubs
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Had a nice beer and a few games on the quiz machine here on Saturday. Much better than the Shakespeare's Head down the road which had no ales on at all
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Hahaha. Redrover, until Taylor's brewery declared year zero and decided that 'tart's boudoir' was a suitable new look for Keighley pubs, they almost looked like the Blue Posts. And I loved it.
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Blimey, Albert. You get around, don't you? I bet there aren't too many pubs like this in Keighley?
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I do offer my sincerest apologies, I was talking about the Blue Posts just off Carnaby Street. Go there, its lovely.
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I'm a big fan of this pub (even if it is THREE POUND TWENTY for a Kronenbourg), but it definately doesn't have clear windows anywhere other than up by the ceiling. Sorry to be pedantic.
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Like taking a trip in the Tardis. Not changed for yonks but thats part of the appeal. NOTE: The photo currently attached is not of the The Blue Posts on Berwick but rather the one off Ganton.
anonymous - 9 May 2006 17:23 |
Proper pub, proper people, lovely for standing outside of a summers evening. Don't ever change. This is our regular for afternight drinks on a Friday and can't be beaten.
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They have a few seats (stools) by the window on the right hand side of the bar, next to the entrance thats leads to the toilets. Lovely spot - saw a guy with one arm, yet managed to light a cigarette whilst eating a sandwich. And I'm 5'11.
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Lordbeardy must have X-Ray eyes. Either that or he's 8ft tall. The last time I was in the BP it had firmly opaque windows.
anonymous - 10 Apr 2006 18:34 |
Cracking pub - with the recent trend of chain and theme pubs killing proper pubs its so refreshing to find a traditional little corner pub in the streets of central London. Limited selection of beers, but don't let that put you off a little bit of people watching by the window with a cheeky pint in the afternoon.
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Sorry but I think this is an awful little place - crap selection of beers, and the stuff seemed very badly kept. That said I've only been twice.
anonymous - 4 Jan 2006 19:59 |
Proper London boozers are now rare. For this reason, one should enter The Blue Posts as if visiting a museum. This also alleviates the guilt associated with spending an entire afternoon quaffing Guinness.
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One of Soho's last professional boozers. Hasn't changed for years, and is very sixties in appearance (even has a WATNEYS window!) though it did get a new carpet a few months back.. Could almost be used as a film set. Can YOU find the toilets? This pub is a gem in its own way, and hopefully it'll stay as it is for a long time to come.
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Pretty good. The corner outside is one of the better people watching spots of Soho. Drinks average price for the area, and usually decently kept ale. A good place to sneak off to from the office for a quiet snifter. Landlord can be surly.
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Single room corner location pub with a splendid ship's bridge of a bar from where Captain Landlord can steer the drunks into harbour.... Never mind the romance, this is the sort of dingy run down squalid pub that every town has in the back streets. Only tramps and scruffy locals with no self-esteem come here - people with self-respect and a desire not to catch TB will avoid this place. You know the pub in Men Behaving Badly? And the landlord? Based on this place. But, fairs fair, the place does serve beautifully conditioned beer, and it does have an old fashioned dirty old man charm.
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One of the nicer and more welcoming pubs in soho.a very good mix of people from the local Berwick street market traders, film industry runners the odd tourist and local residents. The beer on offer is standard fare so stick to the spirits but you dont realy go here for the quality of the booze on offer, the unpretentious atmosphere is this pubs saving grace and the decor hasen't changed since the 1970's.
A venue that you could happily tipple away an afternoon.
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It is dirty, stinks and is very expensive. Probably the last proper boozer left in this part of London. I loved it.
anonymous - 24 Mar 2005 12:29 |
This pub is great - small, popular, great barstaff. As the other posters have said, this is a proper pub. You should take up a seat with Hemingway at the bar and talk about affairs of the day or break up a fight between Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton in the other corner. Many is the happy day I have spent in here
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Proper pub. A little cramped sometimes but not overly so. Friendly staff.
Sheepish - 29 Oct 2004 16:55 |
The Blue Posts is a health hazard. It is dark, dingy, cramped, smoky and as a result I have spent far too much time there. A proper pub, no bleached blonde floorboards or modern cuisine in sight. I think it may even have carpet on the walls...
Ian - 22 Sep 2004 19:44 |
A Soho pub that feels like a pub (wooden chairs, grungy round the edges) rather than a franchise - bar staff have a good sense of humour and you can usual get a seat upstairs. Quite pricey however - not for the long-haul.
anna - 15 Jul 2004 13:06 |
Lovely pub - a little oasis of calm in the middle of soho, except when it gets taken over by after-work types. Good beers, friendly staff, just a great place to drink and chat. And check out the occasional drunk thesp.
anonymous - 13 Mar 2004 13:08 |
Nice and Sleazy. A real pub
ian - 9 Mar 2004 15:23 |
A cosy place in an interesting location. Room with bar upstairs is cosier still.
andawine_forthelady - 4 Feb 2004 10:13 |
Looks like a set from a 70's sitcom - George and Mildred say. Despite, or maybe in spite of this, it is a good place to drink. The clientelle are quite youthful considering and, although the seating seems to have been designed with midgets in mind, this is actually a really nice pub.
Good for: first pub of a long crawl
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