please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Nice enough beer, nice enough bar staff, cheap prices. Not much more to say really. It's ok.
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This pub knows nothing.
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Not a big fan Sam Smiths beers (with the exception of taddy porter) but this is still a great old boozer. If you want a proper old school pub then give it a whirl.
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I was just in this pub tonight. I was having a quiet beer outside when a fight started between two people from inside. One of them spat at the other. Very disappointing! I like Samuel Smith Pubs, but this is probably the worst one I have ever been to. The toilets were disgusting, the location is poor, the people in (and outside) the bar were far too aggressive. If you want a nice pub in this area go to the White Horse, same license holders but a much better atmosphere.
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"Top chap"?
Stoike a loight, it's Maori Parpens!
D. v. Dyke
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Was here in October again with another top chap like last year. Maybe because the barstaff know him, I never had any problems getting served. Pluses are cheap pints. 2 quid and change for a pint ain't too bad in these shite times.
Cheers,
Joe
USA
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Not the best of the sam smiths pubs about but i do like there pubs and this one is worth adding to any soho pub crawl.
Pubman Twitter
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I have to give a low rating to this place for no reason other than as a Samuel Smith pub you cant get a decent/recognisable branded pint.
They are the Apple of the pub world... I only drink there when I am too embarrassed to walk out once I realise that it is a Sam S joint
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Thank God it isn't named after that self-righteous prig of a news propagandist but someone who really contributed to the well-being of his fellow man.
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Your archetypal Sam Smith's alehouse - as in a bit of a museum selling a limited (though cheap) range of their beer. As for snogging - there are plenty of places that cater for exhibitionist tastes and I reckon most folk going to a pub for a pint don't want someone else's intimate affection (of whatever persuasion) inflicted upon them. It puts one right off one's pint. If the pub rule is no pet lemurs in the pub then no pet lemurs and if it is no people shoviing their tongues down their partners throats while people are drinking/eating/lounging then those are the house rules - so go somewhere that people want that. Beer wasn't brilliant though... but @ �2.11 a pint better than a lot charging more.
anonymous - 13 May 2011 21:37 |
Great place for a snog with your mates. Beer's ok too.
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My Missus thought it was dingy, but I liked it.
Sam Smiths OB bitter was in fine condition
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If you want an up to date review of this pub, please note that all reviews post 16th April are being censored by BITE.
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Cracking boozer, with a great selection of beers.
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Just across the road fron an art shop I use,always find this place friendly and beer well kept not had any food here so no comment on that,all in all a good pub.
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Regarding the review below, a pint of Taddy is �2.27 as of the date of the review, just to point that out.
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A nice boozer in the older-style mould of things. Lots of brown gloss painted wallpaper, and dark wood. That this pub is a Sam Smiths meant a pint was under �2, super value condisering it was a lovely pint (Taddy Lager), and in Soho. Was in on a Sunday afternoon in December and managed to get a table for four of us after a half hour. Just the ground floor was open, staff amiable without being overfriendly, prompt service, nice atmosphere, did get a lot busier towards 7pm and it would have been preferable to have the upstairs open as well.
Overall, I will be back if in the area, partly for the prices, and partly for the fact that its a decent middle of the road London pub for a pint.
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Went in on a Saturday night, and was a little disappointed after having wanted to check this place out for some time. I generally like Sam Smith's places, and this is instantly recognisable as one as soon as you get in.
It was a bit smaller than I expected, but my main beef was with the staffing, who while efficient, were far from convivial. Otherwise, there's little else to say, as anyone who's ever been in a Sam Smiths pub will know what the story is with the booze, prices, and style.
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Was here a few times whilst on vacation in London last month before I moved on for the evening.
Good prices, nice wood, clean and all around a pretty nice pub. I didn't get the courier vibe, but the clientele seemed to be young and very cool. No Chavs, scumbags, etc.. I actually liked it.
Joe
USA
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Typical Sam Smiths, lots of wood - everywhere. Great prices, nice cosy looking place - but VERY busy on a Friday afternoon - seems popular with loads of trendy looking young bicyle couriers.
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The John Snow is a street corner Sam's pub in the heart of Soho.
It's done out in their usual traditional style with a U shaped bar divided up by partitions to create a number of different rooms. There's the usual etched glass and wood panelling in abundance.
I didn't see anything in the pub to indicate why the pub is so named, but I gather it's named after a Dr John Snow who was around during the cholera epidemic of 1854 and realised that it was water that was causing the problem. Sorry to disappoint those sports fans who thought it was named after the former England fast bowler !
