please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I went their for a drink with friends. At first the bar staff wasn't friendly so we went outside still orded our drinks. Then I had to get my round so I went back in and the manger came up to me very aggressive and said remove your hat. I wasn't happy with this approach. So I asked why she was quite sort with me. I want to to leave at this point. I will never go back and I have imformed my friend everyone I know not to go there
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Now called The Brougham this is an attractive looking corner plot pub in the heart of Pimlico. Popped in here on the way back to the station from Cask.
It was around 10.15pm when we arrived and the pub was around a quarter full.
No hand pumps on the bar meaning no real ale available but they did have bottles of Wells Bombardier, which my pal had and was asked by the barman if he wanted a glass with ice! This rather perplexed my pal.
A bottle of bombardier, single whiskey and a gin and tonic giving me a small amount of change from £20.00.
Large open plan lay out & a nice range of seating but not a pub I will be rushing back to.
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What a terrible pub. It looks promising from the outside but once you enter things go downhill fast, with overpriced beer, short measures and monosyllabic foreign bar staff. But that's not the worst of it. The real problem with this pub is it is so dirty. There were remnants of a previous diner's meal all over one of the leather settees and as for the toilets, they were a disgrace, amongst the worst I've ever seen in a pub.
anonymous - 12 Jun 2013 21:06 |
I went into this bar the other day despite not liking my last visit 6 months ago. I was very pleasntly surprised. It has a new manager who I chatted to for a while. People were served quickly and they are working to improve the loos and get draft beer in. I think it'll be nice when its all done, but I had a fine time ( there were 2 for 1 cocktails). Its got a much nicer atmosphere than the spoons nearby. I'll defiently go back, it was comfy and I could chat to my girlfriend who doesn't like nosiey bars.
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This place is shocking. The fact a central London pub is empty after work on Friday says it all really. No ale, poor lager, expensive wine, poor service, cold, no atmosphere and filthy toilets.
How can rubbish like this survive when good pubs are closing by the minute.
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Went there last night (a Friday) with a friend at about 7.15 and it wasn't particularly busy but seemed quite nice so went in for a drink. Took about 15 minutes to extract two glasses of red out of the bar person who quite plainly didn't want to be there - totally miserable. Couldn't even open a bottle of wine - had to get someone else to do it (now, I'm not being funny, but if you work in a bar you shouldn't find operating a cork screw challenging).
At 8.10 the DJ started up and went straight in at volume setting 11, to the point I couldn't hear myself speak let alone what my friend was saying. So we upped and left.
Unfortunately the misery didn't end there as I nipped to the loo before we went. They should hand waders out in that place. A 'caution - wet floor' sign was in the middle of the floor standing in about an inch of 'water' and two out of the four toilets were out of order.
Needless to say I won't be going back and can't really recommend anyone bothers expending the calories required to push the door open.
The only saving grace was the Rioja was pretty decent.
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Quite suprised by these other reveiws! Went there for a friends leaving drinks, he hired the VIP area. Would recommend doing that as they don't charge you, and they had a DJ. Fun night all round, would def go back!
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Concurrent with other reviews.
A friend and I went in after work on Friday at about 6pm. We waited 10 minutes at the bar, whilst younger and prettier people were served ahead of us, and then we walked out.
Shame.
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All true, we walked in and walked out.
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Horrific.
Even if there were people in here the atmosphere would still be awful.
They had 2 people working when I was dragged here. The security guy was collecting glasses. It was a Friday night.
Took half an hour to get served and it wasn't even half full.
Amazed it's still there.
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I have never been in a social environment with a worse atmosphere than this place. It had a makeover not so long ago which of course looked like it might improve the place but of course when it reopened it was worse. One of the most terrible pubs in the world. Stupid effin' name and all.
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Dragged here by work colleagues; horrible place, no real beer, uncomfortable, expensive, full of obnoxious people drinking expensive lager
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The bar staff are nice here, but the outside space is awful and the bathrooms are worse than the loos in Glastonbury. They are so awful - smelling of must and mould and usually covered in puddles of god knows what - that we have decided to boycott it for after work drinks. Oh and it's always cash only at the bar, they rarely have any house wine and they pretty much never have any of the one type of draught lager that they (supposedly) stock. It's a pretty depressing place, all in all.
