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Horse and Groom, Great Portland Street

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user reviews of the Horse and Groom, Great Portland Street

please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.

Very fine multi-room Victorian bar with very efficient and friendly staff. Good beer too. It is usually very busy and deservedly so. Food served in first floor bar restaurant, which is a tad disappointing.
simontheeditor - 1 Jun 2017 08:34
Another fine addition to the list of Sam Smith's pubs that I've had the pleasure of drinking in. Again, a nice building with old school elegant decor and very cheap but good quality beers. Old Brewery Bitter at £3.10 a pint in an area where the going rate for a pint is creeping north of £5 is not to be sniffed at.
Mr.Monkfish - 14 Nov 2016 19:27
Not a big fan of SS beers and it is pricier than most SS establishments. The bar staff are very good and chatty here though so I'll give it a 6.
mike_s - 27 May 2016 15:59
Perhaps not in the same class as some other Samuel Smith's pubs in Marylebone/Fitzrovia but worth a pop in if you like value for money drinking & some peace & quiet to do it in. Friendly & efficient service & 2.90 for a pint of Old Brewery Bitter, its not the worst way to spend some time.
Queenslander - 21 Oct 2015 22:10
Used to like this pub when it had a darts board and was full of locals, but sadly not any more. Now just an average Sam Smiths pub
thaiscubadiver - 24 Mar 2014 10:53
A great nice traditional looking pub, with a friendly staff who will be glad to have a talk with you if you come by yourself. Samuel Smith is actually a good beer/cider at a really value price. Their cider is probably the best around. High reccomended to anyone who's around Oxford Circus/Oxford Street/Marylebone. Pop in for one and stay for more.
oromoiluig - 19 Jan 2014 00:09
Spent afternoon in here playing darts and can't fault it. Second time we've done this. Friendly barman and nice clientele
johnwarkstache - 19 Dec 2012 16:13
Two pints of Pure Brewed lager and a keg OBB - nearly �12. You gotta be having a laugh, 'cos nothing SS pubs sell is any good really.

I used to go due to the good value of the beer when I was younger, but now I may as well go to the other non SS pubs in Fitzrovia (there are a few) and actually have a decent beer.

Shame.
tuppence - 9 Oct 2012 16:49
Great pub, just off the main streets. Popped in after shopping on Oxford Street on a busy Saturday. The beer was a great price as its a Samuel Smith pub. There was a good crowd of people, think there was a birthday party. Me and my mate had a game of darts and only popped in for one, ended up staying for a few more. Real friendly chap behind the bar who seemed to know a lot of his customers. Would really recommend it.
drinkersince_1978 - 24 Nov 2011 17:52
Great little pub. Traditional looking inside and out. Friendly staff. Well kept beer, it's a samuel smith pub so it's reletively cheap. One of the best in this area. It can get busy in the evenings and it's quiet enough in the afternoon to get a seat by one of the fantastic real fires. Highly recommended to anyone. They also have a function room which is open most days but it can be hired out for parties, I went to a friends party there not long ago and found it to be ideal. Top pub.
Rejjy - 9 Nov 2011 16:41
Sam Smiths out and out.
Seriously if you want to experience a proper british pub these guys do it - no frills and friendly all with their own of everything. Ale is not the best but its by a way the cheapest

TOURISTS go here its a gem for oldy worldly properties
parmantom - 13 Apr 2011 15:10
A great little Sam smiths!
JimmyJacksonJones - 8 Jan 2011 12:31
Nice pub, typical Sam Smiths place I'd say. Can get very quiet later on midweek.
amphalon - 13 Oct 2010 16:30
Known locally by the name Doom & Gloom, I quite like it though. Really nice Sam Smiths pub.
camraman123 - 18 Aug 2010 17:36
A good quality sam smiths, with a very nice sky light in the back room
gingerpig_Stuey - 14 Jul 2010 15:04
Best pub in the area by a country mile. The beer is always very good and the staff are great. Enough said
reddrinker - 13 Feb 2010 13:06
This is another very attractive Sam Smith�s pub, retaining what looks like all the original Victorian tiling on the exterior. The inside also has that �brown bar� appearance that I find very welcoming and comfortable. But they don�t even have the handpump version of OBB on. So, this is yet another Sam Smith�s pub that is severely diminished, in my opinion, by the absence of anything decent to drink. But if you like the keg version of OBB, or the Sam Smith�s range of lagers, then you will probably regard this as a good pub.
RexRattus - 3 Nov 2009 15:41
Great little Sam Smiths, perfect for a cheap quite pint even on a friday after work. But as with all sam smiths you'll love it or hate it.
JimmyJacksonJones - 31 Oct 2009 15:04
Had a check what all the other Billys were drinking in here-and decided to 'Go Lager'...cheap enough for central London, a bit of a mish mash of people (and a bit of a mish mash of a pub)...O.K. but not an outstanding Sam Smiths pub -of which there are still a few in London.
EdgarBriggsMI5 - 25 Oct 2009 11:45
Sam Smith's pubs, so my usual comment about the quality of beer stands: this is, as Strongers observes, yet another of their pubs with no draught real ale, which is poor. I'm normally pretty taken with the interiors of Sam Smiths pubs, but didn't like this one: whilst unspoilt I found it gloomy and looking a little unloved. I wouldn't return here, and think 6.9 average is on the high side.
grecian - 25 Jun 2009 10:43
As you enter this pub you come to the main bar area which was being managed by a very nice barman. The usual Sam Smiths selection is available and like so many SS pubs there is no hand pump for the OBB. At the rear of the pub there is a smaller room with a dartboard which was being enjoyed by a group of lads which gave this pub a bit of a vibe, which I find unusual for SS. There is a lounge bar upstairs, but as my visit was before 18:00 I was unable to investigate as it was closed.

