please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Sprawling pub with plenty of interesting rooms to sit in and artwork obviously their thing. Too warm for a real ale today so Beavertown Neck Oil was my chosen keg tipple.
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A decent pint pf Hophead.But the service....
Why don't they have a sign saying "Working class scum not welcome...Even though we are in your traditional area"
Maybe we caught the barsstaff on a bad day ,but thye didnt want us there
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Not bad, used to work around the corner. Hophead £4.50 pp. Sofas, big screen TV (even on Saturday!), young person's pub. Quite arty, as can be seen by various paintings around the walls. 7/10
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pub was ok,
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Khazi. Overpriced filthy horrid place.
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Good selection of well chosen beers and ales, prices in keeping with the area (ie slightly higher being central London) and great if not surprising garden out back. Nice pint of Truman's and seasonal Meantime, plus evening barbecue a treat.
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Been going here for 3 years and its a great little pub
Beer is expensive but the staff are very helpful and nice as well as the food being very reasonable (keep an eye out for their 2 for 1 offers)
Might nip in now for a quick pint
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First visit lunchtime today. Nice pub with over-priced drinks but sensibly-priced food. Staff friendly and cheerful but not very efficient: a few customers, including us, were waiting for things to appear and watched them going to other tables.
Only real complaint was the food. The battrered cod was appalling: didn't seem to share any characteristics with real fish. And the chicken salad was at best mediocre.
I'm told it's very busy in the evenings so they must be doing something right ! Maybe our experience was unusual so we'll go back again.
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There some truth in a lot of the comments here but I actually quite liked the place - YES, drinks aren't cheap but when I asked the barman for a handled glass he went off and got one which wasn't one from behind the bar. The staff weren't rushed off their feet on a wet Friday afternoon with a good of work parties in but the ale was acceptable to taste, the service maybe not as timely in parts as it could have been but the black lady behind the bar was charming and a very able if not beuatuiful replacement if you get stood up by Venetia Williams, Sonia Lannerman or one of the Pointer Sisters.
Mcloj - 16 Apr 2012 12:33 |
Other than the massively over priced beer �4 min a pint, though that does seem to be the norm now in and around this area. A fantastic pub., with an excellent area out the back for us smokers! Seemed to be plenty of staff on when I visited who all seemed friendly and effishant, would definatly reccomend and go back to.
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I've been coming here regularly for 5 years, as, for some reason, my bosses - who take us staff out Froday lunchtimes - love this place.
London prices are very high anyway, but the Poet's tariff is astronomical. Every pint is at least �4, if not more, and a large glass of house white can set you back nearly �8. The food menu is a tad anal, and there's few options if you just want a light-bite.
The decor is OK, but just OK. Staff are friendly tho'.
I get the feeling the Poet wants to be something it's not. It's trying to appeal to a 'discerning' customer, and as such it's prices are sky-high. All-in-all, it's a standard City boozer, reaching for something it can't attain.
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Just noticed Jim Baxter's comment. Are you not selfish for bringing your heavily pregnant wife into this pub?
Anyway, was in here twice recently.The last time being for their recent 1920s day. I certainly like the decor of the pub although unfortunately not very comfortable and as we were in a large group we moved on quicker than expected. Service is standard for central London.Awful. Staff wander about slowly and aimlessly and can never remember more than one drink at a time and will somebody please show some one there how to pour a decent pint of Arthur.
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Or maybe you should have considered your no doubt very large wife a bit more before taking her to a cramped London pub round the corner from two markets on a Saturday afternoon during a rugby international in an area where you clearly dislike the general population? Do you go to Camden and complain about all the pierced people? Or Soho to moan about the gays?
I am sure you would have had plenty of space and seating if you had turned up early enough, rather than expecting people who had to give up their seats, so I guess you are the selfish pri*k and your wife should have slapped you!
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Went in here for a mate's birthday / the Wales vs Scotland Six Nations.
$4.20 for a pint of Stella. Disgrace.
Seats arranged in a way that made viewing the game incredibly difficult.
Usual useless bar staff who have no grasp of who is next in line. How hard is it?
