please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
From a design brief by MC Escher the Goat is an odd hangar of a place with Sambrook's Junction on and a strangely subterranean feel. Not unfriendly behind the bar however.
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This pub has just had a refurb - wow, what a great transformation. Much more of a foodie now.... Interesting selection of bottled beers.
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Reasonably OK attempt at all things for everyone pub. Decor is comfortable, food all right, service reasonable, OK selection of beers but nothing here that realy sets it apart from any other pub or bar.
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Total let down! Messed up reservation and ran out of food!
Booked a table for 10 people only to turn up and be squeezed onto a 6 person table as they hadn�t written down the time of the booking so nothing was reserved and it was the only table free. Did they bother calling in the preceding week to find out the time? No!
Then after having to clear our own table and find more chairs we go to order only to be told that everything had run out, the whole menu, except burgers or goats cheese. Its was 5pm on a Sunday and we had gone there specifically for a Sunday roast how can you run out of EVERYTHING!? Especially failing to bother telling us when as we sat down.
Oh, it was also freezing in there we all sat with out coats on. Overall poor experience, won�t bother with again the Merchant up the hill is way better.
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Had decent grub in this place, beer was ok...not too bad at all, not amazing but not too bad.
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I went in on the weekend. We had their Sunday Roast which was outstanding. I met the manager who said he had just taken over. He seemed to have some great ideas for the place.
Music was good
Food was good
Beer and Wine was good
Thanks, we will be back....
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Everyone seems to agree... This place is a complete dive... Mainly because service is sooooooo baaaaad !!!
I went yesterday(Sunday) with 6 mates for drinks and Sunday Roast. I opened a tab for everyone then ordered drinks... I was told there was not half of the white wines' list available and the staff cannot change a draught barrel of cider by themselves therefore reducing our original order to smithereens... After we reconsidered our choices, I went to order food for everyone and then was told that it was no longer possible to pay with card (so much for opening a tab...) because the card reader was not functioning... And that's with having 3 card readers behind the bar... Strange... I say the staff are just away with the fairies or don't give a toss. I finally ordered after organising the cash... Half an hour later, the food was still nowhere to be seen... We check with one of the bar staff... to be told they have no trace of our order... No apology, just a gormless idiot behind the bar... Finally a girl that seemed a bit more on the ball came over to see us and offered us a round of drinks while she located the order that was not really lost... Oooooh the waste of time... The staff clearly has not got a clue or don't care... They obviously need to be mothered and baby sat... The place is just ludicrous... Avoid at all costs
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Used to be a reasonable pub when a changed from an O'Neils a few years back now.
Have been there a couple of times in the past few years and each time it's gone from bad to worse.
The bar staff are beyond rude, can really could not care about either the beer or food and the service is terrible.
Went there earlier today for some sunday lunch only to be told that none of the roast was on, and basically half the rest of the menu was off.
Bar staff seemed like they'd all been on an all night bender the evening before and had absoltutely no interest in customer service (most couldn't speak english)
Avoid like the plague!!!
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Went last night for the pub quiz.
Food - fine. Beer - fine. Quiz - oh my God, the worst I have EVER been to.
Sample questions: 'Brittany and Picardy are in which European country?'
'According to the proverb, what sort of animal will play when the cat's away'
Avoid, avoid if you like a decent quiz. Otherwise - yeah, it's an OK pub.
kld26 - 20 Apr 2010 12:18 |
Total crock of shit.
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We went there last night for the second time, and I was disappointed because I enjoyed our first visit very much.
It's got a great ambience as it's a moderate size but still retains it's original interior, so seems fairly cavernous. The clientele also seemed quite young and arty, making for a cool atmosphere. Also, it was one of the few places open on till reasonably late on New Year's day!
Alas last night, a barman who I didn't remember from last time didn't make a brilliant impression. He wasn't rude as such, but a bit abrasive and he didn't really seem to be listening properly.
The first time he served us was when we ordered some mid booze sustenance in the form of tea and coffee and cheesecake.
He did the 'are you sure you gave me a twenty and not a tenner?' thing.
