please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Beer very good, (and wonderful interior) but atmosphere spoiled by large groups of fat elderly Essex "geezers" who insist on shouting at each other even when standing next toeach other.
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I met here with friends on a Saturday night. It was crowded at first but emptied out as the evening wore on. A good selection of real ales: Arundel mild, Deuchers, Abbot, Firefly amongst them. Service was quite good. Prices, around £3.50 a pint reasonable for London. I like the electronic timetable board, so that you can see when your train is departing. Not a bad pub, well placed for meeting up.
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A handy place to head for when your train is cancelled, as mine was yesterday. It's just up the escalators from the main concourse. A decent selection of ales were on yesterday morning - Exmoor Gold, Greene King Abbot, Green Jack Mahseer, Ringwood Forty Niner, Cotleigh Seahawk, Strathaven Winter Glow, Caledonian Edinburgh Castle & Great Newsome Frothingham Best. Cider was Old Rosie. An earlier start than I had anticipated and this place still had a few other drinkers at 11am on a weekday.
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Sunday afternoon visit after a weekend away. Packed downstairs with no seating and barely any standing space so we went upstairs and bagged a table.
5 ales on up here, first pint was Legend from The Nottingham Brewery @ 4.0%, I then moved onto Milk Street’s Beer Blonde @ 5.0% both were very drinkable.
This pub always serves a purpose, good range of ales, fairly quick service due to the number of staff they always have on and perfect for Liverpool St station.
Certainly one of the better ‘spoons in London.
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A quick beer on my recent Saturday morning visit before my train departed at 10am.
Fairly busy as it always is here, quick attentive service from the manager. I somehow always seem to be served by this chap.
10 different ales on the pumps with several festive offerings. I went for a pint of Everards Nutcracker @ 5.0% to set the day up nicely.
Lovely building & a decent ‘spoons that always has a good choice of well kept ales.
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Not a bad Wetherspoons. It's certainly an impressive interior and it's very handy if you're catching a train. But it's always busy. Even at 8am yesterday, the main bar area was busy. But there is a much smaller quiet room at the back and an upstairs seating area too. Service at the bar was indifferent on my latest visit. Ales were Banks's Driftwood, Daleside Santa's Progress, Everards Nutcracker, Jennings Red Breast, Nethergate Old Growler, Black Country Fireside, Titanic Eight Bells, Marstons Revisionist Sardinian Bock & Elgoods Hickathrift. Cider was Westons Wyld Wood. We ordered breakfasts before our train journey to East Anglia and these all came very quickly.
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Mozz is quite right... typical Wetherspoons apart from there being less tables to pack 'em in even more. Saying that the ale is usually credible and it is handy for platform 15.
anonymous - 1 Nov 2015 21:35 |
Don't be fooled by the fancy decor...this is a typical pack-em-in, maximise-the-profits Wetherspoons pub. A noisy barn of a place with large numbers of 'exuberant' City boys.
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Good: Lovely decor, cheap beer, right by the station, Lots of bars taffeta and very quick service.
Bad: Gets really crowded and consequently very noisy, lots of staff who try to take your glass away before you've finished then hover about until you have, worse food than normal whetherspoons (not sure how - poor use of the microwave?)
50/50 about this place 5/10
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The refurb has done wonders for the place. I've always found it a handy, comfy place, but now it's a nice place, especially since they've added extra seating by converting what used to be the gents into a quiet side-room. Obviously it serves a station, so it's often crowded with various types of people, but then again it serves those people well. So not your choice if you want a quiet back-street boozer, but for what it is, it does very well. I'm upgrading my rating from 7 to 8.
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Feel I should say more on this place. A good place to meet and easy to spot, as it is huge and next to the station. As I said, me and some old compatriots meet here every other month to discuss current affairs and other isues and so on. Plenty of seating and unless football louts are in there in large numbers, usually a good place to meet people for a relaxing drink. It is a Weatherspoons also, so no music. No music can be a good or bad thing depending on your mood and situation. Also food served of course, I always enjoy their meals, so no complaint there. It is to Liverpool Street, what The World's End is to Camden Town: A huge pub next to the station, there for an ideal meeting place!
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Handy enough for the station if you've time to kill before a train. The beer's fine and although gets busy service is good. It's never going to be your local but there are worse ways of spending your time.
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I like this pub. Me and some old friends meety every other month. It is very big too. Be warned though, quite a lot of louts frequent this place, especially during a football match.
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We popped in on a Saturday afternoon and struggled out again. Heaving full (though not with football fans), a beer hall rather than a pub. The Moon Under Water it wasn't! OK if you want to stand and be jostled in an awfully noisy environment, and drinking is your only intention - rubbish if you want to be able to talk/sit/relax.