Full of Shoreditch cu*ts with their sparrow legs, skin tight jeans and arses hanging out. The type who sit about in a rammed pub noticing my wife is 8 months pregnant, but are too self centred or lacking in gumption to offer a seat. That is until they leave.
Should have slapped the pri*ks.
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Back again last nigjht for another top evening.
Even though the bar was full of festive merry makers, the space is plenty big enough to take it and in the end we couldn't help but join in with the fun. Well it is Christmas.
Any overspill takes you into the heated covered garden, which seemed to me to be bigger as the pub itself? I'd managed to try the entire Meantime range of beers (bottle and draught!), both Truman's ales and a few spirited night caps by then though, so perhaps just check it out for yourself...
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It's 1 o-clock in the morning and I must be mad writing a review of my local when I should be in bed moan moan moan.
OK, it's brilliant, the food's great, the staff's fantastic, the managers are all hewn from the same block and they all care. It's bloody busy, and they don't miss much. I used to be in the trade, and this is one complex operation, but at heart it's a pub. The sign outside says "It's a pub" and I once asked the owner what that meant and he said a load of stuff that sounded like a mission statement and I must have dozed off, 'cos I can't remember any of it. It's a pub, though, and a good one. Look out for the hog-roast in the garden.
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I've never been here before, but I think it's really brave that they have that poster on the wall about reviewing the pub. I think they care about service, and I had a great night. Lot of City types when we got there, but not the loud ones and anyway they buggered off early. It was busy and i had to wait a bit, but not too long and I was impressed that the barman spotted me when he was serving someone else. It's a big place, took me a few minutes to find my friends. They were in the garden, I thought they were mad, but it was well heated and we were alright. I'm giving them 10 because it's a good pub and like I say, brave.
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When I asked her to stop with the bloody Christmas music the Aussie barmaid said she'd ask the manager, who said she was Irish but didn't sound it. She asked me what I wanted to hear, but she didn't have it, but she changed the music anyway. Much better. That Meantime is good stuff and I think I'm in love. Top pub.
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I'm with the other two, this is a great place. Haven't had the food yet, but the bar is buzzing.
Agoni - 16 Dec 2010 22:36 |
An early Sunday lunch in this enormously small pub was great. There are rooms everywhere, I counted 6 separate spaces, but we ate in the garden because my girlfriend isn't giving up smoking 'til tomorrow. Lots of heaters so it wasn't too cold. I digress though.
Food was really good, unpretentious stuff. Just a well cooked Sunday roast with good veg and a fine Yorkshire. even early on there were loads of people with their families eating, always a good sign. I had a couple of Tim Taylors Landlord and she had a glass of Argentinian Malbec which she said hit the spot. Then she had a fag.
I like the service here; it's friendly and chatty but not too in your face. Watched a bit of Munster Ospreys before dragged away to christmas shopping. Will be back.
Agoni - 16 Dec 2010 22:28 |
Just back home from night at Water Poet. Good times. New barmaid gave me a bacardi instead of a vodka, and bar manager buys me and my boyfriend a drink to say sorry for the mistake. They can make those mistakes anytime they like. Good times. Love this pub. great staff.
Boyfriend says the beers are great, with Meanwhile sorry Meantime and Fullers and Trumans. Is that good?
Agoni - 16 Dec 2010 22:20 |
Fast becoming our favourite place to drink after spending a few enjoyable week day evenings and weekend days here lately. Great to see the newly re-established Truman Brewery ales on tap and also cask last week. Meantime draught and bottles are also new, with a guest ale that changes frequently /seasonally we're told.
Super friendly service, including to the tables outside in the huge garden which is currently partially covered and heated. Terrific!
A mixed crowd; not too trendy considering Shoreditch location, yet still maintains a relaxed, bohemain feel all the same.
Would recommend. Great food too.