When I told him I had given him a twenty he seemed mildly certain it was a tenner, but to be fair he did look in the till and found that the topmost note was a twenty and it was misplaced in the tenners' section. He apologized.
Now I'm the type of person who likes to give the benefit of the doubt so I don't automatically assume I'm being scammed when I get this - and he rectified the mistake fairly, so I didn't make a fuss. But it is awkward and I don't appreciate it.
Also, something else happened later which made me wonder.
Our second round was meant to be identical to the first, and this chap served us. Save for a small glass of white rather than a large, it was the same as our first - I had a Leffe again. However when I returned from getting the drink he had poured a large glass not a small. I decided not to protest and I just took the blame with my wife saying I forgot. I also didn't explain to her that this time the large white and pint of Leffe had cost us �7.75, whereas last time it was �7.60. I didn't complain to the guy. To be honest he seemed the type of bloke who would make a scene and try to make me out to be a difficult customer. For the sake of 15p, I decided it wasn't worth the trouble.
But still, it's the principle that matters really. Also, I do wonder whether a less perceptive customer could potentially be diddled out of more cash, by mistake of course.
He was about 5' 6" and seemed of Latin American appearance with a mercurial manner and a ready smile (which didn't seem that genuine).
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always looks good but fails to deliver on service
staff always look tired and miserable
this was once a good pub but it seems to of hads it day now
plenty of great new places on northcote rd to go to
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Sunday before Christmas and went for a drink before the Italian pizza place next door.
Looked like they normally do half a dozen beers or so, but only one available when we arrived around 8pm. The ale I had was just on the point of going off. If there had been a choice I�d have taken it back. Had a good atmosphere with the locals seeming to enjoy it. Could have been the Christmas rush but staff were tired and relatively disinterested. Four behind the bar all doing �stuff�, but only one serving. Bar sticky, as was floor around it. You could give the Goat the benefit of the doubt, but I won�t be rushing back.
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Solid pub with well-priced beers. Good food and a lively atmosphere.
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A great pub!
Large choice of beers. Service can get slow at times.
This is up there with the Holy drinker as the best in Clapham.
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P.S. Should add the drinks were best priced of the four bars we bought a round in (�6 for a Peroni and a whisky/soda)
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Went to Clapham Junction last night on a recon mission to find the most appropriate bar to go on Friday night with friends over from Ireland. I had a shortlist of 6 bars and added the Goat as I�d seen some good reviews on other sites.
First impressions were really good. It was spacious (unlike the too-small Holy Drinker nearby), quite dark (in a good way), breezy, and nicely buzzing for a Tuesday night. It also had a gloriously satanic goat mural covering the far wall which I liked.
I would have seriously considered the Goat as our Friday night choice except that it closed too early (midnight) and worse of all it took too long to get served (about 10 minutes � on a Tuesday night). The bar seemed understaffed, and several tables upstairs were covered with dirty glasses and crockery which remained there until one of the few overworked bar staff had a chance to clear them.
A good bar but needs double the staff.
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Great selection beer (real ale, international and ciders) and good food for reasonable ���. Only issue is that it is ALWAYS busy so it is often hard to get a seat... But that is really a minor complaint. One of the better pubs in the area!
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I live on battersea rise and the goat is my local
it is a fantastic pub and is always heaving every weekend
the atmosphere is brilliant
i think most of the staff are ok
the music is always really good
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Viva la revoluzion - KILL THE GOAT, KILL THE GOAT.
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couldn't agree with 'The Prof.' more...Owner of this dump, you've seen the comments- NOW CLOSE THIS PLACE DOWN AND MOVE ON!!!!
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Absurd place. Went there early evening, it was fine. Dingy downstairs bar with decent music and decent beer: Castletown and Pride. At 6pm, where we were sitting transformed into a prohibited eating area and the music went up 10 times in volume. We moved upstairs but that is also eating only with no bar. Instead, they have turned the upstairs bar into an open kitchen where you can see your food being deep fried. Nice! At 6.50 some friends went to buy a round and returned and 7.10. Unbelievable! Reason: "there was only one person serving". Left shortly afterwards never to return. Whoever came up with this business model needs to find a new career.