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Recently refurbished and much improved Spoons right outside Liverpool Street Station. Great range of ales as you'd expect and at a good price - especially for the City. My pint of Springhead Leveller was top notch.
One word of warning. On a Saturday lunchtime this place is usually full of football fans. No sign of trouble but downstairs is packed. Pop upstairs for a slightly quieter time.
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I have used this pub on many occasions over the years and it’s always pretty much the same.
Standard ‘spoons but with more bar stuff and a decent manager.
After being closed for a short while it’s now open again with a face lift. There are new wooden standing areas, a new bar, the lighting is brighter, the toilets have been moved and there’s a more food orientated seating area where the men’s toilets used to be.
I popped in yesterday afternoon and the majority of the ales on hand pumps were Christmas offerings, my pint was perfect.
They seem to have lowered their prices a bit as well or maybe I was just sober for once so the price seemed lower.
Decent ‘spoons in an area that’s not short of pubs selling decent kept ales….and of course it’s blinking handy for Liverpool St station
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Called in yesterday after visiting the nearby Spitalfields Chilli Festival. Excellent US-made Pale Ale. Scaffolding inside the bar is still there. Very ornate ceiling. Busy.
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The Hamilton Hall is a convenient branch of Wetherspoons at Liverpool St station. I arrived here yesterday morning in search of a breakfast and a swift half. I found both. Service was quick and friendly. It has a fairly grand interior with a balcony and an ornate ceiling. Although as the previous reviewer states, there is scaffolding at one end. But you can still sit under the scaffold, where there is plenty of seating. There is also seating in the upstairs balcony area, which was closed off yesterday morning with it being relatively quiet. Beers on were Warwickshire Churchyard Bob, Acorn Madness, Grainstore Gold, Kelham Island Pale Rider, Phoenix Navy, Moorhouses Blond Witch, Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best & Adnams Broadside. The cider was Westons Wyld Wood. One of the few pubs around here to open at weekends and you can get an early morning drink (and breakfast) here too.
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Loads of scaffolding INSIDE the pub, never seen that before anywhere else!!
Cant complain about the beer & certainly plenty of seating (despite the scaffolding!) to make it a good mid afternoon session today.
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Huge bar on two levels with tons of gilt decoration around the ceilings and freizes. Usual Wetherspoons offerings but the beer was good (we had Tom Wood Lincolnshire Legend). It is, of course, more expensive than some other Spoons but considering its location it wasn't too bad. Always very busy as it is within the station complex and as such is very handy before or after your train journey. Get's busy with footie fans on Saturdays (especially Spurs). When we visited there were plenty of staff on duty so we didn't have to wait for beer or food.
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The usual Wetherspoons fayre food and drink but although some of the staff seemed to be a bit insincere and unfriendly unlike most other Spoon's pubs I've been in.
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Busy pub as per the usual JDW but discovered the upstairs looking for somewhere to breath & there was another bar plus ales virtually undiscovered. Despite my 50p off token, 2 pints of London Pride was �6.40 - naively thought all JDW beer was under �3/pint. Beer Ok but tasted a bit 'Young'.
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Impossibly busy for a Tuesday evening, right on the station and has departures boards in the pub. Upstairs is a bit of a respite from the madding crowd. Pub itself is good and the real ale was in good form.
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Went to this pub today. Sat in a corner upstairs and listened to the whine of something or other, might have been simply the air conditioning but it was very loud and uncomfortable. Moved to the other side later and couldn't hear it which was better. Service is fine but my veggie burger was stone cold in the middle. If they can't heat up a burger there isn't much hope. Won't go back unless it's just for a drink.
Ann49 - 26 Jun 2012 14:40 |
Apart from the bit about breakfast (cos I haven't tried it myself), I throroughly agree with the review below.
7/10
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Upped my rating from five to seven after some recent visits: the ale's nice with a good range on, and the service is attentive. The really tall man who I seem to remember has been there a little while is still his excellent self, sometimes recommending other ales that you might like based on what you've ordered. Of course all human life is here, but it is outside a railway terminus, so that's only to be expected, and if only a few of those swillers of pasteurised lager and keg ale are tempted to try cask beer out of curiosity then the aggravation will have been worthwhile. Plus they cooked a very nice breakfast the last time I was in there! Well worth revisiting if you've written this place off. It's not beer heaven, but it's a decent, enjoyable pub.
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OK if passing - busy pub with transients - serves real ale but the London Pride was not all that.
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I go in here once a year at the start of a Christmas pub crawl.
I've never, ever had a problem in this pub. I'm not mad about Wetherspoons, but the location does make sense, and it helps to get a few decent pints of real ale at a fair price before moving on.
The only grumble really is that the outside smoking area is beset with beggars, druggies, and other undesirables, but that's a feature of railway stations.