On my recent early Saturday evening visit, the pub was quite busy with a youngish crowd of people who looked like media types.
The Sam Smiths OBB - � 1.99p - is not real ale and tasted rather chilled and tasteless to me.
If they could only start serving decent beer in here, I'd happily come here again as I quite liked this place as a pub.
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A typical Sam Smiths pub. The beers are all brewed by the brewer so you know what you get as soon as you order. The atmosphere was pretty good even though there was bizarre barrier between the two parts of the bar. The gap was only big enough for a dwarf to walk through but it did add to the quirky nature of the place. I could not see that much to do with the great man whom the pub is named after but it is a good water hole in an area populated by trendy bars.
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I like the atmosphere in here and the fact that it's off the busy shopping area of Carnaby Street so fewer people tend to make it down there on a busy saturday. If the upstairs room is closed however, you're not going to get a seat. I've always found the bar staff pleasant and it's nice to pop in for a drink when i'm in the area. Food's not that exciting but does the job.
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Once again this pub is another Sam Smiths establishment that requires us punters to make something of a compromise in exchange for the enticing charms of good cheap beer in traditional pub surrounds. In the case of the John Snow, the staff make it easy to make a case for steering clear of this pub and heading one of the more welcoming SS pubs (Duke of Argyll, Red Lion) in the area. On my recent visit, 2 of us had 4 pints apiece over a couple of hours, standing at the bar (by choice) throughout. Of the 8 pints, we had to request 2 to be topped-up (normally something I�d prepare to let pass but this was an inch or so �short� and concerned an �Alpine� lager not the OBB). On 2 of the 4 rounds purchased we had to �interrupt� the discussion of the male and female barstaff in order to get served, despite the fact they had quite clearly seen we were looking for a top-up. On the 4th round, the female member of staff decided to pour a �Sovereign � bitter rather than the OBB that we�d had on the previous 4 rounds � then merely glared confrontationally at me when I queried this by saying �well you didn�t say which bitter you wanted�. Quite why this would encourage her to pull a pint of Sovereign was not clear, surely the easy option would be to ask me � stood a metre away...The only discussion that I overheard during my visit concerned her recounting how much she had drunk over the proceeding days, perhaps explaining the complete absence of any degree of customer care. My change was duly dropped straight onto the bar with a look of disdain. In the 2 hours of our visit, very few customers were offered anything like a greeting, and none given the resemblance of a farewell. In Sam Smiths it seems, as in life, you pays your money and takes your choice��
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I've drunk in this pub off & on for number of years, recently the management seems to have changed. I've read about the troubles that the Sam Smith's brewery have been having & as well as putting in place unfriendly policies with regard to having music in the pubs & a very poor attitude to the quality of food, it seems they're at the bottom of the barrel when comes to the people they are able to find to run their pubs. Last Saturday I was on the receiving end of a bizarre tirade from the current manager who appears to be a rude prick. During an afternoon of drinks to celebrate my wife's birthday, in a mixed age & gender group, this ignorant moron felt the need to insult my niece, pulling a bar stool out from under her and demanding we move to the end of the bar. When I questioned his judgement on this he started screaming, became loud, aggressive & threatening. I'm not sure what they tell people when they teach them how to manage pubs these days but this fool was clearly not present that day.
Rounding the bar and shouting for us to leave he casually assaulted me, grabbing my drink & spilling it across my shirt. he was seconds from a good kicking but common sense prevailed on our part.
I used to like this pub but this guy's a worthless prick.
Avoid like the plague.
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This is a typical Sam Smiths pub, cheap but not unpleasant beers, lots of old features and character. It is a shame though that these days increasingly pubs are employing staff with little or no grasp of English, so you get served by miserable looking bar staff who you cant have any banter with and whom you have to ask to repeat several times the cost of the round, shame really.
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Best thing about this place really is that the beer is really cheap. It does have a lot of pavement outside, but that's where the problem begins.
Back in Autumn of last year, which is when I also notice a few of the other reviews of this pub took place, there was a large bouncer, I think maybe from Argentinia. He was basically employed to walk around outside and tell anyone who even put a foot in the road to get back on the kerb, or he would take away your drink.
Now, most of the normal staff were quite curteous about the fact that it is a chore, but could you make sure you are on the pavement. The trouble is, it's hard to avoid having to step out with the number of people, especially if somebody needs to get past.