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I don't understand how this pub manages to hold onto a good rating! I've been in there twice now and it's twice too many times.The last time I was there was a Saturday afternoon, I was served by an incredibly rude girl who wandered off in the middle of my card transaction because she "wanted to change the music" and then screamed down the bar for another girl to finish my payment. My friends were both served flat beer in hot pint glasses that were covered in fingerprints(surely the best way to serve cold beer is to put in cold glasses?!).The second time I went there was for a weekday lunch and we were served stodgy dry burgers by yet another rude waitress who looked as if she hadn't washed in month.The mix of furniture in the Water Poet is nice but it's in no way the cool Shoreditch pub it's trying to be. Overall a dirty pub that tries too hard, run by unpleasant staff.
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This place has a few ok reviews so i was surprised they managed to get it quite so wrong yesterday!
I met with 19 friends for sunday lunch and can only say not only will we never be returning but we'll do our best to ensure nobody else puts themselves through such an awful experience.
The whole afternoon can only be described as the height of incompetence.
It started with warm flat beer when we arrived in the bar (which if the ample bar staff knew how to change they were too busy bitching about their boss to do so) continued as we had to wait for our heater to be turned on for over an hour. Then was made worse by the fact that although we asked to order 3/4 times by the time we actually got to they had run out of almost all food! Each time our waitress took our order she would disappear for 10 minutes then return to tell us they had run out of yet another dish. We ordered 3 times and each time had to change our choice, at the end of it only 3 dishes on the menu where available. Our waitresses response "you should have been told when you booked we run out of food at 2pm every week!" What a ridiculous thing to say, if you run out of food every week you order more! Common sense anyone!!
A vegan dish was ordered and came with buttered cabbage and yorkshire pudding, surely if you work in food you understand what vegan means?
And half of our dishes came replacement accompaniments that we didn't want.
The whole ordeal was meant to be made better by 20% off the bill but that didn't cut it as the bill arrived without being asked for and instead of the dessert menu! When we asked for pudding we were told "there is no more food"!
This place is run so badly incompetent is not a strong enough word. They don't know what they're doing to such an extent i'm supprised they even know how to open the door! In fact it's a shame they do, it'd be better kept shut!
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Large pub with quite a few different rooms including one that looks like a little art gallery, and an outside courtyard area at the back, which makes it quite quirly and likeable. Mixed clientelle, definitely not dominated by city types or trendies although there are examples of both to be found. Bar staff seemed quite efficient and professional and could handle a Friday night crowd.
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Very good service speedwise, a bit trendy for my tastes, however i had an enjoyable afternoon in here. Excellent outside area, although obviously very popular. Lovely to see a hog roast in central London too!
Can't recall what beers they had on, they obviously did their job! Be careful on the stairs on the way down to the toilets - they're quite scary...
Good pub.
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Spent a really good Friday evening in the Water Poet when friends came over from America.
A busy pub with a good mix of people (not just city nob heads) and a really good atmosphere. Stairs to the loo are a bit tricky after eleventeen Staropramens but would definitely go back and most definitely recommend.
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I�ve been in here a few times and it�s an attractive pub with somewhat quirky d�cor in an old cobbled street just off Bishopsgate. It does seem to have become the �in� place to be seen and consequently it can get very packed. The layout isn�t that conducive to vertical drinking and much of the space is taken up with those infuriating sofas that would be more suited to an Ikea showroom than a busy city pub. There�s a side room with a pool table and a restaurant area at the back plus an outside patio that I imagine will be popular in Summer. Usual beers are Pride and ESB but on my last visit neither were on which is rather unforgivable on a Friday lunchtime. Worth a visit during the quieter days of the week but steer well clear on a Thursday or Friday.
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Made a first visit on Sunday afternoon when we�d finally had enough of calculating how much people in the Truman brewery markets were asking for all the old 60�s and 70�s tat that I had long taken down the local dump a long time ago.
Interesting place, and certainly wasn�t what I was expecting a stones throw from the glass towers of the Broadgate development.
Multi roomed with the front bar area decorated in the style of a baroque bordello as mentioned by murgatroyd below. A further seating area with the mural shown in the photo as the centrepiece, and then two more traditional styled dining areas the further you go in. And then as previously mentioned, an impressive outside courtyard area sporting several large jumbreallas. Very, very busy on this Sunday afternoon and although we didn�t try it, several people were queuing for a table in the dining area so guess the food is as good as previous reviewers have intimated.
