please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
prilliant pub. good ales, good food, nice punters. service a little slow at times and never a table to sit on as so busy.
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This is a very nice place tucked away in a lovely area. I agree with the last review about the upbeat feeling, it's very popular, the staff are helpful and the food is excellent. The menu changes quite regularly as they try different things, and I've never been disappointed with it. Well worth seeking out.
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In October the owners got a new manager in. He contacted me shortly afterwards and asked me to reconsider and come back and give them another try. I'm plesed I did. Most of the front of house staff have changed and there's a great upbeat feeling about the place. Its always good to see lots of smiles and laughing. The food's great as well. Onto the beer - Ubu lovely and the other guest ales very good. Oh, one other thing they've changed is the sychophantic reviews of the the oub in the gents. They've replaced them with some great quotes from Churchill.
The only problem now is that it will become even more popular and even harder to get a table!
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One of my 3 locals. I try and avoid it at all costs. Food is very average and overpriced. But worse of all are the staff. They have a far too high opinion of themselves, seem to think that they are doing you a favour just by serving you and can barely bring themselevs to smile. Awfu! The only good thing about the pub is the selection of bitter.
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One of those West London pubs whose idea of a bar snack is a bowl of olives. Plenty of regimented wooden tables, with banks of wine bottles behind the L-shaped bar. An OK pint of Wandle on (but pricy at �3.30), with Pride also available (and a Doom Bar clip turned round plus a fourth handpump appearing unused). Staff didn't seem too friendly, perhaps because I didn't order any olives?
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Twickenham grandstand bitter was top notch, Sambrook Wandle cask ale OK too and does London Pride too. I like this pub nmore than it's neighbours
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Don't go here. I was served up a live 2cm log slug with my salad. Not only did i not received any kind of apology from staff or manager, nothing was done to ease the queasiness that ensued. An awful experience. I suppose it's good when things go ok, but the test of a good restaurant is how they react when things go wrong - this place failed on every count. Go to the Priory on Milson Road instead - it's much nicer.
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still good food after all these years - and staff a lot less attitude than in days gone by. Good pub
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I too was a regular (living v.close by) from 1993-2000 and returned for a midweek lunch a couple of months ago and can confirm that the style is pretty much in tact and the food was good. Maybe lacked a bit of it's previous soul but then it was lunchtime midweek.
The utterly stunning and sweet barmaid no longer works there alas. But then again I'm married now. Barmaid's loss, my gain. I think.
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Went back to this pub yesterday after many years when I used to live around the corner. It is a pleasant place for a pint, but you have to pay for bar snacks - olives and peanuts �2 and the menu was too expensive for me, but in fairness probably very good. There appeared to be some wealthy (recently) unemployed bankers sitting around reading newspapers at lunchtime. Guess they live locally and wanted to get out of the house for a bit. I highly recommend this pub as a good place to eat and drink if you are visiting Olympia. Apart from that it is not really close to anywhere else unless you happen to live locally.
The surrounding area appears to have deteriorated a bit in recent years possibly because of the large council estate at the end of Masbro road, and it might be worth watching your safety if leaving alone at night and walking in that direction. This could just be my imagination though, and a local person should verify this if possible. Nothing happened to me by the way.
Good pub, it has sentimental appeal for me because it was my old local, I would go back, and it is to be recommended.
I also checked for signs of any restoration work inside since the fire a few years back, but the place still looks exactly the same, maybe the fire was very small or it was only in the kitchen.
I have uploaded two pictures which I hope get posted.
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Friendly pub with good beer/food. A bit expensive but that's the area.
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They do now take cards. Friendly, local place. Really good food and prompt service. Maybe things have changed, or maybe we were just lucky... But I'll definitely be going back.
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Had a lovely meal and a pint in here last night (June 24th 08) and no problem with a credit card. Service was not great at the bar though.
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A lovely little pub and the food excellent. However, unable to pay with credit card - fine, if a little quaint pub on Exmoor. But why this policy in the heart of West Kensington?
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A lovely little pub and the food excellent. However, unable to pay with credit card - fine, if a little quaint pub on Exmoor. But why this policy in the heart of West Kensington?
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It may show them little respect, but it doesn't stop them coming in, does it?
It's a long time since I was in the Havelock, but I always quite liked the place, and my main complaint was that it was always touch and go as to whether you'd get a seat.
