please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Now a restaurant.
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Now closed apparently to be turned into a supermarket.
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When this pub opened, it boasted a superb range of drinks; with discerning Czech and Bavarian lagers, Belgian fruit and wheat beers; it was like some kind of oasis, the likes of which Hammersmith had never seen before.
And then, inexplicably, the quality drinks were taken off of the agenda and replaced with the likes of Heinekin and Carling. Why?
It�s still a very nice place to drink; enigmatic and originally laid out (I remember back when it used to be an actual working fire station!), and I liked it enough to hire it out for my Mum�s birthday party one year. Great staff, very friendly and well thought-out d�cor. But why was the drinks palate changed from the equivalent of paradise to a public toilet? If you look at the �food and drink� section of the pub�s website these days, it lists food and makes no mention of drinks whatsoever. What on earth are they doing?
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Used to be Hammersmith Fire Station (obviously) so it's great that good use is being made of it now as a pub. I think it's a nice place, always had good service and a popular place after work and later on in the evening. Food is high quality too, pizzas are great.
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Nicely decorated pub and nice to see they have retained some of the old fire station fixtures and fittings. Was empty when we called in (1pm on a Thursday), but good enough service, staggered at the price - �5 for a pint and bag of crisps!
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Not a bad pub really, clean and well kept and the drink is fine but there are better pubs close by.
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I do not like this pub. Large and spread out, every time I've visited it's felt rather soulless. Devoid of any charm or features which would make it a special pub. The service seems adequate, but even when crowded this place manages to be free of any atmosphere to me. I didn't sample the food because I didn't want to stay here too long. There are far better pubs within easy walking distance.
Amy_J - 11 Sep 2009 11:04 |
Went to this place on sunday 24/5/09 ordered to pints of lager for me and a friend and would have to say the lager was rotten, My advice would be to go up the river or up the road to the Richmond public house for agood pint also not over priced, wouldnt set foot in here again!
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This is a good place to go at the weekend if you�re out with a group of mates and fancy standing in a beer hall listening to hordes of people trying to shout above each other. On the other hand if you are out during the day and like to sit alone with acres of space separating you and your nearest neighbour this place is also perfect.
The barmaid that served me was extremely friendly and if I was allowed I would pluck her up and get her working in my local. Bateman�s Hooker and XB were available along with Lancaster Bomber and an array of premium lagers. There are at least three plasma screens for the sport, but I think there are better places to watch it in the area.
I�m not a fan, but can see the attraction.
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A nice space and recently reconfigured, we approached with some trepidation but discovered two real ales on and supped a decent Batemans XB. It was only a Tuesday early evening but it looked as if it could have staffing problems when busier and food prices appear rather high...overall though worth a visit if you are in the area...
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Why do they refurb a place and then refurb it just months later....
Oh... The Island Bar set up. They are rubbish.
Has a lot of potential and am going to have a look at the refurbed refurb tonight.
Nice back area for a function, novelty toilets.
The atmosphere is always flat though.
Apparently a new lunch menu is good!
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This bar (it's much more bar than pub) deserves to be a contender for worst burger in London. I ate there with a friend recently and we both had a burger at the usual inflated price. Neither of us, although rather hungry at the time, could finish the thing, mainly because it was undercooked, cold and prettty awful. It's fine to ask a customer how they would like their burger cooked if you're going down the 'gourmet burger' route, but we weren't asked when ordering and the result was feeling pretty ill for the rest of the day and thorughly done.
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One of our usual lunch time eating places. Its decent grub, and a good selection of draught beers. Food service can be pretty slow on a Friday (why they havent worked out that a couple of extra staff would probably do the trick I dont know), so go early if youre in a rush. Good after work drinking place too, until about 7 when everyone leaves hammersmith to nicer places. Definitely the best option in Hammersmith central though (mind you the competition isnt great so its an easy win)
anonymous - 2 Nov 2007 14:31 |
Intrigued by the idea of the place, I breezed on in out of the chilly night air to warm the cockles of my heart. Still not sure what to make of it. More playstation than fire station. Lack of seating, yes and the usual big screen designed to suck atmosphere and conversation out of the experience.
Didn't totally succeed. There's an airy aesthetic about the place and it is a bit different compared to the catastrophic watering holes down the road.
I'll give it another try and hopefuly it will be alright on the night.
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Visited TOFS last Tuesday to abuse someone else's corporate tab, so I can't really comment on prices. It's all decked out pretty well, although I wasn't totally comfortable pissing into a bucket, "quirky" or not.
I'd visit again if the opportuntiy presented itself.
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Very Spacious although can get be a challenge to move at weekends especially saturday nights with school disco night next door.
�3 pint seems to be the norm for the area.
Friendly Staff and good atmosphere.
Seemed to have ironed out there teething problems from when first opened.
Would recommend
6-7/10
anonymous - 15 Oct 2006 17:50 |
Great food and great atmosphere.
anonymous - 8 Aug 2006 11:30 |
Despite Alex never having been there before he said it was great... and it was...managed to squeeze in 2 bottles of champage, fuity beer, wine and plenty of cocktails... oh and the food was good too. So glad that the thunder storm meant a change of venue to here for the evening.
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Over priced and plastic. Give it a miss.
anonymous - 25 Jul 2006 16:36 |
Innovative surroundings but staff seemed keener on watching football than serving customers.
The whole things is a bit superficial - the bitters were all off on my visit and the Guinness was poured in one and tasted of pipe cleaner. Food very ordinary.
Arkle - 19 Jul 2006 14:45 |
A fairly industrial-gothic conversion with as people have said not a lot of seating. DJBurns, you were fortunate you did not try the Hampshire down the road, for the beer there costs more than it does in this place.
Both ales were off when I visited - staff apologetic. Ales were Bombardier and (Lancaster) Bomber, which I wondered was a pun, as 'el bomber' is Catalan for 'firefighter'.
This place does seem as though it is still trying to get its act together, several months down the line.
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I echo "djburns" thoughts on The Old Fire Station - it's a nice enough place inside, and there's a good range of beer, but unfortunately we had a poor experience with the food. We weren't served what we ordered, and the meat looked to be of poor quality. And for �7, that's not what we were expecting. The waiter asked if the meal was alright, and when we replied "no", he simply turned and walked away.
So again, the management does need to get its act together.
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The conversion of the old fire station is sympathetic and some nice features have been retained such as the vehicle examination pit which has information on the Great Fire. The tiling, flooring and doors are also nicely preserved. The place is divided into the restaurent area at the back and pub at the front. There seems to be a lack of seating in the pub area - perhaps they are hoping to pack in more people standing when there is an event at the Palais next door. The beer range is impressive but on our first visit they had run out of every hand-pulled ale. On the second visit I tried a Thwaites but it was so poorly kept I couldn't drink it. At �3 a pint this must be some of the most expensive ale in London - and the worst! A pint of coke was �2.50. We intended to eat but didn't stay as they only baked potatoes and sandwiches which were overpriced. There are better and cheaper places to eat locally. In short the location and d�cor are great but this place needs some better management to fulfill it's real potential. Hopefully these teething problems will be ironed out in time and the Old Fire Station will justify it's prices.
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Probably the nicest bar in Hammersmith, it occupies (you guessed it) the old fire station. Very spacious, and has kept many of the original fixtures from when it was a fucnctioning fire station. Good selection of beers, not cheap, but not expensive either. The gents have a rather amusing feature in that the urinals are fashioned out of fire buckets! Didn't try the food, but had a look at the menu and it was all reasonably priced. The kitchen smelt fantastic too.
Recommended.
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