6/10 for me, which ain't bad as Wetherspoons go.
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(This is a JDW, so everything you already think of them, still stands.)
My last review being in 2010, I hadn�t returned to this pub for obvious reasons. Having just read the subsequent reviews since my last entry, everyone seems to be on the same page, citing dire service in a rather nice building. So, having stopped in for a much needed and deserved drink very recently, I felt compelled to revisit my review.
Previously, arriving at the bar here would have been met with a surly and begrudging acknowledgment that you may like a drink. I was delighted to find on this occasion that the barman who was serving someone else, immediately let me know he�d be right with me and no sooner than I could say �no problem�, I was being asked what I would like by another member of staff. Whilst he scurried off to retrieve my drinks, I was then asked by another member of staff if I was being served.
Now then, this isn�t wondrous, special or amazing treatment, it�s of course what should happen in every well run pub. But for anyone that has drunk here before, it�s an improvement worthy of note. I immediately noted that something must have changed, there must have been a new manager (pure supposition on my part) and that the staff had taken the lead from new management and/or new training.
Drinks in hand, we scanned the floor for a table to occupy, but having seen a paper and pint on the one empty table, assumed it was taken. We happily remained at the bar and were lost in conversation when another member of staff apologised for the interruption and told us that he had cleared the table we had been pondering earlier.
That for me was the confirmation I needed to suggest there had been big changes in this pub. Unless of course cosmic forces aligned for that one perfect pub experience, I�m going to assume they�re finally managed by someone who knows how to run a pub.
Actually, I should probably go back to check, but I�ve typed this out now...
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It's gone downhill and there are better pubs nearby!
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always been a fight for me in here where there's just too many getting/trying to get served and the staff can't service the demand. It's not cheap as a Weatherspoons and only is a success due to it's handyness for trains, Brick Lane and bangin enough down the swallow hole to make the McDonalds taste nice later on. Never seen Cheryl Cole in here nor Sam Fox or Brigette Neilsen but hopes always eternal. I think if Bobby Crush turned up and started knocking out the tunes Liberace' style thenm no-one would notice and the Essex ding-bats wouldn't understand. Still beats the 'Spoons at Forest Gate where if you have a death wish then you should go there. Rough as a grizzly bears you know what thats been sand blasted by an F1-11 third engine rear thrust unit.
Mcloj - 14 Jul 2011 13:00 |
expensive for a wetherspoons , but its same over the liberty bounds at tower hill , much cheaper non chain pubs about in the area , but its a ok pub if meeting at liverpool st .
oh if your a smoker and are outside having a smoke be prepared to be pestered by people trying to sell various dodgy goods or being asked for a spare smoke
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STAFF ARE RUDE!! NEED A LESSON IN CUSTOMER SERVICES.....3.25 A PINT OF FOSTERS IN A WETHERSPOONS!!
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Usually the beer selection is good, but the quality is variable, as it is for the food. The atmosphere is like a station bar usually tends to have. On the whole, given the choice of good pubs in the area, it's one to bypass, but sometimes convenience draws you in.
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This is the best looking Witherspoons pub I have been in but apart from the decor, it adds nothing that you could not get from any other Spoons pub in the country. Beer offers a plenty and the food is just about palatable. Worth a visit if you cannot be bothered to walk to one of the other pubs just outside of the station.
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Essentially, you wouldnt choose to drink here unless you dont know where the Lord Aberconway is.
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I can see why it's referred to as a "hall". The decoration is something to be admired - in fact it's quite beautiful in parts, paintings etc. The beer choice was certainly ok for me. had 2 pints of Titanic.
Very noisy as those voices echo around the room. No trouble here of any description and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I'll look in again.
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Pubinspectors is lucky. Normally the place is rammed with chavs and / or annoying football fans (I've been known to be one myself). It gets points for convenience and I gather the toilets have been fixed but there are much nicer pubs in the area.
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Very poor selection of beer for Spoons. Better class of customer though, not a "Spooner" in sight !
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One is Ill advised to loiter outside. Likelihood to be asked for "spare change"
Usually 2 guest ales offered that aren't Greene King etc. Unlikely to see the bar staff on QI
Closest decent real ale availability to your railway carriage however. Handy If you have 10 minutes to spare before your train. Better than the buffet car but for a session look elsewhere.
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Last pint after a long London crawl last thursday was a good pint of Jennings Snecklifter.
No chances to comment the "atmosphere" in a station pub generally , but the place itself is absolutely ok.
I wish we had station pubs like that in Germany !!
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I'll put my hand up and admit I'm not a fan of W'spoon pubs. Yes they serve a selection of real ales but they're not always well kept and the pubs themselves often seem to lack character, many of them being converted banks, post offices or other large municipal buildings.
