please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This is a great pub, one of London's finest!!!
I often take the lads in my team round here for a full-on drinking session as my reward to them.
Its a great pub, well ran, and reasonably priced. It might not be in the same league as the Mayfair haunts that I take the wife to at the weekend but its a great spot for me to tell my tales to the boys who work for me.
Great food too. Remember and say hello to wee Betty if you see her eating. Usually in about 3pm on Thursdays for lunch. A lovely lady.
Some day I'll buy this place and make it my own.
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Not bad, good location for us city bhoys. Nice place to just leave the black Amex card behind the bar and get wasted.
Bosh!
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My sister and I visited today at lunchtime. We went upstairs, where there was plenty of room and had a lovely steak meal and cholate pudding. The portions were large and it was a really delicious meal. The two staff were really friendly and helpful. We were very glad we chose this pub.
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good beer, decent food, welcoming staff
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In fairness to the Raglan, it has improved in the last couple of years. They've stopped booking out every spare corner on a Thursday night. It used to be that if you arrived at 9pm, 80% of the space held a scattering of people left over from parties which started at 5, while most of the customers were crammed into the bar area. The beer and wine are okay and we've had polite (if not totally reactive) responses to our requests to turn the music down once the pub's emptied out. There are much better pubs within 5 minutes' walk, but if you can't persuade your friends or colleagues to walk 5 minutes, it's not as terrible as it used to be.
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Not as bad as I was expecting given some of the earlier comments on here, and it has clearly had some money lavished on it in the last couple of years - but it remains a pretty formulaic chain pub that I'd be unlikely to return to. Three or four hand pumps on for my visit, but only the mass produced corporate ales on offer - e.g. London Pride, Bombardier and Youngs. As for watching the midweek football in here - we thought about watching last night's Milan v Spurs game in here, but the three or four screens are all pretty small and not very well positioned. Unless you're lucky enough to get a seat right next to one, you'll struggle for much of a view. We drank up and moved on before kick off.
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Decent size, pool tables, quite a small bar upstairs & the staff seemed nice enough.
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There was a period in 1989 when I was working near St Pauls tube that I seemed to spend my life in this place. The rather small frontage shown in the photograph gives access to a surprisingly large interior with a bar down the left hand side and plenty of seating throughout. There are several flat screens on the walls so watching midweek footy here is probably a big thing. There is an upstairs area for eating - years ago I seem to remember it being a mezzanine type arrangement with a lot of plants but if so that is long gone.
The ales on offer were the fairly standard selection of Pride, Doom Bar, Youngs London Gold and the less common Adnams Explorer. I had the Doom Bar which was ok.
There aren't many good pubs in the immediate vicinity so the Lord Raglan has it a little easy but it is still a decent place to come for a pint.
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Having read previous reviews I have to agree about the ear splitting music levels. I cope with it on a Friday... but on Tuesday when the bar is relatively quiet and i want chilled drinks with colleagues!
Food is standard pub chain stuff... at best edible... at worse a strange mix of dried up slop. They also fail miserably to deliver food within sane waiting times on a Thu and Fri lunchtime. Strangely the food you've waited for for 50 minutes can then actually arrive uncooked!
Measures on bitter can be hilariously short!
It's one former redeeming feature was a sensible price list for The City... but consecutive price rises over the past two years have been a minimum 10p per pint every three months!
I'd avoid at all costs... but everyone from the office drinks there... so I'm stuck!
At least some of the bar staff actually make an effort to be welcoming and do their best despite everything.
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Another place I used to use many years ago. Then it was popular with Post Office folk but obviously re-furbed since then. Now different type of customers and very popular judging by the sheer number of people in there. It's functional and the Suffolk Swift was fine, albeit short measured, couldn't be bothered to ask for a top-up. Not a place I will make an effort to return to though.
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Went in at what I thought would be a quiet time (mid-Saturday afternoon, when many other nearby pubs are closed), but this place was full of Japanese tourists who seemed to be there for some Halloween-themed entertainment that was due to take place a bit later on. Had a quick pint of Robinson's seasonal 'Wags to Witches', and moved on...
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I had read the comment regarding the earsplitting music levels (below) but I still could not believe how loud it was! Sat on a table near the back in the corner I had a sore throat from yelling at a friend sat just two feet away!