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Most of the staff are ridiculous! The Manager of this Pub must be an absolute Baffoon, if indeed, he is human at all and must take full responsibility for the shocking failure of this awful Pub. Dont go near this Pub- its a waste of time and money!!!!! I would be over the moon to see this pub go down and we could have something more useful in its place like a plaque saying : 'Here lied the worst Pub ever created.' Everyone involved with the place should be embaressed and ashamed of themselves. Rubbish Music, Rubbish food, Rubbish Drinks, Rubbish personell...pretty much sums up this joke of a place- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED- STEER CLEAR!!!!!!!!!!
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Woeful service, I was stood waiting at one end of the bar while the one bar staff was serving 3 girls. Fair enough, they were waiting first. He walked past me three times while fetching their drinks, so knew I was next, yet some guy strolls up to the bar where these girls were being served and gets served before me. I went psycho on the bloke before storming out, buying a coffee from Costa and returning to my friends with that. He did come over to apologise, but his excuse was being left on the bar on his own, which was hardly the point, it wasn't busy, he just was obviously blind, inept or both. The wife also ordered what was described as simply Apple Crumble, yet it was Apple and Rhubarb and she hates Rhubarb.
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Shockingly poor overpriced food that you wait too long for. Staff who don't give a stuff and service that takes forever. I mean, dear jesus, I can only imagine the positive reviews on this site are from the workers there or relate to some point in the week when the chef is on his game and there are four staff and seven customers. DO NOT GO TO THIS PUB and then maybe it will close and somethng good can happen to this space. Boycott the Goat.
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Awful place! Avoid at all costs! The bar staff are rude, arrogant useless morons!
You'll get better service at every other pub in the area (which is saying something!)
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The worst pub in Clapham/Battersea. The worst service ever, braying clueless idiot customers, not necessarily crowded on a Friday night but everyone stands in the doorway. I've been dragged here by associates too often. Just, just the worst. Someone bulldoze this place with the up-their-butts black-wearing over-pierced incompetent emo/goth/indie whatever the heck they are staff inside it. Eventually the staff will disappear up their own backside as will this hell hole, if there is a god. I recommend the Duck up the road or Project Orange back towards CJ station or the Falcon over this.
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Hands down THE worse food I have ever had in London. Firstly it took a while to get served as the staff could not decide who was the least important enough to be taking food orders. We then watched our food sit on the service counter for at least 10 minutes. When it eventually found it's way to our table I found the cottage pie I'd ordered had been microwaved into oblivion-I played it for a while to release the steam in attempt to cool it down, but whatever taste it once had was had been completely destroyed and it hurt my mouth to eat it. Now I know these places have to prepare food and reheat it, but seriously-microwaves have a timer for a reason. My friend had the sausage and mash, the sausage was fatty and the mash lumpy and tasteless. Shocking bad all round.
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Fantastic pub love coming here on Sundays- great roasts
maryj - 12 Aug 2008 02:06 |
I've never eaten in The Goat, so can't comment on the poor reviews already made about that, but I love the pub for drinking in. Good beers, decent service, great decor and atmosphere even when not too many people in there. It can be a bit hard getting a table and there's not much room for standing though. A winters Sunday afternoon passes much quicker here than in most pubs.
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I have to say i have had to wait awhile for food in here
in the past but it was well worth it, the Sunday roasts are really nice in here the only complaint I would
have is you can never get a seat in the place after 2pm on Sunday which means I have to get my lazy ass out of bed early but I only has to wait 10 mins for my dinner last Sunday- so it's getting better
maryj - 19 Feb 2008 22:52 |
Couldn't agree with you more Kevin. Maybe it was a particuarly bad day today, but we had to wait 1hr 20 minutes for our food. After 40 minutes we were told that they'd 'forgotten' to put the order in, 15 minutes later they said they'd run out of what we'd ordered. When the food eventually arrived it was cold, pototoes rock hard and basically disgusting and inedible. 6 of us walked out and won't be returning. Very disappointing.