The beers are Fullers and London Pride and ESB were on. Not the best pint of Pride I�ve ever had but more than drinkable.
Not sure if this place is a bit too Bohemian for an old traditionalist like myself but was certainly warming to it by the end. Will probably try and get back for an early weekday evening visit to see how the Water Poet stacks up when full with the city workers instead of the weekend Shoreditch crowd.
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A friend and I stumbled across this gem of a pub after a day shopping in Spitalfields and we have been back numerous times since. The staff are always friendly and efficient and the food is delicious and affordable.
I will definitely keep coming back!
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as_johnson your post is crazy. Are you sure you weren't in the Hoxton Pony on Curtain Road??
Your 'sewer' reference is odd. Have you an overactive olefactory gland? The 'Nathan Barley' comment is truly bizarre. Do you really know what a Nathan Barley type is?! If anything the Water Poet is white collar territory.
But you rounded it all off nicely with your endorsement for Dirty Dicks, I laughed out loud, thank you.
If you're looking for overpriced drinks, in a boring, claustraphobic environment and more suits than a Jermyn Street taylors, then yes you're quite right, go to Dirty Dicks you'll have a wonderful time.
But if you want friendly, smiling barstaff, good range of drinks, superb food (at cheap prices) and an environment that's warm and welcoming then you'd prefer the Water Poet.
Are you the Dirty Dicks owner in disguise...?
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Having found this place by googling 'sunday lunch spitalfields' after moving to the area, I have made it my regular haunt. The staff are hugely friendly (i've never walked through the doors without being welcomed), the sunday roast is second to none, I haven't brought a friend here who hasn't loved it (we've celebrated three birthdays here in the last 6 months!). Highly recommended to anyone who likes to while away a long evening in a proper pub.
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Found this place on a saturday afternoon and was really surprised at how busy it was, down a side street from Bishopsgate. It's really big on the inside, but doesn't really feel that way because of the different rooms with different things going on. There's a bar and a pool room in the front and a restaurant type bar towards the back and right at the back there's a huge garden with a heated smoking area. People were eating and watching sport or just relaxing. Tried the food and it was really good and so was the service. What a find.
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I often head to the water poet after work- chilled out vibe early in the week moving into a busy pub with friendly staff and a great atmosphere on a thursday and friday. Gigantic garden keeps smokers happy, and there's a view of the footy wherever you are. Fullers beers, well looked after.
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Smells like an open sewer and full of Nathan Barley-types. Best avoided � go to Dirty Dicks.
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Probably the best lunchtime retreat for real cooking and a pint in the area, away from all the new look-a-like bars and restaurants that are popping up all over Spitalfields of late. Traditional pub food piled high and cooked to perfection.
Hear the Sunday lunch is to die for too so must try that soon. Thank goodness for little gems like this, or we'd all be in chrome filled bars eating french nonsense.....
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If the photo is meant to give the impression that this pub is somehow edgy then don't bother.
The Water Poet is only a couple of hundred yards NE of Broadgate yet the invisible barrier between City suits and Hoxton plumheads is somehow crossed.
Its a much bigger pub than it appears when you first approach down a side road from Shoreditch High St. The interior consists of a number of - well not really rooms but areas - painted deep red with baroque mirrors hanging on the walls. Seats are varied but mostly look uncomfortable.
The bar area to the right of the pub whilst maintaining the bordello colour scheme also sports a couple of old-style weighing machines. The beer is Fullers but I have to report that my pint of Stella was pretty foul and so I only stayed for the one and headed out.
It does have pool tables (at the left hand end) and perhaps it picks up later in the evening but 'd wager a fair amount of money that it doesn't and so I'd recommend if you come to this area head for Williams or the Pride of Spitalfields.
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A good, large, stylish pub in the city.
Probably the best value pub food I have ever eaten, quite superb. I had a 2 course lunch for �10. I would have happily paid �25 for it, it was that good in terms of size and more importantly, quality.
The service was good and the Fullers ESB was spot on.
A gem in an otherwise appallingly bereft area of London for decent pubs.