I don't know how much it's changed since the fire, but if I was in the neighbourhood I'd think it worth a small detour to find out.
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Nice food and pleasantly run pub......but they do need to accept credit/debit cards.....I don't know whether the idea is merely an affectation or they don't want to pay the fees....either way it's not funny and shows little respect for their customers!
anonymous - 18 Jun 2007 21:55 |
It's a nice little place with decent food and good service. It's no traditional pub, it's more like one of those little bistro's you'll find on side streets in France and Belgium. My only complaint is that they don't believe in credit/debit cards. What's that about?
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The Havelock looks promising and the food is indeed good, but they only wait to tell you that they dont except any cards only cash after you have ordered �40 worth of food and drinks! I was paractically frog-marched to the local cash point - which is not that local! I also found the staff rude as they said it had "always been this way" when I questioned them about this. Which I supose is alright if you are a local. Plus its expensive. There are much better places to go nearby.
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It's not the cheapest pub. But the food is excellent and worth a few pence more.
Only downside, they take a luddite approach to credit/debit cards.. its strictly cash only.
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I've been to the havelock after a long time. I don't know if they'dneed to pay lot of debts cause of fire. However now they apply the same prices as a nice restaurant, but in a place with lot of noice, and the service is just a pub service...I'll go there again on not less than 6 months
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Fresh paint has replaced the burns - the Havelock is now back in business and as good as it ever was; it even seems to be run and staffed by exactly the same people (what have they been doing all this time?!) I barely tried the food but what I had was great and, even better, it's a pub serving Flowers IPA. The locals may not be to your taste - but you can ignore them and enjoy the pub as it is. One warning; in the past, it could get unpleasantly busy at peak times - Sunday lunch in particular - early table grabbing can get vicious.
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Don't bother going - the owners were due to sell in about two weeks (29 August 2005) but unfortunately Jamie Oliver's favourite Gastro-Pub burnt down !?!?
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Used to be a proper pub but now is hideiously expensive and unfriendly.
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I love this pub!!!
And I'm a simple northern so forget what people say about this place! Its a good pub with great food, good staff and unique atmosphere.
The "rah" thing just reflects the area, yet it's one of the best pubs in the area and the food is worth making the effort.
Downside is it's expensive and the menu is a little try-hard but they know how to run a kitchen!
I have left there before eating once because it was too crowded and not relaxed enough but that's not a bad thing of a pub.
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Dreadful atmosphere. Packed with braying hoorays, deafeningly noisy, very harsh acoustics, charmless modern decor, grindingly slow service. Not even particularly clean! Ten minutes to get served a beer! I didn't bother to wait to find out how good the food was.
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Gareth has called this place perfectly. A great place to refer to your Mum and Dad as "Mummy and Daddy".
You'd have to drag me kicking and screaming here if it wasn't anything to do with having a beer during worktime.
The ales are good. Praise to the Almighty for small mercies.
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I have been three times, last night was the worst of a bad bunch.
The menu changes by the minute, but at least five groups of people weren't told that their (paid for) meal was no longer available until everyone else at the table was receiving their main courses.
Dreadful.
After waiting an hour for the main course (mussels) not to arrive I was given the option of a partial refund or cold soup.
Dreadful.
No matter how good the food might be when it is available it could not make up for such an appalling experience.
Avoid this place.
Paul - 19 May 2004 12:39 |
Good pub with good food. Seating can be a nightmare but it's worth it.
Daniel - 30 Dec 2003 20:48 |
This is definitely a rah bar. Though the food is good and the beer serves its purpose. It's dificult to get a seat though, and you are likely to become rapidly irritated by the sloanish braying that can sometimes be heard within its less than hallowed walls
Gareth - 3 Jun 2003 10:29 |
Great food, menu changes often. Make sure you have cash as no cards accepted (cheques ok).
Staff wee bit pretentious, epsecially if you ask for soemthing thats not possible (eg pay with card, for food outside strict food hours)
David - 16 May 2003 10:01 |
Can be a bit precious about outside seating i.e. they dont like you standing chatting next to friends who are sat down at their outside tables.
John - 6 May 2003 12:16 |
Gastro pub, good menu, good food, seems to be used as the Brook Green residents' canteen as its always more than nicely full.
Friendly bar-staff, decent lay-out, homely decor, not too noisy or hectic despite busyness.
Sean - 9 Apr 2003 21:42 |