I wouldn�t go out of my way to drink here again.
Strongers - 11 Jun 2009 06:32
Okay pub
KeithP - 27 Apr 2009 20:04
The photo of this pub doesn't really do it justice - it looks a little tired but once you get inside you encounter a perfectly preserved interior and various nooks and crannies hidden away. Its a wonder how some of these pubs survive but very heartening. As mentioned, no cask ale is a drawback.
ChrisP87 - 11 Jan 2009 10:02
Good pub, Pint of Alpine Lager is only �2.10 and has a nice feel to the place.

Sometimes there's a DS meetup or something like that where about 10-15 people play on the DS, good crowd makes the place look less like a old man's pub.
londondrinker08 - 16 Sep 2008 00:06
Lovely pub, friendly bar staff, very nice dartboard and the scran looked nice.
Sharp - 22 Jun 2008 15:24
Returned to this nuclear after nigh on 2 decades, still a good battle-cruiser! Cheap Sam Smiths, good range of pre-packed, foil wrapped comestibles and obligatory drunk person with their arse out, great stuff!!!
JockStrap - 7 Apr 2008 19:16
Came in here for a quick one last night. No OBB in cask, I had a bottle of Oatmeal Stout which was on the expensive side at around �3.50. Nice pub though, various rooms around the central bar including one with a dartboard and an upstairs bar too.

Will give it a 6 which is exceptional for pub with no cask ale.
GuideDogSaint - 27 Mar 2008 18:27
Can you still get a dram of Dalwhinnies?
gonetolunch - 29 Feb 2008 15:33
nice pub,not pretentious,smooth beer
becks007 - 19 Dec 2006 18:08
Had a few pleasant nights in here recently... nice staff, laid back customers, very pub-like inside but you can also sit outside. It's alright. And either the Sam Smiths is exceptionally well kept or I'm starting to get a taste for it
anonymous - 15 Jul 2006 13:45
Ended up here on a weekday mid afternoon skive, very pleasant with a few people just reading the papers. Pub is Samuel Smiths of Tadcaster, so beer is touch and go to say the least, but at �1.71 for a pint of bitter - is a blessing rather than reason to find fault. The manager is a toon loving geordie too.
darloexile - 8 May 2006 17:24
High ceilinged 3 room old style pub. The middle, very small, room is the games room with a babyfoot table. The whole place has a certain Sam Smith's charm, though the lacks the impact of The Champion. No cask available. The Ayinger weise was �2.50 and drinkable. The sweet toffee flavours compensated for the off wheat flavours and the dull and intrusive fizz.
SilkTork - 23 Aug 2005 10:43
I'm sure it is a very different pub in the week but from my saturday afternoon visit - can't say I was particularly impressed.
Fair enough, it is a typical Smith's pub but having come via a couple of others in the area it doesn't really compete. The atmophere inside was a bit stale but there was only really staff and a few pissed regulars so not a lot to go on. None the less, the beer was good and the outdoor seating was a major plus. Maybe it's a grower.
Seb - 20 Jul 2005 20:24
Seemed a good pub, although was slightly tainted by witnessing a fight at 3 in the afternoon.

However, not the pubs fault.
TheGP - 21 Sep 2004 13:58
the radio 1 pub.

Always full of people who work there if you go at sixish on a weekday.

Nice pub, but can get very busy
Sophia - 10 May 2004 16:24
Besides the foosball (Whose spelling is that??!) they also have a genuine bar billards table. Well worth a visit on Friday nights. (Visit and discover why!) Cheers.
mikem - 13 Oct 2003 14:56

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