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Full of arty types and architects. I imagine if a businessman in a suit walked in it would be like a scene from a western movie where the whole bar would go silent and everyone would turn around and eye-ball him.
That said, it is a very spacious pub (although there is a distinct lack of seating in the main part of the bar) with a pool table and a big screen for the football. I also hear good stories of the garden out the back but I didn�t venture out there. Despite the crowd I wouldn�t be adverse to another visit if I was in the area looking for a pub.
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An OK pint of Pride, once the barstaff had worked out that we were next to be served....the ill-mannered Shorditch crowd were up to their usual tricks, attempting to push in....
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Amazing beer garden, absolutely huge, and with the Broadgate skyscraper towering over it. Only drawback - the bit we were in really did smell of toilet. Please, please sort it out, as would love to go back.
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Great pub with excellent food and smoking area outside with sport screens, only gripe is it's full of loud rude Shoreditch trendies with no manners/limited education, ruined an otherwise good night.
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Went here on a lunch time and quite liked it. lots of Nooks and crannies and a beer garden. Only got a smell outside. Loads of Tvs if you like your sport. service was good and beer was fine although �3.30 a pint. Usual Fullers beers.
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Good atmosphere on Friday night, gets an extra point for having some chuffingly good looking barmaids. Otherwise, pricey, poor beer, and yes I can confirm �the smell�.
Not bad for a couple on a night out, but would frequent on a regular basis.
mrse1 - 20 Apr 2009 11:52 |
Was there last night. The first pint of Fullers London pride was good the second was undrinkable. Rubbish beer, high prices and a tip jar. The cheek of them! The place did smell because the windows were all closed and there is no smoking to cover it.
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Was in here on friday. The Lager was flat and the guinness was shoddy. However these two problems were nothing compared to the smell. This pub STINKS. Not just every now and again either. It was all evening.
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Hmmm. A large chain pub, subdivided into small-ish rooms. Highly varnished wooden floors and good heavy furniture you could conduct an autopsy on. It had at least three draught beers at the main bar, definitely Fuller's London Pride, and I don't recall seeing the dreaded grey backing of a piece of card on any of them. There is a second bar in one of the rear rooms near the enclosed yard, though this had no draught. The yard is like the assault course on the Krypton Factor with a series sloping and swinging obstacles, but pleasant enough in good weather, I don't doubt. I was partaking of a buffet at an arranged do. What there was of the food was nice, except some sort of flaky soft cheese and spinach fajita. I find it hard to make any firm conclusions about this pub. Half the staff can also be seen at the nearby Poet on Middlesex Street, though this is by far the beter establishment. If you are going to indulge in a chain crawl, you could do worse.
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Food was lovely at the Water Poet. Only thing that lets this pub down is the rude, Over-pretentious waitress. Would definately not return!!
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I had a really good lunch here last Sunday. i waddled out with my friends at about 7.30 after a long and boozy afternoon. The service was great, and the beer was fine. That garden is fantastic. Roll on the Summer.
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A hidden gem of a pub in the streets of Shoreditch near Spitalfields market, The Water Poet was an amazing find and one I'll contuinue to come back to. Not only did they serve food that was the best pub food I've tried in the area, but the huge interior just went on for ever! We started in the main bar, made our way past a separate pool room, through the rest of the pub past the eccentric decoration to the dining room. It was after eating that we found ourselves outide in an enormous garden which will be amazing in the Summer. Don't tell everyone. It can be our little secret!!
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Not the most charming of pubs, the decor hasn't been refreshed in some years, but for the area this place is certainly one of the best. Do Landlord very well and comfy sofas. This is a place that has definitely benefitted from the smoking ban!
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This has all the makings of the perfect Sunday pub. Nice and cosy, loads of space, lovely food, football on the telly if you ask nicely and friendly staff. Not to mention the huge beer garden decked out with comfy chairs. The only place it falls flat is the beer. The IPA and Landlords were bloody awful - as was the Becks. I switched to the more expensive Hoegaarden in the end because it was the only one that tasted half decent.