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Horrible place, get a JCB and a demolition crane, pull the place down and start again. Overpriced, can't hear yourself talk and very skanky. AVOID AVOID AVOID
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Makes tiger tiger or a yates look quite up market.... avoid.
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This is a late bar/club with loud music and only Staropramen and Becks on draught, which were both off during my fleeting visit.
One to avoid if looking for decent pint and convivial atmosphere.
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Just a really horrible nasty place.... think of a Yates or edwards in a provincial town.... Low grade suite and young yobs all behaving like animals.
Horrible.
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Nickthefish i agree but I was just standing up for this place I came accross it on an internet search and saw all the negative comments about it and thought that I would also comment.
As this site says itself the pub is not registered so they do not control the information about it and I can tell you it is all wrong no screens, no quiz machines and it doesn't even look like the picture. I just think that this site needs to think about how it classifys places before people slag this great place off, it is not the fault of this bar at all.
Really if you want a pub read these reviews as this is not the place to go if you want a traditional english pub. cocktails in the evening site sounds great to me!!
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Dazshort....this site is for British pubs and is called beer in the evening. You say "dont go here if you are looking for an English pub". That is precisely why people use this site.
I think you need a 'cocktails in the evening site'
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You see I disagree with most of these comments this place is great, I think that the problem is that people are going here expecting a pub when really this is a trendy bar which serves the best cocktails in london.
It is a great night out the staff are professional and not over friendly and as for a silver tray for change thank god some places know what service really is.
Dont go here if you are looking for an English Pub as it is not trying to be that go here if you want great cocktails and a dance. This is the best place in Victoria for me great decor, brilliant music and full of non pretentious people who know how to have a good time!!
Highly recommended.
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rubbish, pretentious and over priced. staff are up themselves, drinks are overpriced and the decor looks like the inside of a circus tent
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Used to work round here and had the misfortune to pop in for a pint. Had to shout to the half dressed barperson due to the 'music' blaring out. Paid over �3 for a rancid pint of beer and was then presented with my change on a silver tray...
Were they expecting a tip ??
How disgustingly american and brash.
As far away from an English pub as you could possibly get. Glad its closed and hope it never reopens.
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Currently closed for a refurb until "early July", according to a poster in the window.
Surely there can only be an improvement on the tired surroundings and piss-poor service...?
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I went here on Saturday and thought the bar itself was good - live DJ and Casino Royale on the TV (beer and Daniel Craig - you can't go wrong)
My only gripe was the cost - half a lager and a diet Coke cost nearly �5 - we'd got half of lager and a pint of Strongbow in the pub previous for the same amount.
anonymous - 2 Jul 2007 14:04 |
I don't know why everyone moans and moans on these websites about everything that is wrong with every place. I think the Camel is a great place which has great atmosphere and very friendly staff.
They now have dj's and supposedly live music from time to time and have finally gotten rid of the sports and everytime that i go in it seems that everyone is having a blast and so do i
So if you need somewhere to go in Victoria, this is the place
anonymous - 12 Jun 2007 17:18 |
worked there in '99.... what a blast.
from Canada though, so, at the time, aweful food, great service and great night life (if you could avoid the flying ash trays :))
looking for contact info from anyone that worked there around then...
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Ok it's not great.. but does play the football and not many places in the area do, so worth a mention.. also there are benches to sit outside in the summer, which is fine for a quick pint.
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I popped in her with my girlfriend a few weeks back (30th April) and despite being a little worse for wear and maybe having clouded judgement after a few at the nearby Willow Walk, we still left immediately! I can understand that many go here because of the lack of these type of places in the Victoria area, but all you have to do is hop on a tube to find much better alternatives.