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This is the second time I've been on a Sunday to this pub. Its service is so poor that I can't believe they actually charge money to eat here. The staff are ignorant rude and unhelpful, there does not appear to be any management. If you do get served at all the waiting time for food is over an hour. There was only one beer still available and while waiting a set of three meals remained on the bar waiting to be served for over 15 mins I pity the poor customers who eventually got this meal. I won't make the same mistake in venturing to this so called trendy gastro pub ever again. I guess they won't care as there are always enough mugs that will pop in thinking they will get a good service. It should have stayed as the O'Neils as it did exactly what it was supposed too.
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Visit this pub mainly at weekends, for both food and drink.
The food on the whole is very good. Great choice, well cooked.
The drink selection is great, and the pub is buzzing with atmosphere as its always busy. You can reserve tables which is good as it fills up quick.
The staff work very hard to serve fast cause it gets so busy. One of my favourite places in clapham at the moment.
kb4gg - 17 Nov 2007 18:40 |
Clapham tends to have a very tacky, parochial, drunken British high-street type feel that's at odds with the rest of London. It's like a slightly posher version of any provincial British town centre at the weekend and for that reason I tend to avoid it like the plague. I have friends there, however, so I do sometimes end up going and this is the pub we always seem to go to.
The Goat is essentially a microcosm to Clapham as a whole. Braying city boys getting wretchedly drunk on overpriced, appalling lager/vodka. Men in sunglasses, shirts and shoes grabbing girls'behinds (including that of my friends' girlfriend). Bleached-blonde girls desperately bearing their cleavage in too-short skirts.
Both times I've been there it's been hideously overcrowded and an unutterably miserable experience. The staff are unfriendly, the service is abysmal and the clientele beggars belief. If you came to London to hang around with other insipid English people in an overpriced, unfriendly, trashy, tacky place like this then you're welcome to it. Perhaps this really is all these people require in life - to get completely ratted in a place as uninspiring as this after a week rotting away in their pointless office jobs. Enjoy.
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Brief visit, but I liked this pub. Nice feel and atmosphere, was served with a smile fairly quick...
Looks like they will reserve a table for you if you ask in advance...
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Excellent selection of ales and lagers. However, the service is so poor you may never get to actually drink any. Last time I was in here, they had less than half of their food menu (which is actually quite good) available at 6pm on a Sunday evening.
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I love this place, Franziskaner on tap....love it.
If this place had a beer garden, its quite possible id stay there all summer!
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The Goat in Battersea is such a disappointment � has so much potential but can�t get it right. The service is the slowest in Battersea. Their only defence was �we�re not usually this busy on a Tuesday night� - just before xmas! They only had 3 people behind the bar and had a great knack of ignoring you. I spent 25 mins at the bar ordering a drink, then 20 mins queuing to pay my bill. I ordered food which took 40 mins to arrive and was cold, even though it was tasty. It also can�t decide what d�cor it wants, at the same time it�s freezing at the back of the pub. Never coming here again unless I want to waste my life away.. there is much better in the area
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I think this pub has the potential to be nice, but on a Saturday night it was just too packed to pleasant. Maybe that was just because it's nearly xmas, but either way it did kind of spoil the evening. Also, there were rather more hoo-ray types than I would like on a Saturday night.
anonymous - 18 Dec 2006 13:58 |
Nikolaus, do you mean the Falcon? Bird of prey, yes, but another one! Certainly that doesn't come into my categories of 'dives' or 'vertical drinking bars'. Not sure about the Goat; it looked more like a restaurant.
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Nice selection of belgian beers on draught and bottled, Budvar Dark as well, didnt try the food! they seems to be trying a little too hard with their menu! worth a couple of drinks but I wouldnt spend anymore time than that worth a visit.
juzza - 11 Sep 2006 09:38 |
Such a shame - this place has the potential to be so nice - the restuaurant looks lovely and the service was OK but the food...... most if it was not on the menu by the time we ordered and then half of the meals we ordered then had to be changed because they then found out it was sold out - and this was 8.30pm on a Saturday - the quality was average too. Perhaps this is a candidate for Gorden's Kitchen Nightmares?
anonymous - 10 Sep 2006 13:06 |
They have a few things to learn here.
1) If you have no ability to cook, then don't cook.
