please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Had the Youngs beer in here. It was not good and certainly did not taste like Youngs. Pub seems to be going down hill fast. At closing time the staff were trying to virtually herd and push you out the door
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£5.05 for a pint of Peroni!!!!!! Enough said!!!!
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The Bar staff are TERRIBLE this was once a great pub, its DIRTY and the LOOS STINK and are FILTHY, maybe a visit from HEALTH and HYGENE needs to be ALERTED...do not EAT HERE..
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Excellent service this lunchtime - pity the Black Sheep went off; Fullers London Pride very good ...... and there was Youngs London Gold, Wells Bombardier, and GK IPA on. Staff team enthusiastic if needing to learn.
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Absolutely appalling. There was only one real ale on, very average London Pride served up as well short of a pint, as was the norm here during our visit. A Top Up was given but only after a display of truculence or dumb insolence by the bar maid. All the staff are pretty awful, headed up by an Australian was seems to have been trained for the Six O'Clock Swill trade that used to apply down under.
We were in the downstairs bar where the door to the pub yard was open, a truly filthy hole it is too. The pub is not clean and I certainly would never consider eating here. The toilets stink and the blocked WC shows you lots of toilet paper and faeces.
Avoid.
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Interior reminiscent of the Argyll Arms in Oxford Circus (best thing going for it). Staff really could do better.
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Truly awful service, to the point where we left. The barmaid forgot one drink and brought two of another, beers were well short of a pint, then managed to short change us as well. I could chalk it up to a one off if we'd been the only ones there with a problem, but another group walked out in disgust shortly before we did, letting the bar staff know as they did so. The landlord took the opportunity not to calm the situation down, but to harass them. Completely unprofessional, and best avoided unless you want to laugh at how poor customer service can be.
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Very, very average pub. There are a lot of worse pubs in London, and there are a lot of better pubs as well.
I suppose a good reason for going would be just to see what a truly typical pub is like and then being able to use it as a yardstick for all hostelries visited after that.
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The Paxtons Head is tucked away on Knightsbridge out of sight of the main drag and hence suffers less from the tourist influx than some other pubs nearby. It has an impressive wood and etched glass interior that makes it a pleasant drinking environment. A large flatscreen TV hangs on the rear wall.
Ales were split between the regulars - Pride, Youngs London Gold and Tribute and the guests which on my visit were Stonehenge Pigswill and Okell Red. I would imagine there is something here to interest most hopheads.
Environment was ok - at lunchtime it was still a bit dominated by tourists eating fish and chips but it is better in the evening after the shops have shut
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I work locally to this pub and have been to most of the bars in this area, whilst the bar itself is nice enough everything is done massively on the cheap.
we ordered food, one of the bbq burgers came without any bbq sauce, the spicy burger which was advertised as coming with a spicky salsa, jalopenos and sour cream came with a smattering of dry salsa and nothing else. The bucket of chicken wings were not cooked properly so we sent them back, the same bucket was then returned following 10 mins in the microwave - will not be ordering food there again.
in terms of entertainment, they do have a pool table - shame there was no black ball.. they also have sky for the footie - although again, cutting cost they dont appear to have a pub licence...
in short i wouldnt rush there!
su214 - 31 Mar 2010 10:01 |
Popped in last night on the way back to the tube. Good boozer and friendly bar staff, wouldn't go out of my way to visit but not bad if you're in the area.
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Visited this pub a while ago with three mates as part of a crawl. Awful place, two bar staff failed to spot the four of us stood at the entrance end of the bar whilst they happily chatted at the far end. we finaly attracted some attention after they managed to serve two seperate people who turned up after us but happend to be nearer to said bar staff. We ordered four pints i went for the tt landlord . Not one turned up anywhere near a full pint , in the worst case there was two inches froth and the inside top inch of the glass was completley dry where no liquid had touched the glass at all. The student type on the other side of the bar failed to spot this while happily taking our money. After the obvious was pointed out to him and a strange blank look in our direction he did his best. The beer was average at best , we drank up and left never to darken the paxtons heads door again.