The Hamilton Hall is a case in point. A large cavernous place with rows of tables and chairs. All very ornate, baroque even, but lacking in atmosphere. There wasn't even a great variety of beers available. I plumped for Jennings' Sneck Lifter which was fine. Abbot, Greene King and London Pride were three of the others.
I would use the pub if I was at Liverpool St station and had little time to spare. Otherwise I'd venture further afield.
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Not bad for a stop on the Circle Line pub crawl...beer was drinkable, but in a plastic cup due to the volume of Spurs fans in situ. Avoid when the Spuds are at home!!!
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In a previous view of another hostelry on Bishopsgate I made the comment that I don�t understand why anyone would bother with the Hamilton Hall when much better establishments exist so close by.
And I kind of answered my own question when, emerging from the train with 15 mins to kill before an arranged meet and the wife desperate for a coffee and to use the loo, and you can do both of these in the HH at reasonable cost. And as I refuse to pass over any of my hard earned pennies to the bland corporation that is Starbucks , in we went.
Now I really want to like this place, as it is a fine old building with superb ceilings, but for some reason I never feel comfortable here.
It may be that due to its size and high ceilings that it never seems to have any atmosphere, irrespective of the size of the throng. Or perhaps that the beer quality and choice is usually average at best, or perhaps the usual laissez-faire service which seems to be the norm.
But there were plenty of people in on this Sunday lunchtime munching on the roasts and I couldn�t fault the pint of Ringwood Fortyniner I had.
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I've been going in this pub for several years now and the beer is always so so , never brilliant , but never undrinkable . I suspect the are using CO 2 top pressure ( dont know 100% only suspect ) as the beer is always bland . There's better places close by for decent Ale and this really is transit point for people getting onto trains going home , or an after work meeting point for going somewhere else . Always a good choice of beers , but there's something distinctly lacking about it , atmosphere and that extra effort on the beer quality that would make it well worth a visit
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After a breakfast or 2 or 3....(Bagel shop Brick Lane, Kellys pie & mash, & the Italian cafe on Bethnall Green Rd...It was time for a 10 a.m. pint on saturday morning-jump on the No 8 and get your tonsils tickled in here, not one of the best Wethers-but convenient all the same.
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Popped in to find a disappointing range of ales.Many of the microbrewery offerings had run out and I was faced with the mass produced and now indifferent Abbott,Pedigree,Courage Best and GK brewed Ruddles bitter.However managed to spot Exe Valley XXV was still on and although the ale was clear,there was a nasty woody tang which didnt warrant a second .The pub itself has an interesting ceiling but the gambling machines and the choice of furniture make the interior very dull and uninviting.The upstairs bar looks a bit better but only one guest is served there ,all other beers from the national brewers.
Horrified to discover that this pub is in the 2010 GBG.The CAMRA boys need to search their souls ,promoting Weatherspoons where the beer quality is substandard is no way forward,especially in a faceless drinking barn like this.It may be cheap,very cheap with your CAMRA vouchers but its cheap for a reason.......the ale is piss poor.
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This can be a very busy spoons with some of the draw backs, i.e a fair amount of chavs. However that said,I think there are more plus' than minus' to this place.
I found service to be very very quick even though place was prob about 80% full, may not be super friendly service but I would rather brisk & business like service ( something the many fans of the crosse keys down the road might want to consider ) any day of the week.
The few times I have been in recently they have also had a good selection of both the standard fair ales (abbot, pedigree & ruddles) plus around 5 different guest ales that they seem to change daily.
Add to that all the pints I've had in there have been of the highest quailty, it's a place I'm def going back to & would reccomend to anyone, even to them Wetherspoon hating drinkers out there, you know who you are!!!!!
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I�d be the first to admit that this isn�t my ideal pub-too busy, next to a railway station, and part of a chain(Spoons), but after ascending from one of the hotter circles of the Inferno on the Northern Line, I was in need of refreshment. All the usual suspects were available, together with a couple of beers from Welton�s. I was pleased to see Westerham�s single hop varietal �Challenger�: this hit the spot-not too strong, with a clean ,not overpowering hop element.
I can�t comment on the food or the bogs, the pub was clean (it was still only 11am), the barstaff businesslike and pleasant. I played spot the ticker/alcoholic until it was time to catch my train.
Oh yes, a good bit of plasterwork on the ceiling. 5/10
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For a spoons at a train station the service was quick and I managed to get a seat aswell.
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Poor choice of ales for a spoons (outside of fests) uninspiring so I will continue to go elsewhere eg Crosse keys 1/2 mile southwards towards London bridge or even the White Hart over the road if I was waiting for a train.
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Terrible service, normaly busy, loos stink!
Saying that they do have a good range of beer.