After being given one warning for having one foot on the kerb and one foot into the road, I later had to step out again to let someone by to get into the pub. The second I did so, the bouncer comes over and tries to take my drink from me, I refuse to do so, and he then tells me to come inside, as he would like to talk to me. I refuse, he tells me I have to come inside to speak, at which again I inform him that I am not going inside and he has no right to make me go inside the pub. He then tells me that because of the law, he can make me do whatever. Having worked in bars and clubs when I was younger I then ask what law that is exactly. He tells me that he has taken the 'bar exam' and that he knows. So I then ask him what his job actually is, clearly he isn't the landlord and is just a hired goon. So after getting a bit more shirty with me, I ask to see his door staff lisence, which all bouncers have to have. He clearly doesn't have one, as going by his lack of knowledge of the English language is obviously just an immigrant being paid to make people's nights a misery. At this point, he just walked away from me, then a few minutes later came back to say that I wasn't welcome and that I should go elsewhere.
Now I've spent enough of my cash at this pub and always acted in a courteous manner, so I think its pretty crap that I should be told to FO just because I stepped onto the road to let someone by, to get into their pub!
Hopefully they have gotten rid of this idiot now, as I've not been back since.
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Friendly enough staff and a friendly crowd. But beware. Even if it's february and actually snowing outside the staff won't let you close the curtains against the sub-arctic draught.
"Why not"?
"Just not allowed to"
Computer says no.
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I'm with you Pauro. We all know pubs can operate without the meathead that they all seem to employ now. I had my drink nicked as i put one foot on the road to let someone off the pavement. Of course it wasn't the first time he asked me not to step on the road as he spent all night hassling everyone who was there, even rather bizarrely an old man who wasn't a customer and just someone who had arranged to meet his wife outside the pub.
My protestations were met with a 'I don't give a f***' which was nice. When i explained that i worked in customer service and he shouldn't talk to customers like that he told me to 'f*** off'
I'm gonna write a letter to their head office but I'm frankly too angry at the moment that my favourite Soho pub has caught this 21st Century disease
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I'm a big fan. Cheap, nice staff and plenty of pavement!
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I generally love this pub. Cheap beer, great in the summer, good crowd etc. But my last visit here has been tarnished by some bouncer making sure we all drink behind the white line. I'm ok with the rule, but it does spoil the banter, having someone like him having a go at punters all the time. A lot of people were getting very pissed off including me. A friend of mine didnt know about the rule and the bouncer just grabbed his drink. Please management, get this bouncer out. He's beginning to spoil what's a very good bar.
Pauro - 14 Oct 2008 08:54 |
A Sam Smith�s pub. It has a very interesting interior, with separate drinking areas. But it does not have Old Brewery Bitter on handpump, so is not recommended if ale quality is important to you. There is a pinkish kerbstone outside marking the location of the pump that assisted John Snow in demonstrating that Cholera was a water-borne disease.
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Love this pub. It gets insanely busy, and that's not just because of the cheapness of its (quality) SS drinks range, it's because the atmosphere is consistently appealing. It seems to go on forever, with plenty of seating upstairs when you can't find a slot in the more cramped downstairs area (or if the pavement outside doesn't appeal). The staff are friendly, the clientele are a mixed bunch but it's always relaxed, bustling and generally a pleasant experience.
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I like to hang here with a friend of mine after hitting the gym. Fun in the summer when everyone's outside.
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No hand pumps, but this is a well kept, cheap and friendly pub. Good to drop into when heading elsewhere.
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Great place, cheap, friendly, decent grub, nice OTT furnishings upstairs.
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Decent and no-frills Sam Smiths pub in the heart of Soho. Upstairs bar can pack a lot in.
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Incredibly cheap!!! Very young and live downstairs! More relaxed and nice atmosphere upstairs.
Got really drunk without spending much... WOW... going back for sure!!!
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The upstairs bar has the worst wallpaper ever. I could almost feel my retinas burning in there. Snow-blindness? I think I suffered from John Snow-blindness.
The downstairs bar is nice but small. Obviously not small enough for some though, so it's been partitioned into three unfeasibly smaller areas. Not a pub for claustrophobics.
Until I stopped in here, the Duke of Argyll was my least favourite Sam Smith pub in Soho, but this place has replaced it. That doesn't mean it's a bad place - it's still probably in the upper-half of Soho pubs - it's just that if you want a Sam's experience there's much better alternatives within a couple minutes' stroll.
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Cheap and friendly, nicely preserved. Lovely.
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This really is cheap. Five pints came to just under a tenner. The upstairs is a nice space.
anonymous - 26 Nov 2006 12:29 |
Absolutely heaving round one side of the bar on Saturday night, yes strangely empty round the other side. Was served a decent pint of S.S bitter in a PLASTIC glass, what's that all about.
Felt a bit sorry for the overworked bar staff.