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Bar staff seem disinterested in provided any sort of customer service.
Adnams Broadside not a patch of that served in Southwold.
Interesting interior.
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Surprised this pub hasn't had more postings, given the location.
It's a Victorian pub in Knightsbridge, virtually opposite the Knightsbridge entrance to Hyde Park.
The Paxton in the pub's name is Joseph Paxton, the designer of the Crystal Palace, which was originally erected nearby before being moved to its final location in South London. Rumour has it that workers involved in the construction frequented this pub - hence the name.
There's a splendid mahogany curved island bar and some splendid etched glasswork, plus the obligatory moulded ceiling.
Since my previous visit several years ago, the subcontracted Asian restaurant operation has moved on and the pub has been absorbed into the Spirit Group stable.
On the day of my visit, the loudish "background" music and the existence of a plasma screen showing the motor racing ( admittedly without the sound on ) , which I don't remember from the previous visit, rather jarred in my view and seemed at odds with the pub's history and age. I also noted that they were advertising a DJ in the downstairs Hydeaway Bar on Friday ( or was it Sunday?) evening. This seems a bit odd for a pub, whose evening trade I would expect to consist principally of tourists from nearby hotels.
On the real ale front, from memory only 2 beers were on. Several other pumps were unused, as the pipes were either being cleaned or the beer wasn't yet ready. My pint of Bombardier - � 3.16p - was only moderate, but unlike the redoubtable Rex, I didn't have to ask for a top up.
Despite the fine Victorian decor, taking the visit as a whole, I wasn't desperately impressed. I left thinking how nice it would be if a pub group like Nicholsons - who generally seem to know how to run and look after old pubs like this - were to take this one on. Until that happens - or unless we get a spate of good reviews from the BITE regulars here - I won't be rushing back.
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There are masses of original Victorian (or perhaps early Edwardian) features (etched and cut glass, original wooden bar back, high Lincrusta ceiling, etc) in this impressive pub on Knightsbridge that gives the interior an olde worlde attractiveness that only genuine antiques can achieve. But that�s as far as it goes. I dislike having to ask for a top up (one shouldn�t have to of course), but the beer was so far short of the top of the glass that I felt obliged to. Having said that, it was topped up graciously. This should be a really great pub, but it looks to have had the Spirit Group corporate identity embedded into it. But they�ve retained all the original features that they have inherited � although these days I think it would be much harder to get away with the acts of vandalism that have been visited upon far too many pubs in the past.
Real ales on offer were Black Sheep Bitter; London Pride; and Deuchars IPA. Visit this pub if you like to drink surrounded by the olde worlde grandeur of a 100 �year old+ setting � otherwise don�t bother.
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What a find. I came across this pub over the xmas period on a night out with work. Great atmosphere, lovely staff and great beer. Will definately be revisiting. And SO much better than the pub around the corner (that will remain nameless for ever more).
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Unfortunately this pub has suffered at the hands of an incompetent previous manager who let everything rot. After the refurb it has taken a while to get things rolling properly, but I have to say after a visit the other day, it is much improved and the food and beer is excellent. Definately the best pub in Knightsbridge and yes it is genuinely Victorian.
anonymous - 21 Aug 2007 17:52 |
Had 2 pints of Guinness last night, first was awful, 2nd surprisingly good.
as with a lot of pubs in the area, can get busy if Harvey Nicks or Harrods staff are having a night out.
Lovely looking boozer, very old school(victorian) Genuine as well, i think.
Worth a visit
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True, the staff seem permanently confused but it's a pleasent clean pub and I've always found the beer to be good.
Coopy - 13 Jul 2007 16:48 |
Visited here for a post lunch drink and was disappointed by very average beer and drinks badly served by confused staff.It took 2 of them to work out what we wanted(4 drinks) and additional help to get the price nearly in the right area.Gents smelled a bit too.Returned to where we had dined and to normality.