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More interesting - decor-wise - inside than out, but this is a particularly charmless Wetherspoons. A reasonable selection of International Real Ale festival beers, but with no pub 'atmosphere' at all. Just hope that your train is on time, because a 'quick one' in here is unlikely to be a great experience.
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A very unusual Wetherspoons, quite ornate, good service, but smelly toilets. Beer quality was excellent, and it was an ideal place to while away an hour waiting for a train. Personally, I don't mind wetherspoons, cheap, good real ale, and if it's full of chavs, I go elsewhere.
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It's like all spoons except bigger! In other words, it succeeds because it's cheap; it's as simple as that. Although that formula, together with its real ales, can attract all sorts to Wetherspoons (including me at first) that's just fine and they really could have been great boozers. Unfortunately, it's now ended up with pretty much all spoons now full of white trash foul mouthed underclass chavs who have absolutely no idea how much the rest of the customers hate them and want to wipe out their entire lineage forever.
Hope I don't sound too judgemental lol.
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its not too bad, its convenient for those many occassions that the trains are delayed so you cant complain too much!
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Below average 'spoons - you've got to be thirsty to wait here for a drink. Service poor and beer below average.
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oh and another thing ........thats me outside in the picture with a can of special brew watching spuds go by .............
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FFS it's a Wetherspoons it does what it says on the tin. Itchen Valley Godfathers was the only non standard beer in here tonight, ok but I had the last but one from the barrel.
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nasty horrible pub ..great for winos and people having affairs before they go home to the wife. full of spuds at weekends ...cheap and cheerful thats why the place is packed.
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Beer quality, service and decor all the same. At best, poor!!
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If you are at Liverpool Street station have a beer just to look at the decor.
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I visited at lunchtime on Saturday and found that it was a little busy but there was a big table free upstairs. I found the decor fascinating. My one complaint would be that all the beers (I ignore lager, which is for moronic chavs) were bitters, with the exception of the plum beer. How about a mild, a stout, a porter...
BTW the barmaid was very polite and attentive.
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Rather harshly reviewed, it is at least an impressively cavernous room. I agree the staff are miserable, and that it a refuge for those too unimaginative and bewildered to find their way to the exit and walk fifty yards or so, but at least it is there and serves beer. The old JD tactic of having a lot of different types means staff can simply avoid saying 'but the manager will have to change the barrel' with 'we haven't got any of that one left..or that one...or that one'. Nevertheless, you will get one, even if it is not the first, or even fourth, one.
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Dont ever go there on St Patricks day, or any other bank holiday....or a friday or saturday night for that matter!! Its ok @ lunch times though..
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usual withersh$te fair avoid it
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Too big, too busy, too grotty. Clientele of drunken loudmouthed idiots, suits, brickies, down-and-outs, dregs. Atmosphere crackles with the incipient threat of drunken violence at any time of day or night. Getting served at the bar is a nightmare of Wagnerian proportion. Even having to pass by the place when you reach the top of the Liverpool Street escalator sends a shiver down the spine of any honest drinker. The walking pace and heart rate slacken appreciably once you have turned the corner and are out of sight of the place and the mind relaxes and directs one towards the more civilised drinking establishments that the Capital can offer.
Jay28 - 15 Apr 2008 12:29 |
Genarlly to be avoided when spurs are playing at home, barring that its usually a clean and plesant place to have a drink or something to eat, staff are always friendly and quick to sreve
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returned for an early morning beer the other day, after a few months. service still patchy even when empty, staff still miserable, like the workers coming out of liverpool street that you can watch go by. depressing. despite decor, soulless.
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Perfectly serviceable on a monopoly crawl, our beers (Pedigree) were poured quickly and, taste-wise, were amongst the best we had all day. The pub itself is just another 'spoons aimed at travellers with 20 minutes to kill.
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This pub was packed when i went in on Saturday Morning and I just had a pint as I was off to the football on the train. The pint was very good and the staff very pleasant and most of the customers seemed happy and cheerful.
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Handy - when your train has about 20 or so minutes or more before it departs from Liverpool St Station. Always a good selection of ales possibly 10 - 12 the amount of hand pumps.
Why though when Netherspoons are supposed to be pro the real ale market does they install swan neck hand pumps?
This is not how we like our ale in the South of England!
Possibly not what they are concerned with, It�s making more pints than they are supposed to out of each barrel That�s the only reason for installing swan neck pumps!!. Profit is what Spoons is obviously all about.
They know if people are after a quick drink at Liverpool St it�s the only option.
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I've always found the pub to be clean & friendly, with quick service both for food as well as a drink, plus as an added bonus they have a very cute barman! though I think he may be a manager!!!
anonymous - 15 Nov 2007 23:04 |
Suffers from its position and is full of thirsty travellers all of the time. That said, the pint that was served was of a fine quality, and although I wouldn't want to spend an evening here, there are worse Pubs around.