We did enquire as to the possibility of it being turned down a notch but were rudely told 'this is a pub..people come to hear the music'
I never knew there was such a demand for A-ha and other assorted 80's hits amongst the city crowd!
On top of that my pint of Youngs Kew was very poor quality and a friends chips were served cold.
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I have used this pub a lot in the past but this was my first visit since the refit. Whilst it has to be said that some of the charm has gone, the pub now makes more sense and is more usable and spacious. The beer was perfectly acceptable, far better than a lot of city pubs. The staff were friendly and when not being distracted by the landlady, very quick to serve. All in all, not bad but not worth a special visit.
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This pub is under new management and it's not an improvement - the prices have gone up, the music has now reached earsplitting levels and the staff are unfailingly rude. Add to the fact that it's full of drunken suits and the upstairs is nearly always booked for parties (meaning downstairs is rammed) and there really can't be a reason to give them your custom.
KathS - 27 Feb 2009 10:18 |
Reasonable pub with 2 decent pool tables that we had booked for a couple of hours. Decent (if not outstanding) Adnams, Pride and Bombadier. Probably only go out of your way if you want somewhere you can book the pool - but an overall OK.
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BITE. Why did my page long review not appear from yesterday?
Here it is again, slightly different wording I'm sure.
Very slow service as mentioned by HopMan1 and others on both food and drink.
Staff not trained properly therefore customers end up in situations where they have to send back Guinness extra cold as they only asked for Guinness - do you pour Diet Coke when people order Coke? No!
Not enough staff - spoke to the guv'nor and he said he'd just taken over a few weeks back and inherited three staff off sick. He also said they'd be closing for a big expensive refurb ready in time for Christmas. Good stuff.
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Am amazed at the positive opinions earlier. Have tried the place a few time in the last 6 months. It's short or incompetently or indifferntly staffed. Food can take ages to get, and in our experience orders are often wrong. It regularly has no Draught Bitter choice ( Four pumps and none working today ) My mates and I eventually followed several other people who had given up and gone out, to gosomewhere else, having taken ages not to get served. Once again we promised each other not to go back. Will guarantee to keep the promise this time.
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Nice pub with great food and good service.
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Agreed as before. It is one of those pubs that you walk into and presume you won't like it and I didn't but after about 5-6 work doo's including a few free bar situations booked upstairs in the reserved area and a few sessions on the spur of the moment stuff I have to admit to liking the place. "Shakespear's local" is often touted and I wouldn't argue with him. Nice beer with usually hardworking staff who want to serve you quick and efficient style.
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Oh blimey yes, the Lord Raglan! Have had some blinding sessions with work colleagues over the years, starting in the mid-80s and most recently a year ago. Good beers, excellent staff and plenty of room. They always arranged buffet food if we requested it. Sadly we've all scattered now, but the Raglan lives on!
anonymous - 1 Jul 2006 17:03 |
One of those pubs that you walk into and presume you won't like it, then it grows on you and practically becomes your local. Nice beer, hardworking staff so you get served quickly, and spread over two very different floors so everyone can find an area they like whether they want to stand / sit or find a quiet corner.
anonymous - 1 Jul 2006 12:33 |
Very clean, well run boozer. Food is excellent and beer is always in good shape. The bar staff change frequently but tend to be hard working and polite.
anonymous - 5 Jun 2006 14:49 |
Sad looking and small from the outside, but large and attractive inside. Lots of dark wood and leather. The assorted pub issue oddments on the wall have a characterless, non-organic feel of having been bought by the yard with the intention of creating an atmosphere. Despite that, the pub has a homely enough feel. At least four cask ales on offer - mostly the regular suspects, but a few less common beers do pop up now and again.
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Nice attractive pub. Handy after a visit to the Museum of London.
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not a bad place and not too crowded considering its location. My roast was spot on, but the burger was a bit tough according to my mate.
Guest ales and usual fare, upstairs can be hired out.
Bigger on the inside than it looks.
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The bar prices are actually very reasonable, considering the location and the obvious attractions for tourists and city types.
Food is also good, and much the same price-wise as less well-located pubs.
sheridan - 11 May 2004 01:34 |
Quite good. Often gets hired out upstairs for corporate parties. Food at lunchtime is OK. Beer is decent. I never note down bar prices but this is probably not a cheap pub given its location.
Matt - 12 Jan 2004 12:58 |
fantastic staff & location
full marks!!
nick - 15 Aug 2003 13:27 |