Lovely pub - but unless they sort their pints out I won't be becoming a regular anytime soon.
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This pub looked better than it was. Only Landlord on tap, and that was not so good so ended up on the becks.
It shut pretty early (23hrs) but the staff were turning on the bright lights and turning off the heaters by 2245hrs which was not very welcoming.
I was there for a party, and the party food was delicious, especially the lamb chops.
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Nice pub, great buzz and the food looked pretty good! However, the beer was bad and expensive, the guinness worse than bad. Staff are keen and sociable but not sure they were very adept at the friday post work/england rugby melee. Loads of potential but the beer needs work....oh yes, toilets are dreadful and spent most of the night blocked!
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There's something for everyone here, I think. A decent post-work standing area by the bar, a pool room which remained surprisingly quiet all night, seats towards the back and a nice beer garden (with BBQ when we were there). The bar staff were helpful and there was no feeling of being rushed out 2 minutes after the bar closed. Will visit again!
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Grotty to look at with almost impossible to find toilets, but great barstaff and loads of outdoor seating for those that dont mind the soggy summers, highly recommended!
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The layout of the pub is very good, but I'm concerned about the quality of the beer. My pint of Landlord's was faintly dubious, and my friend's Beck's wasn't so hot either. Sort that out and this will be a cracking place.
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On a sunday, this place approached perfection. A real find away ftom the hubbub of renovated Spitalfields Market, it has a decent jukebox (although the selection is all a bit "2001" - maybe they inherited it and haven't been bothered to change the CDs), two pool tables, a discrete room for watching the football and a spacious, shady beer garden. Lots of the right buttons are pressed and its has that scruffy chic more common a few hundred metres to the north in Hoxton. I will need to pay a return visit midweek to make a proper judgement, however, as the hulk of Liverpool Street station probably isn't far enough away for this pub to remain unspoilt - maybe a twist on the traditional "no soiled clothing" along the lines of "no suits" would do the trick?
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I had an interview near this pub today and popped to ask (politely) if I could use their bathroom beforehand. Met the landlord who was a great bloke and found the whole pub very welcoming.
10/10 in my book.
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this place will always rake it in on Thursday and Friday evenings thanks to the suits that use it. It seems to be wavering between a trendy Shoreditch place or a city boozer.
I don't like either of the options, so that's why i go there every now and then, although it's veering towards the suits at the mo.
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Nice pub with lots of potential but someone needs to train the staff in how to dispense drinks correctly.
I was there last night and was shocked to see what can only be described as amateur bar tending. The real ale was poured to the brim of the glass thus having no head, or even surface foam. It actually looked like the most unappetising dishwater. Spirit mixer were served in 16oz glasses and the mixer was filled to the brim thus drowning the spirits you had actually payed for.
How much are they losing in not getting these basics right.
As I said great potential but a way to go.
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One of my fav watering holes yes its a fnny mix of pub/bar but it works,great choice of music played and garden is good in summer.
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An EXCELLENT Bar Atmosphere with personnel both front and back of house that I can recommend highly. From what I saw on more than one occasion. Whether you are are in a group after work looking for that celebration, or just looking for a quiet drink at lunchtine; It will cater for all that you require. I recommend anyone in the area of Shoreditch visit The Poet to understand what I mean.
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Its between a bar and a pub with a nice atmosphere and on the way to Brick Lane. Great Barmaid!
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I'm surprised by this review as find the Poet a bit devoid of atmosphere and a bit confused as to whether it's trying to be a traditional London boozer or a more Modern bar. In the Summer it has the redeeming featurre of a beer garden and they sometimes have Dj's but otherwise its a bit of a mish mash full of City gents drunk on white wine.
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A fantastic pub, hidden away on the northern outskirts of the city. 2 pool tables, table football, a garden where they do barbecues in the summer. Really friendly landlord and extremely attractive eastern european (female!) barstaff. Very good Broadside, Kronenbourg White beer, and San Miguel on tap. Excellent and eclectic range of music. I cannot rate this pub highly enough, and only do not give it a 10 rating as it is almost too far from my office! (I am in no way connected with the pub other than as an enthusiastic patron).
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