HTM69 - 19 Apr 2007 14:55 |
Are alarm bells sounding or did the camel get new furniture?? About time i have to say but it seems that they have pulled themselves up along with it and again since a logish absence seem the most popular place in Victoria.
Recommend to anyone as the best all round pub/bar in the area!
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It is true about this pub I would agree with a lot of the comments said but I find these only to be true from early last year and the end of 2005. I heard that ir changed owners at some point at the begginging of last year and saw no improvements at first but if you go in there today it has very friendly staff and great music.
Not a traditional pub which is why i think that most of the people here do not like it but more of a bar run in a pub building. It even has DJ's now on a Saturday night and always has a great atmosphere.
Yes the place needs a paint job and the seating is very tired, but it's the only place in the area with a vibe and if that is what you want then this is the place in Victoria to go to. If however you prefer the real ales and the traditional english pub then of course you are not going to like a modern and tredny pub.
I agree the Beer is a tad expensive but compared locally (excluding the weatherspoons) it is a fair price and at least it is alway ice cold. Generally their pricing is average and they always have great promotions on sao you can generally get a spirit or pint for �2 not that bad!
Overall if you want a place to have fun and hang out then the camel is the best place to go!
anonymous - 12 Jan 2007 13:09 |
A bit too funky for my catholic tastes, and rather expensive. Not really sure why it's expensive either because it's not really an amazingly good pub. Poor selection of beer really (no ale either).
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Rubbish, full of asshats, didnt even bother going in when I saw the pub had security on the door at 5pm!
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sod the camel, it's a seat that's hard to find in this gaff! and whoever it was that arranged the tellies in here - what where you up to? were you joking? having a breakdown? trying to win the Turner Prize? they must have 8 screens in this dump but not one of them offers a good view even if you are in one of the precious seats. the only good vantage point as far as i can see is from behind the bar! it's like David Blunkett fitted the place out. AVOID
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I paid a brief visit here last night (Sept 29th) and almost immediately after walking in, new I wouldn�t be spotted here again. The beer is overpriced for the area and the place is full of those pretentious dick heads that pay for their drinks with their credit cards. The music was decent, but that�s never necessarily enough for me to think a pub is great or even slightly good. This monstrosity is neither.
HTM69 - 30 Sep 2006 15:00 |
My friend and I was in on a September saturday evening and found the place to be near empty with just about 12-20 odd punters. It was far from too noisy as people were describing below, I would say music was played at volume but not as loud as other places where people were having touble talking to each other.
We found the waitresses to be very attentive (well it was fairly quiet!). Beer selection was not the best in the world but it does provide a wide selection of cocktails. The beer served was perfectly fine and nothing really to write home about.
The ambience was that of a bar/pub, it did look like it could do with a bit of a refurb and had a real tired feel about the place. The seats we took was in the alcove next to the bar and from here we felt a small group could have a decent chat without too much trouble. Only problem was that the felt also needed a good cleaning.
The clientele varied from a few guys in seperated groups,a couple enjoying a beer and chat to a small group of international students.
Overall not a particular exciting place but if you looking for a fairly vacant place for a saturday night drink with a few friends without having someone to spill your drink, I would recommend this place. However if you are looking for anything else, it may be worth looking else where.
anonymous - 10 Sep 2006 20:17 |
Pits of a place. Expensive, crap beer and music to make your ears bleed. Avoid like the plague.
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OK - if you like pubs that encourage the use of sign language.
Very Loud, but the beer was ok (but overpriced). Staff tried hard, and service was pretty good.
Lots of annoying 'suits' on the pavements though in the summer months.
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Sorry to report this pub was so noisy with bad music that my friends and I could not stay. Nothing attractive here; won't be back.
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I found this pub to have ghastly decor, be full of ghastly people, serve mediocre beer at West End Prices and offer a poor level of service.
The 'drinking on the pavement' issue is annoying. They have room for about 20 people outside yet no control or indication of how many can be out there. They then get stroppy if you are outside and blocking any passing pesestrians. If you are a passing pedestrian it is equally annoying.
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Having been working in Victoria and coming to this pub semi-regularly after work on Fridays, I have seen a steady decline in its appeal.