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I am writing to you regarding my experience at Hamilton Hall (Liverpool St Station) on Thursday 30th August at 07.50 in the morning.
As you know, on Thursdays (and sometimes Tuesdays) Hamilton Hall doesn�t always open at its supposed time of 7.30 in the morning but opens late, due to the slot machine people inside the pub counting out their money.
Anyway, at 07.40 this morning, all I wanted to know was when the pub would be open, ie would it be worth my while waiting or going home to sleep (I�m a night shift worker). On politely knocking on the door all I got in answer was a girl waving and laughing at me from inside.
After ten more minutes at 07.50 I knocked on the door again because I saw one of the bar staff inside. She shouted from inside that `we open late on Thursdays.� I shouted back asking if she could put a sign on the door telling the waiting crowd what time the pub would be open or come closer to the door and actually tell us what time they would open, give or take.
This request was ignored, and instead I got, what I can only describe as a thug (well built bald headed chap) shouting, swearing and pointing at me from inside. Now, with his effing and blinding I wouldn�t have minded if he�d said we open at effing o�clock or something, so I knew whether to stay or go � that would have been useful! Why couldn�t he have come to the door, say sorry mate, but we aint opening until�..
I was later informed that this was the pub duty manager. As I continued to draw a little square with my fingers on the door indicating it would be nice if he could put the opening time on the door, his abuse became more energetic. Regardless of his skills in running a pub, he certainly shouldn�t be put in a position where he is dealing with the public. I�m wondering, did Wetherspoon vet him properly when he applied for his job? If I�d acted like that, one of my colleagues would have called the police and had me chucked out of the building. What makes a pub any different?
At 8am, there were still bags of money on the bar inside the pub and I judged that it wasn�t going to be open any time soon. I know that the profits you make from games machines are more important than your drinking customers, but I don�t think Wetherspoon should go out of its way to ignore its drinking customers.
I�ve tracked down some of the people waiting outside who have also signed this letter, but if you can look at Wetherspoon�s camera evidence you have, you will see that I am not exaggerating when I tell you that your customers are treated at best with contempt, and at worst with Hamilton Hall�s very own yob.
Concerning the staff member who sneers at us and calls us alcoholics when she opens the door, all I can say is that I�m only after a pint before I go home to bed. If you�re going to treat your customers like were something you�ve got on the bottom of your shoe in the mornings, I recommend that you don�t bother opening. Whatever happened to the great family pub that Wetherspoon used to be?
Any way, out of curiosity, what time did Hamilton Hall open in the end?
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nice pub, always good to find a fairly inexpensive place for lunch in central london.
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I have a sneaking regard for some of the more spectacular Wetherspoons' pubs, so I'm always happy to have an excuse to drop in when passing through Liverpool Street. Always a good selection of beers, and food decent; prices excellent.
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popped in at about 11am tuesday (dont ask why) but it was quite busy even at 11am , had a pint of fosters which was ok , clientele looked somewhat mixed n shabby but first thing in morning .
a massive pub with a massive celing the space couldve been better used , for a "whatevaspoons" its aint too bad, not the best ive been to but no where near the worst , probably the cheapest pub in the area , but there are better just more pricey
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Something wrong about this place. I think it's two things. Firtly it feels like a post training course drinks reception for junior and middle management of a large chain of car dealerships. Secondly the room is too big and too high celinged (is that a word?) to be a decent pub
THe room itself is quite impressive but it's being put to the wrong use. The only reason Id ever go in here is if I was meeting someone totally unfamiliar with the area and then it would only be for one
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No racists in here - racist-free heaven.
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Grim
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Not the best Wetherspoons, but probably one of the busiest.
Pubs next to railway stations can often be disappointing, but this one could be a lot worse.
Reasonably priced drinks and decent food.
Overall a good place to while away the hours spent waiting for cancelled/delayed trains.
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Visited once and quite honestly never again. Extremely crowded, difficult to get a pint. But what can you expect it's next to Liverpool Street station.
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been here many times but not muh to shout about untill few weeks back , couldnt get a seat inside so went outside one spare table no chairs , so we rested on the table till some no star general from weatherspoons came out and told us to sit on seats not tables , said where are the seats ? he said well dont sit on the table so off he went .
kinda strange , the beer aint too bad in here cheap n cheerful and a mix of people the staff seem ok
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Reasonable food and cheap drinks, was full when we went on a Sunday as Spurs were at home. Standard Spoons stuff
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A famous man once said....'Hell is other people'. I disagree. Hell is other people who drink in here.
Why bother going to Africa when you can see a variety of wildlife here (particularly after work on a Friday). Rutting Essex boys, wild eyed builders still consuming their liquid lunches, lost commuters and saddos meeting on blind dates.