This was okay for a quick (cheap) stop but wouldn't stay here for more than one.
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Cheapo (Pint of Stout and a bitter lemon �3.30) Sam Smiths pub (so all nitrokegged), sort of comfy but also quite tired looking.
I find it hard to have much of an opinion about this place really...
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good(ish) cheap beer, though too busy on a friday night
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It's a nice pub wiv nice barstaff and nice beer etc but the ladies loos were awful - no bog roll, loads of rubbish instead.
Got some stinking Dunhill International from Cote d'Ivoire off the little man outside, like sweepings they were. When will I ever learn?
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Great pub, good clientele, nice mix, unpretentious only bettered by the Krishnan Guru-Murphy round the corner
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Stonch, thanks for your comments on the SS branding issue. I actually know some pubs that were branded as SS pubs, but have now had the SS reference removed, so they obviously had a change of heart somewhere along the line. You are thankfully right about SS treating historic premises with respect. They do actually have some of the most historic pubs in the capital - Princess Louise, Cittie of York and the one in Fleet Street whose name escapes me for the minute.
As for Mr Anonymous's comment about using the website and typing in Samuel Smith into the search engine, that's all well and good, but a tad impractical if you're in the middle of a pub crawl !
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Anonymous, I don't think in most cases the signs displayed outside the pub necessarily predate the premises being taken over by SS. Although of course you are right to say most (probably all in fact) of SS' London pubs were pubs long before SS took them over. They seem to specialise in historic premises in fact, and thankfully they treat them with respect.
anonymous - 10 Feb 2006 20:21 |
John Bonser, I would think the reason why 'Samuel Smiths'is not written on the signs is that in most cases pub signs were there before they became SS pubs so it would be a pity to change the pub signage which in many cases is very historic and the words 'Samuel Smiths' would look very out of place.
Anyway if you want to find out which pubs sell the stuff why not just use this website and type in Samuel Smiths into the 'anything' search at the top of the page
anonymous - 10 Feb 2006 19:36 |
JohnBonser - I think that's just SS's style. After all, their (laudable) approach to the historic pubs they have acquired in central London seems to be to avoid modern clutter in favour of an appropriate "period" style, with original features intact and emphasised. Surely brewery branding would detract from this?
On the other hand maybe they do prefer not to trumpet from the outside that a pub is one of their own due to their policy of only selling their own beers. Many comments on this site do demonstrate people's uneasiness with a pub that doesn't serve them their standard Stella/Carling/Grolsch horsepiss, and lots of people who don't value diversity in the market* wouldn't go in an otherwise attractive pub if they knew they would be challenged to choose a beer they can't buy in every other pub in the world.
* you might say that SS onyl selling their own stuff actually runs counter to a desire to diversity in the market. You'd be wrong though - with the law on pub estates as it stands (which effectively restricts enormous brewery empires by requiring breweries with more than a certain number of pubs to sell guest ales) tied houses are a good thing as they provide sustenance for proper beer producers like Fullers, Young's and SS.
anonymous - 7 Feb 2006 12:58 |
Typical Sam Smiths pub, so you know what you're getting.
One question, please for contributors to this website - does anyone know why do Sam Smiths choose not to advertise their ownership on the outside of their pubs - it's quite annoying. Are they ashamed of their name and think it might put people off going in ? If so, well why don't they do something about it !
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I have always liked this little place for a quick half of the weisse on an afternoon out and about.
anonymous - 6 Jan 2006 13:55 |
Nice, slightly tatty but relaxed pub, cheap beer. Often seems packed even when it's half empty.
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I like the 'semi door' ! OK pub no cask gear!
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Typical Sam Smiths pub. Close proximity of magazine publishing companies means that friday nights it's full of young graduates in their first job looking for a cheap pint. So lots of kiddies shouting loudly and trying to impress each other. Which can be fun if you're a) one of them, or b) looking for someone to laugh at.
Downstairs area manages to feel cramped even when it's empty but upstairs is a bit more spacious.
flat3 - 23 Nov 2005 10:50 |
Great pub as everyone says, very traditional. But the beer is APPALLING!! Sam Smith's really is dreadful - and it's all keg stuff, they don't do draught. I had a couple of pints and after about 20 mins each pint turned into a sweet medecinal, slightly metallic nightmare. Wot is it with Sam Smith's pubs? they usually fantastic buildings, like this one, and the Cittie of York, and the Princess Louise, but the beer is undrinkable ....
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excellent pub, cheap for soho samuel smith pub, lunch time food not bad
anonymous - 31 Aug 2005 22:48 |
Another Samuel Smith's pub with an upstairs. I like this place too.