2) Beefeater food is so much better
3) The public (who are still eating) don't need to see the chef drag the garbage out
4) Try and stock at least 50% of what you have on the menu
5) Stop smiling when you screw up and guests are paying top dollar. Smirking is not acceptable.
6) Testing the food for a chef is standard procedure but not ploughing through the stuff, especially when there is an apparent shortage
7) Sack the interior designer and start again
anonymous - 9 Sep 2006 21:12 |
the beer's not bad. forget the decor. what would make me never go back is the clientele. just a bunch of pretentious ponces. i'm not a local, so maybe if you are, you are one of these people and it'll be up your street. just don't call it a pub.
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Chain pub trying too hard to be trendy.. it looks utter shit like your grannys front room from the seventys , if you like beer and think you live in Cla-mmm you will love lock yourselves in guys leave the good bars just down the road for us terrible staff and service ...rubbish rubbish rubbish
anonymous - 26 Jun 2006 14:13 |
I used to drink here a bit when it was O�Neill�s, as it was local to me. It's certainty an improvement, in the beer on offer especially. However it is still unpleasantly crowded, and is still ridiculesly overpriced. Also what is going on with the pretentious new interior? I won�t be back in a hurry.
anonymous - 24 Jun 2006 14:05 |
I absolutely love this pub. I love the interior (eye candy for the design minded), I love the food, and I really love the selection of beer and wine. Can get a bit busy in the evenings but for a relaxing weekend drink I haven't found anywhere better in London so far.
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Absolutely appaling decor - I wouldn't like to see the homes of anyone who thinks this place looks good! Typically big chain pub company effort to look 'funky' - ends up looking ridiculous. Bamboo and retro wall paper in a pub called The Goat???????
That said, it is an improvement on O'Neills and stocks some good beers. Food was mediocre when i was there but i didn't have high expectations!
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My favourite South London bar. Perfect for whiling away a lazy Saturday afternoon. Haven't been later in the evening, but I can imagine it gets busy. Big plusses: Budvar on tap, great wine list, top food for sharing. Gorgeous. To the owners: please open a sister bar in East Dulwich.
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Drawn into the pub whilst strolling through the backstreets of Lavender Hill, as have been on the hunt for London pubs that serve Kriek.2 types of Kriek beer on draught here,Liefmans and Belle-vue! A huge variety of beers/bitters listed on blackboard.
Seating area is very random and quirky interior, very comfy seating and a relaxed atmosphere.
Ordered food too,which was ok, not great nor particulary filling. Only been here once,but not sure i will be sampling anything besides the bar snacks.
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Nice place, too crowded for my liking most of the time but have eaten upstairs a few times and the food is great.
Does however take a bit too long to get served and you have to elbow your way through a crowd of arrogant nitwits to get to the bar.
Definate improvement from o'neills, becks on draught aswell, fabulous!
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the beers have improved ten fold since O'Neills but I don't think the food has matched up to the same standard.
I am always going to stop in for a few beers but not with too many people as the seating arrangements need sorting out, either you end up sharing a table or crowding too many around one table.
A vast improvement on O'Neills and only a few touches needed to really impress.
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The interior of this pub is very funky, with a good selection of beers, reasonably sized menu, and seems to talks the talk of a gastro pub. However it certainly doesn�t walk the walk: Our starter came out at the same time as our main courses, and when we questioned this we were told that �they would have taken about the same amount of time to cook� - perhaps somewhat missing the point of a starter! And then the main courses� I had sausage and mash, however the mash was some kind of Smash! Not what I expect when paying around �8, least of all what I�d expect from a pub purporting to be a gastro pub.
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They have ale at a nice temperature and a great selections of Lagers e.g Budvar & Staropramen. The food is good, especially the burger downstairs. Closest thing to a 'proper pub' in that area (other than The Eagle). Can get busy.
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This pub used to be O'Neils. It has been totally refurbished in a Bohemian, random eclectic way. I ate lunch there and the menu is typical of a gastro pub. Although the range of beers goes alot further than the norm. The restaurant on the balcony looks great. As a publican i was very impressed with the bar design. Whoever's funded this one knows what they're doing and has funds to boot! Recommended.
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