The music used to be good with UK/US/Australian band-type music being pumped through the speakers, and beers were �2.90 - a little more than normal for Victoria.
Sadly in Dec 2004 a beer went up to �3.00 and in Jan 2005 it went up to it's current price of �3.10, which is extortionate considering it is a pub. To top it off your change is handed back on a little silver tray to temp you to tip for an overpriced, non-cold larger (we asked about this once and was informed 'well, this IS London!'...maybe they can't afford a decent fridge for the kegs?).
Also the music has declined to the boring banality of rnb/rap/pop drabness.
Word of warning - if you're having a beer outside, don't be surprised if you aren't allowed back in after 2 beers because you aren't keeping the public footpath clear.
We've found The Page in Warwick Way the better of the younger crowd pubs in the area.
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A few years back this was your typical Aussie-owned run-down type of establishment, but you knew where you stood. Think they even used to have a couple of pool tables too. Agree with previous comments that the new refurbishment is awful. �3 a pint, which is unacceptable in this part of town. Needless to say, not an ale in sight.
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Not a fan of this place at all - used to work just up the road before it was turned into some kind of Australian-themed nightmare, and it was alright back then. Now it's full of berks and it's over three quid a pint, and I can't be doing with it at all. In mitigation, however, some of the finest bar staff in London work there, and you can take that how it's meant or you can pretend I mean they're good at their job!
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Half decent place - always packed. Good 2 for 1 deals on wine mid-week - unfortunately you'll get too wrecked to remember this until the following week
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I went in there on a Saturday afternoon with some friends to watch a football match - got a table really near a neat plasma screen, which was nice.
I just wanted to say home brilliantly friendly we found the staff, particularly the big antipodean fella. Happy to bring beers and food to your table, and to help out wherever possible. Top marks for the special hot cross martinis too.
anonymous - 31 Mar 2005 08:50 |
I went to The Camel in Victoria- it is no longer called the Elusive Camel, after I had been to the one in Tower Bridge where we held a function - fantastic by the way!
I took some American friends in for lunch and the food surpassed even my expectations! I had the Duck sausages - fantastic and my friends had the Lamb & Feta sandwich and vegetable lasagne. Then being ever so cheeky - we even had a coffee liqueur before i headed back to the office. (What the boss doesn't know....) Thinking about heading down there one weekend as I noticed they have an awesome brunch menu!
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went here with my girlfriend.took us about 10 mins to get to the bar. got a great shot but when handed my change the barman dropped a pound coin in my drink. wtf!! then to be told it was like a Xmas pudding, had to fish the coin out myself. cheeky little git!!. guess hygiene is not a big thing here. but overall its not a bad place if you like aussies and saffas going head to head....with a occasional kiwi in for good luck..
anonymous - 26 Dec 2004 16:54 |
Been a few times with friends - a bit soulless but the staff were friendly and the beer fizzy - just as it should be.
yam - 3 Sep 2004 00:33 |
OK for watching sport on TV with a lager in your hand, but it closes too early. Out the door at 11 prompt - somewhere like this needs to have an hours extension. Yes, it does have doormen but it isn't too heavy.
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Most evenings I go into the pub at Victoria for a quick drink and to chill a bit before going home. Tonight there were two fat guys on the door who would not let me in because of an 'excluuusive party'! Any chance you could let your regulars know - or was this a one off vetting process because England are playing tonight?
bad vibes to you and your excluuuusive pub. I thought you were different which is why I used to frequent the place, but you and your dumb policies are the same as all the other worthless pubs who think they are above the people who go there.
Never mind, plenty other less pretentious pubs around.
john bull - 17 Jun 2004 17:01 |
Lame, soulless, unfriendly, up its own rear end. Give me a proper pub with an atmosphere and a laugh any day instead of this vacuum...
Kempes - 4 May 2004 15:53 |
The elusive in Victoria is the best bar I've been to in London, friendly staff and great food. Very rarely any trouble in there also. Staff are its best asset!