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About the only pub in the area even worth considering if you're mad enough to want to go up west, unfortunately for out-of-towners the majority in Soho are a bag of shite and this one'll wear a bit thin for a whole evening in the Smoke.
Ace beer as always in Sam Smiths, a jukebox would ruin it, and where would you put it. anyway?
Only criticism is the fact that for some bizarre reason they've put a sort of semi-door in the gap between the two bars, and it blocks the top of the space, not the bottom. So people are constantly doing a limbo-dance from the front bar to the khazi. Have cracked my head on it many a time. Just seems a totally unnecessary thing to have done. (The door, not crack my head).
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Nice little pub - populated by a few too many media types on Friday nights though - other than that a wonderful place for lunch, as they do good, honest pub food at reasonable prices.
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This is a good pub. Got served a bottle of corked white one though, so be warned.
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A jukebox would be perfect, as long as the aforementioned Sugababes were banned...lovely wee pub this, found it accidentally halfway through a massive sorrow-drowning pub crawl the day John Peel popped his clogs, and it's become an excellent place to start a 'Soho Research Session'. And that Oatmeal Stout in bottles that Sam Smith's pubs do - I'm having some of that, marvellous stuff.
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Having background music, decided by the barstaff is a very BAD THING, as you finish up listening to the Sugababes - Personally, I would rather have no background music or better still, install a jukebox.
TheGP - 27 Feb 2005 20:14 |
the staff at John Snow are really nice. the pub is a great meeting space. BAD THING - recently Sam Smith headquarters decided its pubs can no longer have music. So if you need a catch up with a friend, John Snow is great. But if you like your pub to have some background music, skip it.
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Brilliant old pub with a nice selection of cheap booze. The staff are very friendly and the service is generally very good. Does get a bit packed though, and lately there seems to be a massive lack of music. Other than that, a lovely place for a few jars.
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Great pub. Always my first port of call in London. Standard Sam Smith's fare, but a lively pub with good staff.
anonymous - 4 Jan 2005 14:49 |
...But be careful if delving into the Samuel Smiths' selection of drinks - I had a bad experience with their tequila once (although, I admit, this was my fault in having too many - and it WAS accompanied by salt and a lovely lemon)
Geoff - 13 Nov 2004 12:53 |
great pub fantastic
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Ciaran - The whole point of Samuel Smiths pubs is that they don't sell all the branded crap that they do elsewhere...
Go to the millions of other pubs that sell Guinness - Or be a little more adventurous and try the Sam Smiths equivalent?
TheGP - 10 Sep 2004 11:58 |
If Samuel Smith's pubs served Guinness I would be a regular here and much richer than I am now. But they don't. So I'm not.
Ciar�n - 26 Aug 2004 16:48 |
great pub, great beers, friendly staff, good place to meet friends.
pablo - 17 Aug 2004 15:02 |
One of the best pubs in the area. Fantastic beer at great prices, good atmosphere, nice location.
I can't find anything wrong with it! Perhaps it needs a jukebox?
TheGP - 10 Aug 2004 14:45 |
I love the pub. Just not a big Samuel Smith fan. Shame really as its dirt cheap.
Wayne - 9 Jun 2004 12:15 |
This pub is great - i have been a few times over the past few years - cheap good qualty beers of all shape and form. Everything a good pub should be, although the loos are a very long way from the upstairs bar.
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Best pub in Soho, 1.95 a pint and decent staff. Proper old pub.
Rob Hill - 2 Jun 2004 17:25 |
Best pub in Soho .... Simple as that .. Cheap nice beer and friendly barmaids.
anonymous - 2 Jun 2004 17:25 |
Very pleasant - much like almost all Sam Smith's establishments.
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Charming little pub, a tad small, but with the usual Sam Smiths drinks, such as Hefe wheat beer and the old bloke in the box. D-Pils for psychos too.
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Cheap & Friendly but only beer choice is OBB. Cheaper than Wetherspoons.
Tim - 5 Dec 2003 13:04 |
Great for history on John Snow. Just outside was location of Water Pump where he did his famous study on the spread of Cholera by London contaminated water supplies. Bored then the Beers are nice.
Snowman - 30 Oct 2003 15:27 |
Sam Smith's pub in Soho. Usual Sam Smith's fayre, traditional wood interior, respecting this history of the building and a restaurant upstairs.
Timos - 12 Sep 2003 17:32 |
Cheep beer, always somewhere to sit, friendly bar staff, very central.
Gabi - 12 Jun 2003 10:25 |