Shame...the building itself deserves better.
anonymous - 23 May 2006 15:23 |
The interior of HH should serve to redeem it from the obvious predictability of the Wetherspoons line-up, but it's simply not enough. Popping in here for a pint is about as relaxing as a chinese burn. I can only assume that the staff are not paid and are routinely kicked in the shins by management, such are their sullen expressions. Depressing.
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Great place for a quick pint while waiting for your train. Huge pub where we were served quickly and the Guinness and Pride were well poured. We were there about 430pm and were able to get a table but really fills up after about 5. Plenty of staff behind the bar. Good prices too.
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Like any wetherspoons, this place rules. Cheap and non-pretentious. You know you will get a decent cheap drink here- even if you will srtruggle to find a seat. Makes a charming difference from the sloanes you find in other pubs round Broadgate. You wont be looked down upon for having a vodka and redbull instead of a pinot grigio. Feel at home - sit back and settle down for the evening or have a quickie before you shoot off somehwere else. Always good! Keep it real Spoons!!
emlan - 28 Mar 2006 13:56 |
visited around midday seemed a bit busy with suits but still plenty of room , one of the biggest pubs ive ever been to , got served quickly and the beer wasnt too bad , and one of the cheapest pints around the area
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been here loads of times while passing through, busy from opening to closing. managed to get a seat upstairs, upstairs bar much quieter than downstairs. Had the biggest sunday lunch i've ever seen, great value for money, and it arrived quickly. They could turn the heat down tho, upstairs gets roasting.
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Not so bad. Ridiculous d�cor. Good staff. Bad Client�le. Decent, cheap beer.
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Akin to the Knights Templar on Chancery Lane - a huge, high ceiling expanse that is always rammed Mon -Fri and impossible to move in or get a seat. Cheap beer to be sure - If you can get service, however a fairly soul-less affair with no atmosphere.
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Hellish is the best word for this place.
Feel uncomfortable in here, always have done and I'm a rugby prop!
Shame, could be an excellent pub with high ceilings etc, but it and its clientele are depressing and frightening at the same time.
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A truly repugnant hole jammed to the rafters with chattering suited fools and clueless, directionless oafs. Toilets that are literally swilling in piss - which is handy, as it is clearly pumped up to the bar for serving by their clearly lobotomised, foul-breathed, hairy, ridge-browed bar staff. Be they man or woman - it's hard to determine. Hellish.
anonymous - 21 Dec 2005 17:12 |
Pubs next to stations are, as a rule, best avoided. The Hamilton Hall is just about OK in short doses but is even more soulless than Wetherspoons usually are, despite the restored semi-grandeur of the interior. It's a bit like drinking in the ballroom of an ocean liner. I get the impression it's a bit of a default venue for people who are meeting up but can't think of anywhere else to rendezvous. That and red-faced suits guzzling down a quick pint before the train home.
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I've passed this place many times during the week and eyed with distaste the throngs of City folk standing outside. However the atmosphere on a Sunday night a few weeks ago was quite different. A nice mix of customers, including some families upstairs, plus that rootless, transient station bar feel which is always appealing. Had a couple of pints of Courage Best which were very good and, at �1.49 a pint, incredibly good value. I found the bar staff very pleasant and helpful and the interior very interesting.
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A true Wetherspoon, few staff when needed. Visited for the current JDW beer festival, one bar person on duty. The usual thing happened, another staff member issued forth from the kitchen and served the first person she saw, needless to say the last person that had approached the bar. Venue great, service crap, can't comment on the beer, never had the chance to try it.
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Good meeting point or somewhere to go when your train is late. Built in a building that was once part of the Great Eastern Hotel. Typical Wetherspoons pub but usually with more than its fair share of iffy looking characters.
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oh yeah, now you're talking....take the little lady here....you'll feel like rocco forte
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I meet up with an old work colleague every now and then. The phone rings "Hello mate, how's it going? I'm in town next week, fancy a beer?" My heart sinks. I know he'll want to drink ten pints on a work night, I know at last orders he'll tell me he's got a day off the next day and worst of all I know he'll say he wants to meet in this pub because it's on his way home to Ilford. I have to go to West Hampstead.
The pubs got a splendid interior but it's expensive for a WS, it's bloody noisey, bloody busy and I feel like shit whenever I go home.
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It is comparitively cheap.
Full of tramps and gyppos.
No chance of a quick pint.
Did used to get lunch here when i worked in the broadgate exchange tho. I think that speaks volumes about the quality of food in the exchange.
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Yes it's a weatherspoons! So when your horizontal on the floor you can admire the stunning celeing!