David - 3 May 2004 15:02 |
Fantastic place love there 241 wine & cocktail nights can't beat it. The staff are great and the music awesome. Good job Camel keep being female freindly. Also good to see you have fashion tv & MTV on instead of football
Christine - 18 Mar 2004 11:03 |
Nice pub, great atmosphere most nights and especially enjoy Sundays with the live music also great specials Tues and Thursdays can't beat the 241 cocktails
Richy - 12 Mar 2004 15:32 |
The Camel what a place have never been to a more good valued place in London, the specials and food awesome and the staff wow at least one bar in UK makes you feel at home. Good job camel thanks for making my stay great. Chef loves your food.
lisa - 11 Mar 2004 12:26 |
Better than the one in Waterloo, but still soul-less and lame. What's with the change-on-the silver-tray thing in a dive like this?
Go to Wetherspoons it's cheaper and better atmosphere.
Martin - 2 Mar 2004 16:02 |
this has to be the worst beer in london..staff are crap as well
eamon - 30 Jan 2004 11:37 |
Great menu, great staff and most importantly great customer service!!!!!!!!!People who don't like this sort of style oblissly don't go out or go to shitty bars great specials keep up the work camel love yuo cocktail deals and female freindly
bruce - 12 Jan 2004 12:52 |
rubbish, overpriced drinks, no atmosphere to speak of (especially when as many people as possible seem to ram into the place) - many far better pubs in the area.
Duncan - 23 Dec 2003 09:28 |
This place is great for a starting point on a big night out and is always busy throughout the afternoon/Evening.
Sports is a priorty which brings in the crowds as well as the "Two for one" on Tuesday and Thursday. Always found the staff friendly and you do get served promptly - no slackers! The menu and chef have recently changed and a lot of people rave about the food. Veggie friendly!
You can hire the back room at no extra cost and for those looking for a place to keep warm, you can do so by the open fire.
anonymous - 9 Dec 2003 18:42 |
This is the sort of place that doesn't know if it is a pub or some ridiculous
euro-bar cafe thing. Their schizophrenia leads them to try to do everything at once, like play cruddy dance music while blasting the football from TVs in every corner.
Unhelpful bar staff should be shot, as well. If you like this pub I hope I never meet you.
evan - 22 Nov 2003 00:09 |
"Top venue for sports fans?" Only if you like cack pop/dance music over the top. Great if you like sticky things. Everything is shiny and sticky.
dave - 20 Aug 2003 14:22 |
Top venue for sports fans. Good deals on Australian and New Zealand beers mid-week.
Paul - 19 Jun 2003 11:24 |
only bar in the area with atmosphere, awesome specials and aussie sport, goodlooking chicks and fun bar staff it rocks
anonymous - 12 Jun 2003 13:40 |
Full of aussies and south africans enjoying themselves...almost feels like a student uni bar..ciggies on the floor etc, all its missing is plastic cups !
BK - 11 Jun 2003 17:21 |
good pub great specials and loads of fun and freebies, keep those tequila laybacks coming camel.
John - 7 Jun 2003 17:23 |
Mate the most awesome pub in Londonj with awesome freindly and crazy bar staff who have awesome drink specials and Aussie sport thumbs up 10/10 camel boycott Walkabouts and head for the Camel
Bruce - 6 Jun 2003 18:47 |
Elusive bar staff when trying to get served more like
Gary - 28 Apr 2003 12:44 |
Decent atmosphere, and they often have good deals on drinks. It can take ages to get served, even when it's not too busy, but it's still one of the best pubs in the area.
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the land lady is crazy. they show videos of people hurting themselves in the bar. didn't like it.
Piggy - 30 Nov 2002 00:37 |
Enjoyed the liveliness and great staff. Nice music, good food. Like the renovation - my boyfriend did as well.
bern - 14 Jun 2002 14:57 |
Was very homely before renovation. Now basically a SA sports pub, with multiple tv screens. Still, a nice-enough place to sit outside just a minute or so from Victoria.
David - 5 Jun 2002 18:02 |
