please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Interior a bit quirky, personally quite liked it. Didn't sample the ale so can't comment on it but decent pint of Broklyn Lager.
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Why can't I find 'the Black Dog' using the search on this website? I have an idea why, This is an AWFUL pub. The state of the ales is diabolical and the lagers look a bit pale for my liking. So much potential, it's a nice interior but the drinks are vile, every time I've tried it I've had one drink and gone elsewhere.
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I use to go to the Lavender when I worked in Vauxhall because it was the best pub in the area. The Black Dog as it is now called is a great improvement on this. My wife and I go when we are in the area meeting friends. Good food and a great atmosphere. It really makes Vauxhall a nicer place.
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Great pub. Since it's renovation I've found myself visiting for a cheeky half after work many times. Interesting and varied menu from the new kitchen, good wine and beer selection. I have to disagree with previous comment r.e staff - my experience is of one of helpful, welcoming and friendly bar staff, never had a problem.
New layout provides much more space (good for parties and available for hire) and decor keeps the original feel to the place. Nothing flashy.
Definitely one of my favourite pubs at the moment - well worth a visit, especially when the sun is out.
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I had to register just to post about this place. Now called the Black Dog, since its recent refurbishment it looks good, and the food is good (though I don't know why they've discarded the pizzas!) Two things make this a bad place though:
1) The all too often poorly kept beer. Lagers often flat, or pumped full of gas; good name real ales, but that are so like dishwater we've returned them innumerable times and now given up; ciders that suddenly turn bad.
2) What tops this off though is the attitude of the guy who seems to be the manager, or acts like he is. Rest of the staff are fine but he's regularly smug and sarcastic in dealing with you, and instead of sorting out the clearly-wrong beer both in the short and long-run, and apologising, often questions your complaints (like we want to take our chosen beer back every time we order?!). A recent visit culminated in him suggesting if we don't like it, we should go to another pub. On this note, he is for once correct - why have we been turning up, giving this pub a go to be our regular, and filling his coffers when we can go to better ones?
A good pub gone bad, and that could be good again with tweaks in beer-keeping, attitude and/or presence of certain bar staff.
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Recently refurbished and renamed The Black Dog (pubs original name). Nice place with plenty of beer selection. Hog's Back TEA on last visit washed down nicely with a homemade scotch egg. Good on a summers day with park opposite. Certainly worth a visit if in the area.
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The Lavender has closed and is reopening as "The Black Dog" according to the sign on the window. There's a picture on the 2nd floor of the building of a black dog that's always been there, so presumably it was called that in the past.
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Black (lacquered?) floor; hard wooden chairs; solid robust tables; fish & chips at �9 a throw; kitchen visible behind the bar � bistro cum gastropub? They had Flowers IPA and Bombardier on handpump. I had the Bombardier; which was actually pretty good � but not cheap at �3.20 a pint. But why would I expect the beer not to be expensive in a place that charges �9 for fish and chips? This sort of price is fast becoming the norm for London.
They were doing a brisk trade at 4.30 on a Thursday afternoon, so they must be doing something right. As is usual with this sort of place, the lack of carpets and soft furnishings makes the conversation louder and raises the noise levels, which in a somewhat perverse way makes the place seem more exciting and vibrant. But it�s not the sort of place I would rush back to.
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Popped in a couple of months ago to meet a mate after work during the week for a few cheeky beers, ended up staying there til closing. Lovely pub, great beer and the food looked really good too.
Small beer garden with about 3 bench tables out the back, small but secluded and rather pleasant. Will definitely be going back next time I'm in the area.
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Came in here with Margaret and had a splendid evening.
Margaret got a taxi at 10.30 and I hopped over the road to the Annie!!!!!! Dont tell her.
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For a pub with ambitions of being a quality gastropub, it seems rather strange to be closed on Sunday lunchtimes. Did I say strange? I meant stupid.
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Agree with Mr_Flash. I wouldn't have expected this to be nice but the beer was well kept and the food was very nice. Slight language barrier with one of the bar staff but nothing to stop one returning.
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A very pleasant surprise.... Not the most attractive area to be in, but the pub was very good. Well kept Young's Ordinary (Ram Rod also available) and excellent, freshly cooked, reasonably priced main courses. Wide selection of lagers and varied wine list. Plenty of room to sit, attentive staff and a small garden area at the back - all in I'd say 8/10.
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Always liked this pub, although agree with some of the comments on it's attempts to go gastro. However now that it is frequented by people who whinge about places not taking their plastic will avoid. I'm stuck in the dark ages where people should still pay for their beer in cash.
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I feel the need to defend this place somewhat. Will any pub ever achieve a score above 7/10 on this site?!?
This is the best pub in the area for food and the setup is such that you feel almost as if you are in the kitchen with the chefs. Although you might come out smelling of the food you've just eaten, its a good experience - the lamb shanks and oriental options are excellent.
I've been for lunch many times now and I've always found the staff to be faultless.
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Not bad, certainly not that good either! Beer was okay, if a little pricey. Not quite sure what this pub wants to be; either a resturant that sells beer or a pub that does food. This apparent lack of direction has left it in some kind of gastropub limbo.
Plenty of other pubs nearby which are better.
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I've just been to the Lavender for a lunch with some collagues. When it came to paying by card a colleague didn't have the "PIN" function set up on her card. As it's not compulsory yet she requested that they swipe it so that she could sign. Eventually after much a-do, the (what can be assumed manager) came over to say if we came back again with the card with no PIN we wouldn't be served!! When we left my colleague spoke to the lady again to say that even though the food and service was ok, the comment on the card left a sour taste. Her response? "Oh well". Such a shame as the food was alright!
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Virtually empty on a Monday night so very easy to get a table; pleasant surroundings for drinks and to chat to friends; food slightly overpriced and 12.5% 'optional' service charge seems a bit ridiculous for what is in essence a pub
anonymous - 27 Apr 2005 11:50 |
Not bad at all - although getting seat and getting served can be a bit tricky at times due to pressure of numbers. Food a bit overpriced
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Overpriced but the beer is good. Often difficult to get served on summer evenings
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They do a very nice drop of Youngs here - very well kept indeed, which is down to the care of the nice manager, who's rightly very proud of it!
anonymous - 3 Nov 2004 16:26 |
Good drinking venue -more so than the other Lavenders which tend more towards restaurants- with standard wine-bar surroundings and good range of beers and wines. Near to the park which is great for sitting out on with drinks in the summer
Simon - 19 Jul 2004 14:24 |