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Just been redecorated and given it a whirl twice this week.It looks ok but staff a bit amateurish and beer both times flat.Can't quite put my finger on why I won't hurry back but I won't,better locally.
anonymous - 7 Apr 2007 17:14 |
Amazing!! Went to the training session today (opening after refurb tomorrow) and what a transformation! All the old character of the building, all the listed features, but fresh, clean and beautiful. Excellent staff and management who know what it takes to run an excellent pub. Well done the Paxtons.
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New management and word of a refurb (which its greatly in need of) can only be a good thing. Well worth a visit now, so who knows how good it can get after the refurbishment in March.
anonymous - 6 Feb 2007 21:39 |
My impression of this place was above average, seems to make an effort yet just doesn't quite hit the mark. Old style, nice big square bar, a fair bit on tap, foods okay though not alot on offer, and a downstairs function room/opens when packed.
Was a bit dark and dingy though. Music playing was nice. Would return but as previous comments suggested not a 'highlight' establishment!
Dunno what to make of posts below detailing 'stabbers!'
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Was a bit tipsy when I encountered this pub last week after a work do but they didn't mind a bunch of people turning up in gym kit type clothing on a Thursday night so it can't be that bad. Beer tasted fine and the staff didn't seem to mind the strawpedos that went down. Think we were pretty much the only people in here tho... Decor made it look like we'd stepped into another era - not entirely sure which one but there was a lot of wood and chandelier-type lights. No idea about prices, I expect it was overpriced as it's on Knightsbridge but there was a company card behind the bar so frankly I don't care.
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Reasonably good boisterous but quite atmospheric London boozer, 4 mainstream ales, seemed to be reasonably well kepy
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Not much cop.
Downstairs is deafening and RnB.
Plenty other bars to choose in this area. Do so.
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Agree with john bonser, not the best atmosphere overpriced but still nice to drink in such surroundings, even if the beer wassn't 100%. Would only return occasionally
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A dreadful place! Poor service. Smokey.
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Markets itself as the best gastro pub in Knightsbridge, but, for the traditional pub goer, it's still worth a visit just to admire the ornate woodwork and glasswork. Beer is overpriced and only average quality, based on last Saturdays visit
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Had the best night ever in paxtons a few saturdays ago. After a wonderfull meal in the Pan Asian reasturant(food and service amazing) we all ventured to the down stairs bar which had a DJ playing and lots of people enjoying themselves. The atmosphere was great and through out the night we were met with only smile and great service- no matter how busy the bar got... Se thats what its about! Making people feel welcome and to show that even the ones working on a night like this is having a great time. Thanks a lot!
anonymous - 31 Oct 2005 16:57 |
Music was impossibly loud (stayed on the ground floor). Not a place for conversation or good beer.
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Yeah, everyone knows this as stabbers - not sure how accurate this urban myth is though. Used to work over the road from it and spent many a happy and very safe time in there. Great english menu and fantastic pan asian food also.
lupus - 20 May 2005 08:52 |
A pub that I too know as Stabbers. The only place that I've ever seen a (small) woman beat up a (tall) man - by smashing a compact camera into his skull. I left pretty much after that, so I don't know what the fracas developed into.
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Popped in here for a quick pint the other night. I thought it was more on the grand side than dingy (nice faux? leather benches). Not bad for quiet drink (this was midweek mind) and certainly didn't feel any danger to life & limb per the last punter's comment!
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Locally known as 'Stabbers', as once - just once, mind you - an innocent punter got stabbed. Most of the time it's fine, although bar staff would prefer to be somewhere else.
OK just a quick half - 11 Feb 2004 17:12 |
Rather dark and dingy, even on the ground floor, but the food on the menu looked very nice.
Briony - 23 Oct 2003 16:22 |
Brilliant asian/thai/ restaurant on the 1st floor
andrew - 14 Nov 2002 14:35 |