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Fantastic old dining room which definately worth having a look at. I use the place cos you can get a cheap pint of ale and sit outside and watch the ladies pass by on there way to Witham or Stortford etc. NOTE: IT IS A JDWetherspoons so overall it's rubbish.
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Serves food at lunchtime, incredibly slow service. Dont be surpised if your order takes 30 minutes plus to arrive.
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Busy Wetherspoons pub which tends to be extremely busy in the early evening. Not particularly cheap for a Wetherspoons but there is always an ale option and they serve food too.
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It like "production line" boozing in here,...all snouts in the trough,..too big,..too bright,..too easy. Lets try and think outside the box people. Better pubs within spitting/puking distance......Good selection of fruities...
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A mind-blower of a pub if you still have your head on come leaving time. The average Essex boy can only manage 2 pints of pissy lager these days before becoming punch drunk it would seem. Considering the fact that you have to pay for your drinks in this place I would advise staying (or going back home to) Billericay and getting your fill from the local off-licence. O.K. , it's not free either but at least you'll be safer and can feel satisfied that you've spent only a fraction of that which you would otherwise have done. Grub ? FORGET IT !
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Interesting interior, and ok for a bit of a feed I suppose.
Other than that, much like any other railway station boozer, a bit lacking on atmos / character.
Seen a couple of good tear - up's in here over the years for those that way inclined. Can get lively on match days!
Don't go here if you want sharpish service, not the barstaffs fault, it's just always busy.
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Very busy meeting point for a lot of after work drinks. Luckily there is a lot of space to accomodate them. On two levels, the interior of this pub is exemplary. Sky blue walls, gilt edging, cherubs and book cases. Wetherspoon doing what they do best, range of real ale, no music, no pool and no Sky!
:)
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Perfectly situated so you can leave your back office job, come in here, drink lots of crap, fizzy lager with lots of other Essex boys then have a fight. Dirty Dicks and the Shooting Star are both within 2 mins walk so there is no reason to ever come here unless the above description sounds like you.
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Ham Hall is always very busy probably because of its location. The drinks are cheap but its a nightmare to get served, the bar is always 5 deep and everyone just pushes in. One of the few places in london where its defiantely not first come first served and all politeness goes out the window.
anonymous - 12 Nov 2004 11:40 |
Good starting point for a night out in London. Great building with a good crowd.
anonymous - 5 Oct 2004 15:16 |
A charming "Essex Boy" offered to "punch my lights out" for pushing in - I hadn't. I didn't see any knights on white chargers ready to rescue me if he had made good his intentions. Very scary! This is a last staging/drinking post for "out of towners" on there way home after an afternoon on the razz.
Pippa - 5 Oct 2004 12:38 |
Standard Wetherspoon in a wonderful building
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Good as a meeting point but nothing else.
Big Lad - 23 Jul 2004 14:49 |
Coments are right. Worth a visit for restored Edwardian Ballrom setting and Friday night ambience of Essex boys and girls binge drinking. Cigarette smoke rises up into the mezzanine as deos the noise. This all edges up the rating for me, but still a bar de la gare but you are unlikely to get a better one
andy - 23 May 2004 11:06 |
Ever so ever so crowded always. A weatherspoons wouldn't be a weatherspoons without it's fair share of cheap alcohol fueled drunks. Watch out for pickpockets too. My phone was nicked. Nicer than normal JD's though
Jim Stump - 23 Apr 2004 09:56 |
Great as a staging point before heading off to a curry in Brick Lane + good for people watching.
CurryAddict - 13 Nov 2003 18:47 |
Illicit affairs in the HH?!! You must be getting it confused with the awaful Pitcher & Piano around the corner.
Darren in the City - 4 Aug 2003 09:07 |
The venue for lots of east London and Essex's illicit affairs. Not too bad as Wetherspoon boozers go, as it happens.
Darryl - 3 Aug 2003 11:45 |
this pub is o.k. if only because its the only one open on saturday nights nr liv st. otherwise atmosphere is like the moon & the service is crap.
Bri - 26 May 2003 21:13 |
Huge, anonymous and loud, yes I agree...Nice interior though, and good place for a few beers before going off to the lap dance bars around the corner... notably Browns and the Sports Bar.
chris - 25 Mar 2003 12:02 |
Was there with with my boyfriend Matt and thought it was a good place to get it together.
good prices too.
Chris Park - 14 Mar 2003 10:03 |
I was last in here in November and found it quite a decent Weatherspoons (as they go). The beers were ok. and it was not too busy (well, suppose it was a Sunday afternoon). Also very pleasant sat outside in the late Autumb sun. The building was quite nice inside, with lots of historic things to view.
frank - 17 Feb 2003 19:38 |
Only reason to visit is to meet up with people coming in from Liverpool Street station else best avoided. Huge, anonymous and loud
Mark - 18 Sep 2002 16:36 |
